Obama Day!

Yesterday’s U.S. Presidential election is having an impact here. Before the election there was concern that if Obama did not win there would be rioting in Kenya. The President made public announcements yesterday that there would be severe consequences for any violence. Kenyans were reminded that this is an American Election NOT A Kenyan Election.

Obama’s family is originally from Kenya. His father grew up in a small town called Kisumu (about 5 hours from Nairobi). Because of this, many Kenyan people feel a connection to the rest of the world through him. At 7:00 a.m. this morning, when it was announced that Obama won the election, there was a collective sigh of relief that Kenya had avoided riots and also a feeling of pride that this new leader had humble beginnings here in Africa.

Shortly after Obama's win was announced, Kenya’s President Kibaki said “This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success.” Kibaki declared tomorrow, Thursday November 5, a national holiday! Kenya’s Vice President also said many Americans would now wish to visit country of the father of their new President.

Rosslyn Academy has chosen to honour that holiday and, therefore, Tim, Max, and Simon will have NO SCHOOL tomorrow!This is Simon’s class on today's field trip to Nakumatt (like WalMart African style). The class has been learning about money in Math and this was a hands on learning opportunity.