ThinkTwisted

Today was our first full day at the orphanage/school. We loaded on to the land cruiser about 9:15 in the morning and headed out to the site. We started by going through all the cases to find the dental equipment, then carting those cases out to where the lab was set up. It took several hours to get everything sorted through and carried up to the dental lab, because it was quite the hike. Once it got a bit later, some of the school children got back from church and started helping carry stuff out and it went much quicker. I started unpacking the dental gear and helped set up the lab for the rest of the morning. Once the lab was in decent shape I left it to the experts to finish and went back down to the main building to help setup for the “shop” we had for the staff families.

Lisa organized donations for the staff to come through and pick up things for their kids, such as backpacks, clothing, pencils, crayons, a few small toys, soccer balls, shoes, towels (a huge luxury item there), some toiletries, and the flashlights Alana and I purchased with the money we raised. The idea was to have each family have a helper, to get things for them and help pick out clothes, most items they were only suppose to have one of (like the flashlights), however it sort of turned into a free for all. We tried to keep them from taking more than their quota, but as soon as we turned our backs they started stuffing extras into their bags, so we eventually gave up and whatever they got, they got. We set a side a few extra flashlights to check with the staff members tomorrow to make sure everyone got at least one.

Before the store event went happened, Alana, myself, Lisa, Lauren, Matt, Maaru (Anna’s husband/contractor for the school), Anna (one of the head teachers), and our driver William went into town to pick up some extras for the night’s party and some hardware that was needed to repair the swing set. On the way, we stopped at Williams’ house. He has been driving for the school since it started and saving all his money. He bought a plot of land near the school with his savings, and has been building a house by himself with the help of his friends for the last 2 years. The house is very impressive and very large compared to the shanties and huts most families live in. It was quite amazing to see what he was able to do with the help of the orphanage.

After we left William’s house we went back to the hotel for Lisa to change some money. We then went to the gas station to fill a tank for the generator and the pickup truck we were riding in. We were all hanging out in the back of the truck for the ride. It was a true African experience. Lauren caught the eye of a guy a the gas station, he pointed at her then winked at me and gave me the thumbs up telling me he liked her. We then went to the hardware store where Alana, myself, and Maaru got out. Lisa and the others went off to by plates, plastic tubs, and silverware. The hardware store was in one of the shanty shops back in the heart of town. The roads were all dirt, only the two main cross roads in town are paved. The first shop we went to did not have the size bolts we were looking for. I thought saw some in the counter and asked to see, they would have worked, but where just a bit too long. Maaru insisted we not buy them and check elsewhere. The shop keeper did not like this and started slamming the screws back into the bin. He shouldn’t have been so upset as we did buy about 12 meters of rope from him and a piece of plastic tubing, so it wasn’t a complete loss. We went down a small alley to another hardware store to check for screws, they did not have what we were looking for either and sent us across the street. How many hardware stores does one town have? The last hardware store had the screws we were looking for (sort of), so we purchased them. The shop was run by an old married couple and only had a few small bins of screws on the shelves. They seemed happy to have the business.

Maaru called his wife and they came by and picked us up. We went back to the orphanage and unloaded our purchases. We finished setting up the shop for later, then went back to the hotel for a short break, some water, and to freshen up (poop). We went back to the orphanage about 30 minutes later, and found out they had already eaten all of the food for the party (some of our group had stayed behind and started the party since they came out later in the day than we did). This was disappointing as most of us were very hungry. The party started with long introductions, the school teachers performed some native African dances for us, a small prayer service was performed. After all this we had the store event for the families (described above). We cleaned up and partied a bit, the African kids sure love to dance, and boy do they have moves!

We went back to the hotel around 8, ordered dinner and sat around bullshitting until our food arrived at 9:45. We asked the kitchen what would be quickest, they said fried chicken and fries, so we all ordered that. It took more than and hour and a half to prepare! I think they actually go out after an order is placed and buy the chickens, pluck them, and cook them (not joking!). I’m not sure what we got could really be considered chicken by US standards, it was more like bones with some skin attached. I got about three decent bites of meat off mine.

We paid our bills, then headed back to our rooms to shower and rest. I showered first, so I actually had some hot water, and I didn’t even get shocked! Let me clarify about the “shower”. Its not so much a shower as a navy bath. You wet yourself down with the shower head (that just barely trickles water), shut the water off, soap up, then do your best to rinse off.