Life is fabulous and full of fun and excitement lately!
I headed out to my old site of Matayos about a week ago to visit old friends and students. It was so good to see everyone and they all missed me very much. Everyone called me Nekesa again which was a trip. I stayed in an orphanage with my old students and visited my supervisor and counterpart during the day. My counterpart had a new baby so it was so fun to play with her. The trip overall was good for me because I felt like I finally got some closure since they rushed me out of there so fast before. I feel like I’m where I’m suppose to be in Bomet now and the whole move was a good thing.
Anyway so from there, me, along with 20 other volunteers, took a bus to Jinja, Uganda to white water raft on the Nile River! I repeat, The NILE RIVER! The hostel we stayed in had nine person bunk rooms, a bar and a bungee jump! The next day we got into groups of 7 to raft down the Nile! The rapids were about class 4 mostly with a few class 5s. It was sick! We flipped twice. The first time was really scary because the waves were so massive it was hard to orientate myself and I got kicked in the chest, but by the second flip, we felt like pros. They treated us to a nice lunch half way down and then it was back to rapids.
The day wasn’t over though, after rafting, we were all ready to party and celebrate our feat! There was an upside down canoe strapped to the ceiling of the hostel and you could get up in it and take a shot upside down so we all took our turns. After, a few of us wanted to go out so we grabbed a ride to another bar. I was dancing with my friend Hannah and there are so many white people at this bar, I say “hey I bet Peace Corps Uganda people must be here somewhere”. So Hannah and I start yelling “who’s Peace Corps?!” and eventually someone raises their hand haha! So she introduces us to the rest of the volunteers she’s with. Now I have met Peace Corps Volunteers in 4 countries this year (Kenya Peace Corps is the best looking).
The next day we wake up bright and early so those who want to can bungee jump 145ft into the Nile River. They even dip you in! Since I had done the one in South Africa, I decided to save my money and just watch, but it looked like so much fun! After the jumping, a few of us decided to go drive ATV Quadbikes…I was all bragging about how good of a driver I am etc etc, when it turns out…I was a disaster on those things! Around the first turn, I smacked into a tree! Then I went into a ladies farm! So by that point, I decided it may be better if I go with the guide on his bike ha! It was still so much fun going with him because it began raining and he would slip and slide the bike all over the muddy path. We were literally going through African bush while children ran to the road to wave to us as we flew by on the quad bikes. A few other people got hurt pretty bad on the bikes…I can’t believe they just let anyone ride these.
That night we all went out to celebrate by treating ourselves to amazing Indian Food in Jinja. It was so great hanging with all the other volunteers who I don’t get to see very often. After dinner, a few of us went out to a local club where we danced the night away. It really was an amazing trip.
Back in Kenya, we spent a night in Kisumu, by far my favorite city in Western, Kenya. We danced, ate delicious food and reflected on Uganda. I truly hope I get a chance to go back and spend more time in Uganda. It was really beautiful and super green. Uganda was officially my 11th African country! And when my dad comes in June, Tanzania will be my 12th.
I’m happy to be back at site and listen to the rain once again on the tin roof of my house. It’s been cold here compared to Western Kenya and it’s hard to get use to again. I miss electricity. Today I baked banana raisin bread with my neighbor and then taught her how to make paper beads. Next week I’ll be working on the maternity ward budget mainly because there is no school. And then I’ll be back in Nairobi over the weekend for a GAD (Gender and Development Committee) meeting.
Anyway, miss you all back home and am thinking of you often! I’ve felt a real disconnect to home lately, so thank you to those of you who have supported me so much with your emails, letters and packages. I can’t explain how much it means to me.
Much Love
Chepkosgei
I forget how I found this blog, maybe through the facebook group. But it's really interesting to hear about your experiences. I was a PCV in Kenya, 03-05. I lived in Kisumu for about a year and then moved to Mulot, just a little east of Bomet. Bomet was one of the "big" towns I'd visit to get food that wasn't available in Mulot. Narok was my favorite though.
ReplyDeleteMy group also did the Nile trip just after mid service training or what ever it was called. I'm forgetting all the PCV lingo. Anyway, this brings back great memories. - Brad