A broad volunteering, part 4

Hi family!

I feel like I have so much to write about, but I'll try to keep it short. Safari last weekend was incredible -- so, so, so great. I have pictures but have to re-size them and I think I am just going to do a Flikr account, since pictures of animals are pretty boring unless you were there. But, for realsies, it was such a good weekend, tops as one of the best. I've seen pictures of safari, but it's absolutely an entirely different experience when you are there. It helped that I had perfect weather and a good group of people to go with and, yes, I did listen to Out of Africa on my ipod a wee bit. We were in the Masai land, so we visited a Masai village which was pretty cool. Lots of flies and cow dung, but the kiddos were sweet and we got to try some of their brewed beer -- pretty good! I'll post pictures later.

We are dipping into the rainy season here and it's rained almost every night. This means a few things: 1) The walk to work is even more precarious, and guess who only packed white sneakers? Dumbass. However, the rain does make everything greener, so the walk is even prettier. It's green on green on green! 2) Flies! There are these flies that are harmless but have huge wings that look like maple seeds and the other night hundreds of them came into our house. It was super gross, they were everywhere, and we had to put a towel under our bedroom door to keep them out. They die easy, but oh my gosh, they were everywhere. You should have seen our shower. and 3) Driving in a matatu is even scarier, if at all possible. They don't alter their driving whatsoever and I'm tempted to send out a memo about hydroplaning.

Work is going well. School is out for a month, so today all of the non-orphans went home. I was a little concerned about school being out, as I'm there to teach (even if I don't get to do it a lot) but now that I know it's a smaller group, I'm excited to do projects with them. Not just school projects, but art and even just games. It's difficult to organize things with so many children, so this should be fun. Us girls are having a little bit of an issue with work, as we sometimes feel like they over-work us. I should say they over-work Josefa and Lee more than me, as I get to be in the classroom for much of the day, but now that I'm not I know how they feel. It's just a lot of dishes and laundry (which is pretty nasty.. right by the cow and goats and it's putrid smelling) and picking kale and sorting beans, and we are happy to do it, but when they are just sitting around watching us it becomes frustrating. They are paid to work there, but it seems like they often has us to their work rather than finds other things for us to do -- and trust me, there is plenty we could think of. Yesterday we hit our breaking point when we were invited to go to a funeral (Zach's, the little boy I mentioned before -- a real fan-favorite, and everyone calls him Mama -- grandmother died). They (Joyce and Hannah) were adamant that we meet them at 10, to which they were an hour late, and standing on the street for an hour in hot weather and jeering locals is not fun, and then after the longest service ever they brought us to the reception, only to tell us to do the dishes. For the entire reception. It was just totally manipulative of her (Joyce is the main culprit) and I almost said something, but it didn't feel like it was the right place. So the three of us squatted on the ground, each with a tub in front of us and did all of the dishes while the women sat around us and watched. We had worn our nice clothes and sandals (and we don't have a lot of them) and they were muddy by the end. It may not seem like a big deal, but it just encompassed so much of our frustration. I don't care what culture you are a part of, you do not employ the guests do do the dishes for an entire reception simply because they are volunteers. And it's not a matter of being part of a different culture, it is rude and not acceptable. The fact that many of the women allow, or make us, do their work just shows their lack of concern for the orphanage. More and more I think Kenya is the way it is because the people allow it to be this way. It's filthy because they unabashedly litter and many of them are poor because they are simply so inefficient. Also, it's shocking how corrupt so many of the volunteer organizations are. Even VICDA -- we are all concerned about where our money goes to. I could go on for a while, but don't really want to until I get a better feel for my opinions.

Anyway, as far as being here goes, I am loving it more and more. Today felt really good and, while I certainly get my bouts of homesickness and July feels like an eternity away, for now I am happy. I love the children so much and can't wait to get more control over my time spent at the orphanage. This weekend we are doing an Olympics day with the boys at the rehabilitation center, where other volunteers I live with work at. And Sunday is our Easter feast -- I'm really excited for it :)

Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure. Mostly just showing where I live and work!



Me in front of the volunteer house

Our driveway

Walking to work (Josefa and Lee)

I can't seem to get this to go the right way, but this is the last hill we walk up at the end of the day. It's much steeper than it looks, and when it's muddy... oh boy.

Look, Ma! An African tree! (Still on the walk to work)

Jump ropes! What a mess that was giving them out. It was like a stampede, I was nervous it was a bad idea bringing them in, but it ended well. This is the front of the orphanage's grounds.

Classroom. That's Francis peeping his head up. He started giggling when he realized I was sneaking a picture of them.

Teresia!!! Oh, I love her.

We are going to be doing a lot of painting and cleaning over the next couple of days, as Marilia hopes to have her renovation done for next Tuesday (and then we get to have a party!) and I'm so, SO excited to see how it turns out. These kiddos need it. I wish you all could meet them.

Happy birthday to Mary, Mojo, and Cyrus!! Love you tons, and thank you mothers for the pictures, I loved them :)

I'm out, fam!

xoxo Lisette

ps - I'm not a big fan of the title I've set for these pots. I came up with it quickly when I first posted in that shotty internet cafe -- any ideas for a new one?