Slow Motion

How quickly I forgot that Kenya works in slow motion. I feel as though I am in a movie that has been set on slow motion. There is no remote to change the movie back to regular speed so I am stuck. Our fast paced American lives are filled with alarm clocks, due dates, appointments and clock watching. Kenyan lives are based on eating. Anything you are going to accomplish during the day revolves around food especially since you only have one stove to prepare your feast. As a volunteer, I wanted to move at the American pace. I figured we would arrive in Aitong at the camp and quickly be building or painting or working on the land. But, I forgot that everything takes longer in Kenya….especially out in the bush. We had to spend a day or two “thinking” about our plans to work on the camp and discussing what we might do. We did some touring of the land around the camp but didn’t do any work. Finally, on day three, we were ready to work. Jamey wanted the kitchen windows and doors painted. No problem. 3 small windows and 1 door. I would guess it would take us 2 hours tops if we were meticulous painters. Boy was I wrong! We had 2 paintbrushes (one overly large and one small) for 6 people. The stirring stick for the paint was a real stick and the paint tray was a water jug that had been cut in half.  Our stools were placed on uneven rocky ground so we had to be very careful not to lean too quickly or our paint would come down with us. With no running water we also had to be very careful not get paint on ourselves. So, we all took turns painting and finally finished the job 4 hours after we started. I will say that the kitchen looks very nice although it could use a second coat. I am also happy to announce that we were all able to paint with one a few drips on our hands that easily came off with hand wipes. I was nervous we would all have green (did I mention it was lime green paint) hands by the time we ended and have no way to get it off. David, the builder, was very impressed with our work and was surprised that Americans knew how to paint.

The next day we worked on improving the area around the dining tent. Jamey wanted to change some of the walkways and add some rocks to separate the garden area in front of the dining hall. Silly me thought that this would only take a small amount of time. We wondered where the garden center was and how long it would take them to deliver rocks. Crap. No garden center. Just a wheelbarrel, our hands, and the acres of rocks around us. Mike and Katy spend over an hour trying to dig out and relocate a small bush. They had a small shovel and a pick ax to accomplish their task. After awhile it became clear that this small bush was actually a sprout from the tree a few feet away. They dug up a 3 foot branch/root that was connected to the bush. Meanwhile the rest of us spent time taking the wheelbarrow to an area with rocks, collecting them and then delivering them to the dining tent. We lined the walkways and garden area with rocks of various sizes. After we worked on the garden area we head to the entrance of Jamey’s camp and widened the road. Luckily the rocks were already lining the road and we just had to move them over a foot so trucks could get up the path. It seemed like we didn’t do much work but a few hours later my back, shoulders, and chest, were aching. I guess I’m not cut out for landscaping and should stick to my teaching job.

It seems like we did a small amount of work but I guess that in Kenya terms we accomplished a lot in a few short days. I admire the hard work that the Kenyan people do with the limited resources they have. I might complain that they move in slow motion but they work way harder than we do. I don’t think I would be able to carry jugs of water a couple of miles after filling it in the stream, collect a huge bundle of firewood and carry it home on my back or cook every meal while leaning over one gas stove.  

Tonight we begin our journey home. I am ready to stop living out of a suitcase but I will definitely miss Kenya. Since I didn't have much Internet access I will write some more posts once we return home.