I Absolutely Love It

Oh how much I love this little tiny place! I was down for the count when I got here after swallowing the water in Nairobi like an idiot when brushing my teeth. I paid for it. Big time. Wow. It took an absolute toll on my body for a few days. I have never felt so bad and prayed so hard while traveling all day to Kapsowar. It was NOT fun. Praise the Lord for Mrs. Laura who came running out of her house with hot, homemade bread, and a sprite to help ease my stomach, as soon as our Matatu pulled up. My 4 roommates took such good care of me as well. It's nice to live with wana be doctors : )- (3) are Asian/Aussie (Jade, Alice, and Ran) -Yes, Ran like I "Ran" for it, but it's pronounced RON-) and (1) Serologin/Cambodian/Aussie (Dhiva) Yes. Just like "Diva is a female version of a hustla." We jank all day long... especially because I'm the ONLY white/American. Loves it! Awesomely enough, there is no racism here in Kenya. It's nice for once. For example: EVERY TIME a Kenyan sees me, they say "Mzungu!" Meaning: "White Person!" I'm not Julie. I'm Mzungu Julie, or Mzungu! I wonder what people back in the states would think/say if I called you by the color of your skin? White is white. Tan is tan. Black is black. Really who cares if our insides are the same? Why do some not all make such a HUGE,  Racist Huge  if you do that? Because it's "disrespectful and Racist" I call bull crap on that one.  No pun intended, but black people may have the same color skin as some africans, but black people I'm sorry to say that you are not African. Just like Asian Americans are of Asian decent, but not "full Asian" because they have no idea what it is like to live in Asia. Earth to Shelia, they live in America. Black people (I'm mainly talking to you because I'm in Africa. Lets not get our panties in a wad, but until you come to Kenya, live in a rural African village in a run down shack, with no running water, toilets, or place to bathe; as well as know 3 languages: English, Swahili, and your mother tongue, (which is your tribal language and english is only if you are able to attend school) you then pray that you are the chosen one in your family to attend college which is MAYBE 1 child in a family of 8 or more. The rest do what they can to make a schilling in the market. So. Until you live this life, black people, are Black Americans in my eyes. You are not, nor will you ever be African American, because you will never realize how HARD these people work for everything they have day in and day out, and they don't scream for "free" stuff. Example: Healthcare. (Yes, some people in the U.S. of A work hard. My parents, and their parents, and their parents etc... But they don't/didn't work this hard for a "dolla dolla bill." Neither do I, and neither do you. These Kenyans are just grateful for work. Grateful to HAND WASH MY LAUNDRY. Like what? It brings Mercy outstanding joy to hand wash my laundry and clean our kitchen because it means she gets paid. So, how about EVERYONE (Myself included) QUIT with the DAMN COMPLAINING, and just be GRATEFUL!
**Alright. I just needed to get that off my chest. PHEW. I feel so much better already.  What I "preached" was not meant to offend anyone. I was stating the facts. If you don't like it, sorry. I'm witnessing things first hand, so there. God has been convicting me a lot too, and yes the truth hurts. No one said it didn't.**
Neyways back to Kapsowar... : ) So the roosters crow all day long. Not just at 6 a.m. But ALL day long. They are worse than babies with severe colic. (If you've had one or kept one you know what I'm talking about here... haha!) If you are thinking about getting a rooster... take my advice. Don't. They are miserable. On the flip side, I have met SO many people that it is well, astronomical. They all look the same, to me and I'm horrible with names... plus they mumble really bad, talk very quiet because they are very shy, speak very little english, and I also speak like no swahili, but they are still so sweet even when they are so sick! I swear they change outfits, names, and then re-introduce themselves... they really don't do that but I so feel like they do! They are all the same "color black" because they are from the same tribe which makes them so difficult to differentiate. I thought it was hard in Nairobi, but heck no it's easy there! Nairobi has a mixture of all different tribes from all over Kenya so there's many shades of black, but here there is just one tribe, and I swear they are all identical. Whatever I'll get it.

All the ladies here wear biscuit tennis shoes. It reminds me of my Papaw Harace because that is all he wears! * When you go into someone house you always take your shoes off... no idea why. Maybe I should find that out!*

 The view outside my bedroom window (Mrs. Laura made sure it was the best. Indeed it is.) P.S. we're going to climb that mountain when we get acclimated to the altitude. Let's just pray that left Plantar Fisciitis and left knee don't give me any trouble!!! 

 All our laundry is done by hand like in the old in days and then hung up to dry by Mercy our housekeeper. Those would all be my sox too!

Every night we refill the water bottles up with tap water, and then sit them outside to receive the sunlights U.V. Rays for approximately 8-10 hours to rid of any pathogens in the water. The bottles on the right are the newest ones we set out, and the bottles on the left oldest ones. Therefore, every night we rotate them. Make sense? 

 This is the water purifier. After the water has been sitting in the sun for 8-10 hours we then poor the water in here at night and let it purify. Technically the water is now safe to drink after this step.

To be extra careful, we put the purified water into the boiling pitcher for 10 minutes. And viola! We have scorching hot drinking water! : )

These are two of the little girls who walk by our hostile daily with watering jugs. ( Can you imagine how heavy these are when full?) There is a watering well just up the road where they, along with their sisters collect all the water for their rather large family for night and following day to drink, cook, bathe, and wash clothes with. It's sad and cute at the same time. You might be saying wow they are so young... but these girls are actually old compared to the several 3 year olds I also see climbing up the hill with their bothers and sisters every afternoon with teeny tiny water jugs doing the exact same thing. It's an eye opener for sure because THEY DON'T COMPLAIN. THIS IS JUST LIFE TO THEM!

*I really love Kapsowar as of right now. Maybe that will change when all my asian roommates leave in 2 weeks, and my new roommates come along. I have no idea. I pray it won't. I still haven't found my niche. It's a whole lot different here than in the states. The nurses play a completely different role. In saying that, it's not necessarily a good thing. They are also not open to anyone coming in to help or changing their way of caring for the sick patients. Here is an example of the nursing care: A patient I saw my second day here at 4 p.m. with meningitis died very early that following morning. According to one of the nurses she died at 1 a.m. However, at around 9 a.m. during morning rounds the deceased patient was still lying in her hospital bed, without sheet covering her, in the same room with all the other extremely ill patients,  (everyone is in the same room kind of like in the old-n-days) and had not been moved to the morgue which is about 5 yards away maybe nor moved  to a separate area, or at least pull the curtain and cover her up. Catch my drift? It's a whole different scenario here. So please keep praying that I will find my place or niche here. It's somewhere I know it! I just haven't found it yet. I feel the prayers already from everyone, and it is beyond comforting! Thank you all so very much!*