Saturday, December 3, 2011

Mbita

17/11/11

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday.  It was possibly the first birthday that didn't much feel like one, but I enjoyed the day.  Carrie and I had breakfast at the Elk; mandazi, an egg, and tea (yes, I had tea--not too bad), and then we walked to Rusinga Island, which is connected to Mbita by a causeway.  On the causeway there was a Police check and an officer called us over and welcomed us as we spoke a bit in Kiswahili, which we said we knew very little.
Just after that we met Carolyne, who invited us to the Adams Acadamy where she worked with orphans.  We agreed to meet her this morning to go there with her.  She pointed us down a street, where we found we were in neighborhoods where the children came and yelled, "Mzungu!  How are you?" to us.  I shook their hands but felt a bit shy as we were off who-knows-where with who-knows-whose children.  Eventually we turned back to the main street.  We followed it to the Little Jewels Schoool, where the children ran to the gates and greeted us.  We walked over and were asked inside.  We sang with them and then they sang to us.  We were asked insid eht school where they sang a bit more.  We left for some treats to bring back.
We went to a store and bought some candies, one bag being Obama pops.  He sure is popular here.  We caught a boda-boda (motorbike) back to the school.  They sang for us again and we photographed and videorecorded them and then gave them the treats.  School let out and many of them walked with us, holding our hands, one boy coming as far as our hotel only to turn around when we left.
We had a nice dinner in an interesting hotel and came back for a couple drinks.  We met two fellow North Americans, Kurtis from B.C. and Gabby from Boston, and had a couple beers with them and then went to bed tired.

19/11/11

On the 17th we met Carolyne in the morning and walked with her to the Adams Acadamy.  Once there, the children went crazy and came to greet us.  Even the children taking exams dropped what they were doing to come see us.  We sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and other songs with the children and listened to their songs and a couple poems.  Then we distributed the Obama pops, which were huge hits.  They were also whistle pops, which the kids discovered quickly.
Carolyne asked if we would return after lunch as it was lunch time and the children didn't want to leave because they were afraid we wouldn't return.  Our plan had been to go to Mfagano Island after seeing the school but I saw how much fun Carrie was having (I was too) and how excited the children were to have visitors so we said we would return.  We walked back for a small lunch and a coke and some passion juice--which is amazing.  Carrie left to get a couple of books to read in the afternoon.  Just before she returned, Lilian, one of the teachers, came to collect us for the afternoon.
We walked back and when the kids saw we were coming back they ran and ran around the building, laughing and shouting.  We entered, greeted them, and then sat and read the books.  The first book kept their attention, but by the second they were losing focus.  They were much more excited when Carrie would run around with them playing a form of "Simon Says."
After going outside for that we then made a circle and sang songs and played games.  They sang some of their songs, my favorite being, "I have a ball, I put it here, I play better, I play better, I play better," and we taught them the "Hokey Pokey," which they really enjoyed.  We played a game that was very similar to "Duck, Duck, Goose."  After the day we walked back with many of the chilren, Peter (the chairman), Lilian, and Carolyne.  We commited to seeing their farm/garden on Sunday after a couple days on Mfagano.
After getting back, exhausted, we realized w did not have enough money to stay until Sunday.  Lilian had offered to go with us to Mfagano and show us around and in the morning yesterday, the 18th, when she came, with Peter and Carolyne, we told them our situation, apollogizing for comitting to more than we could.  They understood and walked with us to the boat.  Carrie, Lilian, and I boarded and had a tight, uncomfortable ride, smashed onto wooden-plank seats.  It was beautiful, though, and we were happy once we reached Mfagano, after calling in to Takawiri Island first.
Once there, Lilian took us to meet her grandmother, who was upset with Lilian for not informing her there would be guests coming.  She would have prepared us food but instead gave us two Fantas and a Sprite for Lilian.  After leaving Lilian's grandmother, we stopped briefly to tour the power plant, powering Sena and possibly the whole island.  From there we carried on to where Lilian was born and sat briefly on the beach admiring the fishing boats and the lake (and the children, of course--always the children).  Then it was on to see her house where she grew up.  I snapped a photo of her and Carrie on the porch. 
After that we went to Carolyne's husband, Wilson's house.  He stayed there with his mother, whom we also met.  He prepared a lunch for us and then accompanied the three of us to the museum.  Having read nothing more about the museum except that it was there, we were surprised to hear it was Ksh 250 a person and said we couldn't afford it.  The woman offered to show us quickly for free, as we were also rushing to catch the last boat back to Mbita.  It was interesting and had some great historical artefacts.  From there we rushed to the last boat back in Sena and waited as it was late.
We caught the boat back, once it came, but were too late to see the farm.  Instead, Wilson invited us to dinner at his and Carolyne's place.  We came and brought some tea and milk to contribute as they had already given and done so much for us.  Dinner was an appetizer of bananas, pineapple, and oranges and a main course of fish, sukawiki, ugali, and another vegetable similar to the sukawiki.  It was delicious.  We ate our fill and then Syndi and Donna--their children--recited some poems and sang some songs.  As they sang their "Farewell Song," the lightning and wind really picked up and we left to not get rained upon.  Carolyne, Wilson, and Lilian walked us home and there was an incredible electrical storm over Lake Victoria.  We made it home before the rain and went to bed.

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