PCV in Kenya: Week 45

Monday

Today was Mashujaa Day, formerly Kenyatta Day. “Mashujaa” means “heroes” in Swahili, so another name for this holiday is “Heroes’ Day”. This day is set aside to honor those who contributed to Kenya’s fight for independence and for anyone who has had a positive effect on Kenya post-independence. Since today was a holiday, we did not have school today. Instead, I finished marking my exams then headed to the market. I purchased all of my baking supplies for today and found some great rompers and a cute dress in the market. I then went to Nick’s house and baked over 60 cupcakes. It took me about 4 hours to bake and decorate. They turned out delicious and I hope my students like them tomorrow 😊 I then walked home to make and eat dinner before calling it a night. The power was out at my house all day because of the storm yesterday.

Tuesday

Today was such a fun day 😊 I had a relaxing morning at the house before going to school. I gave the students back their exams then helped Phanuel stamp report cards. I then worked on bracelets for a few hours while logistical things were being completed to close school. We then had our closing meeting which began with our Grassroot Soccer players receiving their certificates. We had some great posters made by one of our players and the certificates turned out so nice. The rest of the closing meeting went quickly and then we went for our GRS graduation party. The players loved the cupcakes and soda and they had a fun time dancing. The best part was when Phanuel sprayed a bottle of Coca-Cola like it was champagne 😊 After the party, I went home and went straight to sleep because the power was still out and I was exhausted.

Wednesday

I woke up and still had no power today. Because of this, all of my electronics were pretty much dead at this point. So, after organizing my house a bit and eating breakfast, I went to Nick’s house to charge everything. While there, I watched “Law and Order S.V.U.” and worked on some new friendship bracelets. It was a nice and relaxing day. Back at my house, the power was still out, so I made dinner by lamplight and went to bed.

Thursday

I was not feeling well today, so I rested for most of the day 😊

Friday

I was feeling much better today, so I went into Kisumu. My first stop was the Jumia pick-up store. Jumia is the Kenyan version of Amazon. I ordered some new nail polish and needed to pick up the package. From here, I did some clothes shopping and found a nice shirt that I can take with me on vacation. After, I went to Lakeside Café and enjoyed an iced mocha coffee before going to Lalu’s for lunch. As always, it was delicious food. From here, I headed over to Megacity Mall to do some grocery shopping before heading upstairs to the movie theater to watch the new Joker movie. Did not love or hate it, but it was much longer than I was anticipating. After the movie, I got on a matatu and headed home. At home, there was still no power, so I did a quick nighttime routine and called it a day.

Saturday

I had a relaxing and productive day today. I started off by doing a practice packing round for my November trip. I then organized all of my cabinets and did some more trip research before working out. I talked to my mom while I made dinner then spent a few hours watching “Law and Order S.V.U.” and making friendship bracelets. It was a nice way to end the night 😊

Sunday

I woke up and left the house a little before 9AM to meet up with Lauren on the tarmac. Lauren is my nearest Peace Corps Volunteer until Mary and Jack move here after they swear in. We knew we wanted to go on a long walk today, so we decided to try and find Jack’s house. The weather was perfect for walking. It was cool and cloudy and there was even a breeze. The walk to Jack’s house also had some great views! When we got to his house, the people on the compound let us in and we rested here for a while before walking back to my house.

It takes about an hour to walk to my house from his. Back at my house, we made fried rice for lunch and it turned out pretty good 😊 We also gave Nala some kitten treats because it was National Black Cat day today 🐈‍⬛ Lauren left after lunch and I spent the afternoon working on some more friendship bracelets. I watched “Gladiator” for the first time so I’ll have some context before the second movie comes out next month. The power is still out, so I’ve officially had a week of no power. This is definitely the longest the power is out, so there must be something significant that needs to be fixed.

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