As promised, we went back to visit the goat lady again and bless her heart, she gave Mum and Dad a beautiful wooden carving. What a sweetheart!
We left Clementine's house with dark clouds raining overhead and she assured us that the rain would not delay. We walked to Kimikanga to see Yvette. We wove in and out of the narrow streets, past chickens and children, climbing over sandbags, watching not to tread in something untoward. By the time we reached her little house, the heavens had opened and was pouring down with rain, outside and inside the house. Yvette and I stood outside by the stove to make the tea while my parents sat inside with Yvette's family. But it's hard to keep a fire going in the rain! I think it's really brave of Yvette to welcome us into her home. She knows she doesn't have much but is so humble and generous and it really blesses me. We sang the morning away with classics like 'Mambo sawa sawa' and 'Imana ni nziza'. We even got Mum dancing at one point.
Anyway, I’m proud of my parents. Conditions were pretty bad because of the rain. There is no sanitation system in Kimikanga, and we sat in the house watching the sewage flow past us. We shut the door but it little to help the smell. And we walked through it all on the way home. But they didn't complain or pull faces; they just got on with it and thanked Yvette for her hospitality.
Nicole: “Welcome to how the other 80% of the world lives”
Mum: “ Well I don't think it's actually 80%”
Sadly, she's probably right. I would imagine that the number is higher than that.
We had lunch with Dora, Karyn and Mike at a restaurant called Camelia.
They have a wide range of pastries and desserts listed on their menu, but only two or three are available at a time. “Do you have chocolate balls?” I asked the waiter, to which everyone burst out laughing, although I can't imagine why. In the end, Mike was the only one who ended up ordering something; a dry, crusty cherry tart. It was really gross but we made him eat it because we're in Africa and there are starving children here.
It was freezing cold that afternoon because of the rain, so we headed back to the hotel to play cards and drink hot chocolate. Just as he was leaving, Mike asked me what time cooking would start tomorrow morning. I told him it was 7am sharp as always. I wonder if he'll fall for it...
I took my folks to the airport that night and they flew back to England. It's been really nice to have my parents here for the week. We've not done anything too strenuous, but it's been great to relax by the pool, visit friends and do some shopping. A big thank you to them for coming. I really appreciate all their support over the past few months.
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