A mixed week of adventures before heading home

I left Juba on a Monday afternoon, this time with a smile on my face. It had been much more difficult to leave Rumbek! But I had some adventures to look forward to, firstly with my fellow Rumbekistanians Ollie & Luciana, who were coincidentally flying into Nairobi the same day. We visit Ollie's brand new nephew, Ewan, gorged ourselves on an amazing sushi dinner (and it wasn't just stuffing ourselves with amazing food that made us happy, it was the fact that we randomly ran into two other Rumbekistanians, Guilio and Gabri, who were also dining out in town before heading home to Italy for Christmas) and generally wandered around in amazement at the shiny shop within the Junction Shopping Centre.

The next day I left for Nakuru for a few days with my lovely man Kelvin. He lives in a quiet little neighbourhood, randomly called All Nations, with some friendly neighbours. Mostly women with families, they take good care of him - checking to make sure he's ok, cooking for him and inviting him around for company. One of his neighbours even cooked us breakfast the next morning before we headed off to Nyahururu to visit his family. He had spoken long about me meeting them, although I wasn't sure if it was a good idea considering I was going home and didn't know when I would be coming back. We stopped off at Thomson's Falls on the way, and though it is a beautiful spot, you feel very much a tourist there (due to tribally-costumed-for-tourists Africans hassling you) it's not really a place of remaining wilderness.

I was surprised when the matatu dropped us off on the roadside in the middle of nowhere. From here it was a bumpy journey inland on boda-bodas. It turns out that Kelvin's parents are IDPs from the 2007 Kenyan election violence who live on government-allocated land. I knew he sent money to them regularly - in fact a large chunk of his earnings go to his parents, mostly to support his younger brothers in school and whenever anyone is unwell - but I had no real idea of their situation.

When we arrived, I could see that they had very little. Their house was a simple wooden structure with a blue zinc roof, located on a cold, windy, open plain; like all the others in their scattered community, it was constructed with materials only recently given out by the government. Given the violence was five years ago, it filled me with dread to think that they had been living for such a long time in temporary shelters. They'd had to build the house themselves and then find the materials to complete it, which essentially meant bulding the walls with plastic sheeting.

Together with the house, they had been allocated a small plot of land on which to do some small-scale farming. Potatoes and peas were clearly a large part of this, as on arrival they treated us to a  delicious githeri-like mix of potato, beans, maize and peas, plus chicken, salad and chapati, all lovingly cooked by the family and neighbours. We were treated like royalty, and it seemed that everyone had come out to see the 'long-lost son' and his mzungu girlfriend ... so I felt a bit sheepish, but still very welcome.

His parents, his sister and her new baby Elvis (no link to the Presley family; she just liked the name! She was very surprised when I told her about the great man) were lovely, and her two younger brothers I took a liking to immediately. We played a bit of football with them out near the community water point; the new ball that Kelvin had brought as a present was certainly highly prized. The kids from the community were at first attracted by the game, or by collecting water, but I soon turned into a bit of an attraction myself. I don't think there are many mzungus this far out in the countryside.

It was bearably cold out there on the open plain when the sun was out, but as soon as it started sinking, so did my body temperature. We spent the evening sitting inside, huddled around two charcoal stoves while dinner was being cooked, and while I couldn't understand a lot of what was being said, it was really fun. It was just so nice to see how everyone valued this time, especially how much they loved having Kelvin home, and I could see they spent many nights doing this together. He was equally happy to be there.

Our sleeping quarters were a small hut just downhill from the main house - which I felt very guilty about staying in, as it seemed to be the boys' bedroom! Kelvin's sister, baby Elvis and I were given the priority for sleeping there - it was the warmest room and we were the most important guests - and with the piles of blankets inside, we were toasty.

The next day the four of us returned to Nakuru - me, together with Kelvin's sister and Elvis; Kelvin and his cousin together in separate matatus (damn you, side-of-the-road location! Not enough space for all us in one vehicle!). I spent the afternoon hanging out with his sister and her neighbour's kids, waiting for Kelvin to come back from the clinic - where he had been diagnosed with malaria AND typhoid. After spending the night shivering and feverish, early next morning I took him to the clinic where he was admitted into hospital and put on a drip. The medicine that the clinic had given him was completely maladministered. We spent the whole day in the hospital; his sister came around again with more food - the hospital didn't provide any and I gathered that it was typical for families to bring it themselves (and they probably normally couldn't afford to pay for in-hospital meals). It was a really sad way to spend our last day together; but I was happy to at least be able to keep him company in that dark room. It would have been pretty lonely there that night.

I felt pretty terrible leaving that day, but I had to return to Nairobi to fly home the following afternoon. I was so relieved when Ollie randomly called me for a night out - some cheering up was just what I needed!

After a fun evening of drinking and dancing with Ollie and her usual rounds of all the people she knows, I enjoyed one last leisurely morning in the garden of the beautiful Margarita House before heading to the airport. It had been a week of mixed feelings, disappointments and unexpected happenings, but it was a good transition home from South Sudan. Despite the hospital visit, I had really enjoyed my time with Kelvin and his family, despite knowing that I might not see them again - at least in the near future.

And so it was with a smile that I boarded the plane for only 17 more hours of flying to go. The concept of being home for Christmas seemed to overshadow the sadness I felt at leaving and the people I was leaving behind. It had been a long, but definitely challenging and enjoyable (and frustrating!) 15 months in South Sudan.

So what next? Only time will tell. Would I go back? Currently: no. After a break from the place? Possibly ... if you paid me enough!