California knows how to party

Saturday morning was a difficult and sad time, because my dear friend Wren left. I was quite emotional at this time. I saw her off at the bus at 830 and then proceeded to the library to browse the internet and attempt to work on some school work. At around 1pm I returned back to the compound with Ryan (a volunteer from UC Berkely who is here volunteering for 5 weeks – this was his 3rd week). We made PB&J sandwiches and ate some mango – which was really nice. Then after I was soaking my feet in the basin and reading a great book, “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac. A classic! I love books that talk about someone just following their dreams, or their instincts, and just living life. For anyone who loves adventure stories like Into the Wild, and stories like Catcher in the Rye, this book is great.

Anyways, then Ryan gets a phone call. He had been talking about some friends of his from Berekley, who are in Nairobi at the moment doing a course, coming to Kisumu for the weekend. He said he would probably be going down on Sunday and invited me to come. I was thinking about it, but I wasn’t all for it. I have reservation about things like this, I don’t like big group gatherings, and Ryan would be the only one I knew, so I kind of thought I wouldn’t go.

So Ryan gets off the phone and says his friends are actually coming in tonight, and so he was leaving asap to Kisumu (it was about 4pm at the time, and the ride to Kisumu is usually between 1.5-2 hours, so if you wanted to be there by dark, you had to leave asap). He invited me to come and said we would stay over in their hotel and crash on the floor or something. I immediately thought this sounded like something I didn’t want to do – leave on the spur of a moment to Kisumu to stay in a place, or maybe sleep in a bed with some random person, and hang out with people who Ryan knows but I don’t.) He said he was going to pack, so I said I would think about it and get back to him.

So I went into my hut and sat down. On one hand Wren was gone and this was a great distraction to forget how life here would be so different without her. On the other hand I didn’t have a lot of money. And then the answer came to me – was I not reading “On the Road” and admiring the spontaneity and independence of the lead character? Did I not come to Africa on my own free will, knowing no one here? Did I not love going on adventures? Was I not in some desperate need of hanging out with other white people in a city that reminds me more of home?

I called Ryan and said for sure I was going.

I packed a small bag, only with the essentials like money, my cell phone, a change of underwear, a pj shirt, water and hand sanitizer. I was thinking of Jack Kerouac the whole time – wouldn’t this be just like him? Wouldn’t he do something amazingly adventurous like this?

So we practically ran to the matatu area – a good 20 minutes from the compound – to hope to get to Kisumu before dark. While riding I was thinking, “Won’t this be fun, an adventure in Africa, with people who understand me and who will have different stories than me, this will be so cool”. Ryan figured out what hotel they were staying at and called ahead to see if extra rooms where available. He booked one which was $2500 shillings (about 35 dollars). Once in Kisumu it was thankfully still a little light out, so we got on a motorbike and went to St. Anna’s Hostel (really a hotel, but not the kind of hotel you are picturing in your head right now). We arrived and were shown to our room which had….HOT WATER! About 30 minutes after our arrival Ryan’s friend Rosie came to the door – it was a great reunion for them, I could just imagine seeing one of my good friends in Kisumu and the feeling that would bring. There was also another friend, Dylan, who came up to greet Ryan who had waited in Nairobi along with Rosie for Ryan the night he arrived. They were staying in another part of the hotel, so we followed them.

Ryan introduced me as his “Canadian friend”. I had never felt so privileged – haha. It felt pretty cool to be the only Canadian – I had to represent myself well. So we talked with Rosie and Dylan for awhile, filling them in on what our life was like in Ugunja (very different from what they were experiencing) and they told us what they were up to in Nairobi. Soon after it was dinner time (Kenyatta University where the Berkeley students were staying paid for all their meals) and Ryan and I weren’t sure if we would be covered, but we went over anyways. Along the way I met two other students, Alex and Danielle, who were really nice, and really interested in what I was doing in Ugunja. Then we walked into the dining hall and there is a huge table lined with 20+ students! Definite culture shock – the largest number of white people in one place I have seen in 6 weeks. It was a little overwhelming, but also exciting. So Ryan and I tried to order some food and blend in with the other students whose food was being covered by the University (We had to pretend I was from Berkeley too).

