The next day I went to Cheryl's and was very surprised when the kids told me that they were having dance lessons later in the afternoon. There is a woman from the community who comes and is teaching the children different types of dance. For about two hours, eight of us were dancing together learning how to salsa and mambo. The children had also been rehearsing for the Christmas play which they performed for us.
The following few days we were doing work trying to figure out all the rules to run a registered children's home. There is a head officer who Chris and Cyprian have been dealing with since last year and they were told by her in 2008 that in order for her to just look at their paper work she would need 150,000 shillings ($2,000). When we went in there last week to get the packet of information she said she did not have it and started to yell at Cyprian who then was yelling back at her. She did not like that and had Cyprian detained by the officers in the next building. Chris and I then had to talk to the officers and explain to them what had happened. The head officer, Margret, was then brought in to tell her side of the story but instead was just being argumentative. Chris and I were told back to the office at 3 because she had a meeting to go to and would be back then. We came back at 4 and she was still not there after we waited for a half hour. The funny thing is that the office is required to have these packets at all times for anyone in the community to come in and get, it should not be a process. This is how most things work over here which is why it takes so long to do simple tasks.
Last Sunday I picked Kelly up at the airport. (She came with me here last summer) After she got situated at Dan's house where she is staying we went to Cheryl's so she could see some of the children again. For most of the afternoon we stayed there and played with the kids. Kelly brought balloons and stickers which the kids were more than happy to take off of her hands. On Wednesday I told some of the older boys I would take then to use the internet just so they would have something to do for a few hours. When I got to Cheryl's there were black clouds overhead and there was thunder in the distance. One of the older boys I was going to take, Bigvai, told me that it would not start raining until later in the evening so we could still go use the computers. Ten minutes later it started to rain. At first it was just a light rain but then it became a thunderous downpour which was only accentuated by the fact that all the building have tin roofs. The rain did not last very long but there were such high winds that trees were uprooted and fell on houses and cars. One of the trees around Nairobi fell on a city bus killing one person.
Since we did not get to use the computers that day I told them I would take the the next day. We walked about five minutes down the road to a small compound with a few cafes, and internet browsing place and a small playground. The internet cafe was not open because it was Christmas Eve so we bought some chips (fries) and sat down at the picnic tables to eat. They were playing on the playground for a while and then on our way back we stopped for a soda. Since all the sodas come in glass bottles you usually drink it outside the shop and return the bottle to be used again. You can get plastic bottles but they are more expensive and most shops on the side of the road do not carry them. The kids asked me to spend the night there but I couldn't that night but I told them one day next week I would. Later in the evening Chris, Joseph (our friend who found us a place to live, made us our beds and desk and has a truck), and I went our for a Christmas Eve dinner to a place called Mother Land. It is right on the main road next to Prestige. We had roasted goat with ugali and a mixture of tomatoes, avocado, onions and spicy peppers. There is nothing comparable to these places back home. The meat gets delivered fresh daily and even though it has been there all day it sells and cooks so quickly that there is not much of a problem with disease. There are so many of those places around and they are very cheap. For 1 kg of goat it costs about $4 and with the extra side dishes each one is between 50 cents to a dollar for a plate which is all you need for up to four people. As much as I miss food back at home, when I am home I miss places like this over here.
On Christmas we walked up to Prestige to meet Cyprian for lunch. His mother lives in Tanzania and sent him some money to take us out for lunch on Christmas. Kelly got Chinese food, Chris and I got Thai, and Cyprian got chicken and chips. Afterward I made my way down to Cheryl's to spend some Christmas time with them. The hall was decorated with lights and a tree and there were tables pushed together so everyone could eat together. They received some food donations so there was chicken, potatoes in a tomato sauce, and chipati (similar to a tortilla but a bit sweeter). Also as a treat there was soda for everyone. They would not let me leave until I had eaten something even though I told them I had eaten just a few hours before. After everyone was finished Bigvai and another older boy Rodgers walked me to Junction where I pick up my matatu to go home. It is nice when they offer to walk me to the stage because I get left alone and people don't seem to try to come up and talk to me as much. When I arrived back home Cyprian was still here and stayed for a little while until it started to get dark. The family whose compound we live on invited us up for dinner at about 8:30pm. Grace, who is a few years older than us, cooked all day. She barbecued chicken and cooked in the the oven. It was so tender and delicious. She also cooked sliced potatoes with sauteed onions, sliced tomatoes and onions with cilantro and spicy peppers, and mashed potatoes with peas and maize. It was all very tasty. Overall Christmas was less stressful and just as relaxing.
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