Chutes in Kenya

To Be Continued.....

2010-06-07T13:31:00.000+03:00

On June 3, after two years working at Rosslyn Academy, we left Nairobi, Kenya for our next adventure. Our life fit into these 13 Action Packers and piled onto a plane bound for Nova Scotia.

The flight went well and we all slept a little bit along the way. The boys were especially excited to have 'on-demand' movies! A short layover in London and then on to Halifax. After clearing Customs and greeting our familes, our first stop was Tim Hortons! A Canadian institution that we have missed!

So what now? Not sure....... we will vacation for a month and then start to think about getting a job.... somewhere! This blog is to be continued....... somewhere! Chutes in Canada? Chute in RV park? Chutes in Antarctica? Only God knows...........

Yes! We have no Bananas

2010-06-03T16:42:00.000+03:00

Do you remember my story of the banana plant next to our house? It was given to me by the Kenyan gardeners on staff at Rosslyn in February 2009. Shortly thereafter it started to die and the mole responsible was removed. The plant has survived and grown surprisingly strong. Banana plants can grow up to 7 metres tall and each leaf can be 2 metres long.

Early this April we discovered a new growth on the banana tree. This pod-like cluster of leaves is called a "flower bract". One leaf on the bract rolled back almost daily to reveal a new "hand" of bananas.

When first exposed, the hand of tiny bananas grows downward. Gradually the "fingers" turn toward the sun and appear to be growing upside down. The large pod (bract) is the life source of the banana -- it contains a syrupy milk that feeds the young bananas as they grow. Sometimes the syrup drips out the bottom of the pod while the bananas hang above. Simon has counted 19 hands of bananas on this one stalk. The bananas continue to grow and turn yellow over a period many weeks.

I have read that Kenyans consume 45 kg of bananas per person each year. We have several varieties of bananas here which are cooked in stew or eaten raw. The leaves of the banana plant are used to make placemats, boxes, nativity sets, hats, rugs, etc, etc.

We have been told that it takes about 3 months for a bunch of bananas to ripen.... hence the title of this blog. We do have bananas on our tree and they will be ready to pick in July or August. But we will not be the ones to harvest this crop.

We fly to Nova Scotia today and will not be returning to Kenya. We are looking forward to a few months of rest and being with family and friends. We are not sure what the Fall will bring! Sadly, we will not be eating our bananas.

Elephant Orphanage

2010-06-01T21:54:00.000+03:00

One of the things that Simon has been wishing to do here in Nairobi, is go to the Elephant Orphanage attached to the Nairobi National Park. This past weekend we made the trek across town and were not disappointed!

The orphanage takes in baby elephants that have been left alone for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the mother is sick or wounded and unable to care for the elephant. Sometimes pouchers have killed the mother for her ivory tusks (illegal in Kenya since 1989). There are currently 17 baby elephants at the orphanage -- the youngest is 4 months and the oldest almost 2 years old.

The baby elephants are cared for by individual keepers 24 hours a day. They roam free in an area of Nairobi National Park from 6 am to 6 pm while the keeper watches. At sunset the elephant returns to the orphanage and sleeps in a small shelter with a keeper -- they are fed SMA every 3 hours through the night and the keeper makes sure that the elephant stays warm with blankets. The elephants stay at the orphanage until they reach 2 years old. Then they are transfered to Tsavo National Park (5 hours from Nairobi) where they are transitioned back to a family in the wild.

The elephants were so cute to watch and they loved to be touched. Lisa had a great time shaking trunks! However, though small, these are very strong animals! They are also very wrinkly and rough feeling. Max thought it would be cool to be a keeper!.

Recital

2010-05-22T13:17:00.000+03:00

During this school year, Simon, Max, and Lisa have been taking piano and guitar lessons. This week was the year end Recital Concert at Rosslyn.

Simon has been taking guitar lessons from Mr. Sanna. This was Simon's first year playing guitar and his instructor is impressed with how quickly he has learned the instrument. Simon has a real love of the classical style. Mr. Sanna is an exceptional guitarist so attending lessons was like a mini concert every week, as Simon played and Mr. Sanna accompanied. Simon's recital piece was plucking the melody for Jesus Loves Me. He had a beautiful sound and perfect beat. In the large auditorium it was a very impressive sound.

Max and Lisa played a duet for their Recital piece: Rondo in A Major by Schubert. Lisa has not taken lessons for decades. It was fun to relearn how to play and begin again to enjoy the stress relief that music can bring. However, to perform in front of people for the first time in 36 years was nether fun nor a stress reliever! In fact, Lisa has no recollection of the event -- Max says she played well.

Year End Swim Meet

2010-05-14T03:58:00.000+03:00

Max and Simon have continued to work hard on the Rosslyn Swim Team. We have been very proud of their commitment. Their effort was especially evident in the last meet of the season; Both boys set records for Personal Best. We love watching them race, but mostly encourage them to beat their own time.

Max has worked at improving his butterfly stroke this year. This week he competed in the 50m Fly and was chosen to do the Fly as one of the legs of the Medley Relay.

Simon has steadily and improved his overall conditioning and competed against some much larger boys.

One of the boys' relay team members was unable to compete at the last moment so they found a replacement! Jon is a teacher at school and helps coach the swim team. He also competes in the "Open" category. He filled in on Max and Simon's team so that they would not have to "scratch" the Free Relay. Fun times!

Lisa's Birthday

2010-05-04T09:02:00.000+03:00

Today is my birthday and my birthday wish was to see flamingos....... not 45 pink plastic ones on the lawn, but rather thousands of real ones on Lake Nakuru. Lake Nakuru is a soda lake about 2 hours north of Nairobi. Its alkaline environment means that it grows blue green algae in abundance -- the favourite food of pink Lesser Flamingos. The lake has had a population of up to 2.5 million flamingos. The numbers vary depending on the climate. During times of drought the lake dries up and the flamingos move to a more wet environment. During times of heavy rain the water becomes diluted and no longer has blue-green algae so the flamingos move in search of food.

Lake Nakuru National Park also boasts over 400 species of birds. Simon is our bird boy and we all took part in spotting the most interesting ones and looking them up in his book.

Besides flamingos, we saw Pelicans, Hamerkop, Egret, Kingfishers, Ring-necked Doves, Blacksmith Plovers, Crowned Plovers, Rollers, Hoopoe, Glossy Starlings, and Widowbirds.

The Park also has the usual selection of animals -- rhinocerous, giraffe, water buffalo, zebra, monkeys, baboon, gazelle, impala. And one thing that we did not expect to see was a tree-climbing lion. This is a very rare species of lion that likes to climb trees and rest in the shade. Climbing trees is not a usual feat of lions and a safari guide told us there are only 8 or 9 of these animals in the Park. We were very exited!!

Banquet Season

2010-04-20T19:32:00.000+02:00

The school year at Rosslyn is from August to May. As we enjoy the last 5 weeks of school here, the year end events are already beginning. We have attended the Middle School Banquet and the High School Banquet (because Tim is the Principal for those schools).

The Middle School Banquet was held on campus and catered by an Italian Restaurant. Having pizza for appetizers was so fitting for a Middle School! This year Max was able to attend also. He and his friends enjoyed getting dressed up for the event. The Grade 6 boys looked much cleaner than usual!

We also attended a beautiful banquet for the High School held at the Holiday Inn Hotel nearby. The theme was the "Enchanted Garden of Bombay". This Indian theme meant the room was decorated in metres and metres of brightly coloured fabric, the students wore a variety of Punjab dresses and Sari, and there was a woman giving free henna tattoos.

Hell's Gate

2010-04-13T09:27:00.000+02:00

Max's Grade 6 class visited the Hell's Gate National Park for a field trip. This is a small National Park in Kenya and has great soil and rock formations. Max`s Science class went there to study the rock.

In 1981, Africa`s first geothermal station was built near Hell`s Gate. It harnesses the heat of the underground hot springs and geysers. There is one area of the gorge where the water coming from the rock is boiling hot. Some say this is where the name came from..... the explorers believed that wall was very close to the gate of hell. The geothermal station provides almost 25% of Kenya`s electricity. The steam locked 1500m underground is said to be one of the hottest sources in the world.

Legend also says that the park is named Hell`s Gate because when Mount Longonot erupted a hundred years ago, the lava and ash spilled into the nearby gorge. The bodies of hundreds of Maasai people were found under many layers of ash.

The hike is spectacular for its scenic cliffs, volcanoes, gorges, and geothermal steam. The trek is not always easy and a local guide is helpful to point out the variety of plants and animals, like the rock hyrax. Max`s class stayed close to the guide as he described the sighting of a puff adder snake (Africa`s most dangerous snake) earlier in the day.

Obsidian rock is also visible on the ground and in one cave in particular. Obsidian is formed when a volcano erupts. The lava spills out and cools extremely quickly to form the glass-like rock. We have several large pieces of obsidian in our home being used as door stops.

Allergy Time!

2010-04-03T15:48:00.000+02:00

The last few weeks we have all had itchy eyes and runny noses. We have been sneezing and stuffy. So we went looking for the culprit.

We discovered that during the rainy season there is a tree which makes beautiful yellow blooms. Last year we did not experience these trees in their fullness because we had such a dry season. But this year we are blessed with rain -- and flowering trees. And as you can see, the blooms are huge and plentiful!

