Please excuse my blog ignorance! I will work on it! I'm sure you can figure out which photos go with which caption!
Micah's first haircut in Nairobi - before and after. Micah on the slide at Tickles, a great play place where they already know his name! A market in Machakos.
We were given certain precautions to using public transportation; avoiding rush hour was one. Yesterday we had our first experience of rush hour. We went into Karen to look at the furniture and metal works along Ngong Road, and then had to go to the store. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to head back it was 5pm. We walked to the “stage” to catch a bus back as we always do. After three attempts to board a bus we realized that waiting in line and taking turns does not exist, and being courteous (ie. allowing older or pregnant women on first) does not get you on the bus! We had to be more assertive if we were going to get home. Each bus had room for only 1-5 people. Several buses passed right by because they were full. Full does not have the same meaning here as it might in the states. One bus stopped and I actually got on, holding Micah. As I got to the top step I realized that all of the people in front of me were standing because there were not any seats available. Mind you, there was a line of people behind me waiting to get on. I turned around and said, “There are no seats!” and squeezed my way back down. I guess it’s like subways, trolleys, or the tube where people stand. The only difference is that on trolleys, the tube or the subway, there is actually room to stand and hold on! We finally decided that the only way we would get back was to take a matatu. We take matatus but they are very crowded and can be more dangerous. With our new understanding of getting a ride, we stepped (pushed) right up and got close to the front of the mob. Picture minibus/van similar to a Volkswagen bus. Add three seater rows on one side and two seater rows on the other and a full row in the way back. This leaves approximately one foot for an aisle. You must turn sideways to get through, and then there are the people spilling over into the aisle (a three seater holds two people American style!) The only seats available for us were in the way back. We squeezed thru and made it to the back. Robb had to keep his head down or it would hit the ceiling as we bumped along home. This matatu was actually one of the few nice ones. The seats were actually attached to the floor of the van and we could not see the road thru the floor. There was not a huge screen blaring raunchy rap videos! I must say that I am so impressed by and appreciative of the people on buses and matatus. They are always so willing to help. I had to get used to men, usually the man who calls out to people to ride and collects your money, grabbing Micah and lifting him onto and off of the bus. People riding will hold your bags and pass them back as you squeeze back and into your seat. They will hold onto Micah as we thrash about down the aisle to a seat (they do not wait for you to be seated before they take off!! I’ve been still climbing the steps when the bus took off! One time there were no seats so a man picked up Micah and held him in his lap so he wouldn’t have to stand. As I was standing there thinking about how kind it was for him to hold Micah it dawned on me that if he was really nice he would stand and allow me to sit with my son! Anyway, we made it home in one piece. The people riding had a good laugh though. When we neared our stop, Robb called out, “El Peso”. They did not slow so I called out the same. Then Micah piped up and shouted out “El Peso!”
HE GIG IS UP! July 24, 2009 Some of you know that, as many parents do, we bought a second MooMoo for Micah once we saw that it was his favorite (security object). For almost two years I’ve been secretly swapping out one MooMoo for the other so I could keep them clean. Packing for our homestay, I included both MooMoos so that I could wash the dirty (literally) one Micah had during our three weeks of orientation. When Micah saw the clean MooMoo he asked, “Where did you get this? Did you buy a new one?” I made several unsuccessful attempts at convincing him that this was MooMoo. So, we brought the other dirty, familiar MooMoo out and explained why we had two MooMoos. We don’t think Micah really understood, but now the two MooMoos are brother and sister, and he will often “wag” (stroke) both of their tails!
Please excuse my blog ignorance! I will work on it! I'm sure you can figure out which photos go with which caption!
