Kisses from Kenya Episode 7: Celebrations & Complications

Premiered on 16 Mar 2026  Kisses From Kenya

EPISODE 7: Celebrations & Complications

Christmas trees in 35-degree heat. Eggnog at the Equator. A goat that knows exactly what season it is. Vuyanzi and Brendan dig into what the holidays actually look like when you're far from where you started - the homesickness, the relief, the reinvention, and the complicated joy of celebrating queer identity abroad during the season when everyone assumes you're going home.

In this episode:

• Whose America Is It Anyway? - holiday travel chaos, Christmas starting in October, and inflation shrinking family gatherings
• Deep Dive: Vuyanzi on navigating homesickness and building new rituals in Kenya; Brendan on the complicated reality of queer holidays abroad - the escape, the loneliness, and finding chosen family in Nairobi
• Lost in Translation - Kenyanisms that once confused everything and now feel completely natural
• Queer & Black Joy - community potlucks, chosen-family dinners, and new traditions that actually fit

Democrats Abroad Kenya | Queer expat Africa | Black diaspora holidays | Christmas in Kenya | American abroad | Chosen family | LGBTQ Africa | Nairobi expat community | Holidays abroad

Wherever you're spending the season, you're not alone in finding it complicated. Kisses from Kenya is the podcast for Americans living abroad who haven't stopped paying attention. Subscribe and find your people.

#KissesFromKenya #DemocratsAbroad #HolidaysAbroad #ChosenFamily #QueerJoy #BlackDiaspora #ChristmasInKenya #ExpatsOfNairobi #LGBTQAbroad

Transcript

Vuyanzi 0:06

Hey, Kisses from Kenya is produced by Democrats Abroad Kenya, but everything you hear in this podcast reflects our personal perspectives. As Americans living in Kenya.

Brendan 0:20

Yes. Nothing we say should be taken as the official stance of Democrats Abroad Kenya, Democrats Abroad Global, or the Democratic Party. And this is an entertainment space and not an official policy platform.

Vuyanzi 0:33

Thank you. Welcome to Kisses from Kenya, where the holidays bring warm weather, beautiful sunshine, the goat that is about to be slaughtered in my next door neighbor's house, and of course, a bit of an identity crisis.

Brendan 0:50

You have to identify yourself.

Vuyanzi 0:51

Right. Right. I identify as she didn't say that. No, I was just kidding, I know you meant Booyanzi. My name is Vuyanzi, and welcome.

Brendan 1:04

And I am with I'm Brendan, and I'm still trying to figure out just how to make ignac here at the equator.

Vuyanzi 1:10

Oh. Can't wait. I'll be the first to test it.

Brendan 1:16

This is our holiday episode.

Vuyanzi 1:17

Yes, this is our holiday episode.

Brendan 1:19

You were just bagging on me out because I already got the tree app.

Vuyanzi 1:22

Yeah. I actually, when people put up their tree before Thanksgiving, I totally shade and judge them.

Brendan 1:29

So I'm like, She did in abundance when she came through the door today.

Vuyanzi 1:33

Do you really have a tree up already? It's not even Thanksgiving. And a lot of you, I know, I know, a lot of you are like that. But anyway, for our first segment, whose America is it anyway? Um, so what about this whole thing of holiday travel? Because that might be impacting both of us. Yeah. What's going on with that?

Brendan 1:57

Well, I I mean the thing is, uh, I find it ironic that, you know, we have these news stories from today talking about things like, you know, Americans bracing for record holiday travel. But I don't know if you remember for a couple of weeks ago while the government was still shut down. Like, you know, we already had like 90 minute, you know, 120-minute delays at TSA without it even being holiday travel.

Vuyanzi 2:20

So I remember 90 90 hours, 90 minutes, two hours, three hour delays years ago. Yeah. I feel like brace yourself for record levels holiday travel. I have been hearing that headline for like a decade.