Furusato

2010-04-02T16:05:00.001+02:00

Here are some other pictures of the delicious Japanese meal we had at Furusato.

Max and Simon were not sure if they would like the sushi (even though they love Korean Kymbop). But Simon loved the Teriyaki chicken and Max was keen on the tempura vegetables.

Below are Max and Simon with Sam and Lily standing in front of the Sushi bar. The staff are a mixture of Japanese and Kenyans.

The food is all prepared in front of us at the Teppenyaki table. There is some heat that comes from it but the view is worth a bit of heat!

March Break

2010-03-27T06:43:00.000+02:00

After our trip to the TreeHouse during the week of March Break, we spent the rest of our vacation in Nairobi: hanging out, getting some rest, and getting caught up on some things. And we did eat at some new restaurants -- to combat the "self-catering vacation" (oxymoron).

Because it is a multicultural city, the most fun part of eating out in Nairobi is the variety of choice available. The worst part of eating out is the drive to the restaurant. The most challenging part is getting a bill when you are ready to leave. We usually ask for the bill when we receive our food. We have waited up to an hour to get a bill.

We had delicious pizza at a hard-to-find cafe. We ate at a new El Salvadorian open-air cafe. We enjoyed the teppanyaki grill at a Japanese restaurant. Each time we took someone different with us so we were able to enjoy good food and good company that we don't usually have time for.

The Treehouse

2010-03-22T19:41:00.000+02:00

For the first few days of March Break, we traveled north of Nairobi to a getaway called Malu Farm. It was a 1.5 hour drive to Naivasha Town and then 11 km on a dirt road to the farm. That 11 km took 45 minutes. And we used our 4 Wheel Drive Low. A regular car would never make it on the worst roads we have traveled in Kenya (so far). I can not begin to describe the feeling of being thrown around the vehicle, using all the grab bars available, and a back ache that would not quit. Locals say that the bumpy roads are part of the "charm" of this location.

We stayed in The Treehouse with our friends, the Pruitts. It was a large house with a loft and a full kitchen. Being "self-catering" means that Mom spends her vacation preparing meals for the rest of the family -- much like at home, when not on vacation.... hmmm.... However, this kitchen was beautiful and well-stocked with tools. But the people who designed it were obviously giants. Anne Marie and I are actually standing on the floor in the above picture. Thankfully there was a delicious Italian restaurant on site -- you only had to drive over those terrible roads to get there.

The Treehouse offers little in the way of entertainment -- so we made our own: watching the hippos in the river; reading; playing SkipBo and Zilch and chess and Yahtzee; eating snacks (that mom prepared); having a bonfire; watching Colobus and Sykes monkeys. One of the boys' favourite past-times was playing with their electronic DS in "the basket" -- a large hamper that fit all four of them at once. It was especially popular in the cool mornings (they would take hot water bottles with them).

Malu Farm is in the middle of a cedar forest and the furniture in the cottages is made on site and very beautiful. Visitors are able to tour the workshop and purchase cedar items. We also could see the chickens, horses, donkeys on the farm and the boys took a turn milking the cow.

During the day, the temperatures got very warm. In the afternoon we made a habit of going to the "Plunge Pool" to cool off. This is a hot tub of sorts, made from the hot springs coming from the mountain. One of the kids called it magical! It was on a small creek in the woods and was a very quiet escape -- from the roads that you had to travel to get there.

The trip home to Nairobi was uneventful but interesting as always. This is one of the vendor stands along the way -- selling fresh fruits and vegetables. There were also places to buy sheep skin rugs and hats, geese, chickens.

Settling In

2010-03-12T19:55:00.000+02:00

Thanks to so many who have sent thoughts, prayers, and money for Cathy and her family. You recall that after Cathy's home was broken into, her family moved the very next day because of fear that the robbers would come back (they had a key). Cathy lived in a very unsafe neighbourhood for 2 weeks while they looked for a new place. On March 1, Cathy, Ken, and Rickie moved to a much more secure home. I gave Cathy my camera to take some pictures to share with you.

Like their other home, this one has one room for living, sleeping, eating. Cathy has been able to purchase a few things to re-establish her home. She also received several donations of basic items -- sheets, blankets, pots, utensils.

What is wonderful about this new home is that they now have their own toilet!! With running water!! Cathy is so excited about this and she giggled like crazy when she told me that she even has a shower now. Imagine!

There is a small area, shared with other people in the village, where Rickie can safely play. One concern that still remains is that Cathy does not have child care for Rickie in this new home. At the old home she left Rickie with a neighbour when she went to work. She now has to make new arrangements. There is a pre-school nearby that will accept Rickie (age 2) beginning in May. This stilll leaves some time without a good arrangement.

One of the saddest things for me was that Cathy's water filter was stolen. But we were able to use a donation from kind friends to buy her a replacement. Cathy was so grateful for this new stainless steel filter.

One downside is that this home is a bit further away from their work. Cathy and Ken now have to take two matatu (20 minutes driving). But it seems this is a small price to pay for a beautiful new home in a safe area.

Max is 12 !!

2010-03-06T17:25:00.001+02:00

Friday March 5 was Max's 12th birthday! We had a party after school at the end of a long week. He invited 12 boys from Grade 6 and everyone had a great time. We have entered a new stage of life with boys -- success of a party is dependent on the food. The boys made their own mini pizzas. They just kept eating and eating!

The cake was angel food topped with whip cream, mangoes, and ice cream. Whipping egg whites at this elevation is no easy chore but this year Lisa was excited to have a beater!

The boys also had some pool time. It was a very hot day so a swim was refreshing. The boys had fun with water guns and splashing around.

Mount Longonot

2010-02-28T15:27:00.000+02:00

On Friday, Simon's class went on a field trip to Mount Longonot. Tim joined the Grade 4 class on this rugged climb in the Great Rift Valley. Mount Longonot is a dormant volcano which last erupted in the 1860s. The mountain is about 100km north of Nairobi at an elevation of 2700m. The climb from the base of the mountain to the crater at the top is 630m. It is a very steep climb with deep gulleys that make the trek even more challenging. The volcanic ash on the ground makes it a bit slippery -- and dirty too.

There is also wildlife in the area of the mountain and on the climb. Simon and Tim saw several small herds of Eland (large, moose-like creatures) They did not see any buffalo, zebra, giraffe or leopards which also live on the mountain .

The view from the top is beautiful. A look inside the crater is also very interesting. A forest of small trees covers the floor of the crater. A hike around the rim of the crater is even more challenging than the climb to the peak. Small steam vents are visible around the walls of the crater.

Stolen Dreams

2010-02-20T06:47:00.000+02:00

Cathy has worked for us for 16 months. Two days a week she helps me clean and teaches me how to cook Kenyan style. She is bright, hard-working, and full of laughter. She has a husband named Ken and a 2 year old son named Rickie. Cathy and her family live in a one room cement block/ tin roof home. They have worked hard to acquire the material things to make a comfortable home. ("Comfortable" by Kenyan standards is a meager shack by Canadian standards.)

One day in January, Cathy was at our home when she got a call that she had won a coffee table! ("Lisa, what is a coffee table?") Because of its size, Tim went with her to the store and drove her home to her village to deliver the table.

We thought no more about it until this week. On Monday when Cathy returned home after work, she was shocked to walk into her home and discover that she had been robbed. The table was still there. The sofa was there but the cushions were gone. Her bed was there but the mattress and linen were gone. Her clothes, shoes, pots, propane cooker, water filter, transister radio, flashlight were all gone! She, Rickie and Ken were left with only the clothes on their backs.

The next day Cathy and her family moved to a smaller, dirtier home because they were afraid the robbers would come back (the padlock was still on the door when she got home, indicating that the intruders had a key). Cathy is so thankful that no one was home when the intruders came because it is common for people to be raped, injured, or killed in a robbery.

What we did not realize until yesterday is that our help to Cathy may have led to the robbery. When a person living in a slum is visited by a mzungu (a white man) the rest of the village then believes that the mzungu has left money and items that are worth stealing. It is true that we have given Cathy and her family several household items, clothing, towels, shoes, etc Giving these items is not a problem, but being seen at their home may have made Cathy's family a target.

Rosslyn Academy Cultural Field Study Trip

2010-02-14T19:57:00.000+02:00

An important part of Rosslyn Academy is the Cultural Field Studies Program which begins with students in Grade 5 and continues through Grade 12. The high school students travel in small groups across Kenya (100 - 600 km from the school) to learn about the people and culture of rural Kenya. The program also requires that the students participate in a service project. This can be helping farmers plow fields, building a sand dam to store river water, or building a house with Habitat for Humanity.

Tim went with a group of Grade 10 students to Kaplong (about 250 km west of Nairobi). The group spent 2 days helping to build a house for a an older gentleman and his family. The house will be be 22' x 18' (four basic rooms).

The first task was to dig the footings. All work is done by hand including mixing the concrete and then pouring it into the trenches. The students also learned to lay the bricks for the walls and were able to complete four courses. The owner was very pleased with the work the students completed. Another group from Canada is coming in few weeks to continue the build.

Besides brick-laying skills the students learned about the Kalenjin and Kisii tribes of Kenya.

