Spring Cleaning!

We cleaned all the spooks out of the office just in time for Halloween! Tuesday I arrived at the office and the floor was flooded with soapy water! I asked, "Today is spring cleaning?!" My bosses who were all covered in muddy water and sweat laughed, "Of course!" My boss' girlfriend Melissa tied a kanga around my waist and a head wrap over my hair and I got to work scrubbing the dusty floor with a handmade broom. Oj, one of my other directors came in after lunch and laughed and said, "Justine, I thought you were an African woman! You are bent over, scrubbing in a kanga!"

I am convinced my director's are turning me into a Kenya housewife. I cleaned on Tuesday and today I cooked! Melissa taught me how to make ugali and sukumawiki for lunch today. Ugali is pounded maize and sukuma is greens mixed with onions and tomatoes. My director taught me how to light a paraffin (sp?) flame to cook on! As he was setting the match to the wick, he paused and said, "Please don't tell your father I let you play with fire!" Haha!

Tomorrow is Halloween! My favorite holiday! ( I am with you Auntie Sherri!) Our three apartments are cooking a meal together in costumes!

(Picture is at Thompson Falls near Nakuru)

Obama for Yogurt

This weekend 3 of roommates, Chrissy, Cait and Yattah, and I hopped a matatu to Nakuru. We stayed with a classmate's family from USIU a little ways outside the city center. Nakuru feels like a beach town, life moves slowly and people are very friendly and easygoing. The air is clean and the views are spectacular. In 36 hours we stood on the equator and put our feet in both hemispheres, saw Thompson's Falls, watched flamingos at Lake Nakuru and stood on the top of crater with a breathtaking view of the entire valley! The girls and I like to call it our fun filled weekend of critical incidents because even with all the fun we had, we also experienced some very difficult cross cultural interaction. Many moments were spent frustrated, confused, upset and embarrassed. No time to explain now, but I will explain it all later! The post title describes our weekend perfectly; it made absolutely no sense!

(Group pic from Nyumbani Village from our Country Director)