PCV in Kenya: Weeks 54 & 55

Thursday ~ Boxing Day

Laura and I arrived back in Kenya from our Malaysia and Singapore trip around 2AM this morning. To pass time in the Nairobi airport until our 6AM flight, we had a snack in a café. Checking in to our next flight went smoothly and we were soon landing in Kisumu around 7AM. We got a tuktuk from the airport into town so that we could enjoy breakfast at Java House. I enjoyed an omelet and iced mocha coffee before we walked to the Peace Corps office to drop off our bags and change into new clothes. We had been traveling for over 24-hours so this was necessary :) Our next stop was Masai Market. I finally found a beaded headband! I’ve been looking for one for a few months now so this was a fun find. After shopping, we headed to Acacia for massages. It was so nice (thank you Laura’s mom)! From here, we went to Backyard Patio for lunch and met up with Seamus . I enjoyed a pizza and a boba drink. At the end of lunch, Seamus revealed he was my secret Santa and he gifted me a charcoal portrait of me. I was so shocked and he did such a wonderful job! After lunch, Laura and I went back to the office to pick up our bags then shared a tuktuk back to the matatu mainstage where we went our separate ways. My ride home went well. As soon as I got home, I moved Nala’s things back into my house. Archer and Gladys and all their children are home for the holidays, so I enjoyed dinner with them before heading to sleep.  

Friday

I started the day off with Java House cake for breakfast before deep cleaning my house. Due to my late start in the day and the amount of cleaning I did, this took me almost all day. I took a break for lunch to enjoy my leftover pizza from Backyard Patio and for dinner I enjoyed the spring rolls Martina made 😊

Saturday

I woke up early so I could have all of my dirty clothes, bedding, and couch covers ready to be washed. I then got ready and headed over to Mary’s house so I could pick up my bike! On my bike ride back to my house, I ran into Phanuel, one of my co-workers from school. We chatted a bit and it was nice to start seeing some familiar faces today. Back at my house, I worked on some other blogs and checked in on some paperwork for Peace Corps. For dinner, I made mac and cheese while watching “Law and Order: S.V.U.”.

Sunday

I started my day off with a coffee while eating pancakes. I then worked on my Casablanca blog. Around lunchtime, I got dressed and headed out to mingle with the people outside. Today, Archer organized a meeting with many of his relatives that live near us to discuss their rental chair and tent business. His older sister and her children also came. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone. It felt like any family gathering back at home and it was really nice. I ate lunch and dinner with everyone and Martina made a delicious spice cake!

Monday

Today marks one week until we go back to school! I started my day with café con leche and pancakes before doing some research for what trips I want to take during my last two breaks of the school year 😊 I then rode my bike to the market for Monday market day. The bike is such a game changer. I left it in one of my friend’s shops and walked around to purchase a few things. I also left some kitenge with the tailor to make some things for my dad, brother, and grandpa. I rode my bike back home and had a peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwich for lunch. I then got back on my bike and headed to Mary’s so I could drop her off a few things to take into Kisumu. After, I biked to Nick’s house to pick up two cookie cutters so I can make Christmas sugar cookies tomorrow 😊 I headed home from here. Back at the house, I called and talked to my Grandpa and my Grams. They both also talked to Mama Gladys. It was so fun to have them interact with each other. For dinner, I made the spicy ramen that I had picked up in Malaysia for dinner. It was advertised as the 7th spiciest ramen in the world. I didn’t think it was that hot, but the flavor was delicious.

Tuesday ~ New Year’s Eve

I began the day with a cup of apple tea from the spices I brought home from Turkey. I then watched an episode of “Law and Order: S.V.U.” while working on a Sudoku puzzle. After this, I started the process of making Christmas sugar cookies. This took me so much longer than I was anticipating but everything turned out very yummy. I first made the dough and icing and let this cool down in the refrigerator while I packed my bag for tomorrow. Once my packing was finished, I worked on rolling out the dough and cutting the cookie shapes. It was then time to bake the cookies. I think it took me about 7 batches to use all of the dough. Mama Gladys brought home an oven when she came for the holidays, so I was able to use her oven 😊 While my cookies were baking, I ate a late lunch with Mama Gladys. All the cookies were finished around 4PM and then I got to work decorating them with icing and sprinkles. This took me at least two hours, so I called Aunt Rhonda during the process to catch up with her while I worked. I finished around 7PM and called it a night shortly after.

Wednesday ~ New Year’s Day

I began the new year by waking up at 5:30AM so that I could leave the house by 6:30AM. I caught a matatu to Kisumu then met up with Sophie, Rikki, and Lucas to take a matatu to Kakamega. The original plan was to go to the bull fights, but they got rescheduled. So, we enjoyed a day in Kakamega town instead. We met up with Seamus and Laura and headed to the Kakamega Golf Hotel for some drinks. We then made a stop at the local supermarket for dinner food before enjoying lunch at Columbus Café. From here, we took a matatu to Sophie’s house and had a great time playing games and catching up with each other to end the day.

Thursday

We had a nice slow start to the day with coffee and a potato and egg stir fry. Around 10AM, we left Sophie’s house to go back to our own sites. Rikki and Laura left with me and we were all on the same matatu until we split up in Luanda. It took me a total of 5 hours to get back to my house today which is so much longer than it usually takes. Before walking from the road to my house, I did my grocery shopping in the market. Back at the house, I delivered Christmas cookies to a few of my neighbors then rested because this morning of travel took all my energy. Around 6PM, I visited with Mama Gladys and we had a good laugh because we thought the other person was out of town. So, we were getting nervous about the sounds coming from each other’s houses. For dinner, I had avocado and egg toast before showering. After I was clean, I applied the food peel mask I purchased in Malaysia. I had to leave it on for an hour, so I watched “Law and Order: S.V.U.” while I waited.

Friday

I had coffee and Christmas cookies to start my day off (breakfast of champions). I then spent some time catching up on my journaling and researching safaris. For lunch, I made walking tacos then got to work on my Marrakech & Sahara Desert blog (coming soon). This took me into the afternoon and I then got to work on making week one activities for my students. After this, I made mac and cheese for dinner to end the day 😊

Saturday

I finished off the last of the Christmas cookies for breakfast then spent the morning painting my toes and fingers. I did a blue/green color on both, but on my fingers, I added a sheer shimmer powder I purchased in Malaysia. It’s always fun to use a new nail product 😊 in the afternoon, I watched “Law and Order: S.V.U.” and worked on my first 25 x 25 megasudoku puzzle. I love these! It is much more challenging than the regular 9 x 9 ones so it will take me longer to complete. I then did some dishes before picking up the house a bit and making shakshuka for dinner. I watched some of “Veep” to end the day.

Sunday

I woke up at 7AM so I had enough time to enjoy coffee and breakfast before leaving the house at 8:30AM. I waited for Elma (my language tutor) at the matatu stage and all the regular guys were there. One of them had a checkers game set up, so I asked to play and he agreed 😊 We played two games and ended 1-1. We gathered an audience while we were playing and I really enjoyed this unexpected moment this morning. Elma arrived soon after our second game and we drove to her church, St. Luke’s Luoro ACK Church. I attended two services: one for secondary age students and another for the adults. We then ate lunch with all the kids and I met some of Elma’s church friends. I had a great time here today! I headed home around 3PM and Mary came over around 5PM. She brought me some things from Kisumu and she took some of my give away clothes which was great. I ended the night by enjoying the pack of goldfish I brough home from Malaysia 😊

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