Bleach and Boxcar Children

Well, let me tell you a tale of my first few days here.

I arrived in Maseno after a surprisingly easy journey from nairobi. Upon entering the rotary house(the house I lived in before and where my students will be staying), however, I found it to be a disaster. And I feel like I have very high standards for the word disaster. After the doctor and his wife left it seems no one has been taking care of it. Not only was it filthy, and the fridge was full of cockroaches (which are my Achilles heel, by the way) , but the roof was leaking and part of the ceiling was falling down.

So, my first thought came from the little dreamer on my right shoulder that said it would be fun to get this place back in shape, and this was my home after all, and I had to put it right. Perhaps I could even pretend I was one of the boxcar children. I've always secretly wondered if I was tough enough to join their ranks. Then that naughty little realist on my left shoulder reminded me I could get across the village first thing in the morning to the university guest house and forget all about the rotary house. That was someone else's problem and I'm sure they would take care of it.

Let me explain a little bit of the significance of this house first, to give you a little context (house pictured to right). The house is right behind the hospital, and the other guest house in town is quite a ways from the hospital and rather inconvienient in you don't have car because it's a 20-30 minute walk. And you have to get back there before it gets dark if you're walking, so that really limits your day for anyone working at the hospital. Which can be harder than it sounds if patients have been waiting all day to see you, or if a parent brings in a comatose child in their arms right when you're leaving, and no one has shown up for the night shift. The visiting medical staff are very important to the hospital because they bring with them supplies, knowledge, teaching, and money. All things we really need.

So these two on my shoulders battled it out for several days while I mulled over my options, worked at the hospital, and survived on mandazi and Stoney. I found it quite stressful and discouraging actually, made even worse by the realization that being a boxcar child has been incredibly over-rated in my mind for the last 20 years. I did what any sad, lonely girl does- I called my parents :) After a little pep talk from them I did a mediocre job cleaning up, except for the Achilles heel in the kitchen (I am only so strong). Then, as an answer to prayer, 3 ladies showed up today and asked if they could clean the house. They'd heard how bad it was and were afraid I would leave and stop coming to Maseno. They scrubbed this house until it shone. It smells like bleach and sunshine now.

It was then go big or go home time, and since my plane tickets were non-refundable....... I hired a delightful cook and housekeeper who agreed to stay on for at least the next year. She starts friday. I found a lovely fundi (carpenter) who will be coming back tomorrow morning to patch the roof, paint the roof, replace sections of the ceiling, repair the floor, and put new locks on the doors. I will be heading to kisumu tomorrow to restock the house with everything from clothespins to the customary blue toilet paper. My group of students will be the first to stay in the new and improved house!

So, that was a very long way to tell you all that things are looking up for both me and the rotary house. I am currently being lulled to sleep my the sound of my guard snoring on the front porch. When it's coming through a concrete wall it's actually quite soothing. Now while your reaction may tend to be, " What, your guard is asleep!?". I tend to think, "Sweet, I have a guard!". He's actually one of the hospital guards but seems to have taken it upon himself to make sure the little mzungu girl makes it safely through the nights. I have considered leaving cookies out for him so he isn't tempted to wander to more interesting front porches.

Lala salama (good night) .

Jessie