Observations | Magadi, The Gods, Egypt

MY APARTMENT – “Mommy, mommy, does it really have to end?”

Tomorrow, break is all over. So sad.

Ah well, it’ll be nice to get back into the school rhythm. I’ve accomplished 25% of my time here, and in just a few more weeks, I’ll be celebrating my Christmas in Egypt. A few weeks after that, and my parents will visit. Then, just a couple more weeks, and it’ll be time to go home already! Strange to think it’s going this quickly.

Three Observations:

1. Back to Mugatu… I mean, Magadi. The first Sabbath we were here, we visited Lake Magadi in southern Kenya. Since we’d just arrived less than 48 hours earlier, we could have went pretty much anywhere, no less Lake Magadi, and I would have been overwhelmed by the sights. So I was excited by the opportunity to go back and really see what I didn’t last time when I heard they’d be taking the students down there for Sabbath afternoon. I had Elvin sign me up, hopped in the van he was driving, and headed down there.

The way down involved an exciting scene with Alex*, a guy I’ve previously reported on back on the Punishments edition. Apparently, no one told the guy that the ride to Magadi takes close to 2 hours on completely bumpy roads, and he’d drank a can of Mountain Dew like usual. It took him about a half-hour into the trip to begin begging for Elvin to stop the van and let him pee.

”Sorry, guy, we’ve got a schedule to keep. Better think quick on what else you can do.”

One desperately-needing-to-pee guy + one incredibly bumpy school van (filled with just guys, thankfully) + one empty can of soda = GROSS. You do the math.

We got to Magadi a little while later, and I got my redemption from the last trip. The lake, again, isn’t so much of a lake as it is a small trickle from a hot spring in a low desert-like region. Our first trip there, I’d worn jeans and boots and missed my opportunity to stick my feet in the warm water. Not this time. In my shorts and flip-flops, I waded around the spring and took pictures of my students soaking in some of the bigger holes. I got a call from my parents on my cell phone, and so I’ll always be blessed with the memory of talking to them while wandering around Magadi.

We drove back on the longest drive ever, with the only highlight coming from Alex* needing to pee again. We dropped him off on the side of the road, pulling over to the left so the school bus, which would be passing us in a few seconds, wouldn’t see him. For some reason, though, he ran in front of the bus to the other side, just as the bus was passing by. He must have been pretty surprised to see 50-some of his peers watching him whiz on the side of the road!

Otherwise, not much of a trip back. We’d been in the sun all day long, so we were pretty tired and almost ready to get to sleep. However, there were some other plans for us…

2. “The Gods Must Be Crazy”… in their sense of humor. The Thomas’ invited us over to their house to screen the classic movie about life in Africa. While we cracked up at some of the descriptions and antics of Xixo, I must have still been pretty exhausted from Magadi, so I drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the film.

Funny, after it was over, I woke up, talked to the Thomas’ and the other SMs, and headed back to the apartment. Now, I’m typing online, not tired at all (almost). Weird.

My favorite line: “[Xixo] spoke long and earnestly to the baboon and explained, that is an evil thing you've got there, and it brought much unhappiness to my family and it will surely bring much unhappiness to yours unless you give it back to me and let me throw it away. He spoke so earnestly that the baboon began to take note and dropped the evil thing. He said, that is a very wise thing you have done.” –Narrator (explaining Ninau's conversation with a baboon in a tree who grabbed the Coke bottle)

3. Still going to Egypt! Ok, here’s the latest update: Lauran and I are going for X-mas after all! We went online and found our tickets for Egypt at about $450, with all taxes and hidden fees added in. Not too bad. I went into town a couple days ago to buy the ticket and make it all official.

Then the fun began. Ethiopian Airlines approved me, but refused to sell me Lauran’s ticket because he needs a Filipino visa to enter Egypt. So I text messaged him and told him to contact the embassy to get his visa. Yea, they won’t give him a visa until he has a ticket… way to be, guys.

So now, I’m working with our contact in Egypt to get lodging approved. As soon as they do that, they can send the embassy a letter stating his travel plans here, they’ll grant him the visa, and I can buy the tickets. No problem… as long as it’s all cleared up by December 6th, the last day to buy them. Start praying.

Allright, maybe it is time for bed. I am starting to drift off, really…

-cw

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent... or presumed innocent.