Hello friends!
So much has happened in the last week- i have a lot to catch you up on =)
I was fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the kenyan healthcare system last week (fortunate? maybe shouldnt say THAT) but i went with the baby center nurse, Joyce and a child to the hospital for a checkup... we thought we had to wait for the doctor in the states??? no way! it was an entire afternoon event! very interesting stuff though.
More exciting news: I took a little roadtrip last friday with Margie (a friend that also works at the baby center) and staci (another friend, and the director of the BC)and her cute baby ellie. Unfortunately colleen caught a bug from the kids and wasnt able to go.. We set out early (well early for me =)) and drove to the nairobi masaai market- it was awesome!!! rows and rows of vendors- everyone offering you the "best price" and asking you to pleeease be their first customer of the day... it was so fun. i didnt think i would like the bartering.. but i guess i didnt think about how i sometimes enjoy a little banter back and forth (arguing just for the sake of it) and it was really fun, and i think i got pretty good at it. I feel like theres a fine line there though- they're going to try and take advantage of me cause im a mzungu (white person) AND female... and so i want to get a fair price, but sometimes i dont really always KNOW what a fair price is and i dont want to undercut them, or make it so that they're only making a few shillings off of my, because this is how they support themselves and i want to be respectful of that. THAT being said... i totally tried to get as low as i could. =) most you could tell when my offer was way out of the ball park of reasonable, but i thought it was a pretty sucessful day. i heard the craziest things, like "i like how you look, i'll give you a good deal" or "your earring are smart, you need some more" or "sista, sista... let me talk to you for a minute (or ten)" ... (these are way better when re-told in the correct accent, but i guess you'll have to use your imagination..). one woman even told me she would lower the price if i gave her a piece of my gum. i gave her a piece, but still didnt want what she was selling, and then found myself (just like with the street boys!) surrounded by 3-4 other women wanting a piece of my gum... some would've even taken a pen for a lower price... quite funny. But i bought a lot of my souvenirs there- i think a few of you reading this wil be quite pleased.. =) and the others of you- I've got lots of pictures that i'd love to print and frame for you if you'd like a souvenir to hang on a wall =) just let me know!
(unfortunately pictures arent allowed at the market... so i have none. the most incredible part of this culture (the people) are so hard to photograph. Its just offensive to so many (or expensive for me!). usually i dont have the guts to "shoot" and run... but i think i'll end up with SOME pictures...
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