More of What I LOVE.

I LOVE that I have to talk in a kenyan accent or other wise NO ONE (Kenyan that is) can understand me. For instance, in Theatre (O.R.) when I need to ask one of the nurses where something is, or how to do something, or this, or that in my normal apparently "thick" southern accent, they look at me like a deer in headlights, OR they make something up to be nice to pretend they understood etc... BUT as soon as I switch the accent, 2 seconds. They understand what I'm saying. Mercy same way. Poor thing. Her english is okay, just not that great. If I don't speak to her in a kenyan accent you can forget it. However, everyone else for some reason can talk like their regular ole self, and be just fine... I reckon my accent is the only thing I can blame Mississippi for! : )

I LOVE my new Kenyan African name: Jelimo. Meaning I was born in the afternoon before the sun has set. So my name would be Julie Jelimo Michele Carter. To people of the same tribe as me I would be known as Jelimo, but to everyone else outside my tribe I would my American name, Julie. Make sense?  

Want to know what I LOVE MOST about my pretty awesome new name?!?!

Is this equally fabulous extremely very fast girl. HER NAME IS JELIMO TOO!!!! And she is THE Female Kenyan Olympic runner for LONDON 2012!!!!! GO KENYA!!! GO ME TOO!! SORT OF... YEAH!!! Pretty awesome eh?? Who knows... I've probably seen her running in Iten, and not even realized it. I reckon I should start walking now. Maybe I'll make it up to a brisk run come August! 

You know I LOVE a smiling baby especially when their sick because that means they need the MOSTEST attention of them all.

I LOVE how I got this sweet, little, shy deaf boy who wouldn't  even tell me his name or smile at first... to smile without using any words, sign, or an interpreter, but just by simply being myself. Anyone could do that. 

I LOVE that even though she is eleven, deaf, living at boarding school, and her clothes are old, dirty, worn, and tattered, she would still ROCK the cover of Vogue magazine better than any model I've ever seen pose clean and of hearing.

I don't "LOVE" that I now need to go on a diet because of all Mrs. Laura's insanely fabulous cooking! I thought I came to Africa to lose weight! Not gain more than I already had prior to coming! Ugh whatever.  

I LOVE THE KITTIES!!!!!!!

I LOVE watching Bill do surgery -because he is like so freaking good- and teach. This is him doing a skin graft with Cess. The only other surgeon here.

Oh how I LOVE the itty bitty sweet babies! Especially this one. Her name is Julie. She got the most specialist treatment of all the babies I've helped deliver. She had a rough delivery so Julie to julie I had to give her the royal treatment she ever did deserve. So I cut the cord, sucked the junk out, but only to replace it with glitter and sparkle of course! Rocked her, talked in english to her, because you know, it's never to soon to have them exposed to such a great southern accent. Made her smile so big, bathed her so she would smell delicious, and then I bundled her up like a cocoon, and kissed her goodbye! She was the sweetest little thing, I could have just squeezed that little cone head! But with a name like "Julie" how could she not be sweet and destined for greatness? I mean come on! 

I LOVE teaching Lewenei how to cook western food, and see him enjoy just as much as I do. He is so great and is such an awesome friend. I have enjoyed so much getting to know him, and making him try all new "American" foods! Oh and not to mention his English is so much better than his Kiswahili. 

I LOVE "Sunday Night Pizza Night." A tradition I started here at the hostel, and thankfully the roommates seem to LOVE it too! 

 Oh I just LOVE my sweet Mercy girl. I can never get enough of her. Sometimes I skip going into Theatre so I can lay on sheet and talk to her while she washes our clothes. She really is the best, and such a great friend. I am so thankful for her. (One day I tried to "help" Mercy wash clothes. In 5 minutes, I  no longer had feeling my hands, and my back was aching so badly that I just gave up, and laid right back down on my sheet, and did what I do best. Talk. And left the clothes washing to Mercy.) 

 I LOVE that for 2 weeks she never moved.

 I LOVE how Jephet is a "Man on a Mission" in Theatre prepping for cases. His lankiness and spasticness only add to the drama of him getting in trouble for reaching over sterile fields, because he somehow forgot 4 hours into the surgery everyone and thing IS STILL STERILE, dropping things, etc... Even though he knows more than most of the scrub nurses here. Oh he cracks me up so much!

and how I LOVE watching kitties dig for trash. 

Speaking of kitties and their food... I went with Mercy to lunch today, and I was telling Edna the "chef" of Kapsowar that the only Kenyan food I didn't like was Ugalli. (Which is their best dish apparently. Of course I don't like that one.) For 1. The taste. & 2. It looks like canned cat food. Edna laughed so hard, but then she looks at me in all seriousness and said: "Your cats don't eat trash?" I tried SO hard not laugh, but that's all they know. Here dogs, cats, and sheep all eat trash from the compost piles, it's less they have to burn! There is no such thing as cat food or dog food.