I didn’t have a great sleep last night so I really struggled to keep my eyes open during class. Luckily, one of our Ethiopian friends shared some Ethiopian coffee with us during our tea break. This is the first coffee I have had since leaving home. Although Kenyan coffee is considered the second best in the world, it is too expensive for the Kenyans to drink. The government has their hand in the pocket of this industry as well as any others that are successful. They skim off most of the profits and leave the farmers struggling for survival. I was told that very recently the farmers rose up against the government and decided to burn their own crops in protest to the government interference in their industry so there is actually a shortage of coffee in Kenya now. My Ethiopian friends told me that their coffee is considered the best in the world. In Ethiopia they drink coffee regularly and I must say it was wonderful coffee. It was very sweet even without sugar and had no harsh or bitter tones to it at all. I am voting that we go to Ethiopia for our outreach so that we can enjoy this coffee daily.
After lunch, Eleanor allowed me to skip my hospitality duties so that I could go to Machakos to purchase a sim card for my computer. One of the staff on the baser has been trying to get a modem for Antonia and I all week but found that they were sold out at the store that sold them for a reasonable rate. Boniface, a staff member from the Masi tribe, offered to take Joelle and I into the city. We went on the base’s motorcycle (piki piki) up to the first town where we parked the bike and hopped on the public transportation. This was an interesting experience. The drivers never pass up anyone at a bus stop, no matter how full the bus is or how loudly the passengers complain. I was sitting on my seat by the door when the guy who collects the money and opens and shuts the doors, entered the bus seat first and sat on my seat. I slithered off it and ended up between 2 seats with a quarter of a cheek on each. Later we stopped for another passenger and all got jammed together a little more so that it really did not matter that I had no seat to sit on as I was being suspended in the air by the bodies that were jammed against mine. A policeman sternly looked in the window of our mutatu, because it was overfilled, so the door boy jumped out and paid him some bribe money and then we happily continued on our way.
Once in the city, with a population of 500,000, we walked for miles and miles with everyone staring at us as we were the only white people I saw there. All the women were dressed in skirts and dresses and Joelle and I were in our jeans. Joelle is in her 20’s so she looks cute no matter what but I felt really ugly with my dirty straight hair plastered to my face. Some of the 20 year olds are starting to wear jeans in Africa and have a very western look to them but you never see older people in jeans outside of Nairobi.
We went to a bank that was just gorgeous with its marble floors and grand structure. There was a long line-up and we were trying to get Joelle to the hospital for tests since she had been quite violently ill one night and was still feeling a little under the weather. Boniface new the guard at the bank, so he gave him a small bribe to put Joelle at the front of the line so we could get off to the hospital. We ended up taking a motorcycle to the hospital. It was actually a very nice facility and I do not think I would have any problem going there for tests if it becomes necessary in the future. We picked up some fruit & veggies for smoothies that we are making ourselves each day and then got some modems for our computers and mosquito nets for our beds. We got back on the bike around 6:30, just as the sun was disappearing once again.
We were served a great meal of cabbage that night with ugali (a staple here made of corn flour) and a piece of watermelon for dessert. When we are lucky enough to get a plate full of veggies like this it is a real treat.
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