A different side of Kenya

Today was a tough day.

Guy got pulled over by a policewoman as we were leaving a parking area in town for having a cracked windshield and wearing sandals while driving.

Apparently "I am going to arrest you" in Kenya doesn't mean the same thing as in the U.S. because when she said that to Guy about 5 times (and I was FREAKING OUT) he seemed calm and kept yelling at her in Swahili.

He didn't get arrested, but he did get a ticket and has to go to court tomorrow morning. The whole ordeal took about 20 minutes and the whole time I was trying to figure out the words in Swahili, thinking "I'm going to have to stay here while Guy goes to jail!" and "what if she takes me, too!" It was really quite scary, considering all the dinner talks we've had about how corrupt the police are here and I knew my 3000 shillings wasn't exactly enough to bribe her. It reminded me on a very small scale of how my dad used to joke about running from the cops on the mesa after playing harmless tricks, but this was a much more sobering experience.

That was only the first part of our unfortunate day.

Guy got a phone call about 10 minutes after receiving the ticket and heard news of a friend who had been shot dead while on Safari in the Mara which is a park in Kenya. Without disclosing too much because it is being kept very quiet here, I will say that is was out of the ordinary, the gang wasn't provoked by the travelers, and it seems to be related to the upcoming referendum vote for some reason (It's all very suspicious, and there are government officials looking into it).

This is very unsettling to me, and I am sure it is to you as well. The family is very close to Guy's family, and they are all coming together to investigate the cause of the incident. Our plans at this time have come to a halt, and there are a lot of phone calls being made and talk amongst the community. It's as though the hair on everyone's back is standing straight up, and we are all simultaneously holding our breath.

This seems to be an example of the dichotomy of life in Africa. In some ways, life is easy and fun and carefree, in other ways it is terrifying and sad.

I am safe and sound, no worries. I love you all, and I will keep you updated. Although I don't know to whom you would share this information, I would like to ask for your discretion because I want to respect the family here that is no doubt suffering a great loss. Pray for them and all their friends here in Kenya. I am sure tomorrow will be a better day.

xoxoxoxoxoxo...and some extra xoxoxo,

Cacey

P.S. Thank you for your updates and emails. I would like to extend again the invitation to email me at Caceyjade17@aol.com if anyone has any other questions or want to send me pictures of home!