Songs of Travel: February 2010

poem of the day

(courtesy of my valentine's card from jus)

foreign lands

written by robert louis stevenson

up into the cherry tree

who should climb but little me?

i held the trunk with both my hands

and looked abroad in foreign lands.

i saw the next door garden lie,

adorned with flowers, before my eye,

and many pleasant places more

that i had never seen before.

i saw the dimpling river pass

and be the sky's blue looking-glass;

the dusty roads go up and down

with people tramping in to town.

if i could find a higher tree

farther and farther i should see,

to where the grown-up river slips

into the sea among the ships,

to where the road on either hand

lead onward into fairy land,

where all the children dine at five,

and all the playthings come alive.

eldoret kenya

so i’ve been in eldoret kenya for almost two months now (daaamn, really)!? i like it. as most of you (whoever you are) know, i’m staying with matt, justyn and their kids (bella, ava, basil and clementine). in the past i’ve had to limit stays with my brother's family to a day or two. now that i’m a part of the fam i get to experience all of those little things that i have had to miss out on in the past. now, for example, i get down on my fair share of finger painting with the kids (one day justyn and i were like "hey that looks awesome! let's give 'er a try"!) it’s kind of my thing now. i also have a great time speaking in mimi-isms as much as humanly possible. "mimi-isms" are clementine's go-to phrases, by the way. mimi and i are often heard shouting “top it!” -- as in “stop it” without the s -- back and forth until one of us gives up. "no, you top it!" others include: "i got it" (when she really doesn't), "no wait" and the oft imprudent "mama said." it's the best when mimi justifies something to justyn that she obviously wasn't supposed to be doing with the line "mama said!" "mama didn't say mimi, i am mama!!"

i also am able to do “book time” with basil on a regular basis. “uncle mark it’s book time” comes the call. ava and bella have started to join so it’s even more of a family affair of late. and matt now often reads to them as well. i’m told it wasn’t really his thing before. so basically i’m just pointing out what a good influence i am as a younger brother. we’ll just forget about that one time when I threw up at his medical school graduation the afternoon after my junior prom.

seriously though, it's great to be here and be a part of all the ups and downs that come along with a four kid household (some may argue i make it five). oh how i do enjoy the mountainous mess of mealtimes, the predawn wake up calls, and the emergence of mimi's destructive stage. even when it's "bad" it's good and i often find myself unable to stop laughing at such beautiful chaos.

justyn handles the madness unbelievably well and i love watching her perform motherly magic each day. it has been so good to get to know her better since my arrival. night time is often our time and we are usually found glass of wine in hand for movies and chatting. she is trying to convince me to stay here forever (well a long time anyway) and it just might work.

they'll be here another year and a half as my brother has decided to extend his contract here. you may be asking yourself, what does matt do in kenya? a lot. he is in charge of the oncology department here, runs multiple clinics, and is a team leader who makes sure all of the exchange students are on task and where they need to be. badass? apparently. i went to a clinic with him one day and sat next to him for five hours as he saw one patient after the next until he had seen all twenty. almost all of them had both cancer and hiv. a little intense to say the least. i am so impressed with his kind and gentle demeanor when dealing with such sick people. the sheer amount of stuff in his head is equally impressive, and i am perpetually amazed at the facts that stream forth. he's also a pretty funny and cool guy though i often call him either "nerd" or "spaceboy." but hey, that's my brotherly role. this is such an opportunity to bond and get to know each other better. i am grateful. thanks, brother and sister of mine.

okay i am losing steam here so i better tell y'all a little about what i'm doing here. i keep myself fairly busy. i run almost everyday and am acclimated to our mile high conditions by now. i have been studying for the gre of late and have been researching potential grad schools. it's down to nautical archaeology, anthropology, law or the peace corps. any ideas people?

my main thing here has been volunteering. i try and go to the children's ward on the hospital to spend time with the kids there at least once a week. i also work at tumaini - a street children center - twice a week. the center is brand new and i've been with it from opening day. the kids come in all day on monday and wednesday to get off the streets. we play games, create art (hopefully wood sculptures soon), garden and hopefully learn a little (math and english for the moment). they'll continue to teach me swahili as we go along. as ever, i need all the help i can get with foreign languages. i've also done some farm work and written up case files for orphans whilst staying in eldoret. it feels good to be somewhat busy again and have some obligations. i have been so untethered for so long i almost forgot what life away from holidaying is like. that said, i'm still on holiday technically. looks like it'll stay that way for some time to come. world cup?