So this is what I ate:
3 absolutely delicious small grilled cheese sandwiches ( like – ACTUAL cheese)
Some of Rosie’s chicken curry – mmm…
1 Sprite
Birthday cake with REAL frosting (It was one girl’s birthday and they got a cake for her and the frosting was like actual frosting you would see in Canada, which up until this point I thought was non-existent. The “frosting” on the cakes in Ugunja is hard fondant the is way too sweet and lemony and not creamy at all)

It was AMAZING. I can’t even describe how I felt inside other than intense joy.

So after dinner, which was around 930, we decided to go out into town. It was going to be Rosie’s birthday on Sunday, so in like 3 hours, so they wanted to celebrate. Ryan and I knew a really good Western restaurant, Mon Amie, that we had been to a few times, and which we knew had a disco. So we decided to head there. As we approached we could hear music and I started getting so exited. Music means dancing automatically in my head. When I hear it, I want to dance. So right off the bat, I knew this was to be a great night. So we walked in and we were the only white people – not a surprise. We sat down and ordered some drinks (only coolers for me) and started talking more about our stories from Kenya. They had some pretty funny ones which involved baboons stealing apples from them and then their professor running after the baboons, and stories about how the matatus are really awesome in Nairobi, and just about their time there in general. It was around 1130 and now the place was really picking up. The music was really awesome, a mix of African reggae and American songs like “Live your life”, “Tattoo”, “Calabria”. At exactly 12 we toasted to Rosie’s birthday and then hit the dance floor. Those of you who know my dancing should be able to picture this pretty well – but add the fact I haven’t been able to unleash my inner dancer in over 6 weeks – so it was intense. Intense and awesome and pretty sweaty. The Tupac and Dre song “California knows how to party” came on and they were loving it. I obviously know the song too because I love Tupac, so it was great, we were all dancing crazy and loving the fact we were in a club in Kisumu and it was Rosie’s birthday.

We headed back to the hostel around 130 am, and then talked for a little bit more in Rosie and Dylan’s room, and then went back to our room around 230 am. Then I had a hot shower – FREAKING GREATEST FEELING EVER. Hot water, falling vertically – so beautiful. We knew we had to wake up around 7 for breakfast, so we knew we wouldn’t get much sleep but whatever, this was an adventure, and it was so awesome so far.

In the morning we got up and I was thinking that this was so great we should stay one more night if we could with the group. Ryan said we would see how pricy the next place would be, because at this point we were pretty low on funds.

This was what I ate for Breakfast:
1 big pineapple ring
2 pieces of watermelon
A plain omlette
3 glasses of tropical juice (so tasty – I think I am slowing breaking down my hatred of juice)
1.5 bowls of cornflakes with REAL MILK! (Yes! Cornflakes! And I put some sugar over them so they were sweeter – it was so tasty!)

Again, words cannot describe how amazing eating this was, other than pure bliss

So the group was going to visit Obama’s grandma, who Ryan and I have met before, so we decided to meet up with them after when they got back. In the meantime Ryan and I walked into town to try and find a craft market we had heard about. We did find it and it was pretty neat – a lot of stereotypical African gifts (wooden giraffes and other safari animals, nice prints, paintings, jewelry, wooden spoons, soapstone carvings, and other African-related trinkets) I bought a present which I cannot disclose right now because the person I bought it for might be reading this – but I will say it is a great present and I was thrilled I bought it. After this Ryan and I walked back to the centre of town because he wanted to use the internet for a bit. Then he got a call from Rosie saying they were switching hotels for this night, so she gave him the name of it and said to meet them there. So we got in a rickshaw (3 wheeled enclosed vehicle) and went to a place called “Shalom Hotel”, which was slightly hilarious considering it was definitely not owned by Jewish people. Ryan and I were tired by this point so we ordered some Coke and some chicken wings from the hotel kitchen. Chicken wings- I know, I was sketched out at what to expect, but they were fairly decent – I only had two because I wasn’t sure if we were going to eat with the group. So the group arrived and unloaded their stuff, then shortly after we joined them on their huge bus. We went to a park in the centre of town, where ryan and I had been before, and ate at this restaurant in the middle on the park which overlooks some soccer fields. It is a popular destination for people to come and observe some games while eating or drinking.