This is also a beautiful area for tea farming. We were able to visit a tea farm and a roadside market.

back yard in January

2010-02-01T15:33:00.001+02:00

Last week my sister sent me photos of the beauty of her backyard in Nova Scotia. This started the boys on a quest to tell all their best remembered stories of snow. We laughed about Max losing his first tooth in the snow (he really LOST it). We winced about Simon and Tim hitting a bump at the Rec Park and flying off their crazy carpet. We marveled at the large snowmen we built in the back yard on Saywood Drive. We really do miss the snow!

So I took a few pictures of our yard in Nairobi in January. It is lovely but it can not compare to the beauty of the snow..... Those of you living in the white stuff may beg to differ!

This rubber tree was barely as tall as me when we moved in 18 months ago. It now provides ample shade for our hammock.

This hedge gets trimmed every 2 weeks or else it becomes a wild thing! It is one of my favourites because of the variegated leaves.

This tree gets cut back to a stump every couple of months. Then it grows and Timothy, our gardener, gives it a new look --never the same as the last time. It has parge blooms on it that look lice Queen Anne's lace.

Egypt Part III -- Alexandria

2010-01-15T15:38:00.000+02:00

Our Egypt journey ended in Alexandria City. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. After he conquered Egypt, he moved the capital of the country to the north coast to be near the sea. This was our first time to see the Mediterranean Sea and we made sure that we put our feet in it. The water was much cooler than the Indian Ocean off Kenya but much warmer than the Atlantic Ocean of our homeland Nova Scotia.

We were amazed to discover that much of Ancient Alexandria is buried under the ground. This amphitheatre is in the process of being excavated. It was discovered a few years ago by accident when the government wanted to erect a new building. The ruins seem to be the site of a University.

Recently two mummies were also discovered in Alexandria -- locals believe they are the remains of Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

In 1995 fishermen discovered part of a city under the sea just off the coast. It is believed that part of Alexandria sank in an earthquake over a thousand years ago. The earthquake of 1992 shifted it closer to the surface again and it is currently being explored by the Department of Antiquities. Some statues have been brought to the surface (left) but this undersea city remains intact under the water. Perhaps it will become a museum for scuba divers!

.

The most fun we had was at the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library). It opened in 2002 and boasts the largest reading room in the world. The Library has space for 8 million books and one of the newest Internet Archives in the world.. It also has a Planetarium (above) where they show science films (in Arabic). We enjoyed walking through the collections and stopping to read in the Young Peoples' section. Most of the books were in Arabic, which reads from right to left. We were also surprised to see that the books are opposite of ours -- they read from "back to front".

We visited the Pompey`s Pillar, a 25 meter column made of red granite. We strolled through the Muntazah Gardens and stopped to look at the Muntazah Palace where the descendents of King Mohamed Ali lived until 1952. And we walked through the deep Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa. This mass burial site was probably built in 100AD but was not discovered until 1900 and opened to the public in 1995. There is a deep spiral staircase leading to 3 underground levels. The underground ``streets`` are lined with about 400 tombs chiseled into the rock. We were not allowed to take photos and it is very hard to describe this incredible structure.

As a city, Alexandria is smaller (only 4 million people) and much cleaner than Cairo. This was a relaxing way to end our trip. We had a half day touring the highlights but then a full 24 hours of leisure before heading back to Cairo to catch our night flight to Nairobi. Needless to say we arrived home exhausted. An amazing trip!

Egypt Part II -- Cruisin' the Nile

2010-01-10T20:20:00.000+02:00

The second part of our Egypt trip was a 3 night cruise on the Nile. Some trips sound more exotic than the reality..... but this is not one of them!

We were on a beautiful cruise ship called the Jasmine. It had a swimming pool, table tennis, amazing buffet meals, and a spectacular sunset! It is a small cruise ship -- only 56 cabins -- but, despite the busy season, there were only 24 people on our cruise. Thankfully the other 3 families with us all had children!

The ship has a very simple bridge -- manual steering and a dashboard less complicated than your car!

We were traveling north on the Nile and thus going with the flow of the river, from South to North. The Nile is the longest river in the world, beginning in Ethiopia and flowing 6695 km through nine African countries to finally empty into the Mediterranean Sea. The view from the Nile is unique. There is no mistaking that Egypt is truly a desert and the only water for irrigating soil is from the Nile. We were on the blue river, surrounded by green papyrus on the edges and then sand dunes as far as the eye could see. The towns have grown up close to the river for obvious reasons.

The best thing about cruising on the Nile was being able to live on the ship but take excursions to the shore to see more of Egypt's great history. We visited many sites along the route between Aswan and Luxor.

Most spectacular was the Valley of the Kings. When the Pharoahs got tired of the work involved in building a pyramid, they started to develop a large burial site in Luxor. There are 62 tombs where Pharoahs were buried (most of the mummies have been removed and are on display in museums around the world). We visited three tombs -- corridors under ground with several rooms where the mummies were buried along with their treasure. The walls are decorated with heiroglyphs and paintings but we were not allowed to photograph these tombs. King Tut is buried in the Valley of the Kings (and his mummy is still on site),

We also visited the mighty Aswan Dam. Completed in 1970, the dam holds back water in the largest man-made lake in the world, called Lake Nasser (550km X 35km). It is hard to fathom how much water it controls: 30 trillion gallons of water. Our tour guide said that if the dam were to break, then Cairo would be under 72 meters of water in a matter of minutes! The dam provides the entire country with hydroelectric power and allows for regulation of crop irrigation.

Before the dam was built, several temples would flood each Spring. The completion of the High Dam submerged these temples year round. One of these is called the Philae Temple (above). The temple was underwater for 9 years until an international team cut it apart and reassembled it on higher ground.

Max is striking a pose at the Philae Temple. It is a large structure!

We also had the pleasure of being on the cruise for New Year's Eve. The staff prepared a delicious candle-lit dinner for us. We wore our Egyptian galabeya. These are cotton dresses worn by men and women (full length) and made of soft cotton. They come in a variety of styles and embroideries. These are not just for dress up -- we saw people walking all over Egypt wearing this comfortable dress.

Egypt Part I -- Cairo

2010-01-08T21:25:00.001+02:00

On December 27 we began our trip to Egypt. This was a lifetime dream for Tim and the rest of us tagged along for fun! We flew to Cairo after a short and unexpected stopover in Sudan (not an emergency but no one told us we were stopping there....).

Cairo is the capital of Egypt and has a population of 22 million people! We were surprised by its size, but not its smog. The traffic is intense -- fast and dangerous. Our tour company had amazing drivers -- turning three lanes into 5 with only centimeters to spare.

Despite the busy city all goods are moved around the city by small trucks or donkey carts. See the HUGE cauliflower on the cart? Egypt also exports dates and oranges which are delicious!

One of the things we looked forward to was the availability of fast food in Cairo: Kenya has no McDonalds so we were pumped! The only disappointment was the sick feeling we had afterward..... Our tour guide made us laugh when she said that KFC in Egypt stands for Kentucky Fried Camel.

December is winter in Cairo and we found it a comfortable 23 degrees. The local people wore winter coats and wool hats and laughed at us in shorts. They also laughed at us trying to cross the street to reach the Pizza Hut -- later we found out that there are underground tunnels for crossing the busy streets. Only the locals make the dash on regular basis!

Cairo was a great place to begin to learn about the history of ancient Egypt and the culture of Islamic Egypt. Pyramids were used to bury the Pharoah Kings and were a symbol of the religion of the times: that the afterlife could be enjoyed by the pharoah as long as his tomb had all the "stuff" to go with him. Inside the pyramid the mummy was laid to rest along with countless riches and furniture. The Step Pyramid (above) was built by King Pharoah Zoser in 2600 BC. It has the best museum to describe the architecture of the pyramids.

The boys are standing on the only remaining (Seventh) Wonder of the Ancient World: The Great Pyramid of Giza . It was very cool!! Built in 2500 BC by King Pharoah Cheops, this is a magnificent piece of work. It stands 136 meters high (now that the gold top is gone) and has 2.3 million large pieces of limestone.

There are several pyramids standing together, making the skyline a remarkable sight. Over a million people come to Cairo every month to see these and Christmas is the busiest season. However, we had lots of time to take photos, play in the sand, look out at the vast expanse of desert, watch camels roaming, and play a few tricks. We also marveled that Jesus would have seen these same pyramids when He was brought here as a baby to escape King Herod in Judah. The pyramids were already old then (2600 years) and now we see them still standing for over 4000 years. Amazing history.

We learned about a few of the famous Pharoahs, including Ramses II who was most likely the Pharoah that would not let the Israelite people go. He ruled for 64 years and had a great many statues of himself constructed throughout the city. This is one of the largest. It is a full body, now laying down, and it is massive (see how tiny we look). It is made out of granite and is very beautiful.

The sphinx is on the same site as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Its purpose is unknown but may have been a guard over the site. We were surprised to see many sphinx all over the city -- a variety of sizes and stone.

Besides the open air "museums" we visited the more traditional Egyptian Museum in Cairo and viewed the holdings of King Tut's tomb. We could not take any photos but it was magnificient to say the least!

