first days in kenya pt. 2

when we arrived to the orphanage yesterday, all the girls fought over who could carry our heavy luggage to our building, which was quite a walk. we looked over and saw one of the youngest girls, who looked like she was about four years old, swiftly lifting one of our fifty pound suitcases on her back and running up the hill. what a greeting. there are forty-six girls at the orphanage, ranging from about four to fourteen. all of them are so sweet and excited to have volunteers staying in the compound. the girls quickly warmed up to us and throughout the entire day they were holding our hands and stroking our hair.
we're living in our own building, which is an old dorm building, located in the compound. all the room are empty expect for our one bedroom equipped with a table, two beds, and a dresser. there is no running water. we took our first shower today which was quite an endeavor. all we have is buckets of cold water which we have to boil on a gas propane tank. this is how we wash dishes, cook food, brush our teeth, and shower. when joseph dropped us off, he told us, "now you'll experience the real kenyan life".
this morning we woke up to a chorus of about forty girls chanting our names outside our window. we thought we were dreaming but as we woke up we remembered where we were. we felt bad taking so much time to prepare our breakfast but when we finally went downstairs they were all eagerly waiting behind the gate that seperate our living quarters from the rest of the compound. when we went outside all the girls were fighting over who could hold our hands and as we walked through the compound they surrounded us. today they didnt have school so they were doing their chores; washing clothes, fetching water, washing the dining hall, kitchen, and toilets. Our presence was definitly very distracting to them. the housemother asked a girl named Faith to give us a tour but it soon turned into a photoshoot-the girls love our cameras and the minute they see them they want to take them and take as many pictures as they can. we tried to go on our first run today which was very interesting. when we started running all the young girls ran after us around the compound and we had to stop and explain what we were doing. they still didnt really understand why they couldnt come with us. we tried to find somewhere to run but ended up having to run back and forth on the same road with all the girls watching us from the edge of the compound. after fifteen minutes of this we ran back to the field where they play and did sprints which they eagerly participated in. the girls ended up being the best personal trainers we could get because they kept urging us to do more and more sprints. later, we taught them how to play ultimate frisbee, and there were a couple that were so good that they should belong on the amherst varisty team. the older girls really enjoyed the game while most of the younger girls just ran around fighting over the disc.
later we went into town with the adminstrations manager, francis. we took a taktak, while is a small, three wheeled car. somehow six people, half of which we didn't know, were able to fit in the tiny golf cart-sized vehicle. machakos town is a lot smaller and a lot less modern than nairobi. we went to the open market where local farmers sell fresh fruits and vegetables. we bought an avacado and bananas for dinner. the avacado cost only 10 shillings (80 shillings is one U.S. dollar). we walked back and every single person we passed asked, "how are you", and when we answered they would laugh with their friends. francis explained to us that people in machakos rarely see white people, or "izungu" in swahili, so they all get really excited and curious when they see us.
tonight we sat in the dining hall teaching each other swahili and english songs. the girls were so eager to learn and even more eager to teach. in fact, we ended up learning more than they did as they taught us the name of every body part and numbers up to ten in swahili. tomorrow we will experience kenya church. this will be interesting.