As an effort to keep Dave off my back I will report again on the topic of my daily life.
I work at MTI from Monday-Thursday 7:30 – 5. I wake up between 5-5:30, do my morning routine then out the gate. I first greet one of the family members running the shop across the street which sells all the area staples (flour, dried beans, rice, tomatoes etc. As we talk, John and James, 3-year-old twins, recklessly climb atop the fruits and vegetables to reach through the steel bars to shake my hand. Then I greet the men, women and children wrapped in towels or conga’s, who are brushing their teeth using a plastic cup of water as they spit along the roadsides. Others are walking out to the main road, where I greet Musa, the village elder who manages the public toilet/government assisted water dispensary. 95% of the residents have no running water, so daily they are fetching 10 and 20 liters’ of water using plastic Jeri cans . The water is not fresh, a salty one from a bore hole. The price 1 shilling- 10 liters, 5shillings for use of toilet and 15 for shower. One shilling is equivalent to cent. Fresh water is brought in twice a week and sold at 50 shillings for 20 liters.
I proceed along the narrow main road hustling along the people who are pushing to work, taking the kids dressed in uniforms to school, women frying African mdhaze (triangular pastries), battered potato cubes and chapatti (thin fried flatbread) which some purchase for breakfast. Single files of people on both sides of the road, walking through trash and dirt, smoke from the burning piles on the roadside all the while cautioning the motorcycles, matatu’s (14 passenger public transit vans) and trucks speeding between. The children bashfully smile as I greet them or shake their hand. Some adults smile and say Jambo, others maintain a blank stare ahead.
I usually make it a habit to come home after work and be locked in by 6:00. Due to the increased activity of gangs, security in the area has been of concern. I will admit though that I am exhausted by the time I arrive home.
For dinner, I eat fruit, yogurt peanuts and raisins or occasionally local dishes that I prepare for the guard. Fresh ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon and hot peppers are abundant, so I have had fun creating my versions on the local cuisine.
Week- ends are varied. I walk the 2 miles stretch to a shopping center to purchase groceries, banking and errands or sometimes the 5 miles walk into the city. I try to only go to town once per month, combining all my appointments and errands, because it is exhausting fighting the crowds, traffic and noise. Matatu’s are my main means of transpiration. They are packed and hot, people climbing over one another getting in and out along the way. It is a constant battle fighting to get a fair price being that I am a white person. In fact, I have slipped at my tongue a few times with the conductors when they look at me and tell me the higher price. The rides can be a hoot though! The roads are only 2 lanes but depending on the traffic I have seen them form up to 6 lanes. These guys rule the road, constantly pass on either side and weave in and out. They do not yield for anyone or anything. There are thousands of these vans all competing with one another.
This morning I am in anticipation for Jeremy Brewer to arrive tomorrow for a visit! Saturday I will be preparing to host our monthly Maryknoll meeting on Sunday morning.