There is always room for one more . . .

So I have made it back from my almost 3 weeks in Gatundu with almost no Internet and a lot of boredom. Well I survived, obviously, but not without a few bumps along the way and a few joys too.
On the same day I last updated, I began my trip back to Gatundu with Kathyrn, my roommate. We took a matatu(over crowed mini-bus) to Center City where we were meeting our neighbor, Anthony, so he could help us get back to Gatundu. We arrived about 30 minutes before Anthony arrived. While we were waiting for him to arrive a man yanked my silver cross of my neck and ran away with it. We have been told to never run after anyone or create a scene so I have no idea what to do at this point but I start crying. So i should probably state the obvious that as a white female I stick out in Kenya like a soar thumb but now I am a crying muzungu(White person). I realized quickly for my safety I should probably not draw anymore attention to myself. Probably on of the hardest things since I felt so violated and so unsafe. Soon Anthony arrived and I have never been happier to see a friendly face in my life. We began to walk through the city to where we would catch the matatu to Gatundu and as we neared the gathering place we hear a few gun shots and people running in the opposite direction. Kathryn and I throw each other very concerned glaces and say," Toni, were those guns shots???" He answers, "I think so." Oh great my day just keeps getting better is all I keep thinking. Eventually we make it back to Gatundu and I think Anthony feels so bad for us that he takes us out for dinner to get some chicken. It was an amazing meal and Anthony made us(mainly me) feel a lot safer and glad to be back home in Gatundu.
Flash forward about a week and Kathryn and I are on our normal walk into town, which is quite the treck. We are just talking and we realize that there is someone walking behind us, which is quite normal for the area since a lot of people walk to town so we don't think much of it. We are just talking and as my legs are longer than kathryns I sometimes get ahead of her and before we knew it the man behind us tried to seize the opportunity to steal Kathryns purse out of her hands. Luckily, Kathryn had a tight grip on her purse and was able to hold on to it and the man just continued to run. We then made it safely into town after the encounter.
I have to say with those encounters I am quite a bit more afraid to go outside of our school gates but I am trying to get better about it.
So that all being said there are some many other great things that I have done and so many great people. Last friday we went out on the town in Gatundu with 3 teacher friends for the first time. We had such a fabulous time. I ate Goat fry, which was interesting. The fry part was great the goat part was ok until I ate one bad piece and couldn't eat anymore. I learned that Kenyan pool is played so much differently than how we play in America but I still beat our teacher friend, Jack, at Kenyan pool.
There is also, Tyson, who runs a little shop in town. He is just the sweetest and we stop by 2 a week just to say hello and talk to him. At his shop, he has 2 kittens and a momma cat so its nice to be able to see them. his shop is small but sells so many different things. Its kinda like a general store. That is the closest I can compare it to.We also love to visit Mama Carol, who is the market lady we go to twice a week. She is always so excited to see us and usually greets us with a hug. we are also starting to become regulars at the Rhino Hotel, which is a restaurant that serves fried( not like in America but still good) chicken. All of these things we look forward to when we go into town.
So on a different note Kathryn and I discovered that during the raining season, which we are currently in, you do not want to keep you Kitchen light on at night. Why you might ask would that be? Well as it turns out bugs like to get through any crack in a window or door to get out of the rain and go towards a light. I wish I was exaggerating when I say we had about 100-200 flying bugs in our kitchen one night when we left the light on at night. I felt like it was the coming of the Locus (except they weren't locus).
Last night, the crew of YAVs with Phyllis went out to celebrate the birth of our beloved Benjamin. We ended up going to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant and had the most delicious meal. We were all so stuffed after the meal and the whole time together we just laughed and laughed.
Today is officially Halloween and in Kenya no one celebrates it so it is just another Sunday here in Africa. I am very happy though because our neighbor in Gatundu, Anthony, went on a search and found us a great pumpkin that Kathryn and I can carve tonight and place out for the girls during preps, as long as we get back to Gatundu at a decent hour. Also, I bought candy for the girls so they may have a piece or two to help us celebrate Halloween.
Well I hope all is well and everyone has a GREAT Halloween. Stay safe! :)

Simplicity . . .

Well the past two weeks or so have been quite an adventure. I was suppose to leave for my placement in Gatundu last Monday, Sept. 27. We were on our way to Gatundu when we got a call from Phyllis (Our site leader) to turn around and head back to Nairobi because the headmaster had been removed from the school and they had no idea we were coming or who we were. After a long week of doing nothing (something I have a VERY hard time doing) staying at the Baptist Guest House and quite a few ups and downs we eventually were back on our way to Gatundu to Iciciri Secondary School.

After a very pleasant Taxi ride with our favorite driver,Chris, we arrive in one of the most beautiful areas of the world I have ever seen. Gatundu is so different than Nairobi. They are almost complete opposites of each other. While Nairobi is crowded and fast paced, Gatundu is laid-back and, while still crowded, no one is pushy. It is set in the hills/mountains in the Central Province. It isn't dirty(besides all the dirt) the air is clean and fresh. The night sky has to be the most beautiful thing about Gatundu. I am so blessed to be able to see this great openness.

We arrived at the school in the middle of the school day. You would have thought we were movie stars by the way we were received. All the girls saying hello and giggling. It was very weird to experience. Everyone at the school has been more than welcoming and nice to us. We have had very little to do so far but the hope is that life in Gatundu will pick up.

Our apartment is cozy with 2 bedrooms and a separate shower and toilet.The shower is ice cold so showers are short and when we get out we have to snuggle in all of our winter clothing to get warm again. The drain in the shower apparently doesn't work really well and we learned the hard way and flooded the apartment on our second day there. I think it was a blessing in disguise since it forced us to clean the floors in the process. We tend to lose power at least once a day but at night the school runs a generator until about 10 o'clock so we are able to do things around the apt.

We are now back in Nairobi for Mid-Term break, which is about 5 days. We head back to Gatundu in the morning and I never thought I would say this but I am very happy to be heading back there. One thing I have learned to appreciate the small things now. I never knew that a hot shower would mean so much to me and I would be so grateful for one. I appreciate every moment I have to talk to Mom, Dad or Ben on the phone, the facebook messages and emails from friends, and all the great simple pleasures that God has placed in my life. So today, for me, look for some of the simple pleasures in your life and remember just how many amazing blessings God has given you!
Miss y'all and Happy Columbus Day from Kenya!