thats a wrap folks...

Thats right, 2010 is fresh out of the gate... time to wrap up my trip posting and get on with things.

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I did not leave on our scheduled departure date with Kara... I extended my ticket for four weeks and the chance to see what might transpire from a little more time on the ground. It was good for me to just be after the go-go-going of our travels. Initially I had been totally overwhelmed by Nairobi, but after re-figuring out the matatus (the slightly maniacal minivans that speed through traffic sludge as though being chased by a pack of rabid hyenas, aka: public transportation) and settling into a somewhat routine, it was good. Really good. It felt normal- and to a degree, like home again. Than and I did fun things around the city, met up with friends and managed to get out of town for at least two of the weekends.

I spent two weeks working/volunteering/participating at Amani ya Juu- the same organization I had worked/volunteered at six years ago. It has more than doubled in size and capacity since my previous time there, and I was really interested to understand the nuts and bolts of such growth and the full spectrum of what they do. The director- and the women- graciously afforded me the opportunity to spend time with each department (production, distribution, warehouse, the shop, the cafe, clothing etc.), learning how it fits into the bigger picture and the general flow of activity. The mosaic-energy at Amani is beautiful; each woman doing her part to contribute to the whole, each piece beautiful in its own right-- but spectacular all together. It is a special community, to be sure. I so enjoyed reconnections and new connections and getting caught up in it all again, if only for a short time.

The 'Tye and Dye' area in the foreground, the production building in the background...

Lucy mixing the dyes.

Pettie and Nellie dipping the fabrics...

Pettie, me and Nellie all cleaned up after a day of dyeing ...
Josephine, from DRC, working in clothing...
Working with Doro in the Cafe... oh, such a fun day!

Visiting two of the women, Abigael and her kids and Zipporah at their homes one Saturday.

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The weekend before I left Than and I took a trip to Lake Baringo, a place we often went growing up. Oh, what a weekend it was! How good to be there with my brother. How healing to be in that beautiful place, so rich with memories from childhood... Baringo assailed my sesenses as we descended the escarpment; the air... the hot baringo air, the bright smell of acacia seedpods on the edge of it... the birds- a conglomeration of chatter specific to baringo... The lake. The trees. The colors and shapes and juxtapositions of plant, earth, rock and water... It was that really delicious way of remembering-- not exactly having forgotten, but finding your whole self in it, after a long time away... to remember, to re-know, all senses buzzing, such a place.

The big old beautiful acacia groves near the Africa Exchange project:
One of the many luggas on the road to Baringo

Tea, digestive biscuits and birdwatching with Than
Swimming and ordering Baringo Specials, fruit-filled drinks made with sprite and grenadine.

The lake in the warm, settling afternoon sunlight

* * *

And before I left, I managed to finish up a mosaic project I'd been working on for Mel, a pot that sits in her garden with a birdbath on top.

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Funny little story, my departure from Kenya and the full circle that it somehow brought to my trip. On the flight to Amsterdam, I sat next to two Rwandan sisters, Clementine and Isabelle, one just older than me the other just younger. They were returning to the US after traveling in Malawi for a couple of weeks together, flying Nairobi-Amsterdam to Chicago and onwards. Oh the places and people along the way, with whom we find a most pleasant and familiar connection... Our flight out of Nairobi had been significantly delayed, so we missed our connecting flight to Chicago, but KLM put us up in a fun hotel for the night, gave us food vouchers and fun little 'overnight kits.' There was nothing to do but to enjoy it. So we did... and how thankful I was for fun, kindred spirits to enjoy it with. Sisters. Traveling through life together.

Nairobi

Kara and I had a week in Nairobi before our scheduled departure date... which meant for packed days of reconnecting, meeting up with dear friends and going to a few of those special old familiar places...

Ngong Road out towards Karen.

Looking across the dry dry Kitengela plains towards Nairobi- you can just see the city skyline there under the building clouds...

Going home:
With Steven, Mandi, Azibetta and Mary:
Our childhood house... the shadow of our sandbox in the foreground:
"The Center:"
A few relics still remain:

Speaking of relics, we made a trip to Sno-Cone (you know, down town next to the Hong Kong) for chocolate dips... This poster has been up since my parents were in high school:

Meeting up with Anna for a drink:
Tea with Sarah and the chance to meet Micha Wema:
Sammy!
And Cathy! And a most adorable little Kwezi:
Kwezi, who, I just have to say, I have NEVER met a child so uncannily absolutely like his mother:
Awww.... Sammy and the lovely Irene:
Sammy, me, Irene, Cathy, Jordo and Kwezi

Such good people!

So, who really knows the whys of all the little and big things that happen in life, the 'perfect' opportunities that seem to fall from out of nowhere onto our heads. That upon on closer inspection maybe aren't so perfect, but their presence alters the headspace just enough to shift ones course, leading to who knows what sort of ripple effect. Kara left on our planned departure date, but I extended my ticket for another four weeks. A chance to Be. Let it all sink in a little. Live it. See what other sorts of life altering pieces of sky might fall on my head.