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Well that was the most interesting Christmas I think I've ever had!
So on Christmas Eve, I go to Restoration Orphanage and watch the kids sing in preparation for tomorrow (after playing football and making some hats for the angels...) - They were amazing. I filmed it and will upload it when I get home. Great stuff.
Then I went back to Mombasa to see everyone on Christmas Eve. Me and Michelle then went out and bought a bunch of chipatis and various types of bread and fed some street families and kids.
I then headed to Tumaini just intime to see the kids into bed. Jess & Jess were there too and the atmosphere was nice. I had a long talk with Elizabeth about stuff and had a phone call from Oliver which was nice.
Got up in the morning at about 5:45am because I couldn't sleep and went to sit with security. The kids all get up and everyone is saying Merry Christmas. I can't remember much of what happened really...kids were just playing with the toys they had got, plus I slept from 9-10 because the tiredness hit me.
I gave all the mamas their presents which they seemed to like.
On Christmas Eve, the people who were meant to be cooking Christmas dinner pulled out so I was left to cook for all the staff and kids. We did them sausages and chips and beans and a turkey (which I didn't cook...I can't do it unless you fry it.)
Anyway halfway through loads of visitors turned up with bags and bags of presents for the children. It was crazy. It got to 12:45pm and I went to Joan (the 76-year-old owner) politely to say that we've been keeping the food warm for a while and maybe we could take the kids outside to eat (because they still had lots of presents to open).
Now it was crazy. The kids just opened them and moved to the next because they got so many. They place was a s***-tip! When I asked Joan about the lunch, she started talking to me like crap saying that I should have thought about the fact they might be getting lunch later, ands that it was like this last year. I told her I wasn't here last year so how was I supposed to know?
She told me that I should have asked her, which confused me, because if something needed doing differently to how it is done every other day of the year, surely she should tell me?
I was getting really angry at this point and I waked off because I was so angry. The mamas were sort of on my side because Joan pays them nothing and speaks to them like crap too. She's done a wonderful thing setting up this place and running it but as a person I can't stand her.
So I go to the front where Jess and Bernard are and vent because I've never been spoken to like that before in that tone of voice. I just went crazy! Just as I said the words "If she was a man, I'd have punched her" she walked round the corner.
I never saw myself spending Christmas Day in Africa arguing with a 76-year-old English woman about when some orphans were eating lunch.
It was just crazy. Anyway it calmed down then and she apologised for snapping at me a few hours later and I sort of apologised for being pissy with her.
So we spend most of the day just playing and cleaning. My parents and Oliver rang for a bit which was nice, and Emer rang me for half an hour too.
I went home and we did secret Santa (I got 10 frozen Chipattis =] ) and then got ready to go out to Magongo.
The party took a while to get started because we were there early. I was at the MOYO (Mombasa Olympic Youth Organisation) playing table tennis with Lucy for a while.
When it got going it was awesome. Just a big speaker, a DJ, and loads of people dancing in the dark street. It was an amazing party, and me and Jess went about 1:30am which wasn't bad as we'd been up since 6!
Packed my suitcase this morning. Am trying to get pictures now before I leave of Bamburi and the town but people don't like you taking pictures in non-tourist areas so I'm gonna take Meshack on a walk with me and pretend to take pictures of him. Clever eh?
I'm landing at Heathrow about 5pm on Saturday. My parents and Oliver are picking me up after a panic about no flights, train tickets or coaches being available cheap because some idiot left it until Monday to try and find a way home.
Hope you all had a really good Christmas. Talk to you soon.
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