But alongside the ancient history is a modern city. We visited a carpet factory and watched real silk being woven into very beautiful (very expensive) floor and wall hangings. We saw how papyrus plants are made into paper and used today for paintings. We visited a masonry to watch alabaster being carved into vases. Egypt is also known for its textiles -- cotton is grown in the southern part of the country and Egyptian cotton sheets are luxurious. We bought a few souvenirs including the Egyptian tarboosh hats for the boys.

Our memories of Cairo are dominated by these sensations:
1. The smell of cigarette smoke. 90% of the male population smokes and there are no regulations concerning this.
2. The sight of most women wearing head coverings. Egypt is 90% Muslim and the women must only show their face and hands in public. But they do wear modern clothes, jeans, bright coloured scarves.
3. The sounds of people being called to prayer five times a day. From the minarets on each mosque the voice chants and the people lay down their prayer mats on the sidewalks, facing east to Mecca.
4. The taste of greasy french fries and an assortment of unusual cheeses.

Christmas Day

2009-12-27T09:58:00.000+02:00

Our first artificial tree..... our first Christmas Day to wear shorts..... our first time to have zebras on the tree! But some things never change..... The boys woke us at 5:00 to open stockings. We ate turkey dinner with friends on campus. We called friends and family in Canada.

But this will be remembered as the Christmas that we delighted in the "familiar". Gifts of Heinz ketchup, Kraft peanut butter, Nutella, and Nova Scotia maple syrup were our most prized presents.

Simon was also excited to get a book of East African birds; Max was thrilled with his new paddle for table tennis; Lisa cried over a garnet necklace and earrings (mined here in Kenya); Tim is looking forward to seeing the pyramids in Egypt.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T16:48:00.000+02:00

Anticipating that we would be a bit homesick on our first African Christmas..... we planned a fun-filled evening with friends. After a church service on campus we invited staff families to our home for finger foods. About 40 people came to share a snack.

Then we all headed over to the pool for a night swim. It was a cloudy night but we enjoyed it just the same. The boys thought it was a great NEW tradition.

Christmas vacation

2009-12-23T18:25:00.000+02:00

Having a few days off for the holidays gives us a chance to explore some of the local attractions. On Monday we went ice skating!! Here in Nairobi! It was 34 degrees outside and chilly inside the Panari Centre. We went with another family and, because we were the only ones there, we were able to get out the sticks and play a game of hockey. It was such fun and a perfect memory maker for our first Christmas without snow.

Today we went on a walking safari. We went with several families and spent 2 hours walking among the wildebeests, zebra, and giraffe. We also saw a python.... the boys were excited!

We were all excited on the drive home when we saw SNOW on the side of the road! We were several thousand feet higher in elevation than Nairobi and the temperature was 11 degrees. A little bit of rain turned to hail and it llooked like snow! What a special Christmas treat for us!

Company for Christmas

2009-12-18T09:05:00.001+02:00

Simon's Grade 4 class has a special pet named Moses. The students have been caring for him this term and can earn play time with Moses by completing extra work. Moses was named for his grey/ white colouring -- making him look wise beyond his years.

Yesterday was the last day of school and Moses could not be left alone for the holidays, so...... Simon and another boy in his class are looking after Moses for the Christmas Break. Moses came home with Simon yesterday and will spend the first week of his vacation with us.

This Moses also has his own "Ten Commandments":
1.You shall not feed the hamster anything Mrs. Milton has not given you.
2.You shall not open the cage when Mrs. Milton has not given you permission.

3.You shall not rattle the cage or move it unnecessarily.
4.You shall not stick fingers or anything else between the bars or you shall be bitten.

5.You shall not raise your voices at the hamster. Stay calm.

6.You shall not stay after school or in at recess to play with the hamster unless you have specific permission from Mrs. Milton.

7.You shall not drop him.

8. You shall not squeeze him.

9.You shall not let him run on places above the floor. He has no concept of danger.

10.You shall love him for the furry ball of cuteness that he is.

Christmas Concert

2009-12-11T20:01:00.001+02:00

Tonight was Rosslyn's Elementary School Christmas Drama. The play was called The First Leon (Noel spelled backwards).

Simon played the part of the storyteller. He did extremely well.

Preparations began in October and the students had rehearsals twice a week after school. This cut into Simon's swim team practice.

Lisa helped out by making the angel costumes.

Simon and Max happily demonstrate the flexibility of the angel costumes.

The real angels were perfectly..... angelic!

It really was the students' show -- they created the sets themselves in Art Class.

Turtle Bay

2009-11-30T16:09:00.000+02:00

This past weekend we celebrated American Thanksgiving by...... not eating turkey! The school had Thursday and Friday off for the holiday so we decided to get away for the weekend. We went to a resort on Kenya's east coast called "Turtle Bay". It is an all-inclusive family friendly resort on the Indian ocean.

Being right on the equator and at sea level, we found it to be warmer and much more humid than Nairobi. High 30s degrees Celsius during the day and low 30s at night. Thankfully this time we did have air conditioning for sleeping.

The boys were also excited to have bunk beds! Of course the two slept in one bed which kind of defeats the need for bunks.....

There were several other families from Rosslyn at the resort -- it is a favourite of ex-patriots and Kenyans alike. The boys had several friends to play with and participated in a Kids Club to earn points. They played table tennis and water games, watched movies in the evening, built sand castles, and hunted for moray eels.

We spent our time reading in the shade of the palm trees, splashing in the pool, sipping drinks and eating. At any time of the day we could order fruit juice or ice cream. Simon discovered that a pineapple float is a special treat (fresh pineapple juice with vanilla ice cream). One night there was a beach BBQ so our tables were on the sand and there were large grills set up for fish, lamb, beef, chicken.

The highlight for Tim, Max, and Simon was a snorkelling trip on the reef. They saw colourful fish and beautiful coral like we have only seen in books. Sea cucumbers, sting rays, rock fish, Nemo clown fish, electric blue fish, angel fish, anemones, and many others. Lisa got very sea sick on the boat ride to the reef so spent the time floating on a life preserver.

Our last trip to the coast was an 11 hour drive. So this time we decided to fly (one hour flight). The airport in Malindi is as big as Mom and Dad's living room -- I am not joking. The plane held 48 people (Lisa took Gravol for the flight). Can you believe that they lost our luggage? It arrived 9 hours after we got back home.

Happy Birthday Tim

2009-11-25T19:49:00.000+02:00

This week we celebrated Tim's birthday. He doesn't believe that he is 45!!

We started our celebration with a delicious meal at the Furusato restaurant. It is an amazing Japanese restaurant. We went with Chris and Stephanie Weeks and laughed all evening.

On Sunday we shared a meal with the Rasmussen family. Isaac and Rachel are friends of Max's and it was also their birthday last week.

Sunday evening we had the McGees for supper. Simon made the birthday cake -- German cake with boiled frosting.

Tim's gift from us was a large can of Tim Hortons coffee. He was surprised that we had manged to bring it from Canada this summer and hide it in the house until now.

On Monday we started the special day with breakfast on the deck -- a beautiful morning with fresh biscuits, strawberry jam, sausage, and eggs.

After the boys went to school, Tim spent the day running errands..... gettng a hair cut and a massage, fixing his phone, hanging out at the hardware store. In the evening we went to Diamond Plaza for Indian food. We went with the Hortons and their friends visiting from Canada.

Our evening entertainment was trying to catch a VERY LARGE male wolf spider on our car. Creepy.

Mistletoe Market

2009-11-22T06:37:00.000+02:00

Every November the Grade 11 class at Rosslyn Academy organizes a day of shopping for the community. The lead organizer this year was Chris (here with Tim and boys).

Just like a Flea Market, local vendors rent a space to sell food, used clothing, handcrafts, and junk. Hundreds of people come to the campus to start their Christmas shopping. This year we were able to purchase a baseball glove for Max, an Indian blouse for Lisa, ornaments for our Christmas tree, an apron for Simon, electronic DS games, beads, computer games, snorkel and flippers.

There was also a slient auction and we were the successful bidders on a basket of jams. Good jam is very hard to find here so we were excited and can't wait to try jam on biscuits for breakfast.

Rosslyn Spirit Week

2009-11-15T21:18:00.000+02:00

This week the students at Rosslyn have been celebrating "Spirit Week". In NS we would have called it Winter Carnival. All week there have been dress-up days, Pep Rally, Sports Finals. Max, Simon, and Tim have enjoyed a change from the usual. Here are some glimpses of the boys with their friends....

These are the "Injured Administrators". Tim with Don and Lee from the Leadership Team. This was "Fake an Injury Day". Lee (in the middle) actually broke his hand last week so Don and Tim are showing empathy.

Here is Max with some classmates on "Multiplicity Day". The challenge was to get as many people in your class to dress the same. Simon's class all dressed like their teacher who is pregnant. They wore glasses and stuffed a pillow under their shirt.

Pyjama and Jersey Day meant you could wear your pyjamas but also a team jersey. Here is Max with some Grade 6 classmates.

Simon and Max both wore a tie to school on "Not My Style" Day. Tim, on the other hand, wore shorts and T-shirt to school!

Run like the wind!

2009-11-09T14:54:00.000+02:00

This past Saturday was the Rosslyn Track Meet. Kenyans are great runners and get very excited about track races. We all helped at the meet -- the boys were "errand runners", Tim was security, Lisa was a recorder.

