Golf and Geckos!!
on Emma in Nairobi (Kenya), 14/Jul/2009 07:18, 34 days ago
I don’t know where the weeks are going since my last update so apologies as I have been pretty lazy. There are a new group of VSO volunteers just arrived in Kenya so I am not a newbie any more which is good..... But I am definitely going to get some Kiswahili lessons ASAP as I am still shocking !!!I know I haven’t filled you in on my work situation (reasons for that)...BUT the famous Golf fundraising day for my organisation which I have been telling some people about eventually happened last Friday 10th July ...... Pretty interesting experience.... lets just paint a picture.... We had 70 golfers expectedat a very fancy golf club for an afternoon of golf..... First Tee off scheduled for 12pm... so at 10.30 some of my KSB colleagues who were due to help out at the event congregated outside our office for the Hiace min van to depart to the venue so we could set up the registration table... well we waited as some people hopped into the van and then hopped out again... so as the time wore on and no sign of us departing any time soon..my blood pressure began to rise slowly……eventually at 11.30am we left the office to head to the golf club... needless to say at this stage my blood was boiling but I was taking lots of deep breaths..... it took us over 40 mins to get to the golf club because of Friday Nairobi traffic... so with tyres burning and brakes screeching we drove at top speed into the car park of the golf club and 6 of us proceeded to jump out of the van commando style and run to the registration table where there were already golfers waiting to register (ie. Bear in mind professional business men and ladies).......... So the excuses my colleagues were giving me all the way to the club “BUT Emma this is Africa .. this is Kenyan time ... this kind of set the tone for the day... moving on to the fact that we had not organised all the prizes for the winners. So at 3 o clock three colleagues took off again in the hiace into town to buy some sports vouchers and trophies for the winners.... with the prize giving due to start at 6.30 they eventually got back to the club at6.20pm again screeching tyres... the prize giving was an hour late starting what a surprise and then the MC who I harassed into doing the event for free mixed up all the names and order of the programme so it was all a bit embarrassing. Now you might think well why I hadn’t tried to help co-ordinate the event better... well it truly is NOT that easy to tell people what they should be doing when they think they know best....!!!!Well, I eventually invested in some furniture for the sitting room in our flat which makes it far more sociable now that we can actually have visitors over without asking them do they mind sitting on the floor.... Then yesterday I came across the first gecko/lizard type thing in my bedroom, I had this clever plan to ambush him and toss him out the window ... so with the window open I chased him around the room with a sweeping brush and quick as I could trapped him in the dustpan and“gently” threw him out the window.... don’t worry I live on the ground floor... so do not... I repeat Do NOT report me to the KSPCA...(actually don’t think they have one here!!) Well at least it is not snakes I have to content with as a friend of mine says that her neighbours in Nairobi havehad 3 snaked into their house in the last month.... !!!