Never ride a boda-boda at night

I have just a few amusing tid-bits from the past week to share with you all. First, based on the title of this entry, never...EVER...ride a boda-boda at night. That is my advice to anyone who may venture to Kisumu in the future. Boda-bodas are bicycles with a cushioned passenger seat on the back, directly behind the driver seat. They are the cheapest way to get around Kisumu, and usually are a pretty decent option. Unfortunately, the other night I had a bad experience with a friend of mine, Stephanie, on a boda-boda. First off, my boda actually HIT a matatu and another boda while I was on it! The guy was a horrible driver! I was pretty freaked out, but also didn't want to be left by myself with an angry boda driver at night. But then Stephanie's driver turned out to be drunk. We both screamed at him to stop so she could get off, but he just ignored her and kept going. Finally, she jumped off while he was still moving and we both attempted to leave and find new drivers. We didn't pay the guys, obviously, because they were so incredibly horrible (even by Kenyan standards). They followed us and a small mob actually formed around us, yelling and shouting and threatening us. We still wouldn't pay. (Hey! We have some pride, thank you!) I was getting pretty upset and was screaming at a bunch of people to back off, when a really nice guy cut in and started scolding the drivers for harassing us. Thank the lord he showed up. I was actually getting pretty scared these guys were going to try and pull something with us. I grabbed Steph's hand and we hurried off, and thankfully the crowd didn't try to follow this time. That nice guy who helped out walked us all the way to the restaurant we we trying to get to, keeping street kids away from our purses and making us feel better. I am so grateful for him. If more Kenyans would step up and help out in those kinds of situations, maybe there wouldn't be so much crime on the streets.

At the restaurant, Steph and I both were shaken, and we ordered drinks to calm ourselves down a bit. I splurged on a tequila shot. But then one of Ashley's older host-brothers showed up and he bought the whole round of drinks for us! So nice! Then a drunk Punjabi guy randomly came up to our table and started chatting with us. He was so jolly and hilarious, we had a great time with him. And he must've decided he liked us because he invited all of us to eat dinner with him and his wife (he'd pay for food and drinks!) at this really nice place called the Yacht Club. We're going to meet him tonight and I think it's going to be a blast! Then we got invited to a house party by a bunch of mzungus as we were leaving. They seemed nice enough, but we didn't end up going. I mean, come on...I don't even like house parties with people I know. I doubt this would be much better.

So moving on, I was driving through the villages the other day, and I got a very up-close look at just how badly Kenyans treat their animals. I've seen kids abusing puppies and kittens and people beating their farm animals (and don't get me wrong, I know lots of Americans do the same things, but here it's way more out in the open and I've witnessed a lot of it). Anyway, I saw a strange bundle on the back of a bicycle while we were driving. And as we passed it, the bundle moved, and I realized it was a live goat! The poor thing was tied so that its legs were completely immobile against its body (they looked as if they were broken!) and it's head was hanging off the side of the bike. It was SO sad. My friends told me that it's just as illegal here to treat animals like that as it is in America. But, um, hello? Where are there any cops out in these rural villages??? The animals have no real chance at all. Later that same day, I saw a truck driving with a big bundle of chickens in a bag on the roof! The chickens were of course all alive, all on top of each other, and looking pretty miserable. Poor things.

Anyway, my time here is rapidly coming to an end. I only have another 1 1/2 weeks here in Kisumu. Then Tosha's wedding. Then Nairobi for 2 weeks to finish up the program. Then it's over! I have one month to chill and do some Kenyan sight-seeing...and then it's back to America.

Oy vey.