Brendan 2:39

Well, and I feel like for us, because it's like when you fly into the US from outside, like there's a limited number of airports that one has to choose from. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, granted, I've I've varied a little bit more in the last few years, because I feel like when I started flying Air France, KLM, like they go to the Midwest a little bit more, like to some of those kind of smaller hub airports like Minneapolis and what's the other one? Detroit. But like you know, it's like if you fly into like Atlanta or JFK, like, and the thing is you come in off the international flight, you gotta go through customs, get your stuff, check your bag, and then you have to go through security. Yeah, yeah. And I remember like very clearly, like, especially at Hartfield Jackson International Airport security where you're in TSA pre-check, and it's still a 45-minute line.

Vuyanzi 3:33

It is, yeah, and and that's the thing, right? There's the only time I felt relief from travel was when I was doing the um, what is it called when you do the pre-approval, and so over there you could go on that line. But other than that, the waits for international as well as you know, domestic air travel, they're still long.

Brendan 3:54

I mean, it's like you could even have global entry. I've missed connections even with global entry because my bags didn't come out on the conveyor in time for me to take it and drop it. No, it's too much.

Vuyanzi 4:05

It's too much, and you'd think by now, 2025, there might be a better way of doing everything. So this whole record. Well, first of all, yeah.

Brendan 4:16

He's too busy thinking about his boo but I'm gonna so keep this clean right now. You're gonna fly when you fly private to Epstein Island, you don't have to worry about it.

Vuyanzi 4:30

I was very far in the bubba hole of the apparently you weren't the only one who's in the bubble hole of it. I was in the bubble hole of despair, Googling and looking, cross-referencing things.

Brendan 4:49

Did you see all that stuff about like that? Was why he started Hillary Clinton around the debate stage? Because he knew he was the other woman.

Vuyanzi 5:00

But now it all makes sense because everyone was like, why is he being so weird the way he was? Like he was like, I got it.

Brendan 5:10

I gotta let you know. I'm the throat though.

Vuyanzi 5:13

Okay. I have this, these past couple of weeks that it's been since we recorded last, uh, one thing I was saying to you is that my mind, it's it's too much. It's a rabbit hole. It's I can see how those who are living in the States, you really probably need therapy right now, or a coach, or both, or medication, because if you're looking at everything, and you don't even have to be super in-depth in the news, but if you have an inkling of what is going on, this is uncertain times, it is scary, it is emitting even thousands of miles away. I feel how I feel inside my body, so I can only imagine. But anyway, anyway.

Brendan 5:57

Anyway, we'll we'll have more to report back on in a in a few episodes time, at which point we will have both crossed the event horizon into the motherland. Pray for me now that I don't get trapped somewhere. Or at least if I get trapped, it could be with a man. I mean, well, to be clear, I do have a man at most the major head, so I can find one.

Vuyanzi 6:23

Oh you're like, um, who was that? Which Trump ex-wife was that? She's like, I have friends all over the world. It was like an old clip of her, the one who passed away, I think.

Brendan 6:34

Oh, Ivana.

Vuyanzi 6:35

Yeah. And they were like, okay, you like she literally said She said, I gotta host a different area code, baby.

Brendan 6:41

Like I got different country codes.

Vuyanzi 6:43

I gotta host like that's what you said.

Brendan 6:45

I got that too.

Vuyanzi 6:47

What am I doing wrong with my life? What am I doing wrong in my life?

Brendan 6:53

Okay. This is why you gotta put them into your you know contact list with a tag by the city. Oh, so then it's like, oh, I got a layover in ATM. Oh, okay.

Vuyanzi 7:07

Okay, I've been doing things wrong.

Brendan 7:09

Like Erica said, you better call Tyler. Okay. Anyway, so I guess switching gears a little well, not switching gears that much, but switching gears a bit to today's uh theme. It's about to be the holidays. So I know you just told me that you struggle to get into the holiday spirit when you're here in the sunshine. But yeah, tell us a little bit about your holiday experience.

