MORE TOP 5's and Adventures in Bicycling...

TOP 5 THINGS THAT CONTINUE TO BECOME "NORMAL" (in no particular order):

1. ANTS: they're everywhere: in our food, in the shower, on our bodies...everywhere...the lines
and formations they make on their way to get things has amazed us all. The Brits used up an
entire can of RAID in their room last night and were baffled at the aftermath--so many ants,
the floor could no longer been seen in some areas.

2. DAILY POWER OUTAGES: we lose power here at the house at least once if not twice a day.

3. TOAST: Dr. Atkins would have a fit if he saw the carbo-loading we do here...I have toast
3x/day usually (with PB&J, of course!).

4. FAULTY BIKES (see story below): appearance isn't everything...who knew that our "nice"
mtn bikes would be so problematic?

5. DIRT(Y): I've been impressed with how much soap I've used...I've been even more
impressed with the new shade of brown my soap has taken on...I've been most impressed
with how dirty I seem to stay, regardless of all attempts to get clean.

This afternoon was especially "interesting" for me. Three times a week, we teach afternoon classes to any children interested in coming, whether they attend our morning class or not. Ages range from around 7 or 8yrs old-17yrs old and even adults. Today, many of the teenaged girls crowded around me to teach me Swahili words...I'm sure they enjoyed seeing me as the student and no longer the teacher.

This little "lesson" had to be cut short, as everyone was leaving, and I needed to catch up with the other 2 volunteers who had also biked to class. As I pedaled away, a handful of kids followed me, running alongside of me until only 3 remained. These 3 BAREFOOTED girls (all around 9yrs old) hung onto my arms and ran alongside me as I cycled down the rocky, bumpy dirt road. I continually told them how impressed I was with their running skills, and they muttered things to me that I didn't understand (haa--who knows what they were saying!). I was in awe that they continued to follow me in this manner, and 10 minutes later they finally let go and ran towards a side road to their homes. There's no way I could have lasted that long without shoes on--these girls are/were hard core!!

I was on my way up the rocky hill that leads to the main street with the other 2 volunteers in sight. As I started pedalling harder, I noticed that the pedal felt quite shaky and loose...the memory of my pedal coming off 2 weeks ago flashed back in my mind. While saying "Jambo" to some kids who had yelled out "Teacher, Teacher", my pedal came right off. A few kids came running to see what was going on, but I prepared myself for the long walk ahead. It would take me at least another 35 minutes to walk home from here.

While walking down the road, I knew I'd be passing the bike "shop", which truly consists of a shack displaying an array of used bike parts. This place is becoming more and more popular with the volunteers, as all sorts of parts seem to be falling off our bikes (Steve and I both rode to school, but he decided not to ride his bike back home for fear of the seat falling off--his chain came off on our way to school, and the handle bars were becoming loose as well!). By the way--the other 2 volunteers didn't realize I was having trouble (I guess I can't yell as loud as I thought), so they were nowhere in sight.

Walking with pedal in hand, I came upon the bike shop. Keep in mind that this is quite a social place, with people hanging out all along the roadside and at the restaurant next door. The head maintenence guy, who was wearing a grey-colored jumpsuit yelled something out at me. I walked over and obviously didn't need to do any explaining. As he put the pedal back on, 3 teenage girls were sitting on a bench nearby, smiling as I looked over at them, saying "mambo" (hello, how are you?). The older lady sitting with what looked to be her grandson looked over at me and asked me how I was doing (in Swahili). She then helped teach me a few greeting words and even made sure I got the pronunciation correct.

Everyone was friendly and seemed intrigued with the "mzungu" (white person) that had come to the shop. The pedal was soon fixed, yet I had no money. I asked how much it would cost me and he said 1000 shillings--which is a little less than $1. I told him I would give him the money in the morning and we shook on it. As mentioned, we've had bike problems in the past, and volunteers have had to stop at this shop to pay an "I Owe U".

I am thankful for the bike shop--another happy volunteer customer has graced it's grounds. I hopped on my bike and was home in no time. By the way--this bike is the same bike Lauren was riding on Sunday...I call it the "LowRider", because of the seat being so low...I'm just glad the pedal came off today and not last Sunday!

I'll make sure we get a picture of this place and will post it. While there are many other things I could write about, I'll leave it at this for now. I have experienced so much here and am finding myself trying to process through all sorts of things. With that said, thank you so much for your prayers--I think I had the Flu and am feeling 100% better.

The mosquitos and I are at war over here, so it's time for me to get off this porch and head to the "anty" shower so I can use my brown soap in hopes that there will be no power outages...yikes--as I write this, we've just lost power...no joke...better go get the flashlight!!