Imani Time: Real Life

my closest (Imara Daima) friends.
I love you so much Leslie & Greg!

Finally I made it to upload the pictures of last week. Now it takes me some time to collect enough pictures to create a nice blogpost. Life's kinda normal now. Just kinda.

For example we volunteers have daily assignments now.
Mine is watering the flowers. :D

Additional to that we've been drawing like a million posters for the baby/nurseryclasses.
Such as: Fruits, vegetables, birds, furniture, in the kitchen/classroom....
In the same time Sarah (on the pic) draws 3 posters I'm only able to draw one.
But I am SO proud of each one I drew, it overwhelms me that I'm that "good" at drawing. :D

my masterpiece

Sarah's work

The other 3 volunteers are very cool. Really I can't complain, they're nice company!

Two of them are good friends they came together - Sarah and Lena.

The third one, named Lisa, came last weekend. All our worries we might won't get a long together were blown away as soon as she arrived.

Now we're the german clique.

- okay stop.

Neither my friends/family here, the kids nor me identify me (that much) as a german.

To other volunteers I met so far mostly everything's SO different, SO new, SO strange...

In fact it's not. I think the problem is that they're taking everything too seriously and dainty.

Life here is not a survival trip.

It's just a bit more primitive some times.

Some people - no matter which nationality - are so afraid of new experiences, new food, new ways of living.

You can see how it blocks themselves. They're not able to enjoy this beautiful country and lifestyle.

Sometimes you hear them talk like: "I can't wait til I'm back home... I can't wait to sleep in my bed.... I can't wait to eat that and that food. I can't wait to take a proper shower..." - and it goes on and on and on.

Complaining instead of enjoying.. It makes me so sad!

Of course I'm also missing a lot. I do miss a proper shower/toilet, I do miss cheese, I do miss my friends...

BUT I'm so excited about being here. I see so many possibilities and chances in this place and country.

To me it's more like I'm afraid I can't experience as much as I'm aiming to.

big aloe vera plants growing in the middle of nowhere

Everyday I discover new things I could do, for example cooking nice marmalades out of fresh fruits, try to make cheese, harvest aloe vera leaves and do cosmetics or something. I want to plant fruit trees in the children's home and to learn how to ride a motorbike (I already had my first "lesson" -> learning by doing :D), I want to read books about astronomy because the stars can be so clearly seen here... etc. etc...

My ideas pop into my mind as they were popcorn, they'll never end.

If there's no running water (even if there should be), no electricity, only squad toilettes or no seatbelt in the car I don't question others or myself a lot. Than it's just the way it is. Mostly (except of the seatbelt example) you won't die!

Life's too short to complain and worry.

As I am a jolly person I go along with HAKUNA MATATA and (as my cousin added right now) YOLO (for all those who don't know what this hipster abbreveation means: You Only Live Once). :D

At least me and the germans (hahahaha) are having a lot of fun and we're laughing our asses off when we're together.

There's also going to be a revival when I'll be back to the land of beer next year.

Recently I found out that I love peanut butter.

Love is not even strong enough to explain my feelings for peanut butter.

According to me hating sweet breakfast it's at least the best alternative to cheese and ham.

Peanut butter + marmalade, PB + avocados, PB + bananas, PB + cookies, PB + Knäckebrot, PB + gummibears...

Haven't tried many combinations yet.

We girls now finish like a glass of peanut butter a week.

I should start working out - I'm afraid I'll find that peanut butter later on my hips.

Last week we cooked a tomato sauce for putting on our breakfast bread, cooking spaghetti etc.

Investing in a whole bunch of spices was the best thing I've done so far!

It appears that I'm so much like my mum. It's almost creepy...

There's no doubt of being her daughter - I just started the same thing here as she's doing way back in Germany as a business. Check it out ;)

www.hottpott.de

I love my mum so much and it's like I've started fulfilling a part of her kenyan dreams.

in the middle of nowhere... Walking towards Mlolongo

Girls love heels (normally).. No matter what age.
See little Bri stepping into her big sisters' shoes!

Leslie was supposed to take me out for buying one pair of sandals. Not more. Maybe also some gumboots 'cause of the rainy seasons. In no case more.
So we went to the best place for shopping - Ngara market!
It's a big market spread over a huge area and along roads where you'll find all types of clothes! If you go there you'll have to burgain.
Leslie always tells me to keep my mouth shut, so she'll do the talking. This is what happened: Supplementary to the sandals (they look like they were made for me :D) we bought two pair of heels. Forget about gumboots!
Imagine, the brown heels were 200Ksh, the black ones 500Ksh and the sandals 550Ksh.
I love ngara and I love Leslie for making dreams come true :D

Now the rain has come...

...all the dust has turned into sticky mud...

...and Imani doesn't have gumboots

-.-

Some old kenyan money. It feels like toilet paper when you touch it.

You have to be afraid they'll collapse.

I'll keep the worst note I can find...

Sorry for posting food every now and then.. Or on every blogpost. :DI used to HATE people, who post food on facebook etc all the time.Like "YOU, go and get a life or at least some friends... or hobbies".Despite all that kenyan dishes look too nice to hide them!