After two more relaxing days in Eldoret, I've left the peace and quiet of Auntie and Uncle's home for the hustle and bustle of Nairobi. I bid them a tearful goodbye earlier this evening at the tiny little domestic departures terminal at the Eldoret "International" Airport (I say "international" because it only has domestic flights; I think they were feeling hopeful when they named it). I was more sad to leave them than anyone else I've met on this trip; they not only did more for me than I would expect from anyone, but they did it with love. Hopefully I'll be seeing them in Nairobi before I leave for Joburg.
On Monday morning I had another massage (I miss those already) and in the afternoon Auntie had a "kitty" party at the house. This is something she does with eleven other women from the community, once a month. The dozen plus one (me!) sat around and played cards and ate the scrumptious food which all the women brought. One woman brought the most amazing carrot halva I've ever had. I think I was responsible for finishing off most of it. (If you don't know what carrot halva is, get to your nearest Indian restaurant and try it immediately.) They're all so funny about the cards. They play a variety of games that they bet on. Most were variations of poker and blackjack, but which I had never heard of (like "39" instead of 21). They bet with Kshs 1 coins, which are worth about two cents, so the stakes aren't particularly high, but these women can be vicious! I won a couple of times, which was cool (yay for an extra buck!), but mainly I stuffed my face and listened to the women jabber away in a mix of Punjabi and Hindi. Because I've been hearing them constantly over the past week, I'm starting to get certain words and phrases lodged in my head, which is awesome. Hindi is so similar to Marathi that it's a total waste not to learn it as well. That's going to be my first project when I get home.
Today I spent most of the day packing and relaxing with Auntie until Uncle came home and we left for the airport. I had to say goodbye to the dogs. That was sad. I wonder if they'll miss me. I spent a good portion of each day outside with them.
The flight to Nairobi was short and painless. We only got to the airport a few minutes before the flight was meant to take off, and I realized why when I saw the airport -- there's just one gate and the planes that leave from there are tiny; there were maybe thirty people on my flight. The flight itself was only half an hour. Nalinmama, my uncle who stays in Nairobi ("mama" indicates an uncle on the mother's side), and his son Parth came to pick me up, and now we're home in their flat. So far the only impression I have of Nairobi is not a good one: loads of traffic -- it took us over an hour to get home even though the airport is probably only about fifteen miles away -- and really polluted, more so than Accra or Kampala. It's also more developed: more tall buildings, more lights, better roads and working traffic lights. I'll write more once I've seen it in the daytime. But not for another few days, because tomorrow I leave for the real Africa!
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