These boys here are from a local Kenyan school and were a joy to watch! Even in their bare feet they could run like the wind!

This past week the whole country was excited to have Usain Bolt in Nairobi. Bolt is Jamaican and three time Olympic gold medalist. He holds the world record for the 100m and the title "fastest man in the world". He met with the President of Kenya and also visited the animal orphanage where we had been just a few weeks ago. He adopted a cheetah. There were lots of newspaper pictures of the fastest man in the world holding the fastest animal in the world.

We also got to hold 3 week old cheetahs. What a thrill!!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T15:20:00.000+02:00

It is a strange thing to live in Kenya during Halloween. Last year the boys woke up on November 1 and remembered that Halloween had been the night before. This year we did remember October 31 but there are no special activities here.

We did have a wonderful evening with our neighbours, the Hravatics. We made delicious caramel apples! The caramels were purchased at a special American store and we decorated with peanuts and sprinkles. It was fun and yummy!

Then we all watched the movie StormBreaker. Max has read all 8 books in the Alex Rider series and the movie is based on the first book. We all enjoyed the movie on our big screen in the family room.

Nilda's visit

2009-10-20T18:43:00.002+02:00

For the past week we have had Tim's mom, Nilda, visting with us here in Nairobi. We have had a busy week taking in many local sights.

We have visited the Giraffe Centre and Kazuri Beads. We spent Kenyatta Day (Kenyan National holiday) on safari at Nairobi National Park. We went to the animal orphanage and had the rare privilege of holding a 3 week old baby cheetah.

We have enjoyed an international menu: Indian food at Diamond Plaza (which included Nilda's first taste of goat), Kenyan food prepared by Cathy, soup at the Lord Errol fund-raiser for New Dawn School, pizza at home.

Despite our Kenyan adventures, we have also had time to sit on the deck and watch the rain (amid the clothes drying). The Kenyans have said that Nilda's visit is a blessing because she has brought rain with her. We have had 4 nights of rain since her arrival and we believe that the rainy season has finanlly arrived. We can not say that the drought is over though...... that remains to be seen.

Turkey! Turkey!

2009-10-14T20:01:00.000+02:00

On Sunday October 12 we hosted a Canadian Thanksgiving. Seventeen Canadians swapping stories of home was a great afternoon.
I was able to locate a turkey for a mere 500 shillings per kg (about $3.50 per pound). Unlike last year, I was prepared this year: I brought a foil roasting pan and an oven bag from Canada and also summer savoury, poultry seasoning, napkins, decorations. Last year's turkey took 9 hours to roast. So this year, I roasted it the day before (in case there was no electricty on Sunday). This year it only took 6 hours to roast and even smelled like a real turkey! Others brought cranberry sauce, dressing, brocoli salad, sweet potatoe pie, chocolate pie, pumpkin cheescake, and enough mashed potatoes to sink a ship.

We are still full!

Korean BBQ - Sep 25, 2009

2009-10-06T20:11:00.009+02:00

Rosslyn Academy has a number of students from Korea (about 14 % of the student body). Many are sons and daughters of missionaries that have been sent from Korea to Africa. Others are here living with relatives for the purpose of learning English. There are two Korean teachers on staff. Students (of all cultures) have the option of taking Korean language classes from Grade 6 onward.
[Photo]The Korean families are very grateful for the support offered to the Korean students and every year they provide a special meal to thank the teachers of Rosslyn. This Korean BBQ offers a very spicy kuchumbari (tomatoes and onions), kimbob (similar to Japanese sushi), fish sticks, zucchini pancakes, pumpkin noodles, and beef strips. Some teachers claim this is the best day of the school year.
[Photo]The Korean parents also entertain the teachers with information about Korea's country[Photo] and culture. This year there was a special treat -- a Korean fashion show. Several people modeled tradition[Photo]al Korean dress.

We were very surprised to see Tim as one of the models! Along with the boys' swim coach, Suzanne, Tim displayed traditional Korean wedding attire. His pink pants were quite shocking, especially with his electric orange jacket.

Mji Wa Huruma Part 1: The People

2009-10-05T09:40:00.007+02:00

After we returned to Nairobi in August, Lisa began volunteering for a “medical dispensary” in a nearby slum. Huruma is a community of 4000 people living in small cardboard and metal shacks just 3 minutes from campus. It is in the neighbourhood called Runda and came into existence in the late 1970s when the Kenyan people were displaced to build large homes owned by wealthy politicians and business owners. The people living in Huruma now work as guards, gardeners, house keepers, and nannies for the families living in those large homes.

In recent years, a school and a health clinic were created in order to provide service to the people living in Huruma. The health clinic is accountable to the Nairobi City Council and Kenya’s Ministry of Health. Some of the salaries and some of the supplies are provided by the government, but this is inadequate for the needs of the community. The clinic survives because of private donations. Each client pays 20 shillings (about 25 cents) to be assessed and treated.Robert is a “Clinical Officer” at the clinic. He has 4 years of university education but he is not a doctor. To become a medical doctor is a different 4 year program. Robert works 5 days a week and assesses approximately 50 people each day (half of them children under 5 years old). The most common diagnoses are pneumonia, Upper Respiratory Infections, and diarrhea with some dehydration. This week we also saw a few cases of malaria, chickenpox, burns, infected wounds, and jiggers.

There are two nurses on staff (paid through the donations of individuals). Edith (at top) and Jen (right) do things that nurses in Canada would be shocked to see. They each have a 2 year certificate that allows them to be called “Registered Nurses”. They could continue their nursing education and gain a diploma or a degree. In this photo Jen is making swabs (like QTips) from cotton wool -- not as easy as you'd think! Josephine is a third nurse employed by the Ministry. She has a diploma in nursing and is paid 37,000 shillings per month. This is approximately equal to $525 Canadian Dollars per month and is a coveted salary. Josephine is on a 5 month leave right now because she has not been allowed to take any vacation for the past 5 years. She drops by the clinic occasionally.

Lucy works at the clinic as a cleaner. Lucy tries to keep the cement floors and counter tops clean. It is a never-ending job because of the dust everywhere. Lack of rain means that every breeze brings large volumes of dust into the clinic. The sheets hanging on the windows help to keep some dirt away but the screens are now looking very dirty (no glass in windows).
Ruth’s job is to register each person as they arrive. Each client is given a number and a card. The filing of the cards is a unique system of numbers, years, ages, and cardboard boxes sitting in the lobby. While Kenyans are very modest people, privacy of information is an unknown concept.Despite the lack of resources, space, and supplies, this is a great place to work! We laugh a lot and Lisa is learning much about African culture and health practices. Right now Lisa is mostly doing administrative work – recording statistics in old-fashioned ledgers, completing monthly reports for the Ministry of Health in triplicate using carbon paper. It is a unique nursing experience.

Fun Day!

2009-09-20T06:43:00.015+02:00

Shauna Simmonds, of makeyouthink.tv, has been at Rosslyn Academy this week as the Spiritual Emphasis Week speaker. She leaves tonight to return to Toronto. On her last day in Africa we took her to a couple of our favourite spots!
We started out at the Giraffe Centre (one of our very first adventures when we moved to Kenya). The Giraffe Centre houses Rothschild giraffe for the purpose of educating the Kenyan population about giraffe and their habitat. We learned that giraffe only sleep 30 minutes in a 24 hour period! They can be 5 metres tall and live for about 27 years in captivity.
We were able to pet, feed, and kiss Daisy the Giraffe. Shauna would not kiss Daisy…. even though we explained that the giraffe saliva has antiseptic properties. Simon, Max, and Tim did indeed kiss Daisy! Lisa preferred to have a close chat with Daisy.

After the Giraffe Centre we went to the Kazuri bead factory. Kazuri is Swahili for "small and beautiful". The factory employs over 300 women in the making of handmade beads for necklaces, bracelets, earrings, wall hangings, and pottery. The beads are beautiful and Lisa owns many!!
Most importantly is that the factory recognizes the value of creating employment for Kenyans. Much of the work could probably be mechanized -- molds for the beads instead of hand-shaping every one, dip a batch of beads instead of hand-painting every one. But by giving the women meaningful work and providing a health plan the company is making a REAL difference to Kenya.

After Kazuri we went to lunch at a creperie called Le Rustique and also visited a Kitengela Glass Shop.

Safari

2009-09-17T20:43:00.002+02:00

We had the pleasure of our first family company here in

Kenya

! Tim’s brother Alan, and his wife Tricia, came from South Carolina to spend a week with us. Last weekend we drove to the Maasai Mara on a safari. August is the peak season for the Mara’s Great Migration.Every year 1.3 million wildebeest move in a clockwise direction from the Serengeti to the Mara in search of water and fresh grass. They quite literally eat their way across the plains. The cycle began in the 1960s when the numbers of wildebeests swelled to over a million.
We viewed the tail end of this year’s Migration. We saw great long lines of wildebeests, gazelle, and zebra, walking in a slow march and leaving the land behind them looking dry, trampled, barren.And anytime you have a million herbivore strolling by, you have carnivores looking for a easy meal. We saw 28 lions, 3 cheetahs, 3 hyenas, and 1 leopard hanging around.
The most intriguing thing about these ferocious animals was that we saw them in very natural moments: a lioness nursing her cubs, a family of lions strolling across the plain carrying the runt of the litter, a leopard napping in a tree, a young male lion drinking from a stream, another lion cleaning its face just like a domestic cat, two brother lions resting after a full meal of wildebeest.There were also giraffe, elephants, hippos, and ostrich looking for some green grass in the parched land. Spectacular sunsets, delicious food, and luxury tents completed this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Although a second trip to the Mara is not out of the question…..

