My time in Kenya ends tomorrow.

Who would have believed it? I found Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts made for New Year) at a cafe in Sarit mall. The cafe also made really good sourdough bread and lattes. Though I was most excited about the oliebollen having loved eating it many times with the Zijderveld's (long time darling friend-family I stayed with in London - facebooks posts covered that part of my trip because it was so full and fun I got too far behind to blog!!). Maria didn't get what the fuss was about. But she did love her vanilla milkshake from said cafe.

The rest of the day we spent buying return to school stationery, a charge plug and cord for her tablet (that school requires students to have) with USB & C ports/connections to future proof for devices down the line. The rest of the day we hung out quietly and through the afternoon Maria chatted to me and revealed a next level open, thoughtful and affectionate side of herself. Maria is an astute observer. She notices and asseses much more than appearances suggest. Which is not to say that she is stand-offish or lacking in confidence in particular. Quieter time together definitely created space for a closer relationship.

Friday was a frustrating day. We went out to Charity's home to get Maria in to the wee local salon for hair braids. Charity's daughter was already there getting her hair braided. There is usually at least two staff to braid a head, but only one this day. And she had to go and check on her children throughout the day. Meanwhile Charity and I drove to Wangige market looking to buy veges and baskets to bring home.

By 3pm I found out the salon had still not started Maria's braids and it would be dark by the time of completion. I never drive after dark here. So I hightailed it back to get Maria - driving more like a local - and raced into Sarit mall where I had to pay five times the amount to get braids. But there was no way I was going to risk Maria having to return to school without braids. As it was the salon squeezed Maria in to their busy afternoon so there was little help from other hairdressers, so it took four hours. I waited around at cafes and shops for a few hours before returning to an empty salon with only Maria and Abigael, who were chatting away and there was an obvious warmth between them. We got a telling about how braids should be done (compared to the braids Maria usually receives which hurt for a week to lie on), and Maria got to have a box style she had coveted for some time. And Maria basked in the lovely salon and care.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b7ea7d_7067f9f0377e4e9e967c5f5874b77d6e/360p/mp4/file.mp4

Meanwhile it rained heavily and I felt like I was back Wellington when a water pipe burst in the lower ground floor of this shopping mall.

It was 8pm when we got back to the apartment. Scrambled eggs on toast was all I could manage for dinner.

Saturday I needed a pedicure. I hate them - all that rasping with files etc. But wearing open sandals in this environment had caused awful dry and peeling skin around my heels. Yuck! So we returned to Sarit mall where we got Maria's ears re-pierced (previous piercings had closed) which took no time, and I got in for a wax pedicure which was expected to take an hour. When I checked with Maria if she was okay waiting for an hour she replied, deadpan, "you waited for me for four hours yesterday". As you know, I'm of such a different style. So it took me a moment to recognise the softness in her statement. ❤️ I handed her my phone and while my feet were being vigorously rasped and dipped in bloody hot wax, I noticed that the movie Maria was watching on my phone was also playing on my watch, so to be annoying I occasionally I paused her movie. She twigged and came over to ask me firmly to stop it. But I could see in the mirror her grin as she returned to her seat. afterward we returned to pack, clean and prepare for checkout in the morning, before picking up Charity and her daughter, Prescious, for the three hour drive to Nyeri and their respective schools.

It was daunting to be heading off from Nairobi without David. Now I had to manage the slow trucks, crazy matatus, and patches of road that were broken up. We made good time and had pizza for lunch in Nyrei town before driving out to Maria's school. Like everywhere here, the level of security was surprising - guard at the gate, and signing in included passport number. It caused a giggle when I asked the serious guard to look away while I rummaged under my tea shirt for my passport from my security bag. The driveway and office entrances are lovely. That's Prescious on the left. She is studying in Nyeri to go into hospitality and be a chef. She's lovely, and she and Maria are very close.

The students have to have their bags searched on entering school, after which Maria showed me around her dorm, introduced me to her best friend and showed me around the school. Charity and Prescious knew this was a special time for us and left us to it. Maria loves her violin lessons and her arts and crafts classes, so we made for these first. Here's a paper mache vase she made - photo taken through a window.

