Weekend One: Lazy Sunday

    So I didn't have my camera on me for most of today, so the pictures were all from the end of the day. I slept in to 9:30 or so, then read in bed for a bit. Joe, Rob and Jon went to church while I did the previous update from Lake Naivasha and Hell's Gate. When they returned, Rob, Joe and I went up to RVA for a game of ultimate frisbee with the kids in school there. All I can say about that experience is that it's difficult to run at elevation and be expected to cover some kid who lives at this altitude and is half your age. Joe and I played the role of  "center" most of the time. This means we stand or sit in the center of the field and curse our lack of hemoglobin. The views of the Rift Valley are beautiful up at RVA, though... although mostly I what I saw after running was the pale spectre of death narrowing my vision to blackness.

    After RVA, we came back to the house for a little relaxation time. While Rob was starting dinner, I decided to go for a short walk out to see the sunset (I'd hate to think I'd miss even a single sunset here). I wandered down to a field and took a couple of quick shots of the grasses, lit up by the lowering celestial lamp.

The whitish glow of the grasses. This is a great angle for not

being able to see the predators crouching right in front of you.

Beautiful but deadly... Well.... probably deadly. Everything else it, right?

     As I was taking a macro shot of some thorns, I met up young girl names Ann sitting by the road talking on her cell phone to her mother. She asked me if I was taking pictures, and I said yes. She then asked if I would like to go see some monkeys to take pictures of. Despite the fact that you aren't supposed to follow strangers into the woods in Africa, the prospect of seeing monkeys is a trump card, so I agreed. We headed of along a small path through the scrub.

Giant thorns..... Was this to be my last photograph?

    As we walked, I took a few photos of the landscape, and she told me she was hoping to go to nursing school. She asked if I was married, and I quickly replied "Yes" thinking I might be headed towards some kind of crazy Kenyan brothel. Kate, I spent plenty of time talking about you and Q... no worries. Plus, at this point I was thinking that I could still take a lone Kenyan girl if she tried to mug me, and she didn't look armed. So we made it to a road on the edge of a forest, and looked around in vain for any monkeys. She said that I should come back at 1 or 2 in the morning to be assured of seeing them. I politely agreed that I would, but that probably won't happen. She then said that she lived just a little way up the road, and would I be willing to meet her family. I agreed (despite my better judgement). We walked down the road to where it crossed a culvert and then left the road on what I'm not even sure was a real trail, though she insisted it was the only way to her house. At this point I'm pretty nervous that I'm going to be mugged or killed.

The path to her house. Not exactly room for a passing lane.

    So we got to her house after clamboring up a trash and mud-riddled hill held in place by sandbags. She invited me in and I sat down on the dusty couch. She offered me some water (which I refused), and a different drink that was thick and gray (which I took a sip of only to be polite). It wasn't too bad, but I was obviously nervous about the GI torrent that might follow.

This is the living room and kitchen (and probably a bedroom, too).

They have a TV, but no electricity. 

A view to my left out the front door, if you walked out to the

left, you would plummet down to the bottom of the ravine.

    She asked me to wait so I could meet her sisters. I agreed (on the condition that they were almost there), and I met her mother. One of her sisters who came in was older and epileptic. She had recently fallen on the road, so she didn't want to be photographed, but I talked with her about her condition. She takes phenytoin (which is all they have here), but I mentioned other drugs the may someday be available. The sister's kids and some other girl (who may have been another sister, but was very young) all gathered around on a seat next to me and posed for a few pictures. They were very excited when I showed the pictures to them.

The mother in the backgound, and her children/grandchildren

to the right. They all had nice dresses.

    It was getting late, so I thanked them and made my exit to avoid getting caught in the dark on the walk back. I took some shots of their dog and back up to their home on the way out.

Rough life for people, but the dog seemed happy.

Ann standing outside her home. Our route is to the left down the hill

Looking back up at the home. Note the sheer drop on their doorstep.

Walking back along the path as the sun sinks

A photo of Ann in front of a large tree at the entrance to the path to her house.

    Ann walked back with me. Along the way, she asked for money to help support her for school. I told her I was not allowed to give out money, and referred her to the Mission (though she had already tried there). I did give her 20 shillings so she could charge her phone in town (after she asked to charge it at our house). This was probably the poorest family I've ever visited, but it was a truely unique experience, and I came out unharmed (barring any problems yet to come from drinking the grey liquid).