Vuyanzi 7:37

Yeah, what we've overseeing. Yeah, it's it's it's still a struggle. What I've been here for.

Brendan 7:42

This part always takes us into a darkness, but I know I'm sorry.

Vuyanzi 7:46

But it's so true. I I am the problem. Um, okay, so I'll say at this moment I am for how many, okay, over the past five years, how many Christmases have I been here? For like four Christmases, I've been here. And I still don't feel more Christmassy than I did back in 2020. And she wore a green because she's the green.

Brendan 8:12

Right?

Vuyanzi 8:12

And actually every single someone asked me when they saw these earrings, did someone did an animal die? Did animal sacrifice its life? Did the Grinch die that I might have these earrings? No, he didn't. And quite frankly, the weather is so warm and beautiful. I'm used to freezing my butt off, layering up, wearing a coat. So the only thing that helped me last year, last year helped me a lot, um, but it didn't shift completely, was there's this amazing group whose name I cannot remember, but maybe by the time we post this, we can put it in the show notes here in Kenya, and they sing the way they sing is absolutely amazing. They did a whole Christmas concert. Now be a music society. No, mm-mm. It's no, but it's not them. I don't remember the name, but it's not them. But they were um doing uh they were on top of the junction mall. They had the concert there, and it was amazing. Yeah, yeah. It was, it put me into like, okay, it's Christmas. Of course, I'm like wearing short skirt and no stockings and sandals, which is so weird at Christmas, but nevertheless, it was cute too. But nevertheless, it's still so not Christmas.

Brendan 9:33

So I think it's just the New Yorker and you though, because I feel like after I I mean I lived in Louisiana for like 10 years, so like I was very cute to Christmas. Yeah, with being born, right?

Vuyanzi 9:44

Yeah. So maybe that is more of a mid-Atlantic East Coast thing because uh that and also, oh, but the other thing is, but tell me if you feel this. Okay, as much as I'm kind of shading on you because of the Christmas tree, I do I wish you guys could zoom in and see the blink that he just gave me. But I miss seeing Christmas lights on houses. Yeah. That and you're driving by, you're like, oh, look at that one. Oh, look at that one, and it's so nice. Um, so it's I think it's it's how Christmas looks here. And um, you know, I don't have any relatives. Like you only really see it at the mall. Like at the mall, they have the lights up. Right. Right, right. You're not passing apart from the city.

Brendan 10:30

Although whenever people come to my place, they're always like, it's so cute, because I also have them in the window.

Vuyanzi 10:34

So also oh and of course I'm not doing I'm a I am a part of the problem because it's not like I have any Christmas lights up. Okay, maybe, maybe by next episode I would have gotten some lights. Okay, okay. Maybe that's a challenge.

Brendan 10:50

What about you? What about you? I mean, for me it's a little bit different because I mean as much as you were shading on me for having my lights up, like I mean, I've always gone home, you know, so you know, probably because my parents are older, so I'm like, you know, I need to see them.

Vuyanzi 11:07

So yeah, yeah, yeah.

Brendan 11:08

Um yeah, this will be my fifth. No, this will be my sixth year of me going home from Kenya for Christmas.

Vuyanzi 11:20

Meanwhile, I'm feeling terrible with guilt because my dad is 91.

Brendan 11:28

I'll be there for you to discuss with my therapist. And you are not paying for me by the hour for this session, but Okay, I mean, I'm back, I'm back.

Vuyanzi 11:39

It's the truth. Or he'll be 91. He's 90. What's the difference when you're 90? It's 90, 91. Yeah. So I will I'm going to the the goal is to get home this holiday season.

Brendan 11:51

But like, did you grow up in like a like a like did your family always spend Christmas together?

