04th Oct 2006
No Halloween in Kenya
Woohoo! Today I got my first evite for a Halloween party back in Seattle. It was exciting to get it, but a bit sad to remember that everyone back home is going to be out partying on my favorite holiday of the year… carving pumpkins, dressing up, going to parties, and eating lots of chocolate. Kenyans around here don’t seem to know Halloween, so I don’t think there will be any parties for me. And I suspect carving a pumpkin would seem pretty wasteful when there are so many people starving for food. And I suspect they’d look at me like a crazy woman if I showed up to work dressed as fridge poetry, Big Bird, or a One Night Stand. And it’s not really safe enough to leave the house after dark, much less go door to door asking for treats. Even if we attempted it and weren’t mugged, there’s no Snickers, M&Ms, or Milky Way around here so trick or treating wouldn’t have the same appeal to my chocolate loving self. Alas… guess that’s the price to pay for living a peaceful life in lovely rural Kenya. Next year I’ll be sure to celebrate an extra special Halloween wherever I end up come October. Everyone’s invited.
In the mean time, back in my village, Cindy and I are still watching lots of “The L Word” and that’s our main entertainment lifeline these days. We’ve got seasons 1-3 in their entirety, so they should last us a few more weeks. Then VisitorFest2006 begins: my aunt comes on Oct 17th, Sameer arrives a week later, and Cindy’s friend Sarah arrives just a week after that. Hard to believe I’m done with my contract in two short months! I’ve barely begun researching my travel options for 2007, but once I’m done with work I still hope to make the trek from Kenya down the coast all the way to South Africa. Should be great!
Woohoo! Today I got my first evite for a Halloween party back in Seattle. It was exciting to get it, but a bit sad to remember that everyone back home is going to be out partying on my favorite holiday of the year… carving pumpkins, dressing up, going to parties, and eating lots of chocolate. Kenyans around here don’t seem to know Halloween, so I don’t think there will be any parties for me. And I suspect carving a pumpkin would seem pretty wasteful when there are so many people starving for food. And I suspect they’d look at me like a crazy woman if I showed up to work dressed as fridge poetry, Big Bird, or a One Night Stand. And it’s not really safe enough to leave the house after dark, much less go door to door asking for treats. Even if we attempted it and weren’t mugged, there’s no Snickers, M&Ms, or Milky Way around here so trick or treating wouldn’t have the same appeal to my chocolate loving self. Alas… guess that’s the price to pay for living a peaceful life in lovely rural Kenya. Next year I’ll be sure to celebrate an extra special Halloween wherever I end up come October. Everyone’s invited.
In the mean time, back in my village, Cindy and I are still watching lots of “The L Word” and that’s our main entertainment lifeline these days. We’ve got seasons 1-3 in their entirety, so they should last us a few more weeks. Then VisitorFest2006 begins: my aunt comes on Oct 17th, Sameer arrives a week later, and Cindy’s friend Sarah arrives just a week after that. Hard to believe I’m done with my contract in two short months! I’ve barely begun researching my travel options for 2007, but once I’m done with work I still hope to make the trek from Kenya down the coast all the way to South Africa. Should be great!
