Friday 20 December 2013

Adventure to the desert

 Its true that you have to open your palms wide, let go of what you have and what you know to receive something new.
New things mean change and change is never easy. It requires courage. it requires us to rise to the challenge and step out of our comfort zone in order to gain something better. Despite the reward promised at the end of the long process, we still remain hesitant to make the first step towards making a chnge
Why is she talking about change; you may ask. Today marks my first month in the Kenyan dessert.
That marks the biggest change I've ever made in my life. I took a leap of faith and somehow found myself sitted in a crowded country bus heading to a destination I knew nothing of other than its really dry , hot and full of people dying from malnutrition; I was wrong.

With every bump and every sharp corner or steep slope I kept on asking myself ; am I doing the right thing? Everyone kept telling me that nothing was worth the desert conditions but my defiant spirit wanted to prove them wrong even though I was never sure of anything.

After nine hours of a harrowing journey, I reached my destination.
While I was used to lush carpet grass from the hilly Uasin Gishu region. I was welcomed with a gust of sandy wind and a cushion of coarse sand under my feet. No grass was in sight.
While I was used to air conditioned shopping malls and fancy food joints all I could see were rows of dusty items in dingy buildings they called supermarkets and the only food joints were those selling differently cooked goat meet or "pilau" from our Muslim brothers.

The desert town is packed with speeding motorcycles with no regard for traffic rules but hey its almost like a ghost town (read lawless) as far as traffic rules are concerned. Its the one place where its safer for a pedestrian to walk in the middle of the road than on the far side.

Its been three months now and I have been dancing to the desert tune since then and getting better by the day. I can say am glad I took a step to the unknowne next till the adventure comes.

Kenyan Life

every day we toil
from sun rise to sunset
we plaster a smile on
and brave the wild world
we are grateful for tiny blessings
we cushion the scattered bumps
ahead we forge
with the hope of a better future
we get pulled back
every now and then
we fall on our bums
but like a phoenix we rise
we rise we rise we rise
we shake the dust off and move on
its the only way we know