Each day has been its own adventure

I can't believe I haven't even been here a week; I feel like I already have a lifetime of stories to tell. Each day has been its own adventure that would make an epic story. I will try to fll you in quickly becuase I am waiting for one of the villiage elders, named Wambu, to pick us up to go on a day safari. This place is remarkably beautiful. The landscape is green and lush with small mountains in the distance. However, it is the sky that take my breath away. The sky looks like it goes on forever here! I have been waking up early to milk Emily. Funny story, I was milking emily and she was not happy with me and the African with me who was teaching me said, "She is mad becuase you are wasting her time." I didn't know I could waste a cows time, but I did becuase I am so bad at milking her. After Emily I have tea with the girls at the orphanage and then we all go to chapel to sing for about an hour. After chapel the adventures begin. I have gone into other villages where women carry bundles on their head or buckets of water that will be used for the day. We are so lucky to have a well here at our desposal. They say we are "wealthy in water" here.

At the end of the day I go running with some of the boys at the orphanage on the villiage roads that are all nameless. One of the boys named, Titus, ran me for 6 miles the other day! It is funny running with the Africans because I am like a celebrity when I run through the villiage. Since I am one of the only, if not the only, white person they have seen people drop what they are doing or come out of their house just to see the Muzungo (or white person). I run and I hear people say Muzungo and point. The same thing happens when we take public transportation. You'd think we were like Paris Hilton in America! Haha. The other day a boy saw us walking towards him on the road and bowed at our feet saying "white man, white man." It was a little awkward to say the least. Yesterday we drove into the city to get supplies for the oven and we thought the gas gauge was broken...it wasn't. We ran out of gas and everyone on the street watched all these muzungos pushing the car with me steering. It was hilarious, you'd think it was a 4th of July parade. I also saw two cobras yesterday and a tranchula when we went to buy bricks for the oven.

This coming week will be spent building the ovens becuase we now have all the supplies. We have been eating some interesting things here. We usually have rice and beans but we eat a lot of Andazi, Champati, and Ugali. All of which are pretty flavorless but we definitely dont go hungry. Yesterday, I ate goat....I wouldn't reccomend it but you eat what you are served here and if you dont it is an insult. I was in Eastleigh this week and had something that made me really sick but there are no public restrooms anywhere. I found one that I had to pay for and they gave me two squares of toilet paper to use. I got inside and waited in line for awhile wondering why the women carried buckets of water into the stalls. I followed lead and found out that you do your business on the ground and then take the bucket to wash everything into a small hole. I will never forget having the runs on a floor in Eastleigh...worst experience....best story.

Okay well I could keep writing but I have to go. Wambu is taking us on a safari and then we are having dinner at his house. Oh so here in the villiage they still have dowrys for marriage. One of the leaders at the orphanage told me he had to give the mother and father of his wife eight cows and two goats! Crazy! Anyway, I love this place. It has already been an adventure of a lifetime.

Jessica