wikendi

Friday was pretty uneventful. We had kiSwahili and went to Java House afterwards. We ran into Matt and Kevin there, two of the guys we hiked with from St. Lawrence. It was good to see them again before they go back to the states. Friday night I hung out at the YWCA with my cousins and Whitney.
On Saturday, Whitney and I went to Njuhi’s house because her older sister was having a get together for her birthday. When Kenyans have get-togethers, it means two things: good food (and lots of it) and good company. So we hung out with a lot of people and ate some great food and laughed and talked. We met a friend of Njeri’s (Njuhi’s sister) who went to school in the U.S. so we compared culture shock stories of being American and going to school in Kenya and her being Kenyan and going to school in America. It was really interesting to hear what she had to say and to see how much we had in common. Njuhi’s mother is adorable and a great cook and I spent a lot of time talking to her and listening to her stories of when she was growing up with 7 siblings. She’s pretty funny. It was great to see Njuhi in her element. She seemed to be glowing, she was so happy, despite her being so tired from end of school craziness and traveling. She told me that this is what she misses most when she’s in the States and I can see why. At one point in the middle of the party, Njeri turned off the music and said we were going to have a talent show and everyone had to go around the room and share a talent. It was pretty hilarious. Mine was popping out my shoulder blades which made the whole room gasp and a few people ask me to do it again. Njeri and another girl, Kate, sang songs. Njuhi did some freestyle poetry, which was really good and nice to hear, as that is something I really miss from the U.S. The party died down around 9:30 and Whitney and I stayed and had some wine with Njuhi and her mom and talked with them and Njeri and her friend Brian. We left around 11:30 and went back to the YWCA. It was such a fun time and so nice to spend time with Njuhi and her family in her house and eat such amazing food in large quantities. That is my kind of party : )
Sunday was Mother’s Day and I went to Nakumatt to buy food to make Chicken Masaman Curry for dinner. I also bought Monica some flowers, which the vender initially tried to sell to me for 1,200 shillings but quickly lowered the price to 300 when he realized I wasn’t brand new to Kenya because I answered him in kiSwahili telling him I wouldn’t pay that much. Then, as I carried the flowers to the matatu, I had at least 4 men ask me if the flowers were for them, etc etc. Ugh. Can’t a girl just get her mother flowers on Mother’s Day?? I was actually thinking it was pretty funny because I hadn’t showered in two days and was wearing my glasses and feeling pretty disheveled, but these men just do not give up : )