I don’t know where to begin tonight so much has happened since I last wrote. My internet modem stick has been dropping me so much lately, that I’ve had a hard time staying online.
I’ll backtrack to last Friday. I took school off last Friday so I could go into town and shop with Grace to buy her family some clothes and to go to a wood carving shop. Kenneth was going to take us. As the day went on, he said he wasn’t going to be able to go because of other business here. By the time he told me that, it was too late to try to go to school, so I just hung out for the day and didn’t do much.
Saturday morning, Kenneth was going to pick us up at 9:00. I had now decided that it might be smart to have Samuel with us because he knows Mombasa better than we do. The time got pushed back to 10:00, and then Kenneth again decided he couldn’t go until later in the afternoon. I had to be home by 4:00 to catch the school bus to go to Ternet’s village, so that wouldn’t work.
Ultimately, Samuel and Grace convinced me to take a matatu into town. It’s about a 45 min. ride just from here to the ferry, then we’d have to get on the ferry with a mob of people, and catch another matatu on the other side. That was SO NOT appealing to me! Samuel said he’d be my bodyguard and also make sure that I got into the front seat of the matatus. I finally consented. We left here about 11:30.
It wasn’t quite as bad as I expected going in. In fact, it was much more comfortable to sit up on the top deck of the ferry and feel the ocean breeze rather than sitting in a sweltering car with no air. Once we got off the ferry, it was kind of fun to walk around where all the little carts and vendors were and even through a small park rather than observing it through a car window like I’ve always done.
At the park by the ocean close to ferry.
Catching the matatu in Mombasa, crossing the streets, and shopping were a bit more adventurous. Grace or Samuel would even take my hand (like leading a little child) to help me cross the street or to keep me out of any perils. It was really quite endearing. They both tried to protect me from everything that could possibly harm me.
The worst part was going back across the ferry. All the people have to stand on the sides in a gated area until the cars are loaded. If the gate gets closed at the back of the people and you aren’t inside, you have to wait until the next ferry. We were inside the gate when all of a sudden the whole crowd just started pushing and shoving. I literally felt myself moved by the crowd with no way to stop or control it. I was completely pinned in by people. Samuel stayed directly behind me, and Grace directly in front of me. Nonetheless, that was really scary to me! I thought, “This is exactly how people get trampled and die in mass hysteria!” I DO NOT want to repeat that experience!!! Apparently, that’s what happens when they are trying to shut the gates. People shove and push to get inside the gate before it closes.
We only had time to shop for Samuel’s family. Even so, I just barely made it home in time to wash my feet, change my shoes, wipe off my sweat, and head off to the bus stop for Ternet’s house.
Ternet’s village was most enjoyable. I’ve made a video of what I saw there, but for some reason, it won’t download onto my blog. Does anyone know if there are constraints on how long a video can be to download to blogspot? It’s almost 15 mins. long. I probably should have made it into two parts. I think I’ll hold off on telling you about it until I decide there’s no way I can download it.
Sunday, Samuel went to church with us again. This time, they had a TV set up and we watched the Saturday morning session of General Conference. Then, the women went off to Relief Society while the men sat through two more hours of the Priesthood session. We ended up leaving before it was totally over. That was a very long day! We left at 8:30 and got home after 3:00. They’re doing that again next Sunday. We may just stay home and watch it on my laptop.
Later on Sunday, I took the clothes for Samuel’s kids over to their house to surprise them. They were so excited. It was really cute to watch them. It was like Christmas. I had them close their eyes and put their hands out in front of them. I placed their outfits on each of their hands before I would let them open their eyes. I had already given Samuel his new white shirt (for church) and Grace her maternity dress. The kids got into their new clothes, ran outside, and started twirling around in excitement. Here is a picture of all of the in their new clothes.
It’s been a really crazy day. I think I’ll stop for tonight and finish this tomorrow.
Sleep well,
Kadi
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