Rainy weather and Johnny Cash

I realize (like all of the blogs that originally turned me off to blogging) that this blog has become less about Kenya and more about me.  Damn it to hell.  I didn't want that to happen.  Of course everything I write about Kenya will be through my filters, but I at least want to throw in some observations I've had lately about my surroundings here.

It is now easy to determine whether someone is from here or visiting based on their walking speed.  8 fresh eggs cost 96 shillings. It takes approximately 5 months to train yourself to look the right way for oncoming traffic in a previously British-colonized country.  If someone seems too good to be true, they are almost surely scamming you.  If you want to make a whole matatu erupt into laughter just correct the conductor when he shortchanges you and tell him "you! you want a soda?" in Swahili.  Eating street food is almost worth the intestinal aftermath.  Thank goodness for the Neem Tree and all of its marvels.

If you ever want to reminisce about the days of Tony Braxton, Boyz II Men, or any of those other 90s gems you might get lucky if you hop on the right matatu.  If you are extra lucky, on the inside there will be fun quotes like: "If you compare yourself to others, you'll never be yourself" and "dancing is one thing, movement is another".

Today was a National Day of Prayer in Kenya.  I still have several hours left if I want to join in I suppose.  I read in a newspaper last week that Mombasa could be underwater in just 50 years due to climate change.  Really drives the issue home.  In other news, Charles Taylor, former dictator of Liberia was sentenced to 50 years in prison.  I can't believe how many years it took to get that result.  Sometimes justice is slower than molasses.

I've fully embraced the bucket bath system and actually look forward to it now.  I can tell if there will be mosquitoes at night according to what temperature it was during the day.  I now know that if I want to boil water or cook something I need to turn the stove on 10 minutes prior.

While walking home yesterday I saw a tiny, baby porcupine dead on the side of the road.  I felt like there was some sort of message in that for me and I am still trying to figure out what it was.  I wanted to stoop down and examine it but wasn't in the mood for drawing more attention than the normal, excess amount.

When the universe laughs at you, don't fret, since you can laugh right back at it.

ENTROPY: "The tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to evolve toward a state of inert uniformity."

Alright, well I'm not really going for uniformity in my life per say, but I am convinced that this word somehow still applies to what has begun happening to me lately.

Things with Jack have been resolved for the time being (!!!).  He is staying at an aunty's house not far from where I live, she is a good friend and she and her kids are really looking out for him.  We have both discussed how it doesn't have to be permanent so I feel relieved knowing that when I find my new place and have a shamba, I can bring him if I choose to.  Yipeeeeee!  I feel so grateful for that issue calming down.  Since she took him, I have been really able to devote my brainpower to being proactive about MY life (instead of his and my neighbors' lives and everyone else's life but my own).

After spending so much time on the internet yesterday that my eyeballs went cross-eyed, I learned that all of the standard jobs in Kenya exist in Nairobi- I had another stroke of luck (or three).  I met with a friend who happens to be incredibly well connected here in Mombasa.  She was curious about my situation and I shared everything about my current status, my hopes, my interests etc. and right in the middle of dinner she called a friend who is from the place I'm thinking of relocating to and we have already met with him today!

Turns out he is also insanely well connected and 100% interested in helping me figure things out.  While I was waiting for this guy and Aminah this morning, I accidentally starting talking to a different guy who was at table thinking that he was the person I was meeting.  Now, this guy ended up being super kind and we know a few mutual friends.  Of all things, he works with a guy who owns a huge shamba up the coast but is often out of the country and may need someone to take care of it.  When Aminah and the contact showed up, they all knew each other!  Ha.  I love this town so much.

So I have no way of knowing if any of these prospects will really materialize.  I've lived in African countries long enough to know not to get my hopes way up at this point, but my hopes are telling me to quit being so rational and get a little excited anyway.  Jinxing be damned!

On another more somber note- even when things are going fabulous and I couldn't be happier to be here, I think of my family constantly and how much I miss them.  We are all busy and don't connect much aside from my parents.  My grandmother (whom I am really really close with) is in the hospital.  My sister is happily attached at the hip with a guy I don't really know well yet (I'm thrilled for them both), I haven't talked to my cousins whom I am also close with and miss so much it hurts- in ages.  Sometimes I get these annoying pangs of guilt for choosing to be so far away.  To be fair, people always say "home is where the heart is".  Even though I miss my family back in the U.S. and I'm missing many events and hugs, I can't deny that at this time, my heart is fully here.  Let's just hope the immigration office in Nairobi can understand that too, without expecting me to fork over loads of money.