Library Day

Rosslyn has two large Libraries on campus. The boys are very excited that the Elementary Library is open every Wednesday during the vacation. The boys have a whole new world of books available now. They have been reading lots since our arrival. I am anxious to get into the Middle / High School Library to see what is there that might interest me. I haven’t had much time for reading the last few years so I hope to do a bit of catch up.

Kenyan meal

Today we had lunch at a special little restaurant behind the American embassy. It was a BBQ of sorts....grilled goat or chicken. It also came with a large serving of some typical Kenyan foods. Irio is mashed potato mixed with peas and maize (corn). Chapati is like a tortilla but thicker and a bit more oily. Mboga is cabbage. This was served with rice and cost 140 Kenyan Shillings per person (about 2 dollars).

Supper with the Kennys

Last night we had supper with Aaron and Erica Kenny and their children Tristan, Emma, and Ava. The Kennys are Canadian Baptist Missionaries (and Maritimers) living in Nairobi and working with Somali refugees in Eastleigh (a suburb of Nairobi). I hope to go to Eastleigh with them once school starts. The Kennys have a fabulous blog that talks about their
Ministry. You can find it by clicking on the link on the right side of our blog (see links).

Tristan and Emma go to Rosslyn Academy too (grades 2 and 4). They have a beautiful home and we enjoyed a delicious meal. Simon fell in love with Mrs. Kenny’s double fudge brownies!

The Kennys also did us another big favour by giving us a candle. Tim was able to use it to wax the boys’ bed and last night we had the first night without SQUEAKS. What a gift!

20th Anniversary!

Today we celebrated our 20th Anniversary. The highlight was that Anniversary cards from our parents arrived in the mail for us today -- from Nova Scotia in less than a week! I gave Tim a hammer and he gave me a gorgeous vase and 38 beautiful roses (for less than 5 dollars). We attended a dessert party tonight for all the staff at Rosslyn -- what a celebration!

Flower Power

We arrived in Nairobi just one week ago! The smell that struck me when we arrived at our house that night was the strong scent of flowers. I couldn’t identify which flowers (I still can’t) but I am thrilled that our house is surrounded by flowers and plants of all kinds. It is like living in an arboretum. I just wish there were little signs to tell me what each is called……

Most mornings I awaken to the sound of a rooster crowing but today it was the pounding of nails – or so I thought. I discovered that it was actually the rain coming off the roof and hitting the very large leaves of a plant outside our window. Our version of Tropical Storm Cristobal.

Plants grow here with very little effort. Our yard has not been tended for more than a month; consequently everything is quite overgrown. Tim bought a pair of gardening shears today. Scary thought.....

Simon calls this the toothpick plant because it has silver spikes the size of toothpicks.

Giraffe Kiss

Since the day of our arrival in Kenya, Simon has been wanting to see the giraffes. So after church today we went to the Giraffe Centre sponsored by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. It is a 120 acre reserve park dedicated to educating youth about giraffes. The park is a 30 km (60 minute) drive from the school. Someday we will tell you about the roads in Nairobi!

Thankfully our driver, Boniface, is very skilled. Boniface works at the school and grew up in Kenya but this was his first trip to the Giraffe Centre. He said he had never been so close to a giraffe and seemed to have as much fun as we did.

Simon was in his glory getting licked and nuzzled. Do you see how this baby giraffe extended its reach? Yes, that tongue is 45 cm long!

Lisa was amazed that the staff could tell the giraffes apart by the colouring and shapes of their spots. Each giraffe has a name and will come when you call its name. We spent most of our time with “Laura” and “Betty”.


Max became a pro at having them eat out of his hand over his shoulder.

Female giraffes grow 4 meters tall. Tim called it a surreal experience to be under a giraffe looking up as it swoops its neck down toward you – a little bit intimidating too. A person can walk under a giraffe without touching its belly. You wouldn’t want to do that though, because a giraffe’s only mode of defense is by kicking. Its legs are big and strong; we lifted one leg bone that weighed 10 kg.

Yummy fruit!

We had a great grocery shopping trip today. The store that we shop at is called Nakumatt. Tim can never pronounce it so he calls it Wal-Mart. It has everything – hardware, paint, electronics, bakery, dishes, groceries – much like a Wal-Mart!

I had a great time today with the young man in the produce section. He taught me about the fruit – what a tree tomatoe is, how to tell a ripe papaya, the difference between cantaloupe and sweet melon, why he prefers the pixie oranges, how to pick a pineapple so that it will be ready exactly the day we want to eat it. The fruit is wonderfully fresh and tasty. There are also vendors selling along the side of the road but we aren’t that adventurous yet!

The other thing about the fruit is the cost is so reasonable. I paid 61 Kenyan shillings for a pineapple (almost 1 Canadian dollar). Three huge Tommy mangoes cost 81 shillings (only 40 cents each!). I could have bought three different kinds of mangoes today. Two large Mountain papaya cost 52 shillings (78 cents). I am anxious to try the tree tomatoes – they are a fruit that you can add to orange juice to give it a special flavour. Simon is even drinking orange juice now – he always found OJ too sour in Canada. We are loving the food so far!

And just a word about flowers …….we can buy 20 roses for 150 shillings (just over 2 dollars)!! I hope to get a vase before our anniversary next week!

First Laundry

Today I accomplished one of the first “normal” routines of life. I did a load of laundry! It was very comforting to do something so very routine even though it might not be quite the same as in Canada.

This is my laundry room. It is a very bright and relaxing setting. There are no dryers here either. I share these four lines with our neighbours the Matlacks (they have 4 young boys so do lots of laundry!).

People are quite surprised that we have chosen not to have “house help” for now. We’ve decided that until I am working and we know our routines, we will not have a woman come in to do the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. However, I am seriously considering a gardener……

The Chutes Have Arrived in Kenya

On Monday, July 14th, Tim, Lisa, Max and Simon flew from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and landed in Nairobi, Kenya at 10:00 pm on July 15th via Montreal and London.

We have moved into our new home which is beautiful. Lots of flowers, palm trees and exotic birds. We also have a few friendly geckos to keep down the ant population outside the house.

We have begun the task of setting up our new home. We purchased a toaster, a broom, and some food at a local store today which sells everything from avocados to hardware to televisions.

We hope to have internet access in our home by the end of the week.

God Bless,

Tim