Boda-Boda Bruises

The Kenya Diaries (vol. 10)

June 22, 2006

Ania's Turn

Yesterday started out great! I took everybody on a walk to the convent where Sister Ploxeda brought me last week. Lucia waved a branch as we sang, "Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart," all the way there. It was so much fun to be there again. We played with their puppy, Rex. At first we couldn't understand why he was afraid of Philip, but then we figured out it was Philip's hat! After that Philip just held onto his hat. Kevin spent a little while trying to make friends with their lawn mower, a little calf that eats their grass all day. We were invited to stay for lunch. The sisters are amazing cooks. Yum!




























Then Daddy took me out on a date to Rongai. I love it when Daddy takes me out, just me and him. First he bought me a Coke. Then he took me to a clothes store down a row of stores that we never went down before. It was a narrow dirt alley. He bought me a green scarf that matches Mama's orange and Lucia's black scarves. Then we went to the post office where Daddy checked his e-mail, and I got to play computer games. After that, we explored some more streets, and I got another scarf. This one is orange and pink and has blue peacock feathers all over it. I love it! I also got a lollipop that when you are done with it, the stick becomes a whistle.

This is when the day got worse. Daddy wanted us to take boda-boda's back to the school. He said it would be fun. We each had our own separate boda-boda. At first it was fun, riding on the back of a bicycle, sitting on a big, soft cushion. But then a herd of cows ran right in front of us, and my driver had to stop very quickly so he wouldn't hit a cow. I lost my balance and my foot went into the spokes of the back wheel. Daddy jumped off his boda-boda and asked his driver to carry me the rest of the way home. He paid his driver 20 shillings when we got to the school.

Mama said this: Andy came in carrying Ania, who was pretty inconsolable. Her foot was scraped and bruised by the boda-boda spokes. Luckily we had an ice pack in our first aid kit, so we put Ania in bed and propped up her foot. When Sister Ploxeda heard about Ania's mishap, she stopped in to cheer up "her friend." I don't think her ankle is sprained, but her feelings are pretty banged up over this whole ordeal. Ugh! Why do these things have to happen?

Mama and Kevin made chipati (Kenyan flat bread) for supper. Yummy! It is my favorite. Just thinking about it now makes me want some more.

Thank you, Jesus, for a mostly fun day yesterday. Amina.