Vuyanzi 11:57

Oh my god, big time. Our thing was Christmas Eve dinner. And like the big spread, the extended family coming over. The tree, of course, was their real pine tree where you go and you pick it out, you have to keep it watered or else the pine needles will fall off, the gifts under the tree. Um, and that's how I knew Santa Claus didn't exist at an early age. Uh, because how is it that everyone's staying over till after midnight on Christmas Eve? And don't you guys have to leave for Santa to come? And then when I looked at my gifts.

Brendan 12:32

So it was all the old drum people that tipped you off.

Vuyanzi 12:34

Well, okay, so I lived in a Holy Ghost fire house. So there was no never mind.

Brendan 12:40

There was no shout against Pap.

Vuyanzi 12:43

There was no alcohol ever. And all my Christmas gifts were written in from Santa in my mother's handwriting because I knew my mother's already.

Brendan 12:51

I did that, did tip me off at one point.

Vuyanzi 12:57

From Santa. But mom, why is this your handwriting?

Brendan 13:02

But like my mom had a good, I think like she explained it as like, oh, well, you know, like Santa needs helper. So like parents are the ones that help.

Vuyanzi 13:10

Oh, okay. So you confronted your parents about it.

Brendan 13:13

Well, I just there was like one year where I was kind of well, actually, no, you know what it was? There was one year that I forget what happened. Like for whatever reason, there were no toys. And so my parents had gone and bought everything. Like, they like went to the CBS and bought like all the little like you know, like those little finger flick, like pinball like games and stuff. So that was all there was.

Vuyanzi 13:38

Wait, you sound very ungrateful to me.

Brendan 13:40

My mama was like, Well, you don't see what happened, but Sam's I had a little accident on the way, so we had to help.

Vuyanzi 13:49

Oh my god.

Brendan 13:52

Because I was like, why did everything come out the like the little checkout aisle from the CBS? And then we got like gift cards.

Vuyanzi 14:01

Was Toys R Us around, by the way, when you were a kid?

Brendan 14:04

Yeah. Oh, okay. Okay. I like I I grew up in like the the heyday. It was like before they really fell off.

Vuyanzi 14:11

So like Toys R Us and what was the other one? Like we had a child's world, but I I think that was way before your time.

Brendan 14:16

It was like R2B Toys or something. Uh maybe that was regional something.

Vuyanzi 14:22

That was you were in New York up upstate.

Brendan 14:25

There were a few. But um, like that. My parents were very they were they were very committed to all that stuff. Because even when it was Easter, like my mom used to do the thing where she would like take like the flour and make little bunny tracks, like from the front door to like the plate where we'd leave out the carrots. And then like then take a bite out of the carrots. Stop! What? And then we would leave the cookies for Santa and like she would take a bite out the cookie, and then we'd always like leave out like celery or a carrot for the reindeer. So she'd like take a bite out of that. There was like a whole thing. What? Yeah. Oh my god. Wow, that is and that went on until I was like at least like 11 or 12. I was late. Were you still believing in that though? I mean, yeah.

Vuyanzi 15:12

Oh, that's so interesting.

Brendan 15:13

She like went up there with like we rigged bells and shit. Like a lot of stuff. She was up in the attic doing all kinds of stuff. Anyway. Um, so yeah, I think I mean, I think the holidays are just interesting when you live abroad because even like you said, there's regional differences in the US.

Vuyanzi 15:31

Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, 100%. And I think people don't understand that here. They think it all looks the same, but even right now, this conversation should be bringing it out like how different it is just because of weather. For me, the main thing is weather. And by the way, let's be clear, I don't like winter in New York or New Jersey. I cannot stand it, but I equate it to Christmas.

Brendan 15:52

Yeah. Well, that it's it's funny because there's even like it's also I equate it even with like Thanksgiving, right? Because I always remind people, I'm like, when you watch The Wiz and Dorothy gets sucked up in that snow tornado, that was a Thanksgiving movie. It's not a Christmas movie. Because it was Thanksgiving dinner. Was it Thanksgiving dinner? I'm almost part of that.

