TIA! - THIS IS AFRICA!

Everything in Africa runs late. Everything takes longer than expected. If you are going to leave at 7, you'll leave at 10. If they said the distance is only 10K - it's at least 20. You may wait all day for the right tool, the right person, a driver, a bus. It took me hours to send some boxes to the states. It took forever to drop off a broken printer in Nairobi. All we needed was a receipt. It is agonizing when you first get here. But, you realize, TIA and we always have tomorrow, which will be much like today. Weddings start hours late, as do most services and events. We had a staff gathering scheduled for 3:00. People began arriving around 4:15! It will drive you nuts but it gets better and you eventually come to terms with the culture and the speed of life.

I had the opportunity of spending a day in Nairobi with George (Kenyan from the Village) and Maria, a young woman from Spain working on a business plan for the woodworking shop in the Village. We took a Matatu to downtown and ran some errands with George but we were able to see parts of the city that many tourists, especially white tourists, cannot see. We hopped Matatus here and there. They are not permitted to stop or the drivers are ticketed. You have to run along side and jump in the van. There were three of us trying to board so it was quite a sight. I still feel that the driver was playing games - "See if we can make the white guys run!" It was great fun actually. We saw more slums and poor people trying to sell what they had on the streets. Always the smells of burning trash and charcoal. When I first came to Africa, the feeling of despair and sadness filled my mind. There was always a sick feeling that made my head ache whenever I traveled around the town. So much pain, sadness, dirt and grime. But today was different. Although there was the same sad surroundings, being with Maria and George IN AFRICA! made me smile and feel happy to be alive, with them on this great day. We all shared the feelings. You have to meet George. He is hilarious. In his strong African accent he will look at me if I am staring or daydreaming and say things like "Ed, Ed, please come back. Hop on a plane and come back to Africa. Are you at IHM now or somewhere, come back to Kenya Ed and the Village and be with us. Ed, Ed. Are you ok?" Or he'll say "Ed, Ed, when will you return to the Village. It is not the same when you are not in the Village. Come, back and drink a Tuskers, and we'll have a goat, Ed!" George has big responsibilities, making the Village self-sustaining in the next 4 or 5 years. He is in charge of the main farms and the animals. Everything is organic and we picked up organic pesticides, some worm medicines for the goats and other various items around downtown Nairobi. A great day and a great lunch at another Africa restaurant.

Today I visited a Safari company located next door to the Children's Home in Karen, where I am staying. It is my hope to go with George or one of the locals to Masai Mara and Nakuru on a short safari in mid-December. I will be up for another break then.

I miss the kids at the Village. There are plenty of young kids here at the orphanage but it is the Village I have fallen in love with and I told the kids I would return in a few days. I printed out some of their pictures from my camera. They are fascinated by photos, especially of themselves. Photos (and mirrors for that matter) are not usually found at the Village.

Tomorrow we may head to the Don Bosco Vocational School to check on their woodworking shop and school. The Village has some great machinery, old models but very big and good machines. Maria is developing a plan for the shop and info at Don Bosco will help. I also hope to get with Sr. Little and head into Kibera Slums before I go back to the Village sometime this weekend.

That's about it for now. Life in Africa is very good. It is by no means perfect and I still have the same frustrations, disappointments and hurts I experience at home but . . . hey (TIA!) THIS IS AFRICA and I want to concentrate on the great gift this trip is for me. I continue to be SO GRATEFUL.