So, the third newsletter – is that supposed to have some kind of religious significance? Perhaps you should count the third letter of every third word and find out when the world will end or a really good recipe for cheesecake. Or not.

Well, it’s been a choc-a-bloc fortnight. I found out one day before she arrived that I’d be having a visitor in my room for 2 weeks. Hurrah for forward planning and organisation! But Kate is very nice so everything is fine. She is from near Reading and has spent the last year getting rid of all the money she saved over the previous 2 years by traveling round the world. Sounds fun. Kenya is her last port of call before going home to teach swimming and work on a cruise ship. It’s been nice to have some company and due to her fear of spiders I’m now very practiced in the art of the ‘stomp-n-flick’.

My whole life seems very full of visitors at the moment. A couple of Saturdays ago Meru School paid us a visit. Lewis, one the boys here, is in Form 1 there (1st yr secondary) so he dragged all his friends to come and see us. Visitors are great, mainly because they usually bring biscuits but also because we get treated to lots of singing, dancing and sketches that are mostly funny. There is also a teacher’s college nearby and a fair few will turn up during the week as the administrator’s wife, Esther, works there. They made Kate and I visit last Friday. It was fun for me because I just got to watch while Kate taught some students how to teach swimming. This was fun because teaching swimming relies heavily on actions rather than descriptions. Need I say more?

The board of the Home has also been this week and last week, which resulted in a (live) chicken fiasco without comparison and an intensive cooking session to make the most time consuming meal in the history of humanity. As of yet I am in the dark about the reason for this board meeting. It is a mystery never to be solved. However, I am painfully aware how long it took to cook all their food. After a surreal shopping trip of 3.5 hours to buy chickens and veg people were then up until 2am preparing food and we were still mega busy the next day. How? I still haven’t figured out where all the time went.

The evil shopping trip commenced with a perilous car ride to town with Christian music circa 1960 (because it’s nice for me to listen to something English) and a gymnastic session to avoid the fleas that the dogs had left. We then wandered around town with at least 4 different men trying to sell us (live) chickens. Eventually Esther bought 5. I’m not quite sure what else we did but it took at least an hour. Then it was back to Makutano to get the veg. When we finally got back I passed up the opportunity to watch the live chickens become not so live. It’s quite enough to watch the boys go off with a Weapon of Mass Destruction masquerading as a knife and a look of unholy glee.

Also on the subject of food, you will be relieved to know that I have managed a total of 3 meals sans cabbage!

While there haven’t been visitors we’ve been swimming and more importantly I walked all the way to the feeding project by myself!! Such courage! Such independence! I successfully avoided being eaten by wild lions or trampled on by a heard of wilderbeast. I’m beginning to look forward to a long and glorious career as an intrepid explorer. Then to crown this already sparkling achievement I was the goalkeeper when the children played football and I saved 5 (yes, 5!) goals. Please wipe that look of incredulity from your face – I swear it’s true.

I got an escort back home though – thus an end to my independence. The Home is near to a bread factory (Mafuko’s) and on Saturday they hand out all the extra stuff to the street children. Mr Mafuko is very popular as he’s very keen on doing community work, he sponsors loads of the schools round here as well. It confused me at first to see bread adverts on all the school gates!

The rains have finally started and to be honest I can’t get what all the fuss is about. Most of the time it’s sunny and relatively warm. It’s in the morning and evening we get downpours. The amount of rain doesn’t seem to tally with the amount of coughs and colds people seem to get. You’d think we were in for the second Flood from the way people talk! However, it means that the house mothers have all been rushing off to plant their crops then rushing back to plant the ones here. So what with board meetings and visiting day everything’s been a bit manic.

I visited the school of the kids here on Tuesday for the visiting day. They have one once a term, it’s like parents’ evening but the kids get a day off school and no one even bothers trying to be organized with appointments. You just wander in and out of the classrooms you want to visit. Being so old and responsible I even acted as their parent and talked to the teachers. I was then asked to have a picture taken with two of the pupils, which then turned into a mega photo shoot. You’d think I was some kind of celebrity. In fact, I’m surprised no one’s asked for my autograph. I’m not sure how to describe the school, apart from everything’s very blue.

To while away all these spare hours I have (?!) I’ve been marking the English compositions of Mark, he’ll be taking his final primary school exams this month so he’s getting in loads of practice. Unfortunately for him I only know when something is wrong, not why. I’ve also visited the moon with David, possibly the oldest person in class 7 – he swears he was around before Mt Kenya. Three of the other boys also kept me well entertained by asking me: ‘Do you have a (long pause) bicycle?’ because they couldn’t work up the courage to ask if I have a boyfriend.

With the girls I’ve been spending quality time having my hair plaited again (this time a different style – 6hrs!) and watching Secreto de Amore, a Spanish soap dubbed into English. Due to my hair I am now Maria Clara though they decided the other day that this couldn’t be right, as I’m not as stupid as her. I’m quite relieved but I’ll steer well clear of anyone called Carlos in future.

I’ve also been given a Kimeru name, Mwendwa, which means ‘loved one’ which is very nice. I’m coming along with the language but it could be better. So far I can say yes, no, look, come and in a burst of eloquence I can even ask, ‘can I tell you something?’ Not so useful when your vocabulary doesn’t allow you to actually tell anyone anything but never mind.

God Bless

Mwendwa (!)