It's a lovely school in a lush green area of Kenya. This is very well resourced by Kenyan standards.

Though I knew I would likely see Maria briefly in the morning when I had an appointment with the principal, this was the big goodbye. Maria had, unprompted in any way, warned me the night before that she does not show emotions much in public, but that I should know she would be feeling a lot when we would part today. ❤️ Such a bittersweet moment for me and of course I shed a few tears. Maria gave me an almighty hug that hurt. Then a much gentler, long hug.

So I took my leave and we drove Prescious to her hostel where she has her own room, cooks on a gas bottle and manages her life very independently. Then to the hotel which turned out to be in an area neither Charity or I felt comfortable in, and there was not enough security for the van, so we went into Nyeri and booked into a pretty nice hotel with good security. Charity was very excited by this stay, and we had a lovely evening in the restaurant where we had a free-wheeling, laughter filled evening. And she didn't have any alcohol - she's just a natural cheer-germ!

We were up and at it at 6.15am. She slept well. I didn't. I envy Kenyans' ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. We had to be up early to allow time for breakfast, and to hassle the manager to consider Prescious for work placements, before returning to meet the Principal at 8am. Maria is making her mark. We gave a staff member who manages the boys dorm a lift along the long school driveway. When she knew we were here for Maria she vigorously told me that Maria is the best student and admired school-wide. The Principal told me Maria is exceptional - very responsible, reliable, organised and a leader in the school. For instance, as a prefect she is responsible for students in the dining room and she is capable of telling students in a calm, but firm manner when they need to clear their plates etc., yet is well-liked by her peers. Maria has grown so much and is fulfilling her potential in this school. Big bloody ups to Charlotte for fossicking and finding this high school and backing Maria's capability to make her way there as she had to find her way in a peer world she wasn't used to.

Lastly, the Principal called Maria from class so I got a brief chat and goodbye before leaving. She said "kwaheri Shosho" (goodbye grandmother). Yep. Went to car with more tears in my eyes.

On our return, we took a different route for the first 20 minutes or so, and it was spectacularly lush. That's Mt Kenya in the background.

The rest of the trip home went well - luckily we had left early and avoided the oftentime big traffic jams heading into Nairobi. The next two days I spent at Charity's home with buckets for showers, a bloody rooster who reliably starts up at 5.30am, and two neighbours' dogs that bark at each other at 6.30am - reliably. AND, no mirror! I have donated a wee sum for Jane and Vanessa to go and buy one. They are right pleased anticipating having a mirror. That first day Jane and Vanessa hung out with me while Charity was on errands and insisted on doing my washing - yep with buckets and plenty of laughter.

The next day Charity and I set about testing out the new food dehydrator with mangos, pineapples, bananas and apples from the market. We put some in the raw muesli bought from the supermarket to test out flavours. And researched the health benefits of raw muesli. Lots of fun and comraderie. It is hoped Charity might be able to produce muesli to sell.

This morning I woke so tired from lack of sleep and decided to check into a hotel for my last night - which is next door to the flash mall with the flash cafe. I've been here for 3 hours eating quiche and drinking coffee and teas. Writing this post. The WiFi is great here, so I can load photos faster. Jane, Vanessa and Charity are coming into town tomorrow to come and see me off at the airport. And David has insisted on taking us on a drive before going to the airport to fill in some time between hotel checkout and flight checkin.

There is a lot of wealth here. But many struggle and life is precarious - particularly for women and children. However, there are now quotas for women in politics, which is an indicator that Kenya is trying to improve equity. And David said that employers are now keen on employing women, including in jobs such as electrical a plumbing, because they are focused and hard working There are people's banks that women are benefiting from, and education is improving. As are steps to reduce environmental harms. People work hard to get by and improve their lot. Regardless, they are quick to joke and laugh. I'm humbled by the calm and patience these Kenyans have shown me - especially the frequent repeating themselves as I struggled with accents. Thankfully I got better at this. I carry with me a lot of respect for my Kenyan friends. And huge respect and admiration for Maria.