today is cultural day, which means we'll be spending the day in a house or two way out in the local community trying to get a feel for the lifestyle of the villagers. we'll be delegated household tasks and working throughout the morning and afternoon realising what it is we'd be doing in order to survive here. i'm looking forward to it, it think it's gonna be a great experience..
that aside, i've been here at camp muhaka for a full week now.. it's really strange, it feels like i've been here a lot longer than that.. a group of us stayed up last night playing cards and it was just so chill and everyone enjoyed themselves (: it's weird that only a week ago we were all strangers. but i've gotta say, i am a little homesick.. to know that it's only been a week and that there are pretty much 4 months and a week to go until i see you all again is just.. wow. like i know why i'm here and i'm so glad i chose to live out this trip to the fullest, it just really is a long time and home feels so far away. i'm doing pretty good though in retrospect - there's a girl here who's phone plan has been cut off because she's spent over 1000 pounds in under 6 days on the phone to her boyfriend. she's here for 1 month but because she's homesick her parents are flying out in a week and staying in a hotel in Diani to make her feel better.. good for her if that's what she's after but personally i don't think i could live with that.
it is strange going to bed and wondering what everyone's going to do with their days though.. i'm used to time differences from going to europe for holidays but i think it's really different being here.. over there i have a structure and a familiarity with the people and places, i'm somewhat at home, and i have a near-constant contact with australia. here i'm totally alone (other than the other campers obviously) doing so many new and sometimes tough things, and for the past 6 days i've hardly had any contact at all. it's both good and bad given i can immerse myself more in what we do every day, but at the same time we have so much spare time at night and if it weren't for my photos and writing occupying me i think i'd be a little worse off..
anyway. i should probably go and get ready now, bus leaves at 8:30 sharp (:
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well cultural day was really enjoyable (: we walked out to a remote farm 3km away from camp and it was nice being able to see a bit more of the countryside and a few more local properties.. when we got there we were taken around on a tour and shown all the crops. kenya is honestly a lot greener than i thought (we are in the rainy season). there were maize, coconut, palm, jakumba, mango, cashew and papaya plantations, as well as kasava (a root which is essential to the local diet).. we got shown the well which is ridiculously deep, the goat stables and the chook pen, then split up into groups. some of us had to take the goats out to graze and tie them up to trees which was a lot funnier and trickier than it sounds. there were ropes going everywhere and the goats were quite un-cooperative, it was so amusing watching the boys trying to sort the chaos out and get the job done. fiesty little creatures.
some of us started on lunch preparations which included chopping, peeling and preparing vegetables and spices. a few gathered up cashew nuts and built a fire to roast them on. others started preparing chapatis which took a lot longer than i'd thought!! chapatis are basically the local bread which is eaten with a lot of meals.. we had to mix the flour, salt and margarine up, knead the dough for ages, roll up little balls, flatten them out and then cook them one by one on a little stove top. then there was the rice which was placed in a sort of palm frond basket with shredded coconut and repeatedly wrung out to give it a coconut taste.
lunch, when ready, was so unbelievably tasty but i'm really glad we don't have to do it this way every day. i was thinking that living like that would be a lot more restful for your mind in a way.. i mean, it's hard and tedious work for sure, but your daily goals are mostly just based on survival and basic living as opposed to worrying about bills, school fees, mortgages, what kind of a person you are, what you're achieving in your job, etc etc. i hope that doesn't come across as insensitive, i basically just mean that it's a much simpler lifestyle in certain ways.. in any case, despite the troubles it brings, i'm still grateful for all the opportunities i have back home. i don't think i'd do so well being the household woman who spends my life cooking and tending to my property..
we then split up into two groups and either planted trees or collected peas for the household to use for dinner.. all in all it was a really lovely day and i'm glad it was a part of the program as i was so keen to get a little closer to the locals than we'd been thus far.
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back at camp it was laundry time.. my singlets and socks and shorts are absolutely filthy from working in the pit and once i reacher the laundry i immediately regretted letting my dirty pile accumulate over the week. we basically have to fill a big bucket with water, chuck in some washing powder, soak our clothes in it and move them about.. then one item at a time, you scrub them in the soapy water, lay them out on the bench top and use a scrubbing brush to literally just brush the fabric as hard as you can on both sides for as long as you can manage.. then back into the soapy water and do the whole thing over again, then rinse them twice over in a separate bucket, wring them out and hang them out to dry. for every single item of clothing. it might not sound like much but i can assure you it is such tiring work!!! i couldn't imagine doing the weekly wash-load for a family of 6.. bloody hell. 3 months of this is gonna be fun. lesson learnt - i'm now washing every day or two to save my arms a little (: washing machines, yet another thing i'm grateful to have back home.. it's clichéd but it's so true - you don't know what you've got til it's gone..
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