Vuyanzi 16:15

Somebody needs to go.

Brendan 16:16

Unless they go remote crap and invites the cook out because I'm over here missful and boy.

Vuyanzi 16:22

That's okay. I almost got uninvited because I didn't watch The Wiz for many years. I didn't see it until an adult.

Brendan 16:29

I mean The Wiz.

Vuyanzi 16:30

I love the Wiz. It gave me nightmares. You've seen it? Yeah. As a child? You saw it? All right, next subject.

Brendan 16:40

What speaking of Lost in Translation.

Vuyanzi 16:43

Oh my god. What do you mean?

Brendan 16:46

So our next um our next is a new recurring episode. Yeah. Recurring segment called Lost in Translation, where we're gonna talk about Kenyanism. We confess phrases and sayings that Kenya is taught.

Vuyanzi 17:00

Yes, yes. Um, so for me, it just one of these this past week I noticed myself saying something that's super Kenyan, I'd say, and I would never say it any other time. And that was to be upstanding. Now, if you're from the States and I say to be upstanding, you're like, oh yes, I'm upstanding because people use it here to say stand up. Yeah, upstanding, just like a tweak of the words changes everything. You say it in rotary, yeah, okay.

Brendan 17:33

Like when you first heard it, be upstanding so that we can blah blah blah.

Vuyanzi 17:37

Yeah, but when I first heard it, I'm like, like honestly, I'm like, So you're trying to say I'm a bad person. Exactly. Like, I am upstanding, and then I'm like, oh, they're really using this to say stand up. Yeah, and so I all this week, every time I told the group to stand up, I said, please be upstanding for the blah blah blah. Yes, yeah, yes. What about you? What's your question?

Brendan 17:58

Um mine that I was thinking about like when we went for a hike last week is that um so you know, like like the polite way of saying like that you have to use like use the bathroom, like and I think it's from like the the Swahili translation. It's like if you have to take a pee, like a piss, then you say like I have to take a short call, and if you have to take a shit, it's I have to take a long call. Oh are you serious? And so like we were like actually, no, it was yesterday we were hiking down from the um from the place where we went for the rock climbing, and the guy's like, oh, just go ahead, I just have to take a quick short call.

Vuyanzi 18:34

Did you know what he meant? Yeah, of course. I mean, I know now.

Brendan 18:37

Like I even say it now, right? Because it's like it's considered more polite.

Vuyanzi 18:41

Really? Like, you know, I gotta go take a piss. I know, because I totally say pee. Oh, I'm sorry I have to pee. I totally say that. I'm probably looked at as being so rude. I this I did not know. Yeah. Um, I still say the restroom or the bathroom. Yeah, it's a short caller, a long caller.

Brendan 18:58

Okay. Well, the reason that it like that doesn't translate is because, like, you know, in Kenya, traditionally you have like the room where the toilet is, which is like, you know, the toilet. Yeah. And then the washroom or the bathroom is the room where the shower is. Because like in like an old school Kenyan house, those are two separate.

Vuyanzi 19:17

It is two separate, yeah. And actually, even now you see this different apartments where it's one thing and then the other.

Brendan 19:22

So, like, normally, if you're like, I need to go to the washroom, then like the literal like meaning would be like I need to go take a bath.

Vuyanzi 19:31

I think they know I'm not taking a bathroom. No, but that's you might have to have a gear tower real quick. I mean, I did offer that to you today. I did, I did because I earlier that my apartment building did not have water. Go figure. Um, maybe that's a Kenyanism that the management did not say that the plumbers were coming over and they were gonna cut off the water, which that is completely understandable. But I said to him, because he lacks in other things, is um, I mean, the name of where I live is like this much on my tongue because I do want to leave. But the thing is, he always doesn't communicate. The only thing I can guarantee you he communicates is the water bill. Of course. You better pay. Like, dude, I said, tell your tenants when you're gonna turn off the water. I'm sitting there, like toothpaste on my face, because that's a whole different story why I just saw my face. Like this. I'm like, and you're like, you can come over here. I'm like, if I walk in Brendan's house looking like like this is so crazy. How would I even go on?

