Saturday 5-3-14
We all
woke up and had a breakfast of fruit toast and chai. The kids wanted chai also
but it took them so long to let it cool down that they only got a few little
sips. Then it was up to the room to get ready. Abdala was supposed to be here
at 9 but was too tired after the 20 hours of driving so he stayed at his Mamas
house until noon. We decided to go walking and check things out since we had a
few hours to waste. We went first over to the fabric area and found a few that
were very nice. I am not sure if I will have anything made here or if I will
just bring them back and make curtains or sheets out of them, but they are just
beautiful. We continued to walk until we got to the Hindu temple. It was very colorful
and clean. There was a man feeding the pigeons and invited Jove and Ayla over
to help. Jove had a blast feeding the mass of birds. Right next to where the
birds were being fed, there was this amazing tree in the middle of the temple
with vines coming down and this trunk that was as if it was woven together. I just
love the scenery here. Anything that can grow will grow.
We
walked by an Indian bakery and decided to get some sweets. After we got a box
full, the man kept giving Ayla and Jove extra ones. Ayla was very excited she
loved them. Jove was very good, he tried every one with a bite or two but wasn’t
as big on them, so would slyly pass them over to me or Asa after he had his
try. We got a few other non-sweets and ate them on the walk back to hotel. I do
so love food.
While
we were walking we stopped and spoke with a man on the sidewalk. The guy was 50
to 60 and just wanted to talk. The kids said shikamo and it just made the man’s
day. I was very proud of them for remembering the respectful way of saying
hello to the elderly here.
We made
it back to the hotel and Abdala picked us up. We went over to Mocha City for
lunch. This place is one of Mamaliz’s favorites. It is as if they picked up
this place from America and dropped it right in the middle of the third world.
Abdala had his first try of hamburger. He was utterly amazed at how much food
we eat.
Our
next stop was Mwenge. This was a place where it was just duka after duka of all
kinds of carved wood, jewelry, Maasai items, etc. There was a cane that you
could pull and out this massive blade was exposed. The duka owners were nearly
all very pushy. We were the only mzungu there and we spent a lot so I see why,
but it would be nice if they would understand that when they do that most
Americans will not want to shop with them. It gets so bad that many will
actually force items in your hands assuming that if you touch it you will end
up buying it. They all want us to see what they had. We got some very nice
stuff. Handmade ebony lungu for 4 bucks a piece was Asa’s highlight I believe.
Next we
went to pick up the groceries that we will need for the next 9 weeks; Staples
such as pasta, sugar, seasonings, etc., things that just cannot be bought in
the village. Abdala dropped us back off at the hotel so we could bring
everything up into the rooms. Nothing can be left in the car because someone
will break in. For dinner we walked around the corner to Mamboz. Mamboz is an
outdoor BBQ joint. There were many walking vendors carrying bootleg movies. We
kept telling them no thank you “Hapana Asante”, until mom called one over to
see if they had a season of “the goodwife”. Then they all came flocking over.
We spent the next 20 minutes teasing her about it, but she found a few movies
and even got Jove Rio2 for his birthday tomorrow. Hopefully they will all work.
Food came, it was so very tasty. After we ate all that we ordered, we ended up
ordering more. We left there stuffed to the gills.
Back at
the hotel we got the kids cleaned up then they went over to Bibi’s room so that
Asa and I could have a night to ourselves. They weren’t too happy about this
sleeping arrangement, but they dealt with it pretty well after a few times of
explaining it to them.
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