days by a pool: Mombasa (or Diani beach) was HOT! and I think I spent 2 maybe 3 days entirely by the pool. I would read when no one else was around and would chat with whoever came by. A lot of the fun of this part of the trip was meeting Will and Kim's family and friends.
a road trip to kigali: The day I arrived in Bujumbura Seth and Trina told me they were thinking of taking me to Kigali, Rwanda the next day. I was so excited!! So the next day we got in the car and drove 5 hours north through beautiful countryside of lush green hills, local houses, people and potholes. I loved anytime I was driving in Africa, to see what real life is like in these parts of the world. It was 4 hours to the border and then another hour or so to the city. I really liked Kigali! We went to dinner the first night, where one of the presidential candidates was at a neighboring table. The next day we met up with Trina's sister and we shopped at the market. It was my first chance at bargaining and I think I did ok. Instead of $1.50 for a pair of earrings, I got 'em for $1 :) I was pretty giddy in this city.. we were taking moto's everywhere (jump on the back of a small motorcycle with a guy). They would cost $1-4 a trip. So fun to see the city that way!
We next went to the Genocide memorial. That was sobering and sad to picture the lovely streets of Kigali covered in bodies and people running for their lives. I think the fact that this happened when I was an oblivious high school student felt all the more real.
being kissed in the market: Ok, here's the story. Trina took me through the market in Bujumbura. It was busy!! Walking through the fish section was the most interesting.. it smelled, it was cramped and you could watch the men cutting up these HUGE fish they had caught in the lake. We so stood out!! Two musungus (white kids) walking through a sea of people. We got to the section where the beautiful fabrics were and Trina saw the wife of her tennis coach. We were busily chatting with her, and this guy walked up to me and did the whole french greeting thing where you kiss cheeks three times. Except, you don't really kiss, you just touch cheeks and kiss the air. This guy was like fully kissing my cheeks. All I thought was "this will be over soon" and I was laughing. Trina didn't know what was happening and I was like, "he just kissed me" and she and the wife called him a thief and told him to go away! I was still laughing in disbelief. so random.
I couldn't take photos in the market, so I found this online
a hot and sticky 2-hour taxi ride: ok, i'm not whining but... picture this: ten hour flight from pdx to amsterdam, 2 hours there, 8 hour flight to nairobi, picked up by Will and his brother, an hour ride to his house in Lumuru, 4 hours of sleep, the very, very bad decision not to take a shower, an hour back to the airport where everyone catches early flights to mombasa except me, wait 3 hours for my flight, 1 hour flight to mombasa, greeted at the airport by a driver with my name on a sign (wheh!)... and then a hot and sticky ride through the streets of mombasa to diani beach where friends and a meal and paradise were waiting for me. Relief.
a walk through a village: Seth took me to a village just outside of Buj where we were given a tour by his friend Enoch. It was so great to see local life and greet people along the way. It was fun to see Seth use his Kirundi to chat up the women and children we saw. I'll never forget this experience!
throwing up in a market: ya, so I throw up a lot. I've thrown up in stores, on airplanes, on street corners, you name it, i've marked it. Some of the more interesting places I've thrown up are: Lietnom, Sudan; London, England; Prague, Czech Republic.. and newly added: Bujumbura, Burundi.
I was taking doxycycline for malaria, but on about day 10 it was starting to make me sick. One day Trina took me into the city to show me around and then we were going to go to a pottery market. Through the city we went, where there are potholes the size of me. Trina's pointing out the US embassy, where she works, etc and I'm getting more and more sick. We stop at the market and I tell her I may throw up. We go inside to see the pottery and I'm like, ya, i'm gonna need a toilet. The salesmen takes me through back rooms into the dirtiest toilet I may have ever seen. And I lose it. projectile if you must know. I come back to Trina who is laughing at my sad, sad state. We leave the store and Trina tries to comfort me with stories of other people who have gotten sick in Africa.. which actually doesn't make me feel better, just makes my gag reflex kick in. I tell her she better pull over, where I proceed to stand on the side of the road where people are busily walking by, staring at me. Fortunately, the fresh air and break from throw up stories saves me and we move on. We were both laughing at Trina's empathy and my ability to embarrass myself on the other side of the world.
Trina's work: World Relief.. I got made fun of for taking this picture, but see how useful it is?
a casual marriage proposal: Oh ya. I was talking to our chef, telling him how great he was and how much I loved being there. He mentioned that I could just stay, and be his second wife. It was a hard offer to refuse, but I'm glad he offered so I could have the story :)
Marla, me, Chef Kasim, Rachelle, Molly
eating cow tongue: In Bujumbura they make these amazing brochettes of fish or beef. They were delicious. We also discovered that they made brochettes of cow tongue, liver and other major organs. The last night in town, Trina's friend ordered tongue and offered me some. I'm all about trying everything once, but I was really not interested.. but Trina was interested in me trying it and taking a picture of me trying it. It wasn't bad.. if I didn't think about it.
Seth, Brice, Trina, me, Claude, Jean Vie (sp?) and sweet wife
dancing the night away: Trina's Burundian friends wanted to make sure I loved their country. It was a big deal that their friend had a friend in town, and they took it upon themselves to make sure I left happy. So sweet! So the last night they made sure I didn't get any sleep as we hopped around from dinner, to an expat spot where people were salsa dancing, to a random dance club where we didn't leave 'til 4am. It was so fun until I hit a wall at about 3 and just wanted to go to bed. They were so sweet to me though and thanks to their love for Trina, made me feel loved too.
getting to see my friends in the middle of their African adventures. The reason I went.
2 comments:
GREAT pictures and comments. You, along with all your sisters, are a great writer. I felt like I was there.
See you tomorrow.
Mom
Thanks for sharing these stories, Bekah! It sounds like the trip was so memorable, and I am so glad you had the experience. Your hair looks cute too. :)
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