Brendan 20:37

Like that scene from Mrs. Dow Friday when she has like the cream pry on her face. Yes, yes.

Vuyanzi 20:44

Yeah, anyway, sorry. So those are the things. However, let's move it along to some joy, joyful moments. I'm glad we this really kind of started off on a bit of a you know, not happier note, but I do feel our vibration lifting on. So let's lift it even more with some uh moments of queer joy for you. Uh, this week, or at least the last time since the last time we met, is there a moment of some queer joy that you'd like to share with us?

Brendan 21:14

Well, mine was um, you know, like one of one of my gentleman friends.

Vuyanzi 21:19

Uh-huh. I already knew from your body language. First of all, you patted your relaxing head. Yep. Boop boop. And then you started playing with this. Okay, notice the body language. Okay. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Brendan 21:36

Well, actually, you know, like there's been a lot like lately, mostly surrounded by my gentleman callers, but um you have been able to share some different long calls or short calls, but on both.

Vuyanzi 21:47

Okay, anyway, go ahead.

Brendan 21:48

Why not both? Well, so I told you I'm I'm gonna feed you some of these collard greens that I made, which I actually made for one of my friends for his birthday. Weekend. I was like, come over, baby, I'm gonna cook you sometime. He's cooking college.

Vuyanzi 22:05

What am I doing in my life?

Brendan 22:08

Another one, so very few people remember or realize that I have a degree in music because that was what my bachelor's degree was then. Um, and so I got an opportunity the other day because one of my friends um has a violin that needed to be tuned. So he brought over the violin and we had to get some new strings on there, stringing the violin and like, you know, like tuning it and playing the little notes and stuff. And then I also took this up as an opportunity to tune this banjo that I have.

Vuyanzi 22:38

What?

Brendan 22:39

What? Can you play a song? No, I cannot do that. But I am learning how to like do like the fingering because it you keep your combs too hot. Okay, that is that brought me some joy.

Vuyanzi 22:59

Well, that sounds amazing. So, side note, I grew up playing the violin from the time I was six years old till I was till I graduated. I took a couple years off, but from six to eighteen years old. And even a few years ago, okay, maybe it's a couple of decades ago. Anyway, I my friend and I, my Kenyan friend, my first Kenyan friend and I, uh in New Jersey, we did like a Christmas concert. She was on the piano and I was on the violin for my family because we always had a piano in it in the house. I did not know that your undergrad was in music. I love that.

Brendan 23:32

Yeah. What about you?

Vuyanzi 23:34

That actually, your joy is making me so joyful, too. Yeah, if your friend ever comes over with the violin and he's playing it um or something, I don't know. Let me know.

Brendan 23:44

I'll have met you over for the parts that you're allowed to be there for.

Vuyanzi 23:47

Um only those parts. Oh, is it that kind of friend? They are all that kind of friends. Oh my gosh. Okay, there's a couple of things with the right circumstances.

Brendan 24:01

Anybody could be that kind of friend in Europe. So maybe you do want to come over for being a part of I don't know.

Vuyanzi 24:07

You don't know my life. Um, okay, so uh I think the biggest thing this week that brought me joy was okay, so the group in which I was conducting a leadership retreat. I won't say the name of the organization, however, it has to do with environmentalism and protecting, of course, and sustaining the environment. And of course, we're in Kenya. Kenya is in Africa, so more than likely it's going to be more black people in the room. However, I want you to think about not like you know this, how did I grow up? Did I grow up seeing a lot of black, uh and my family was a lot of them had degrees and everything? However, PhDs and scientists who look like me. Um, and this is called Black Joy, uh, by the way, I've never seen so many of those people, people who have had articles in um in these environmentalists uh published articles in different areas of science and environment the environment. And to see all these people, leaders, leaders, like uh, by the way, recognized globally in one place and looking like me, I felt like wow, like this is what's up. I have the privilege and the honor to be around these people, and it just gave me immense joy inside my soul. Um, so that was what brought me amazing joy this week. You find any cute man with a PhD? Um, so I don't know that he had a PhD, but definitely he has an MBA, and that's a whole different story.

