dirt roads*

Today started out as a very early morning for me with me not wanting to get out of bed.  I’m pretty sure I sounded like I was one of Jacky’s kids as I mumbled about being tried and wanting to crawl back into bed when she woke me up this morning.  I found out very quickly that that was not going to be happening because Jacky’s daughter came in a couple of minutes later to tell me good morning and that it was time for me to get in the shower (probably the last shower for a long time).  Thank goodness I listened to her because I did not have much time to sit around this morning because we needed to get on the road early for all of the traffic we would have to be dealing with.  We got everything packed up and then sat down to eat a quick breakfast, which for me consisted of a granola bar, which they thought, was crazy.  Heck as long as I was satisfied!  Oh yeah Jacky also made me try some of the tea and there was no telling her no.  It was very interesting to see her cool it down for me because if I wanted to cool something down at home I would just add an ice cube but of course you can’t just do that here.  She took two cups and kept pouring it back and forth in the two cups.  It looked like it took a lot of skill.  I can only imagine what kind of mess it would have made if she made me to it by myself.  I knew after she did all that work to make my tea I had to at least try it and that is about as far as it got.  I had one little sip and that was enough for me.  Jacky looked at me as I had a funny look on my face from the taste and asked me how I liked it.  The only word I could come up with was well you see it um tastes very interesting.  No more tea for me!  After we said our goodbyes to the house girls and Jacky’s youngest we were on our way to go meet up with Albert.  The usual ten-minute drive turned into an hour-long drive due to all of the traffic.  It didn’t seem that long though because Jacky was pointing out all of the crazy things that the drivers were doing and singing along to the music.  Since the traffic was so bad buses and other cars must have got fed up so they quickly started driving around on the sidewalks, medians, and on the opposite side of the street.  What a site to see!  We also passed several buildings all made out of tin I believe which was amazing because they looked like they were up to three stories.  It reminded me of an extreme play fort I could have only dreamed about building when I was little.  There were many different shapes and colors to them.  Once we finally met up with Albert and Jacky’s brother Tom we all piled into the car that is literally filled to the top with all my suitcases and things that are for the orphanage.  It was going to be a very crowded ride but at that point I didn’t mind because I felt like family.  It will be about an eight-hour ride I believe but it won’t seem that bad at all because of all of the little towns we pass on the way.  Most people if they saw the towns I think they would look at them and think that they looked very dirty and run down with all of the trash and stick buildings.  But for some reason when I see them I think wow this is amazing and beautiful.  It takes very hard working people to be able to do things like this and it is just very inspiring.  I’m so glad that I get to be apart of this culture again.  One of the stops we took I went into a bathroom (here it is called a washroom) with Jacky and was very lucky to see that it was not just a hole in the ground.  Jacky looked at me and asked did you bring toilet paper all I could think was oh shoot no haha that is what my mom was for when she was with me last time.  Thankfully she stepped in as my mom role and was already prepared for me.  I’m one lucky girl!  As we started our drive again the roads got curvier with more and more pot holes.  To avoid them it seems like we were driving more of the side then on the actual road.  It was a very good thing for me though because this meant we were getting closer to the village with more dirt roads and red soil approaching.  One of the bumps was so big that it made us almost hit the ceilings with our heads and as we hit it Tom said man these roads are bumpy right as Jacky was trying to take a drink.  It ended up spilling all over her but it just turned into many giggles that I needed to hear!  We made a quick stop at a supermarket which ended up filling the whole cart.  I knew that we were going to have many problems fitting this all in the car.  I had told Jacky that she would have to ride on the roof since she bought so much stuff and she loved it.  Albert, Tom, and a grocery worker spent a good fifteen minutes trying to figure out how they were going to close the car door.  We took a short drive down to Lake Victoria since we had some extra time to have a late picnic lunch.  When we got there everyone was trying to get us to eat at there little restaurant.  They were talking very fast and waving there hands all around it was very overwhelming!  Once they choice a place to eat at about 5 different people circled around us trying to sell us stuff.  It got old very quickly.  While Jacky ordered Tom took me back to the car to go and get what I would be getting for lunch.  A cereal bar and a tooties roll haha heck ya!  I miss my parents cooking back at home thats for sure.  When the food came to the table it was a huge fish laid on one big plate and it looked like it was covered in some kind of green.  This was served with that white fluff stuff.  To my surprise they just dug in with there hands and that is how they ate it picking apart the bones.  Being that I don't get meat it was kind of nasty to watch.  Jacky told me that the best part of the fish is the eyeballs so Albert and her fought over them.  I could hear her suck the eyeball out since she had own the fight. YUCK! After it wasn't along drive to Jacky home in the village so once we got here we prayed then took a tour around.  It is a tradition that they must build right by there parents and they must build three homes.  One for them to start out in which needs to be completed in one day!  The other one is a much more expensive house that you put lots of time into and the last is that you must build one for your oldest kid.  The rest of the night was pretty much mine to do whatever so I have been sitting in my room surrounded by bugs literally covering the floor.  Jacky came in the room to close the window and started smacking the bugs.  She looked crazy!  At the same time the generator stopped working so now I'm  still in the dark with a candle.  Time to learn to not be scared of the dark!  I will be heading to the orphanage tomorrow which I am so excited about.  I can't wait to see all the kids!