I ate:
Half a plate of French fries
2 sausages (I am such a fan of sausages here – in a place with so little variety I have grown close to them).

Then there was talk of a boat tour on Lake Victoria. So I was thinking – boat – something you can stand on and walk around deck. But like many times in Kenya – never try to picture something in your head because it is never what you imagine. Your expectations are never met and that is something you just need to deal with. So we drive down to Lake Victoria and we see some canoes pulled up on shore – and those are the boats. So – yeah. Canoe ride it was! We all got lifejackets – which were so faulty they actually wouldn’t save you if the boat tipped, but it was a nice notion. The lake was nice, but it was a lake. Some of the views were pretty thought, it was overcast so you couldn’t see much of the land, but it was hilly and green like most of Kenya. The students were in 3 canoes and it was a big deal who was leading, or winning. So it was funny to see them yell back and forth. We were in canoes with motors, so really I wasn’t expecting speed. It was all part of an adventure though.

We got back to Shalom and rested for a bit. I had another HOT SHOWER! Is it sad when a shower is the highlight of a trip? Hmm…
Then is was dinner, and what a sweet dinner it was!

I ate:
Rice with green peppers and onion
2 chicken drumsticks, lightly fried
Some cabbage
A small amoung of pasta – really tasty though!
Beef stew (I didn’t actually eat the beef, I only wanted it for the carrots and the sauce, which was really good)
5 pieces of watermelon (maybe a little much, but c’mon, can you blame me?)
Birthday cake again (Rosie’s cake) – it was also made with real icing, I really lucked out in coming on the days with birthdays

Then we all decided to have our own little party in the clearing in the middle of the hotel (it was set up like a lobby, with the rooms on the outside and chairs and tables in the middle) but everything is open to the air, it’s not fully enclosed like all hotels in Canada.
So all the students came down to chat/drink/have a good time together. I am definitely not fond of hard alcohol, unless it is mixed with a sugary drink in which I can’t taste it. So I had a rum and coke and some other mix which tasted like juice. Everyone had their own little group, some playing drinking games, and others just talking. I chatted with a few girls who I hadn’t met the night before, and we were exchanging stories of America and Canada. And then I realized the soccer game was on – USA vs Brazil! So I went in to the eating area to watch it on their TV along with some other students. In the first half USA was leading 2-0, so everyone was really excited, and also slightly shocked. I was shocked too – USA isn’t known for their soccer. I had faith that Brazil could come back – they were BRAZIL for goodness sake, soccer is pretty much a genetic trait for them.
While watching some people had passed around some snacks including Hot&Spicy Pringles (YES – Pringles! I was amazed, and they tasted so good!), chocolate (Dairy Milk is everywhere here) and these lemon wafer things. Very yummy.

The second half of the soccer game had a turn out which was more of what I expected. Brazil came back and showed why they are known as being the best. 3 goals. By the 3rd goal, which happened around 82 minutes, most of the students had gathered inside to watch the last few minutes, and when Brazil scored everyone was moaning and yelling and disappointed. Like, all around me. I was kind of secretly laughing – obviously Brazil would win, and I was rooting for them. It was weird to be the only one though.

The party kind of dwindled after this, just people talking here and there, some going to bed. But it was nice to feel like I was included in their group – this was something I was worried about. The Californians were so nice and welcoming, and just really cool people. I felt a little out my element, because I couldn’t really identify strongly with anyone, like no one I thought that reminded me of a friend from home – but it was nice getting to know people who are different from the people you are used to hanging around with. It tests you as a person. It allows you to recognize parts of yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen. Tupac and Dre said it best “California knows how to party”. I loved my adventures with the Berkeley students, and I am anxious to visit Ryan within the next year so that I can see and be part of all the things I have heard of and experienced a little bit.

Best weekend ever, by far. It was just the right amount of distraction and the right amount of the home feeling to keep me going the next 6 weeks.