What’s happenin homies! This weekend was off da hook, we went into Mombasa on Saturday to get me some last minute stuff for the big move to Dzivani which will hopefully happen Tuesday or at the latest Wednesday.. I can’t wait, my house really is the sickest thing I have ever seen, it is gonna be such a lair for me and Malau to kick back and make some stellar tunes under the African stars. The sunsets here are not even real, it really is like out of a story book or something and they are even sicker in Dzivani because you are right on the ocean and you can see the city lights from Mombasa and the sun setting on the water mmmm its the greatest feeling to see that. The stars here really are so dope too, kills lake powell by far cause there is some light pollution and stuff going on maybe like ten miles away from powell right? Well here they don’t even know what a light bulb is for a million kilometers so it’s like looking at a cloud the stars are so thick. But any way, Mombasa is such an anxiety attack of a place, especially on a Saturday, and being the only white dude in all of Kenya, everyone just runs up to me and tries to speak English selling everything in sight to me like their home grown drugs they grow here. The streets are sooo nasty and there are people literally everywhere, in the streets just walking around in front of cars, no street lights either so everyone just honks and screams at each other and they don’t even know what a speed limit is so they are doing it all at full speed. How any one can function there every day just blows my mind, chaos is really the only word I can use that even comes remotely close to what it really is cause words don’t even describe how that city works. You get home from spending a couple hours there and you wipe your forehead and it is just black because of all the pollution, no joke. So any way we shopped for some food stuff I am gonna need for the first couple weeks in Dzivani and I was with Buffalo, Anthony, Buffalo’s son and this other guy on the Koins for Kenya board named George, he is a true stud. Plus it takes 2 hours one way just to get into Mombasa from Mnyenzeni even though its only like 50 kilometers away, its disgusting how much backed up traffic there always is. That basically took up all of Saturday and then my Dzivani dad named Chengo invited me and Anthony to go to his grandpa’s remembrance day or something. It is where they remember the dead that have died but instead of crying and stuff they just throw on the dirtiest R and B swahili music and turn it up full blast in speakers that are from the 50’s it looks like and they just get trashed on coconut beer and have a good time. iI was so funny to see how these people party compared to how Americans party, it is a whole different take on it here. I was so stoked to see that captain Rymes was there too, he really is the coolest guy, I love that dude. He wants to come check out the school in Dzivani and since he is one of the richest dudes in this area, he might contribute for an outhouse project or something for the school which would be killer. Then Sunday Anthony had to go to this church in Samburu to try and fundraise for this church called the Apostical First Church and he wanted me to come with him. He said we would be back by no later than 2 so I of course was down. Never trust a Durumah on time I found out today because when he said 2 he meant 5. First we had to go visit 4 of his uncles that he tried to explain how he was related to them and I was lost after the first sentence. Every durumah in Kenya he said knows every one of their relatives, like even their great great aunts and uncles and grandparents and like nephew in law and they are way tight so we had to go into all of their houses before even getting to the fundraiser. The tradition here with the Durumahs is once you get in their house, you sit down and the wife of the house serves you a soda and you have to drink it. I was mad cause I haven’t had soda since high school and I broke that on Sunday! I kept trying to refuse but Anthony said they would be so offended. They feel like they have to offer you the world, especially if you are white and it starts getting so annoying. So I drank like a quarter of four different sodas and it made my stomach churn. Then we finally got over to the church and it was already 2... cool timing Anthony. This church I guess needs electricity for their building so Anthony basically just got up in front of this congregation and yelled in Swahili for two hours while this choir sang in the back ground and people brought up money and put it in this stack. They made me come up and sit by him in front of all these people and they speak Swahili the whole time so I am just sitting there smiling and sweating my butt off while another chick offers me a soda and Anthony makes me take it. . Their choir was off the hook though! These chicks can sing and the songs are dope, I recorded them on the flip and I will try to load them on mobileme. Then after Anthony was done screaming at them to bring up their money, we went into some little side office where they had made pilau for us which is like a rice and goat meat mixture that’s way good, so it was me and Anthony and then the bishop and these two pastors and they had these girls come in and wait on us or something and they were so mean to them I was getting mad. In this culture that’s how the girls are treated though, they are wives by night but I guess during the day they are just like slaves and these church leaders were just being so rude to them and I really wanted to say something but its just their culture, they have always done it this way and the women never say anything cause they don’t know any better. I really almost freaked out right then in that little office, so I got up and just said I had to go to the bathroom and just went outside and got some fresh air to cool off, you really could feel such an evil in that place even though they were doing some good things I guess but it was definitely the weirdest church I have ever been too. We finally got home around seven and I was so drained and about to freak out that I did a cross fit workout in my room ha since i haven’t done any cross fit for two and a half weeks! Gosh I am losing it without my cross fit homies... oh yeah and dad, Anthony told me that our driver when Bret was here, his name is Johnson, and he said that he had the Kenyan Olympic running team in his bus and taking them to the Mombasa continental hotel and they wanted to know more about the Mnyenzeni to Dzivani marathon we are gonna have when you guys get here. If we could have them come that would be SIIIIICK! We also need to start setting it up, getting all the sponsorships if you got runners world or anything and maybe get the money in Anthony’s hands so he can start making it happen. Then today which is now Monday we were getting all loaded up to run to Dzivani for the day but this place is crazy, it can be perfectly sunny one minute and then in five minutes in can be raining like insane and that’s exactly what happened. So I just cruised to the work shop and worked on desks all day for the Vikolani school and then at about 3 me and buffalo and Malau cruised to Dzivani to see if we could finally do some work there. There is this one guy that has been over seeing my house building who is a true stud and I wanted to give him something for doing such good work so I took him my old pair of vans to give him cause I was so stoked about my house. It honestly looked like it was Christmas morning to him, he was so happy but he can’t speak English so Buffalo was translating every thing for me but he didn’t even need to, I could tell that he was so stoked. It’s crazy how an old pair of shoes could be so touching to these people when in America that stuff just goes to thrift town or something but it was probably the best part of my week so far. I love that guy and I am stoked to move in Wednesday! Ask Austin what color he wants the school to be, tell him I was thinking light blue and light green, but it’s whatever he wants. Keep killin’ it people! I love you all and this place is the greatest place in the world. Keep sendin’ love and keep giving it
Dallin. I enjoy reading your experiences so much! We send our love. Cari and family
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