Buses and Sweet Boys

Well friends, let me wrap up the excitement of my travels to Maseno with one more catastrophe. After landing in Nairobi I had a mere 4 hours to wait until my bus to Maseno. 4 hours are certainly not bad......unless they begin at 3 am. I immediately regretting my decision to get on an 8-hour bus ride after traveling for 30ish hours (it kills me to say it Aryan-but you were right), but I am not one to admit defeat. Thank the heavens there were two lovely people also waiting for later flights, a Canadian girl and a Egyptian guy, and we passed the time quite nicely. The girl, Kristin, had just arrived for a 4-month research stint, and I fondly recognized the immisakeable I'm-half-way-around-the-world-and-I-don't-belong-here travel regret in her eyes. I remember it well. To keep myself awake and to keep her from bolting onto the next international flight to the western world, I made her a list of travel tips, places to go, and food to try. Then it was time to summon Charlie, my trusty Nairobi driver, to deposit me at the easy coach station. It was then my 8-hour ride began. Thanks again to the heavens, because I got one of the front seats, which meant I wouldn't have to arrive in Maseno with all my joints rattled loose.
I was in and out of consciousness throughout the ride, and would periodically stumble out of the bus to buy a pint of drinking yogurt and then stumble back on. I was roused out once for a flat tire-which I was none too pleased about. I fully regained my senses when we arrived in Kisumu, which was one town away from my home. Yay! Foolishly, I thought to myself, "you're done." I quickly became aware of 2 things; one-was that I needed to use the bathroom BAD(apparently drinking yogurt goes straight to the bladder), and two-I had an impressively matted rat's nest in my hair from my comatose head rubbing on a vinyl seat for 8 hours. I decided to deal with the most pressing issue first when we stopped in kisumu. Every other time we stopped, it was for a least 15-20 min, but just to be safe I asked the driver if I had time to run to the bathroom. He grunted in the affirmative. Or so I thought. So imagine my surprise a few minutes later when I came out, rat's nest still in place because I was in such a rush to get home, and found my bus gone. He left without me!!! And even more alarming to me, he had all my bags on board. I was still in a bleary-eyed stupor, but thankfully a lovely girl helped me summon a taxi to chase the bus down. In all my years in kenya, I have never seen anyone drive as slowly or cautiously as this one.....what are the odds? I was most concerned with my bag of Turkish treasures, followed by my backpack(where all my chocolate was stashed), then the medical supplies. They say crisis situations can bring out people's true feelings.....well, those were mine.
Next I tried to call some of my friends to go to the bus stop and see if they can meet it and grab my luggage, so it wouldn't continue on to Busia. And the network was down. All that was left to do was pray. We did not catch the bus, but we got there pretty shortly after it arrived. My bags and Turkish treasures were all in the office. The only thing I lost, (aka was stolen) was my favorite sweatshirt (yes-the black on with the thumb holes and fold over mittens). It's a loss I will feel deeply as it was not only my favorite, but also the only warm article of clothing I brought. Sadness. But I will press on.
It all became worth it when I pulled up in front of my home and was greeted by my sweet Arnold and Vinicent. Jackyline, of course, had an amazing meal waiting for me, and once again, I am back in love with Kenya :)
As I am sitting on the front porch writing this, my sweet boys are making me look "smart" (aka. Pretty). Vinicent started by picking flowers and gently arranging them in my hair. I know.....presh. (Mzungu hair is a novelty to boys and girls alike in Kenya). Not to be outdone, Arnold (with hands that could be described as less-than-gentle) started weaving leaves and twigs into the wreath-nest as well. Not exactly the outcome Vinicent was hoping for, but I was pleased with the results.
More to come shortly........
Xoxo,
Jessie

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