Doing a post on the things I'll miss about Kijabe could be a recipe for disaster: the things I'll miss are legion, and I'm afraid I may go on and on about it. I'll try not to! Some things have been mentioned before, or go without saying: this community that surrounds us, especially friends Francis & Evelyn, the weather (back-to-back-to-back perfect summer days right now is hard to be beat), and then, when the weather turns cold, our fireplace to keep us warm, our house and yard, and so on. But here are a few things that I may not have mentioned...
Yesterday & today, Dexter took Kyalo with him in the morning to the dental clinic. Their day starts out with one hour of devotions, which gives me time to get things done without having Kyalo underfoot - or being afraid of waking him up. {A workout, some cleaning, work, etc}.
But more than that, most days, Dexter leaves at about 7:58 for the long walk down to the clinic to be there by 8. He comes home for lunch most days. And I would say I pop in on the clinic 2-3 times each week to say hello to him and the folks he works with. I'm guessing that I can't just show up while he's in class for a quick "hello."? Lately I've been going on my afternoon walk a little bit later, so Kyalo and I go to pick him up and escort him home.
In our three years of marriage, we have lived and worked in the same place...having lunch together, walking to work together, etc. We're heading into the real world now, I guess, and I can't say I'm excited!
We get our fruits and veggies from the local "duka" (shop) just down the road, and Kyalo and I often find ourselves there, getting our onions and tomatoes, etc. I love that the ladies who sell the veggies love Kyalo. One even sings Kikuyu praise songs to him, and another almost always gives me an extra banana (for free!) just for him. It is these little things that make life here both wonderful and quaint.
When we're on our daily walks, Kyalo and I will often bump into people we know. We stop and have a quick chat and then go on our way. I think little encounters like that -- even though they're brief and random -- have kept me from feeling too lonely or isolated here in Kijabe.
Chai. I love this milky tea that Kenyans have. Dexter and I put rosemary in it from our rosemary bush (just about the only successful thing we've grown), and it tastes so good to me. Sure, we can make it in the States, with the tea from Kenya but somehow it just doesn't taste the same. I think the American milk has too much "stuff" in it - or the cows are eating vastly different things.
Other little things:
- hanging laundry to dry {yes, I really like to do that!}
- walking everywhere {which may, or may not, have something to do with my refusal to drive anywhere in Kenya.}
- the simple living we do here without even really trying
There's probably a lot more I could say here, but I'll leave it at that, as Kyalo and I are heading out on one of our afternoon walks. I'll do a post about what I'm looking forward to in the US, too, just to keep things fair.
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