Brendan 25:57

He might have had a different kind of D.

Vuyanzi 26:04

Let me tell you, uh, he was oh gosh, let me tell you. I'm gonna keep it professional because I don't know who from that group will hear it, but just know there was a cutie, there were a couple of cuties in the room, but one specifically his energy was She said she was trying to do some other facilitative afternoon. Yo, okay, I was keeping it professional, and that's what I'll say. I'll leave it at that. Boop, because I want to get hired again. Oh gosh, sorry. I hope you cut that part up. Something was on my in my I couldn't, sorry.

Brendan 26:38

You're only a Grinch filler. All right, so wait, as we close it out, yeah, yeah.

Vuyanzi 26:45

So as we holidays.

Brendan 26:47

Um, I think just I mean it I think it's a nice kind of point of focus for our show just because it is a reminder that like you know, home can be anywhere. Yeah, yeah. Especially if you allow it to be.

Vuyanzi 27:00

I mean, some some of us don't want to allow it to be my um, but I mean, okay, just to that point where we allow it to be, I think this year is the first year that I'm feeling a little homesick. I mean, I've been here, right? As much as I may say the weather's warm, in the end, this is the first year I'm feeling a little bit, I want to be home. So that's why I'm definitely working on getting home. You might see me on the flight. Don't play. Like, hey, Raven, I don't know. What are these two doing?

Brendan 27:38

Oh no, they couldn't. I'll be like, oh no, you gotta switch, baby.

Vuyanzi 27:41

Get out of this.

Brendan 27:44

They're gonna be like, I paid for the upgrade. Great. Well, you could get a refair.

Vuyanzi 27:49

Seriously. But um, but I I'm happy to be talking about this. Um, because one thing is I think it's important. I know you I have to pay you for your therapy lesson afterwards, but I think it's important to talk about this. We're abroad, we're here, we're living it, we're experiencing it. So, you know, happy holidays to everyone. And uh we'll be enjoying it maybe on a plane, maybe here, but just making it home is where the heart is. Is that that's a home is where the heart is. Yes.

Brendan 28:26

Or a little bit lower, depending on how it's you could keep going depending on who it is. But anyway, wherever you're celebrating, I think also just a quick mention that you know, I think the holidays can also be it's the ghost of Kisses from Kenya. But I mean, just a timely reminder that the holidays can also be a time when people do feel very lonely. So if you are someone who is feeling alone, please let us know that you are not. Um, and of course, if you are feeling uh like it's a point where you want to do something drastic, uh we're happy to also provide uh resources numbers you can call in.

Vuyanzi 29:10

Yeah, please reach out. That's the one thing. Don't um don't isolate yourself and step away. But I want you to reach out to us. There it's we can definitely support you in resources and provide um, we'll put them on the screen. Yeah, in the show notes, we can put it in the show notes. Um, because it is it is true, as much as we're laughing and talking, it is true that some people don't feel good at this juncture. Well, and also sometimes when you're laughing, it's because you don't feel good either. So this come on, come on okay, Dr. Brunson. I'm kind of doctor anyway.

Brendan 29:44

Speaking of doctor, uh I don't know what I was gonna go with that.

Vuyanzi 29:48

Yeah, oh I was waiting. I was like, oh love, Doctor.

Brendan 29:52

Um Dr. Mell. Wherever you're celebrating, stay joyful, stay messy. And from us, kisses from Kenya.

Vuyanzi 30:01

Bye guys. See you next year.