Lazy Weekend

This weekend was great! I did pretty much nothing. For 3 days. I'm not sure if I have ever done that before. Ok, I did a few things, but I didn't have to.

On Saturday, I took the dog for a walk and decided to get some sun. The whiteness of my legs was alarming. After walking around the back yard and deciding there was no place in complete sun where no one could see me, I laid half on and half off the patio. The dog put her head on my feet. I read my book and made sure not to stay out too long. But I should have heeded my father's pseudoscience lesson he gave before I left. He said it is easier to get burned at higher elevations (ok) near the equator (yes) because the ozone layer is thinner there (???). Well, let me tell you, I certainly got burned. But only on the front and back. The sides are still alabaster. I have some work to do before I can be seen in a bathing suit.

Then I got ready to make dinner. Thierry was back from his trip, and since his host JJ was gone we had decided to eat dinner together. I also invited our friend Cassandra over so there was no chance of weirdness. Well good thing because apparently he was expecting a whole lot more than dinner. He got all huffy when I mentioned Cassandra coming over and said he thought we were going to be two, not three. I suppressed an urge to vomit in his old nasty french face, said "nope, actually we are going to be four if you count the dog", and had a nice time with Cassandra. We plotted our escape together after dinner. He got the message.

The next day the three of us went to the Maasai market. It was located outside in front of a shopping mall. Each of the 30 or so vendors sold pretty much the same stuff: beaded and metal jewelry, carved animals and bowls, sandals, fabric, a few knives, masks, and chess boards. And they were aggressive. They would start with "excuse me, how are you?" but if you did not answer they just raised their voice. It was impossible to just browse without someone handing you something and asking you how much you would pay for it. If you didn't answer they got pushy, if you did answer they were either outraged by what you offered or took it as a promise to buy. If they saw you for a second time they told you that you had promised to buy something and were upset if you moved on again. At first we were smiling but quickly we got snappy and moved around quickly to avoid being harassed. One young woman with a corner area didn't bother me at all and simply answered me when I asked her the price of her sandals. I liked her attitude so much I just gave her what she asked. I didn't mind spending $6 on some leather beaded sandals. I read later in my guide book that it is best to know what you want before you go to the market, and I would have to agree. So if anyone wants something from Africa you are going to have to place a personal request and be as specific as possible. I don't mind getting things but I require proof that you actually want them.

Other than that I just hung out, finished reading What is the What, started Middlesex, and browsed over the piles of yoga journals that JJ just acquired. He was so excited that his friend left them to him. I also spent a lot of time with Cassandra. She is 25, from South Africa, and almost went to vet school but instead is working on her PhD. We have a lot in common and even though she has been here for 9 moths she still has not explored Nairobi that much, so we made a lot of plans to travel within Nairobi and around Kenya together. We are going to go to Mombassa on the coast for a weekend and we are also going to go to the most famous game park in Kenya, the Maasai Mara (as long as we can afford it). Other ideas include a camel safari and various other excursions that require JJ driving us somewhere. Our plan is to barter rides for helping with his new puppy. I'm really excited that I found someone to go have fun with.

Oh and also, I have a cell phone now so if anyone needs to get a hold of me, or if they want to buy a calling card and give me a holler, the number is 256-722-599-124.