first trip to kitale town

okay... so lauren is pretty frickin amazing, not gonna lie. she makes me laugh so hard, and she and i and michelle (and now ina) have soooo much fun together. we're getting to be a close knit little family after a few days together.

the second day in kitale, we went on our first trip to town, and lauren was our guide. something she told us we had to learn really quick, is that when outside, the bigger the vehicle or bike, that's the one that has the right of way. a semi and a matatu will literally play a game of chicken until the matatu driver realizes that he will NOT win, if the semi driver isn't bluffing. either way, mini van does not trump semi truck.

the same can be said for people (even white people), and boda boda drivers. boda bodas are bicycles with seat on the back... kinda like the bike every kid wants, because he can transport kids on the little seat on the back.

the first trip to town, here are a few things that happened:
- i crossed the road near the most busy turnaround in kitale, and a boda came out of nowhere, and i had to take a big step to the other side of the road to avoid getting hit. no sooner did i take the step, but every black person around michelle and lauren and i shouted "eh! MAZUNGU MAZUNGU!!" (hey! white person, white person!)just in time for me to avoid being flattened by the matatu i had just stepped in front of.
- a man shouted "eh! obama family!" at lauren, and she explained that here, americans are thought to know president obama personally... and he's a celebrity here. so if someone asks you if you know obama, you say yes, and they say "oh... me too.he is my best closest friend!" and then apparently you are the coolest thing on the PLANET. it's really histerical.
- my first visit to a kenyan store was eventful, as a man was getting bodily dragged from the store by five grown men who honestly looked like they were having a HARD time of getting him out of there.
- while touring shop building, a drunken man walked up to me and looked at lauren and tried to barter for me to be his wife. seriously? little lauren is going to sell me to him? puhLEEZ.
- five minutes later, we were taking pictures of the scenery from that same building's top floor, and a man walked up to me and told me "i like your body" straight to my face. yeah... no joke.
- i walk down the street, and matatus slow down, bodas nearly collide with each other, men click their tongues at me, women shout "oh..oh wow. wowowow." at each other, and watch me pass by with jealous eyes. what i didnt truly understand upon coming to kenya is that white people are celebrities here, but tall white girls who are overweight like me are pretty much considered SUPERMODELS. its so funny.
- we went to the market, and five market ladies stood up and started cackling until one shouted "FAITH! FAITH!" and not until i was in the midst of all of them, was i able to get my hand free enough to grab a picture of faith and say "no... no faith is my TWIN... we are sisters!" and they just thought it was the most amazing thing theyd ever heard or seen. rosemary, a markey lady next to me, says faith is much better at swahili than me, and lauren had to tell her i'd only been there for two days. rosemary also says faith is her "very best good friend". then of course michelle and i got swahili lessons from the women around us. they just loved it, and i fell in love with their weatherworn smiles and loud cackling laughs when i messed up a word. seriously, i think i probably end up cussing at kenyans in their language like 20 times a day just because i have no idea what the crap i'm saying half the time. haha
- when we met dan and a few people for lunch later, i asked lauren if kenyans used napkins, and she looked at me really funny for a couple seconds and then it registered what i meant. she shouted out "eh... serbiettes?" to our waitress, and then whispered to me that napkins are feminine products here. ugh... ive never been so thankful for lauren in my life. i probably would've sad it outloud for the whole restaurant to hear if she wasnt around.

life here is an adventure, and i am so enjoying it all. for now it is new and exciting, and there is always something new to do. the TI team never seems to tire of the endless outings and checkups they do. my entire first two weeks has already been planned out. phew.