Thanks to Peace Corps, I ended up on a free flight to Kenya, and two months later, thanks to a lot of general happenstance, ended up in Kilifi, which I know now is the one of the best little places in the world. Peace Corps Kenya, though I've stayed in constant contact with administration throughout, and continually worked with PCKenya on a number of different projects and initiatives, has become less and less about Peace Corps, and more and more about just living the wonderful life I have in Kilifi. That's not to say I don't recognize Peace Corps' importance in all this anyways - if it weren't for them, I would never have even imagined a place like this existed, or that I could love it so much.
I've spent two years making some of the closest friends I could ever ask for, and forming the most incredible relationships with my students. If it weren't for Peace Corps, I would never have met my kids, who, Kilifi deafness, PC, and novelty of living in Africa aside, are still the most fabulous bunch of people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I have relied on them for two years to keep me happy and keep me going, and they've fulfilled that responsibility to no end. I've learned so much from them, so much that they'll never even realize they taught me. They've spent the last two years just being themselves and, what I know now is, that's all I've ever needed.
Life here can be SO unbelievably complicated sometimes, but the majority of the time, life is easy and simple and happy. As is known about Africa and the developing world, people here worry less about material things, and more about things that really seem important. Ground flour from maize in the shamba, milk from the goats and cows, hanging clothes out to dry, carrying water for your bath, and slaughtering your own chickens, all seem to me like things that are supposed to be done. There's so many other wonderful ways of life that I never imagined before coming to Kenya, and I've been lucky enough to be a part of this one on the coast. Not to say when I get back stateside I won't thoroughly enjoy my hot showers, cold milk and cereal, and luxury of a washing machine, but I know for a fact that I love living here. Life here is more just about everyone being together, enjoying each other's company, and when it comes to my group of Kilifi friends, making and eating a lot of really good food. With my kids it's just about each other's company, because the food could always be improved a little bit (however I've become extremely attached to ugali and mchicha).
That being said, my life in Kenya is not over. My life in the Peace Corps is coming to a close, but Kilifi has made too much of an impression for me not to return here. I will, without a doubt, be back here next August at the very latest, for a very important and exciting wedding, one of probably four that I'll be at next year. And whether or not that turns into staying here for even longer, or going back to the US for a job or school, is yet to be determined. What's nice to know is that I have the option to come back here. I guess we'll just have to see what happens and how I feel when I'm back. All I know right now is that I'm gonna miss Kilifi, my group of friends here, and my kids more than anything in the world. Hmpfh.
I've been on duty this week at school, which means, even though I do like going into town and meeting up with the gang, I get to be at school with my kids all week :) Last night was movie night, the second to last movie night I'll ever have with them, and I showed The Mask. Boy did they love it. They've been asking for Transformers 3 but I've told them I want to save it for last because they're gonna love it so much. Next weekend won't be easy.
I've been trying to find a way to properly explain to all my kids what they mean to me. I can tell my friends here fairly easily, because they get stuff like that. But my kids are a different story. I can sign to them right now just as fluently as I'm writing this post, but even in English it's hard to express how I feel about them, and how I feel about leaving them. There's also an aspect of emotional attachment that I think a lot of them don't really grasp, only because they've never had the opportunity to feel that way about anyone, or been exposed to someone else feeling that way about them, or just recognized either of those situations. It's not a bad thing; just different. Not to say they don't love, or can't, but maybe it's just a different kind of love, and they have different ways of expressing it .... hard to explain.
Either way, I'm gonna try my absolute best to tell them next weekend just how much they mean to me. And I'm going to try to do it without crying. Easier said than done.
This post is getting pretty wordy... Some quick updates on the following month to come, and then pics :)
The last movie night will be next weekend, which will be after a big ceremony thing at school to open the new girls' dorms, and immediately followed by a music night party thing in Kilifi. The week after that is the week that we close school :( and I think the kids should be going home around the 23rd. The 24th is our augmented Saturday Thanksgiving, since most everybody here is busy with work on Thursdays. I'll be making a HUGE turkey, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, salad, and those will hopefully (considering the number of people I've got coming to this) be accompanied by a lot of other good dishes. That next Sunday the 25th I've gotta get my butt up to Machakos for the start of Model School for the new group, that really scary week towards the end of training when you practice teaching for the first time. I'll help with that for the week in Machakos, then need to head to Nairobi to actually close my service. We have to take one final language exam, close our bank accounts and other administrative stuff, and then I'll need at least half a day to say goodbye to everyone in the office. After COS I'll be heading back to the coast on the 6th of December, and that weekend is supposedly some sort of goodbye thing for me, though we're all sort of in denial about it. The week after that will be my last in Kenya for a few months so I will need to spend some time just being around and seeing everyone. I also want to head down south coast for a day or two and visit some friends there. Then on the 15th I fly home. Mombasa to Nairobi. Nairobi to Amsterdam. Amsterdam to Detroit. Detroit to Grand Rapids. We should be in GR for only a few days before we drive down to MD. Hopefully be there before the 20th.
Also, after a LOT of thought and one very unhappy afternoon, I've decided not to take my kitties with me, THIS TIME. I'm leaving them here with the new volunteer moving into my house until January, when they'll go to another friends' house until I get back to Kilifi next August. At that point I will either take them back to the US then, or will have decided to come back Kilifi for longer than just a visit. We'll see. Whatever ends up happening, it's not going to be easy leaving them.
Whew.
Ok. Picture time.
Gona and Osman :)
Drinking my morning bathwater...
Evason tried to climb up onto the water tower without a ladder, but didn't quite make it.
Kelvin took this. At members for the afternoon.
They draped me in the Kenyan flag while I was on the computer..
I LOVE this shirt Chaka has on :)
And the ever-beautiful walk home at sunset.
Aright dudes. I'm out. Again, I'll be back in the States on the 16th of December, and will be in Maryland a few days after that. Happy November and lots of love and hugs from Kilifi!
~ Shub :)
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