Halloween and other silliness :)

Halloween weekend was a fun few days! On Saturday afternoon, a bunch of mzungus from a couple hours away all came to Kisumu to challenge our crew to an ultimate frisbee game! I have never played in an actual game before, but I had been going to a couple practices here when I had time, and it seemed like a good time.

Ultimate frisbee

We had a good 30+ people that all met up near down town on the main soccer field in a huge park. We picked teams loosely based on home vs. away challenger, but there were a few less away kids, so I played on their team. I watched the first few plays and decided to jump in withot any real knowledge of the game, but the basic premise is like soccer, where you pass the frisbee and try to make a goal, but the goal area is like a football endzone.

I had no idea how difficult the game was, and was not expecting so much sprinting! The problem was, I was trying to defend against Kenyans most of the time, and I am just not in great enough shape to chase down and beat most of them :P But either way it was a lot of fun, and I even scored a few points!!

Oreo milkshake

After the game, a few of us went out for dinner, and I had the most amazing milkshake, which I was told is quite a rarity. I chose and Oreo one, and it was fantastic and just what I needed after all that running in the heat!

After frisbee, milkshakes and pizza (could there be a more American way to spend a Saturday in sub-Saharan Africa?!) we all went our separate ways to prepare for the Halloween Party! One of the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) had organized a party at a local hotel by their pool deck. Since I had been busy at work all week, I didn't come up with the most elaborate costume...but I decided to be the Greek god(dess) of wine :) A bedsheet, a few safety pins, some jewelry, and a 3 liter box of red wine, and I was dressed and ready!

People really had some pretty cool costumes considering there isn't a Target/Wal-Mart/Mall/Internet to buy any real Halloween supplies! One of my friends went as Bacchus, there were punk rockers, a pirate, a Chaquita banana lady, 4 realistic Ghostbusters, 3 guys who went as Shark-nado which was pretty hilarious, and a lot of African themed costumes (Masai warriors, taxi drivers, local market women with greens and babies, etc). It was a lot of fun, the DJ was pretty good, and it was a nice night to be outside. There was a costume contest, and I believe Shark-nado took home the grand prize

Eventually, a few rowdy individuals decided the pool was just too tempting, and several people jumped in fully clothed. That started a pretty dangerous trend, because once a few had gone in, they decided everyone should go in, and people started getting thrown in left and right. Knowing it was inevitable, I had the foresight to hide my phone/clutch behind the bar, and when my turn came I was prepared...I tried to put up a fight, but eventually I was picked up by my arms and legs and tossed in by some friends.

Sharknado

The retaliation was nuts, and almost everyone went int he pool, prepared or not. A LOT of people lost phones and keys to the water! After swimming around in the warm pool under the stars for a while, getting out and sitting in the cold wasn't too appealing. Most people headed home after their dunkings, and I was no exception. I rode home with my landlord and neighbors who were all at the party, and we got quick showers and went out dancing. Before I knew it, it was 6am and we left as the sun was coming up! My landlord knew of a place to get food, so we stopped at a roadside shack and had chapati (flat bread) and eggs. It was fun to watch the sunrise on the side of the road

It was a fun weekend, but I was wiped out on Sunday - I spent most of the day sleeping, and the afternoon recovering by a pool with some friends drinking Coke and eating greasy fries (totally helps!).

Lots more pictures here: https://kristynspictures.shutterfly.com/9853