Becoming Kenyan and Eating Meat!

There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction. -Salvador Dali

The closer I get to coming home, the more I love it here. Every day I wake up and think life couldn't possibly get better, and then it does!

Twice last week, through the ARO, I spent a morning volunteering at a community home for the mentally and physically disabled. It was sort of an overwhelming experience on Wednesday, when I went alone, but I got the hang of things pretty quick. I spent an hour of so putting everyone's feet in shoes and socks, and then helped dish out lunch, feed the residents, and then help wash up the dishes.

On Friday, everyone from the office went together. It was my first time working on a Friday. We spent some time chopping vegetables, then cleaning the floors outside the community home. It was so much fun getting a chance to spend some time outside of the office. We were all in jeans (YAY for casual Fridays!!!!) and had a really fun few hours.

The boys kept laughing at my pathetic water-sweeping technique, and joking that I needed to learn how to work as hard as a real Kenyan lady. It was so funny, I'm the first to admit that I am not a fan of tough manual labour... But I try to keep a smile on my face, so I hope it balances out...haha!

Speaking of being a real Kenyan lady, Elly and I are composing a list of why I am a "Real Live Kenyan":
-I walk to the shopping center
-I take the bus home laden with groceries
-I know where to find the best mandazis in Kibera
-I make my tea with warm milk now (the Kenyan way)
-I am picking up a bit of Swahili!

Add all of that to my Rwanda-acquired sun-tan, and I’m practically a local! Haha!!!

The weekend was also amazing. I don't know if I mentioned Sarah already. She is a fellow SFD intern from McGill University, who spent her summer in Butare, Rwanda. She was the one who clued us into St. Pauls, the greatest hostel in the world in Kigali. She spent the weekend in Nairobi, and we met up again.

Friday night, Sarah, Nat and I finally made it to CARNIVORE!!! For those of you who don’t know, Carnivore is about the most amazing restaurant in the entire world (for once, I’m not even really exaggerating, it’s actually ranked in the top 50!!). Basically, its meat. And more meat. And more meat. It’s like, the greatest feast imaginable! We arrived at 730 starving. I’d barely eaten all day in preparation, and we FINALLY got sat at our table by 9. We had a quick soup course, and then the waiter showed up with a tray of condiments and three hot plates. Then you raise the flag on your table, and the fun really begins.

There are tons of men walking around with huge skewers of meat. If you want to try it, they stop, shave some directly onto your plate, and continue on. And they do so as long as the flag is flying! It’s unlimited...it was like heaven on earth. I tried: beef, spare ribs, pork sausage, beef sausage, chicken liver, chicken wings, lamb, ostrich meatballs, and crocodile. And by tried, I mean I ate a serving. Of each type of meat. It was amazing. Delicious. The greatest culinary experience of my life. It’s been 36 hours, and I’m STILL full!

On the way out, we ran into three Canadian brothers from Montreal that Sarah had met earlier in Uganda. We headed together to a little local joint in town, where we tried to digest meat by filling our tummies with Tusker and whisky. For the record, that’s a REALLY bad combination. Round One of shots sent Sarah dry heaving towards the bathroom. Round Two of shots resulted in Natalie puking all over herself AGAIN! I swear, that girl is the only person on earth that could puke in my presence repeatedly and still be one of my favourite people! She is able to make such an endearing spectacle that I can’t help but laugh. As our new friends pointed out, she’s quite a graceful puker, kind of like a gazelle.

Speaking of our new friends, what rad guys! Kevin is the youngest, and he just got his degree in literature. Greg is the middle brother. He just finished a semester at UCT (just like Amanda/Hans/Corrine) and is practically days away from passing the bar and being a lawyer in Vancouver. Andrew is the oldest brother. He is quite the eccentric character, with the most amazing moustache you’ve ever seen in your life, and a gold tooth to boot. He’s an incredibly successful artist who lives in LA.

We ended up going out for Ethiopian food together last night. It was so much fun. I don’t know why, but food is just SO much more fun when you eat with your hands surrounded by great friends. Redds, Tusker, and Safari brand vodka followed, accompanied by Pepto, dominos, and tunes. We called it a night around 230am, so needless to say, I’m feeling a touch on the rough side today, but it was so much fun that it’s worth the pain.

Nat is coming to my office this afternoon to see the place and meet everyone, which I’m so excited for! Then it’s hard work for one more week, then beach time!!! Home is only two weeks away! I can hardly believe it. Graham and Shelby went home last week, so Nat, Heather and I are truly the last of the gang left here in Nairobi. Graham sent us an email about how strange it is to be back home again. It seems surreal to imagine him back in Canada while we are all here. He went on about how we should try not to think too much about home, since we’ll be there soon enough. It’s advice I’m trying so hard to heed. I’m trying to enjoy every last second I have here, because I know I’ll miss it so much once I’m home. I think I’m doing a pretty wicked awesome job of loving every second of these last days.

-Delaney xo