Being Counted

2009-08-24T20:31:00.003+02:00

Today, August 24^th is the day Kenya starts counting – it is census time! Kenya takes a census every 10 years. Tonight everyone is instructed to be home between 6:00 and 10:00 pm in order to be counted. Each home is given a special number written on the exterior -- this number has been on our door frame for weeks. Enumerators will go door to door and ask each household a series of 30 questions. The government is looking for information on unemployment, number of deaths due to socio-economic reasons (starvation, HIV), number of people that have left the country in recent years, how many livestock, phones, vehicles each home has. There is also a question about tribe affiliation. This question has sparked some debate because tribe affiliation is not usually asked. People are required to share the tribe of their father.

The President decided today to declare tomorrow a National Holiday in order to facilitate the census taking. People are asked not to go to work or travel anywhere tomorrow. There is also some concern that there may be violence associated with the census -- possibly because of the tribe question, or because the Mungiki are threatening to disrupt the government activities, or because the people displaced by last year's post-election violence still do not have homes to live in and fear they may not be counted and, thus, further ignored.

The boys will not have school. Tim will still need to attend a Board of Governors meeting. National Holidays are somewhat a surprise here here in Kenya -- whenever the President wants one!

Even though a lot of effort has gone into publicizing this event, local Kenyans don’t think the census is ever very accurate. Several staff say they have never been counted due to the fact that enumerators do not come into the slums. Apparently it is usually an estimation that 600,000 people live in Mathare slum and 1million live in Kibera slum. The man in charge of this year's census is trying to correct that problem. 150,000 enumerators have been hired for the job.

The Great Fire

2009-08-22T07:30:00.006+02:00

One of the things that has taken us some time to accept is that personal security in Kenya ‘looks’ different. That is, if you see an officer with an AK-47 standing next to the banking machine then it is safe to take out money. Unlike Canada, where your security is largely unseen but you know that you can call the police and they will be there when you need. The same is true of the fire department... they sit on the side of the road.... no number to call.....visible security.

All week the Kenyan staff at Rosslyn have been clearing the area behind our house – cutting down corn that did not mature because of lack of rain, slashing grass to improve visibility to the edge of the property. And Friday afternoon at 2:00 the burning began 100 feet from our house.This is typical Kenyan custom to burn the brush, garbage, and foliage after a clean up.

Just as we were finishing supper at 6:00 Simon says “Dad is that tree on fire?” It surely was! A 70 foot tree was on fire in our backyard and at that moment a large branch fell burning to the ground. Because Kenya has not had rain in months the ground is a tinder box and the trees are DRY. Because of the lack of rain there is a national water shortage. Because of the water shortage there is no guarantee that the fire trucks have water.

We gathered the neighbours and began carrying buckets of water to the fire. The fire was burning inside the tree and the spot where it showed itself was 40 feet in the air, so even water guns proved useful. We gathered hoses and connected them with strips of rubber to reach the fire. Tim and a couple of other men took turns climbing the ladder and spraying water into the heart of the tree. There were embers raining all over and another branch threatened to fall.

For two hours we poured precious water on the ground until the fire was cooled and seemed to be contained. We left two men on guard through the night. At 4:00 a.m. it flared up again – we heard a “crack” and could see flames from our bedroom window. Another hour of water pouring into the tree and it settled down again.

This morning it looks calm but we will be vigilant watching for flare ups.

Out with the Blue

2009-08-20T18:48:00.004+03:00

When we moved into our home a year ago the lovely furnishings were provided by Rosslyn. We have completed some decorating using browns and reds and the bright blue sofa cushions no longer suited the living room. This summer I purchased tan suede fabric. I had a local merchant who makes bean bag chairs make me some zippers. Then I asked Anne to make the cushion covers. Anne is a Kenyan staff person who lives on campus and works for a Canadian family on campus. She is a very talented seamstress (in her free time).

Last evening Anne brought the new cushion covers and we had great fun making the switch!

Emily’s comment this morning is that the new colour is “nice but dull”. Emily is a flambloyant character which is why I enjoy her company when hanging out clothes and drinking chai ….. and then enjoy the peace when she leaves!

Presents from Canada

2009-08-16T14:43:00.005+03:00

One of the fun things about returning to

Kenya

is catching up with our Kenyan friends.We also bring a few gifts to them and these are very much appreciated. The items that bring the most “oohs” and “aahs” are cotton underwear and deodorant. Most clothing made in

Ken

is poor quality and falls apart quickly. I learned the hard way that underwear is highly sought after: my $40 brown La Senza bra went missing from the clothes line last summer. Deodorant (the stick kind) is not available here. The only deodorant for sale is the roll-on type and it does not work that well! We have also learned this the hard way!This time we were also able to bring a few special things: a white sweater for Cathy (yard sale find), shorts for Cathy’s son Ricky (made by a friend), blouse for Emily (from my sister’s closet), gardening shoes for Timothy, a cotton shirt for James to wear to prison (where he preaches on the weekends).
I also brought some green plastic garden bags for Timothy to plant in. I am excited about putting impatiens in these and hanging them by the front door. Because flowers bloom year round here it should be a beautiful welcome to our home. I have spent the last week trying to explain to Timothy what I am talking about…. At first he thought the bags were “to catch soup” like a bib. I was able to show him photos of these hanging plants to help break through the language barrier. Now he is afraid the flowers will be confused because they are growing sideways. “We will try it” he says doubtfully.

The other thing that we have been asked for is storage bins. Because we travel with Action Packers instead of suitcases, we have several of these storage bins in our home. The Kenyans have few items to store but do keep their clothes in old cardboard or metal boxes. We gave a plastic storage bin to Cathy, Timothy, and Emily. They were all very excited.
My concern was how they would get these bins home. Emily immediately put hers on her head (filled with many items) to demonstrate how easy it would be! We paid 200 shillings to buy a seat (for the bin) on the matatu traveling across town and she walked the rest of the way home with it on her head. “No problem!” she told me the next day.

School has started!

2009-08-13T19:01:00.005+03:00

Simon, Max and Tim are all back at school and getting used to a busy routine.

Simon is excited to be in Grade 4 with his teacher Mrs. Milton. He is especially excited about the class hamster named Moses and the opportunity to earn extra time playing with Moses by having good behaviour and work habits.

Max is mostly over the nervousness of being in the Middle School for Grade 6. He finds the responsibility a big change from Elementary School. He is excited to be able to earn Bedsole Bucks from his teacher Mr. Bedsole.

Tim is happy to have the year rolling. He has been busier than usual because of taking on the added responsibilities of High School Principal in addition to Middle School Principal.

I am at home, finally adjusted to the time change, and working at the routines of cleaning and cooking. Today, Cathy and I made peanut butter cookies, oatmeal bread, and zucchini muffins. I have begun to share food with local people in need and heard that 2 more people died yesterday of starvation. We continue to pray for rain and do what we can to help those around us.

Home Sweet Home

2009-08-05T19:47:00.009+03:00

After 2 night flights and full day layover in London, we arrived back in Nairobi yesterday. Walking back into our home was a joy. Tim had put flowers in every room to welcome us.It occurred to me that I have not shown photos of our home since last summer when we first arrived at Rosslyn Academy. We have made some cosmetic changes this year – paint and decorations. Here are some pictures from today.

The living room walls were orange when we moved in. We now have Maasai Red walls and have purchased a rug from Treo Carpets for the tile floor. I have purchased tan coloured suede to recover the cushions on the sofa. The prints on the wall are Kenyan landscape and were taken by a fellow Canadian teacher at Rosslyn named Jeff Kirkpatrick. You can visit his website at www.jeffkirkpatrickimages.com

The boys’ bedroom looks dramatically different with its Apache Brown walls. The bed spread is a Kenyan fabric of safari animals and the wall hanging we bought at a duka (shop) on the side of the road.

I have decorated our bedroom with turquoise and brown (Fawn Beige on the walls).

The family room is where we hang out in the bean bag chairs, pick at the guitars, watch movies, or play games. The walls are Burnt Toast.

The kitchen has lovely cupboard doors but we have painted some black trim and added black knobs. The appliances and dishes are also black. The walls are yellow.

After writing all of this about our home I am struck (again) by the wealth and space that we have compared to Kenyans in Nairobi……

Long Lake Camp

2009-07-21T17:01:00.003+03:00

Max and Simon spent a week at Long Lake Church Camp near Bridgewater. Tim and Lisa attended this camp as children and later worked at the camp as counsellors, lifeguard, and nurse. This was Max and Simon's first summer camping experience. It was a first for Mom too!

The boys had an awesome week of activities -- Macaroni Game, nightly Campfire complete with singing and skits, crafts, Wilderness adventures, swimming, Safari. Simon's dirty feet are a testament to how much fun (and how few showers) they had!

