Gloria!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Today, Gloria and I became friends! I don’t know how it happened, but tonight we are thick as thieves.

Today is the national holiday marking the date of Kenya’s independence, so there was no work. I left the house at about 10 to go to the gym, but while I was on the matatu, Ruth called and asked if I could meet her to go somewhere. I wasn’t feeling particularly motivated anyway, so we agreed to meet at Café Guava, where I frequently set up shop with my laptop for long periods of time to use their free wireless internet. Ruth and Amos were heading to Nakuru to meet Cameron, the African Director of SpanAfrica, who arrived today.

I arrived at Café Guava and spent a few minutes talking to Dixon, the manager who is quickly becoming a friend. He told me that he is an artist, and is working on creating something just for me. He asks Ali, the waiter, to bring out my usual Americano coffee. I take a seat outside and presently a parade began down Moi Avenue, adjacent to Guava, towards the Afraha Stadium. Everyone came out to watch, and Dixon stood with me to tell me the significance of all the uniforms. Afterwards, I sat reading my book and sipping my coffee. I became aware of the fact that I was still in my gym clothes, and quickly ran into Guava to change into my regular clothes. Ruth arrived, and we left to go to visit her furniture maker. To get to the office, it is necessary to take a boda boda (a bicycle). It is 20ksh to go anywhere in Nakuru Town on a boda boda. The boda bodas are ridden along certain roads, and are not permitted downtown. They have cushioned seats behind the rider, where you sit and then you hold onto mini-handlebars that are attached just below the seat. I was nervous for a second, but it was surprisingly comfortable and stable. I recall nights of riding home on the handlebars in Philly, terrified of falling and wobbling all over, but the boda bodas don’t feel unsafe, even on bumpy, partially paved roads. It was fun, and the breeze felt great on my sunburn.

Later, we met Amos and Cameron in town and went back to the house. Ruth and I prepared lunch and we watched a hilarious made-for-TV movie while it poured and thundered outside. Cameron and I had time to catch up and talk about SpanAfrica and many of the partner organizations. We talked about the challenges and plans and will certainly be talking more throughout the next few months. When the rain let up, I was determined to try to get some exercise after skipping the gym this morning, and decided to walk back to town. I slathered bug repellent all over my arms and left and headed out. As soon as I hit the footpath, I was violently attacked by enormous mosquitoes in the only places I hadn’t applied repellent – my face and neck. I ran like a crazy person, swatting at my face, towards the road as fast as I could to catch a matatu. I guess I will just have to exercise extra hard tomorrow.

When I arrived home, I went to the family room to hang out with Nick and his brother Edward, who is visiting this week. Edward is 28 and a statistics and economics professor at Kenyatta University. He is spending some time here to help Paul with grading his exams. Gloria came in to sit with Cliff, easily her favorite member of the household. As usual, she shied away from me, and even cried a little when Edward, who was sitting beside me on the couch, asked her to come to him, which required passing very close to me. I was working on some writing on the computer, and as Gloria sat with Edward next to me, she inched closer and closer until she even worked up the courage to reach out and try pushing a key, but still kept a wary distance. Then we were called downstairs, so we all left the room. I stopped to drop off my computer, but when I arrived in the kitchen, Gloria turned around, and reached her arms up to me. I picked her up and she laughed. We sat together with her in my lap and shared a mango. We danced around the kitchen, and all had a good time teasing her about not being scared anymore. Shortly before dinner was ready, there was a blackout (fairly standard occurance) and Gloria and I sat together in the pitch-black kitchen while Agatha and Cliff found the kerosene lamp. After dinner, she came up to my room and kicked around an empty toilet paper roll while I worked on writing.

The family finally told me what had frightened her so much in the first place. On the day I arrived, Gloria had told the whole family that she was certain that I would try to eat her. Furahieni chakula chenu!