Siku Tano (Day Five)

We’re on break right now between lunch and our afternoon Swahili lessons. People are sitting on the porch outside our rooms studying, guitar is playing, and some are walking and taking photographs. Yesterday morning’s lessons started out pretty smoothly but quickly we moved from everyday greetings to verb tenses and classes of nouns. Our teachers are very patient.

Yesterday after four o’clock tea we walked to an orphanage nearby. The children attending are generally under the age of six and have lost their mothers. Fathers can drop the children off if they promise to come back once they get more established. They are raised by nuns.

We were not prepared for the walk that took us to the orphanage. The beauty of what surrounded us was overwhelming. It was nearing dusk and had just rained, so clouds quilted the sky and the light streamed through onto the vibrant green everywhere. The mountain had clouds on its peaks, we came around a bend and it opened to a valley with countless coconut trees shooting up to the sky. We were surprised at how many people populated the area; it seemed so pristine and untouched, but people were busy outside of mud and brick houses. A group of children ran laughing and waving toward the path shouting “Habari gani, habari gani!” The road right before the orphanage was lined with trees with such character it felt like we had stepped into a storybook.

The bubbles Chellie brought with us to the orphanage were a huge hit, with children climbing all over us and reaching for the bubble wand shouting “Mimi, mimi!” or just standing wide eyed from the floor. Our trip ended much too soon, but we’re going back today and some next week.