Every evening there was a Vespers service at "Angel Point". The camp Missions project this year was to build weirs in ..... KENYA! The campers learned about Kenya and the water shortage. The weirs will help to hold water when it rains so that there is a supply of water during times of drought. Each camper was encouraged to donate some of their "Tuck money" toward the project.

strawberry season

2009-07-13T04:14:00.003+03:00

One of the tastes of Nova Scotia that we have missed is fresh strawberries. Kenya does grow local strawberries but they have neither the size nor the flavour that we love.

So we have been been eating strawberry shortcake daily (or more often). We have also tried chocolate dipped strawberries.We have also had fun picking the strawberries in the large U-Pick farms. The berries have been large and sweet despite the lack of sun these past couple weeks. Just a short time left in the season now so we will be freezing berries and making jam to help us save the taste long after they are gone.

Beach Fun

2009-07-07T02:54:00.008+03:00

Nova Scotia license plates boast "Canada's Ocean Playground". We are taking advantage of that playground while we are here. We have visited the beach on several occasions to make castles in the sand, ride the waves crashing to shore, feel the salty wind on our faces. This week we have spent most time at Risser's Beach near Bridgewater.

The drive to the beach is dotted with many quirky and colourful homes along the ocean, all with a variety of sailing memorabilia on the lawn. As a child, I was fascinated by two homes built out of beach stones. They are still beautiful today.The South Shore of the province has white sand beaches and cool water. Today the air temperature was 21 degrees Celsius and the water temperature was 13 degrees. The boys stayed in the water for an hour! The beaches on the north shore of the province have warmer water temperatures (and more jellyfish) and the sand is reddish in colour.

cabin adventure

2009-07-03T04:41:00.006+03:00

For 48 years Lisa's parents have owned a "cabin in the woods" -- literally. It continues to have the charm of a rustic hideaway with no electricity, no running water, no indoor bathroom. Except for a new cell tower which means phone access, the cabin continues to be a retreat from the world.

We recently had a few days of sun (rare in NS this summer) so enjoyed swimming, fishing and eating at the lake. We watched a turtle lay eggs on the shore, caught a few white perch, and ate s'mores by the fire.

Father's Day

2009-06-22T00:15:00.004+03:00

It is so nice to be home in Nova Scotia. We are enjoying special family times and meals and events. Today we celebrated Father's Day. The boys gave Tim a new BBQ lift to match the new BBQ that will be waiting for us in Nairobi. My Dad received a shirt from Kenya -- he put it on right away!

And a game of crib to end the day!

Last Chai

2009-06-04T15:20:00.005+03:00

As we prepare to jump on a plane tomorrow morning, we are taking care of a few last minute details today.Max and Simon had a last morning Chai with Timothy and Cathy. They talked about airplanes and friends back home.

We also all took "de-worming" medication. This was a new adventure for us but is recommended before we travel internationally. We are now rid of round worms, pin-worms, hook-worms, whip-worms, strongyloidiasis, taeniasis, hymenolepiasis, chlonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis, and giardiasis. Aren't you glad we are not going to bring those home with us?!

Max had a last dip in the pool and Simon had one last knee injury....

And now we have one last sleep before we begin a much needed holiday. The moon is full tonight and the boys thought it was extra beautiful (or maybe that was an excuse to stay up a bit later).

Visitors

2009-06-01T15:38:00.010+03:00

As our year in Nairobi comes to an end, we are reflecting on our time so far...... Our 3 bedroom home is perfectly suited for guests and during this first year in Nairobi we have been blessed to have several visitors stay with us. It is so much fun to introduce them to a new country and a new culture and for us to hear stories from “home”. They have also brought us a few special treats from home – like real marshmallows!!Ashton Pettigrew from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia was here very briefly as part of her travels with the Kenya Volunteer Development Agency.Steve and Karen Horton from Salmon Arm, British Columbia stayed with us for a week on a visit to see their first grandchild, Amaya, who lives across the street from us on campus. Their son, Chris, and his wife, Sherene, teach in the High School. The Hortons are real games people so the boys enjoyed some intense games of Skip-Bo.
Nick Horton from London, England also came to visit his brand new niece. Amaya. He has a culinary gift and shared this with us! We are planning to spend some time with Nick when we visit London next week.
Doug Thacker from New Mexico spent a week with us in December while visiting his friend Jessie Gac (a teacher in the Middle School). He and the boys really hit it off!Craig Danielson from Saint Catherine’s, Ontario was the speaker for Spiritual Emphasis Week in September 2008 and stayed a week with us.

What a year of blessings!

Promotion

2009-05-26T16:46:00.012+03:00

Just 3 more days of school!!

As the school year draws to a close here in Nairobi, Rosslyn Academy celebrates with many ceremonies and services to honour students' sports and academic accomplishments. We have attended Year End Banquets, Graduation Teas, Promotion ceremonies, and church services.

Today was Max's Grade 5 Promotion: moving to the Middle School for Grade 6 next year. It was a beautiful ceremony. Tim was the guest speaker and Max had the privilege of introducing him!
Max's class also sang a song called "Together in Harmony".

You are not alone
and I'm not on my own.
Together we're united by the love God has shown.
And I'll be there for you
Like you'll be there for me.
We're strong and undivided, finding courage in unity,
Together in harmony.

Max's best friend Isaac made a speech reflecting on the year.
This is Max and his teacher, Mr. Kranik.

And what would a Promotion be without food?!! Tomorrow we will attend the Grade 8 Promotion (moving to the High School for Grade 9) and on Thursday we will attend the Grade 12 Graduation. An exciting week for everyone!

Field Trip

2009-05-20T21:20:00.007+03:00

Today, Simon's Grade 3 class went on a field trip to the Mururui Slum. Just 15 minutes from where we live and go to school is a "town" where people shop, work, live, go to school. Simon's class raised money to purchase school supplies for a Kindergarten class. They had backpacks made by a group of women called Jacaranda Creations (an organization that works out of the Mururui slum) and filled it with notebooks, pencils, erasers.
We went to the school and spent time reading and colouring with them. One little girl stared at Simon the whole time -- probably because he was the only white child in the group. Simon was amazed at how crowded the classroom was and how few supplies they work with. I am not sure if he fully understood the dichotomy between our life and their's but he was at least exposed to another way of life here.

The boys also had some fun in the sewing shop next door to the Kindergarten class. A group of women works there to create beautiful aprons, placemats, wall hangings, handbags. Because electricity is unreliable (or non-existent) they use the "old-fashioned" Singer pedal sewing machine.

Downtown Photo Shoot

2009-05-16T19:50:00.020+03:00

A few weeks ago Tim was able to go with 12 other teachers for an early Saturday morning photo shoot of the city centre. The goal was to take some creative pictures while seeing the sights.

The first stop at 6:00 am was the All Saints Cathedral where we climbed / crawled up circular stairs and ladders, pass these church bells, to the top of the church steeple. We saw the sun rise over the city of Nairobi and through this stained glass window.

The Uhuru Park is a large green area with a pond which, until recently, was not a safe place to go. Now it is kept extremely clean and is enjoyed by thousands of people every day.

We were able to get to the helicopter landing pad on top of the Convention Centre Downtown to get a "bird's eye view" of the city.
Some of the other sights that we got to see were the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court Building, the site where the United States Embassy was bombed by terrorist in 1998, the Stanley Hotel, and the train station. The city of Nairobi was built as a stop on the train route from Mombasa (the coast) to Uganda.

Birthday Gift

2009-05-08T17:18:00.004+03:00

When we returned from Canada at Christmas, Max commented that our house was not as "cosy" as those in Canada. I think part of that is the tile floors everywhere. Since then I have been looking for a rug for the living room to help "warm it up".......
On my birthday Tim and I spent the day exploring some shops that I have been wanting to visit. We went to a welding duka and ordered a table for the deck and to a woodworking duka to order some frames for photos. But we also went to a carpet factory and ordered a rug!
This is a sample of our rug. It will go beautifully with our Maasai red walls and our orange tile floor -- how's that for colour?

We were very pleased to then be able to meet Florence and Morris who will wash the wool and dye it.

Tomorrow we will visit the factory again to see how Catherine is coming along with our rug. She thinks it will take about 10 days for her to complete the rug.

Paradise Lost

2009-05-02T07:28:00.003+03:00

Friday was a National Holiday (Labour Day) and a day off school. We took advantage of some free time and went to a local site called Paradise Lost. Just 10 minutes from our home is a large picnic area and caves for exploring.
The caves were formed by a river and are located behind a waterfall. Because the rains are still sporadic, the waterfall is just a trickle. But the scenery of roots growing on the outside of rocks and vines hanging from the cliff makes it a beautiful spot anyway.We spent a wonderful few hours together and had a picnic by the lake. The boys even rode a camel and played with an ostrich. It was the perfect day trip.

Tea Farm

2009-04-26T19:23:00.008+03:00

Tea is one of Kenya’s largest exports worldwide. And Kenyan tea is THE BEST in the world! Every Monday, in Mombasa, the world’s largest “tea auction” takes place. Tasters from all over the world come to purchase Kenyan tea leaves which are found in “blends” of tea. Kenya Teas are famous for their distinct taste and flavour. The high quality tea is dark, blackish in colour, and has a very strong aroma. A small scoop is enough to make a pot of tea!
We traveled to a tea farm last week to sample tea, walk in the fields, and learn about tea production. We sipped iced tea on the lawn and also had a delicious meal with our friends the Weeks (Stephanie is the Elementary School Principal).

