Break month travels.

I think in my last post I was lamenting the fact that it would be a whole month before I see my kids again. Thankfully the break months here always go rather fast, because I end up being so darn busy.

School ended earlier than expected (I shouldn't have really expected anything though) and I had to say goodbye to a lot of the kids, while about 40 of them stayed behind to go to games. They practiced by themselves at school for a while, then on the 9th they were bused down to Mtwapa, where the special school is where they were hosting deaf game provincials for Coast this year. Mom got here on the 7th, and though she wasn't prepared for the heat of the coast, she still followed me all the way to games one day while my kids were at provincials. They all played fabulously (as they always do, I think) and actually won a lot of their games. They were told before provincials that 30 of them would be going to Nairobi for nationals, but unfortunately when the it came time to pick the kids for the Coast national team, it was Kwale (a primary deaf school in south coast) who was in charge of the picking, so it was the Kwale kids who got picked. So some of my kids got to go to Nairobi, but definitely not as many as we had first thought, and a lot of my best players weren't chosen. Ah, the beauty of helping out only yourself and your people.

Anyways, so Mom and I hung around Kilifi for a week, even though it was way too hot for her, and I tried to take her to all the breeziest, coolest places in town. I also took her to Kate's village, Takaungu, and she bought lots of bags from the sewing ladies that Kate's NGO supports. We went snorkeling one day which ended up being very nice and refreshing and the next day jumped on a bus to Nairobi (the timing worked out because I had to be there for Peace Corps work, and Mom had just about had enough of the heat of the coast). Though I wasn't technically in Nairobi for it, it was the new Education group's IST, where they all come back after their first term teaching and talk about what went wrong and how to improve. It's crazy to think it's been a year since my IST, and even crazier to think I might actually be termed a seasoned veteran at this whole 'Peace Corps' thing.

Nairobi was cold as always, but we did manage to get some work done. Amanda and I and the other secondary deaf ed-ers are trying to work on a project to streamline signs for Math, Bio, Chem, and Physics, because true KSL doesn't really have signs for most words in those subjects anyways. We got done what we could and I will be working with my kids next term on signs for Math and Physics, taking videos and pictures of all the signs, and hopefully going back to NRB to continue the project at the office.

While in Nairobi I also got to go to nationals for deaf games, and see my kids who actually did get picked to play, even with all the favoritism that went on. Though we were only there for a morning before we had to get back to the office to supposedly continue work, it was fabulous to see my kids again, and even tons of other kids from other deaf schools this side of Nairobi who I'd met before at Model School or Camp GLOW or something. I recognized way more than I could put a name and sign name too, but they all recognized me right away, so I spent a lot of time getting reintroduced to everyone. Even so, it was still wonderful just to be with deaf kids again, and feel totally at home again, right where I'm supposed to be.

Mom didn't want to throw herself back into the heat again, so she changed her ticket to fly out of Nairobi and left on Saturday and got back safe and sound yesterday morning. I had told my host family from Loitokitok that I would bring Mom and come and see them this month, but since Mom left a little bit early, I resigned to go alone and see them. I've been away from Kilifi and my pakas for over a week now, and REALLY want to get back, but I made a promise to my host fam that I'd come back so I had to follow through. So I'm currently sitting on the little bed that I slept in all of training, while the wonderful kids I lived with are all still running around screaming like always. Everyone is a whole year and a half older now though personality-wise no one has changed. Mama is still the same, always laughing, Paul is still running Baba's old carpentry shop and just bought himself the oldest truck I have ever seen, Trizzah is married with a baby in Nairobi, Anne is still sweet and always doing house chores, Henry is still as cute as ever and still giving me a hard time about being mzungu, and Monicah and Margaret are still gorgeous and have thoroughly missed playing with my hair. Luckily for them it's grown out A LOT since training - even with a haircut at Christmas - so they have a lot more to work with now.

So today we're just relaxing and hanging out and much to Mama's dismay, I will leave tomorrow to head back to Kilifi. Assuming I get back ok (haven't traveled from Loitokitok to the coast in a LONG time) I'll have a few days to relax and hang out with my kittens until Camp GLOW starts on Sunday. Though I'm not technically a counselor this time (like I was last August in Kisumu) I've nominated four of my own girls and the camp itself is five minutes from my house in Kilifi. So whether they like it or not, Shub will be a regular presence for that week. Then the next week is when school is supposed to start and lo and behold my kids come back to me again :) Which also means I'm that much closer to saying goodbye to them :(

I have lots of pictures from this month off, and will definitely take more before the term begins again, but they are all on my camera and I unfortunately left the usb cable in Kilifi. So I'll post those a little bit later this week after I get home.

Hope everything is great stateside - missing everyone all the time.

Cheers and happy April!

~ Shub out :)