So my title sounds a little bitter but it’s pretty funny. Today when I took my rented gear back to Paradise, he asked what happened to my hike and I told him they forgot me and he said-and I quote-“Shit happens TIA (This is Africa)”. I guess I better back track.
Tuesday morning the people who were suppose to get me for my hike did not. I tried calling but neither Yotam or Marley would respond until finally Marley answered and said he would call yotam and get back to me. Thirty minutes later I resumed my calling and after resorting to Amanda’s phone I got an answer from Marley, or should I say his phone. A woman answered and said he was in the shower. Convient I know. He finally called me back and told me that I was not picked up because the group was full with 20 people. Yes the seven magically morphed into 20 on their flight from Zanzibar- amazing how that can happen! He then went on to say that I would never be going because they had given all of my money back to Global Crossroads and that if I did want to go I could pay for it myself. He went on to say a lot of other mean-spirited things and all of this on speaker phone. I cried a mixture of mad and sad tears because I was so exhausted dealing with these crooks and so frustrated that this could happen after the three, to four, constant weeks of calling. We made breakfast for dinner and had these great potatoes and french toast and omlettes- it was FANTASTIC!
Wednesday I woke up a lot less bitter and resigned myself to not ever getting my money back or going on the hike. I hope their bad karma comes crashing down on them like a tsunami! So I went to school back to kindergarten with Jenna. Simon had on the cutest denium jumpsuit thing I have ever seen with his white newsboy cap he likes to wear. Before school, I checked in on our room and all the walls were plastered and things were looking good on that front. Sometime in the morning I had to get something from the baby class and saw the workers plastering the outside of the building. I thought you have got to be kidding me, but instead of jumping to conclusions, mom you would be proud, I waited to get mad until break time. I asked Johanna if she knew that the outside of the building was being done as well. She said no after a pretty long pause and left it at that. I go back to school after break and our makeshift classroom, the empty unfinished orpahange, to see that the desks have been moved to allow the workers access to those walls as well! By this point I am getting pretty worked up and go over to Baby class and tell Tianna. She was like that is unbelivable. After dinner I asked Johanna if my money was being used to do the outside as well. I was hoping she would say that no Kaaya had some additional moey he threw in and decided to do it nowbecause it would be cheaper and more efficent if it was all done at the same time. She did not; she said that yes it was and that was that basically. Mind you this is directly on the heels of the whole debacle with global crossroads and the kili hike.
I think that was probably the lowest I’ve been since I have been here. Sounds stupid I know, but it just seemed like such a low blow. At least I know my money is going toward something to better the school and therefore the kids. On the other side of that coin, all they would have have to do was ask or say that it would only be a little extra to do the rest and most likely I owuld have been fine with that, but the way it happened just seemed so shady. I think before I leave I am going to say something so Kaaya because people, whose generousity is paramont to sustaining the orphanage, will not want to have anything to do with them if they do not do everything in their power to be on the up and up. And I don’t think it was Johanna’s fault. I think that probably somewhere in the whole Swahili convo between Kaaya and the builders my one little room got changed to the whole building. Also this country does not do communication well, and I think that could have something to do with it. And this mentality of taking as much as posssible when the occasion arises is almost universal; I don’t want to say all people think this way but it is most definitely there and you can tell that many poeple don’t know anything else. Nevertheless, people do not want to lied to or taken advantage of no matter how generous they are.
Thursday morning Jenna, Natalie, Tianna, Jessica, and Alix all left for Safari for five days so it is just me at school with my precious little monsters. Neema was absent today because johanna had to take her to the hospital because we thought she had the chicken pox. Turns out she has chicken pox, malaria, and pneumonia poor little thing. The kids at school were actually not that bad. Simon was on green for the first time ever! Oh and somethign else funny- we were coloring and Innocent was pointing to a color he wanted and I kept pulling the wrong one out of the bag accidentally (the language barrier is pretty massive sometimes) and I said Innocent what color do you want to which he replied with two thumbs WAY down and was shaking his head. Everyday we go over the colors of our new green-yello-red light system and red is accompanied by two thumbs way down and a big booo. It was so funny and he was as serious as a heart attack. After school Amanda and I just played cards and went walking after it stopped raining. I must say I am getting pretty good at crossword puzzles.
Yesterday, Friday, the kids were heathens at school and I actually contemplated not coming back from lunch! Not really but I was so glad when the school day was over. Amanda and I walked to Tengeru and got on the internet just about the time lunch was ready, which was great because I think I have reached the limit for the amount of rice or potatoes I can put into my body! And Fridays mean chipati for dinner so that was super and Mage made this great sauce that she has been holding back from us that went great with the guac. I could eat chipati, guac, and beans everyday I think. Zam came down with pox and poor thing he feels terrible. Last night after our movie, Amanda brought him into my room after she had doctored him up. He looked so cute with all of these white spots covering his head and body where the calamine lotion had been applied. He looked like a little leopard only backward! He is so precious, I hope I get to see him and Amanda after this whole thing is over.
Today (Saturday morning) before we came to town I was looking out my window at the kids playing and there were being so funny. In Age Ice 2, which is a great movie by the way, there are these miniature sloths that kidnap Syd, the big Sloth that kinda resembles Cuatro a little(!!!), and imitate everything he does. It goes into this little dance number and is really funny. Anyway this morning all the kids were doing that with Calvin as Syd. It was so funny! Well I don’t really have much to comment on.
I’ll be leaving in 16 days which is like a blink. Sometimes I am so glad and wish I could hurry it along, but more often than not, I think that that seems impossibly short. I know it sound cliche but throughout all of this I think I have become a better person because of the kids. If I could bring them all home I could and want the best for them. I want them to have the best and really truly amount to something. I don’t want to the girls to be these subservant women scrubbing floors, I want them to feel like they have options. I want the boys to reach their potential as well. Ema especially, I think I say that because he is such a mechanically gifted littler person- I think he is a lot like how Max was as a child! And I cannot imagine leaving Simon its an issue. I can;t even imagine never seeing him again.
