Sunday, September 5, 2010

An African Afternoon

This morning I walked over to St. Joseph's Catholic Church for mass.  The 9 am mass is in English on Sunday mornings.  The congregation was packed!  It was an awesome service with a lot of singing, dancing, and participation from the community.  The mass was, however, 2 hours long, which was a bit of a surprise to me.  It was great though. 

I went for a run yesterday evening and was able to find my way around which was pretty exciting for me.  Kisumu is not exactly on a grid - so I was going based on memory from my previous runs and it worked out just fine.  I did carry a couple hundred shillings with me in case I got lost and needed to hire a boda boda to take me home.  Luckily, I didn't need to resort to that.

Last night Matt and Nelli graciously had me over again for dinner.  It was a very fun night.  Stephanie and Piers (another couple here) were there as well.  I had met Stephanie at yoga on Tuesday night so it was nice to see her again and get to know them a little better.  We had a great time and laughed quite a bit.

This is Matt and Nelli's apartment complex (the photo was shot from my roof):

I spent some time today taking some more pictures of my surroundings.  Here's what I caught:

The lady, photoed above, works at the construction site next to where I am staying.  I am not exactly sure what she does, but she is there everyday.  Note that he back foot has been crippled in some way.  This is also the traditional way in which African mothers carry their babies.

Another breathtaking view of the Lake:

It's a totally different pace here with a lot less distraction.  I love living without even the thought of a TV.   It's a beautiful thing to spend your day doing things around the house or going for a walk or just sitting and enjoying the weather.  I set up a table and chair set outside on the patio and am able to sit there and read and have a lovely view of the Lake.  I drank my coffee and had my yogurt, pineapple, bananas, and granola out there this morning after church.

This afternoon, after taking pictures, I borrowed Matt and Nelli's blender and made hummus. 

Not sure what the rest of my day will hold, but I think some wandering around town and taking some more pictures and just enjoying the afternoon sounds quite nice.

Happy Anniversary Cathy and Will!

Ashley

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