Pages

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tutaonana, Kenya!

Today, I'm bidding adieu to my erstwhile home.  In about 6 hours, I'll be on a plane destined to join David in what will be our third home, third country, and third hemisphere.  Before I go though, I want to take a minute to appreciate and remember the things I'll miss now that I'm moving on.

Of course, I'll miss my Coca-Cola stand only half-a-block away (and the "coke-walks" that Team Sensible took during sports hour).  I'll miss Taco Tuesdays and whenever it was Jake or Jennie's turn to cook on Thursdays.  I'll miss my 10-minute walk to work and the sad donkey stationed on my walk home.  I'll miss living with my roommate - from whom I learned so much: about England (Fanny Pack), about French (Formidable!), about quality television programming (Game of Thrones; Sherlock), and about rational thinking (frozen heads), and who always made me tea just when I thought my head might explode and, better still, who knew just the right time to switch from tea to gin.  I'll miss relatively easy currency conversions (although I might just be a millionaire someday in TZ).  I'll miss the KK guards and the afternoon visits from George.  I'll miss passing through Nairobi on my way anywhere and the Artcaffe trip that inevitably included (yes, I'm heading there next).  I'll miss work too - I'll miss Butere District the most and a couple of really cool staffers at the HQ.  I'll probably even miss Fuppy.

Team Butere ready to serve 12,000 farmers in 2013!
Nevertheless, I'm traveling South.  Just as fast as Kenya Airways can carry me.  I'm excited for lots of reasons, but mainly that I'll get to live with my husband again.  As much as I've enjoyed this foray back into roommie life, I picked who I thought should be my final (and permanent) roommate more than 2 years ago and I'm happy to be returning to him.

So, I ask you now to tilt your globes up slightly,* drag your finger South from Bungoma to a mid-way point on Tanzania and you'll be there with me.  Karibu Iringa!**




* What do you mean you don't have a globe?!  How can you trace the analemma??
** Karibu means "welcome."  Having just set down A Clockwork Orange in the Kenya Airways Departures lounge and still finding "nadsat" confusing despite 6 years of Russian language study, I'm committed to keeping this blog more-or-less intelligible.