Smothers' Soliloquy: The day I gave all the kids pipi!

Thursday

[How cute is this kid?!]

We awoke to rain this morning (which is the first time any of us have done that since being in Africa) when the donkeys screamed, telling us it was time to wake up. My bed always feels extra cozy on rainy mornings, so I just rolled over as Julia got ready for work. She grabbed her umbrella before leaving.

Then she came back to grab a jacket.

Apparently it’s going to be cold, rainy day.

I got dressed and had oatmeal with Stephanie. She’s super thankful this morning that art classes don’t start until 10 am.

I debate walking down to get chi, because warm tea sounds fabulous on a day like today, but getting wet just doesn’t really seem worth it.

Julia returns from work to eat oatmeal and offers me some chi she has here. Problem solved! I get to stay dry and drink chi while working on my project!

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The rain stopped around 10 am. Julia walks back in and we start to discuss strategy for the weekend.

When you only can drive to the town with a grocery store in it every other week, you have to make very careful plans for everything.

We discussed our strategy: drive to the hotel, check in, drive to the paint store, order paint, drive to the grocery store, pick up groceries, then back to the paint store to pick up paint, then have the driver take everything home while he drops us off at the market and we shop for things at the market.

Julia’s getting really good at plans. She also devised plan to get her house ready asap without asking specifically for it. She had Jackie, who “knows the language better” ask for her. That’s the way you have to do things around here.

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Julia’s drunk.

At least that’s what she’s been telling people for the past month.

She thought when two vowels were next to each other, they make 1 sound like in English. But in Swahili, they make 2 distinct sounds.

She’s been meaning to say “Naelewa (I understand)” but has been saying “Nalewah (I’m drunk)”

Incidentally, Naolewa = I’m getting married, so if I had been off by a letter in the other direction we would have all been fine.

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Julia walked into the 5^th grade room to drop off some forms, and the teacher was teaching a science lesson. Julia had just been typing up the 5^th grade science curriculum and had just finished the digestive system. She glanced down at the science book on the teacher’s desk and briefly saw a cross section of a human with what looked like organs inside.

She said to the class, “Oh, you’re studying the digestive system.”

The teacher corrected her, “No, we’re studying sexual reproduction.”

Julia glanced back down at the cross section of the human, and realized it was a human male with all the anatomical parts outlined and identified for the reproductive system.

She walked out, blushing, of a room of laughing 5^th graders.

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Julia and I decided to walk to the big house (where Chris and his 4 sons live) for internet.

“Hodi (think Howdy without the without the W and just a long O)” we call out. Because that’s how you politely enter someone else’s house.

“Karibu (welcome)” the housekeeper called.

After working on my project for a long time, I excused myself to the restroom.

Where I found boxers hanging from the shower curtain rod.

Living with boys. Boxers hanging from the bathroom.

I guess this is what I have to look forward to ;)

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Guess what’s for lunch?

You guessed it! Ugale and beans! Again!

I just have to keep reminding myself, “be thankful the kids are getting fed…” I may never eat cornmeal and plain baked beans again.

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Julia gets a text from Chris and Kayci, who have taken 2 kids, a girl and a boy, to America for the first time. They are currently still in transit, but have made it to an airport big enough to have “moving sidewalks.”

The kids have never seen anything like that before and jumped around on them, clearly in love.

We would LOVE to be there as the kids experience these new things. We only wonder what they’ll think of New York City, their first destination in America.

Although, Julia is tired of using her old generation phone (the kind without a keyboard or T9Word option) to text Chris. The entire conversation about the kids took about 30 minutes to type via phone, when it just took me less than 1 minute to explain it to you.

Welcome to Africa.

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This afternoon, we met the kids at school and spread the word: Shannon is giving you a check up after school and has presents for each kid!

The best way to ensure you get kids to go to the doctor: give them a present after their check-up.

[small line]

I did a basic physical minus an otoscope/ ophthalmoscope. But pretty much everything else.

[Yonga is 4. Does she look skeptical, or is it just me?]

[physical exam]

Each kid got a bar of soap (thanks Dr. Jones!) and a new toothbrush (Thanks Mom!) and a piece of pipi.

Which is Swahili for candy.

[treats]

Exams on 40 kids took me a few hours. At the end, some kids wanted to listen to their heartbeat. I showed them what it sounds like, then I let them listen to my heart and their heart. The faces on the kids were priceless!

[Can I steal her?! Look at that smile!]

[Stephanie and Seti watching heartbeats]

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For dinner, we made guacamole (yum!) and quesadillas from scratch! We shredded the cheese from U-turn and rolled out and fried dough to make tortillas! We found some tortilla chips the Chris and Kayci left open, and since they would be bad before they returned, we commandeered them for our meal. It was SO delicious.

Tortilla Recipe-from the Joy of cooking cookbook (so I don’t forget):

1tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

2 cups flower (I used wheat flower, delicious!)

¼ cup margarine (Blue Band brand in Tanzania although you could use Crisco in America)

Add ¾ cup hot water (110-130 degrees, I did boiling)

Mix dough for 6 ish minutes, roll to 8 balls and let sit 20 min.