The tea farm we visited is called Kiambethu (which means dancing forest). It is about 30 minutes north of our home. Tea grows best at higher elevations and Kiambethu is at 2100m above sea level. We were surprised to learn that tea is grown from seed.

Tea fields are a beautiful tapestry of greens. The newest and softest leaves on top are brighter green than the older leaves near the bottom. Kenyan tea leaves are famous for their brightness, attractive color, brisk flavour, and the texture of fragrant leaves.All of the harvesting of tea is done meticulously by hand. The top 2 tea leaves are picked every 7 - 14 days. The “pekoe” is the smallest, softest bud of the tea leaf and makes the best leaves for a rich flavour. As a result Kenya tea has won international acclaim for its consistent high quality and excellent delightful aroma.There are 57 tea factories in Kenya. Unfortunately this is a hard year for producers. Falling tea prices and drought are making it a hard business. Because of the manual labour required, tea farms employ many Kenyans. But without rain, there is very little growth and, therefore, no work for Kenyans.

Hockey Season!

2009-04-20T13:37:00.003+02:00

While Canadians are now consumed with the National Hockey League playoffs, we are playing hockey of a different sort. It is the season for Field Hockey here in Nairobi. Max and Simon are just learning the rules and the game. We were unsure of whether or not we wanted them to play -- lots of stories of kids losing teeth! But we bought the mouth guards and away they go!

Nairobi National Park

2009-04-15T08:14:00.008+02:00

With just 6 weeks left in the school year, we are anxious to see a bit more of Kenya. So we have decided to set aside the books and the worries of school and maximize our days off.
We traveled with a group of staff to the Nairobi National Park. This group of teachers moved to Kenya and started working at Rosslyn at the same time that we did. We have had a few outings together this year. This day was to celebrate that we have all received our Work Permits and Dependent’s Visas from the Kenyan Government – no small feat. We are now considered Legal Aliens / Temporary Residents of Kenya. This means that we get reduced rates at many local parks and events.
Nairobi National Park is on the other side of the city (a 45 minute drive for us) but still within the city limits. It was very interesting to see the rolling savannah and zebras in front of the cityscape backdrop.

The Park has no "walls" on its southern borders so the animals are free to come and go from the Rift Valley. At this time of year there are many animals that come into the Park to look for water (the Park has man made water holes). Giraffe, ostrich, eland, water buffalo, egrets, storks, and baboons were some of the sights.

Kenya's Ocean Playground

2009-04-09T14:17:00.009+02:00

This week is Spring Break for Rosslyn Academy and a time for families to get away. Diani Beach is a beautiful spot on the east coast of Kenya and just south of Mombasa. It is a very popular tourist area and access to the Indian Ocean. Mombasa is the port city for Kenya and most of East Africa.Mombasa is 500 km from Nairobi and took us 11 hours to drive – really! The “Trans Kenya” Highway looks a bit like a gravel pit. The speed traveled is between 20 and 100 km/h depending on the size of pot holes, the cows, zebras, or goats crossing the road, and the number of trucks you get behind. The dust can be as thick as Nova Scotia fog. It is two lanes, not divided, no lines. At times there were four vehicles going our way on those two lanes. I am not sure where a vehicle coming the other direction would go. I saw the article in the Chronicle Herald this week complaining about pot holes on Nova Scotia roads -- that makes me laugh!

We enjoyed the adventure of the drive. We saw giraffe, camels, donkeys, gazelle wandering along the side of the highway. We saw termite mounds taller than us. We saw Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance. We nearly hit a group of baboons: the grandfathers were on the road so Tim honked; the babies got scared and ran on the road; the mothers started chasing the babies; how did we miss them?
And when we arrived in Mombasa the thermometer said 42 degrees Celsius. The beach was a much cooler 35 degrees and at night time an even cooler 30 degrees. Do I need to tell you how little we slept? No air conditioning in our rustic cottage, of course.
We spent the days playing in the Indian Ocean (which looks like Nova Scotia beaches but is as warm as hot bath water). The boys enjoyed looking for shells and crabs and coral. We went snorkelling and played with zebra fish swarming around our faces. We touched beautiful big starfish and were amazed at ther long spines on the sea urchins. We took a dhow to the reef. We wore SPF40 the whole time. We ate at a different restaurant each evening. We took anti-malaria medication.
Was it a relaxing holiday? Not a chance. But it was a change from our every day and we have memories to last a life time.

First Rains

2009-04-01T15:47:00.002+02:00

As I write this there is a strong breeze beginning to blow through the house. The sun is fading and there are dark clouds moving in on the horizon. The air temperature has cooled down. All these are signs that we may have rain this evening. We have had rain three nights this week!!
The first night we spent some time (in the rain) getting our buckets and hoses ready to collect and recycle the precious water.

The rain brings hope to the thousands without food. People have begun to plant crops (even a young man has started to prepare the ground behind our home to plant maize). As the rain comes to water the crops, people will soon have food to eat. We can not say that the famine is over but we pray it will not claim any more lives.

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring Break here. We are getting ready to drive to the Indian Ocean for a few days at the beach. The rains have not yet started on the Coast and the temperature is warmer than Nairobi because it at sea level. Given the lower elevation and 100% humidity we can expect daytime temperatures of 35-40 degrees Celsius. Here's hoping it cools off a little bit at night so that we can sleep!

Let It Rain

2009-03-28T19:45:00.003+02:00

Kenya has 300 days of sunshine each year and two rainy seasons. The “Short Rains” occur in October-November-December each year. The “Long Rains” occur in March-April-May. Kenya is experiencing an extreme drought right now. The most dire consequence is the millions of people that have no food because their crops have long stopped producing. In fact, most areas in

Kenya

have experienced 100% crop failure.This is a dry river bed.

The Kenya Red Cross reports that thousands have starved to death. Children have died from eating poisonous wild fruits (looking for food in the trees when there is none left in the house). Elderly have died because their small backyard shamba (garden) has no maize (corn). Parents have committed suicide over the stress of being unemployed and having no food to feed their children.

Some are now dying because of an acute outbreak of cholera. Cholera is a potentially fatal bacterial infection of the intestine that causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. The disease is spread through untreated sewage and contaminated drinking water.

And so we wait for the rains.

The Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Kenya Meteorological Department has provided this information concerning the Seasonal Forecast for March-April-May 2009 “Long Rains”:

The October-November- December 2008 “Short-Rains” seasonal rainfall was characterized by very poorly temporal distribution. Most parts of the country experienced heavy and continuous rainfall during the month of October and first half of November. The rainfall was especially heavy over the western part of the country. This resulted in flash floods and landslides/ mudslides leading to loss of life and property as well as destruction of infra-structure in several areas. However, the entire country remained generally sunny and dry through out the second half of November and the entire month of December. The poor temporal distribution and the early cessation of the seasonal rainfall had a negative impact on rain-fed agricultural activities.

The March-April-May 2009 seasonal rainfall forecast indicates that most parts of the country are likely to be depressed. Sporadic heavy and short-lived rainfall storms may however occur. The seasonal forecast for onset of “Long-Rains” in Central and Nairobi Provinces is expected in the third to fourth week of March with the cessation occurring the last week of May.

Public Transport in Nairobi

2009-03-23T18:22:00.005+02:00

Most Kenyans cannot afford to own a vehicle so they rely on the “public” (privately owned) transit system which consists of Matatu’s (14 passenger vans) and larger buses which go between the towns and the cities.

The Matatu drivers are notorious for following their own set of rules on the road; essentially, there are no rules. The more passengers they can pick up, the more money they make. They are supposed to be limited to 14 passengers but we have seen vans with 24 people in them. Of course, the faster they travel the more people they pick up and drop off (which increases their profit). These drivers will make any two lane road into four lanes, drive on the shoulder of the road or on a sidewalk. We have even seen them drive the wrong way on a divided road. The owners paint their vans and some are works of art with expressions like “God With Us”, “Jehovah Provider”, and Bible verses written in Swahili. Some vans are in really bad shape because they have run into other vehicles or scraped cars trying to get by.
Because these vans and buses go everywhere in the country they are used to transport everything from people to beds, to wheelbarrows and sofas. We have seen motorcycles on top of buses, huge stacks of bananas...... you name it and they will put it on the top and drive hundreds of kilometres with these very precarious loads. It’s really quite amazing.

Are they safe? Probably not but the local people do not have a choice. The joke here is that these van drivers will get into heaven before most pastors because they cause more people to pray!

Cultural Field Studies

2009-03-20T15:41:00.008+02:00

One of the blessings our children receive by being students at Rosslyn Academy is the chance to participate in Cultural Field Studies. This trip is a required part of the school curriculum every year beginning in grade 5. The purpose of the school-wide program is to educate the students about

Kenya

and become sensitive to the culture of the country in which we all live.

Last week Max and Lisa traveled south of Nairobi to the HopCraft Game Reserve in the area called Lukenya. The focus of Grade 5 CFS is learning about the nature and wildlife of Kenya. The 50 students and 6 chaperones spent 2 nights in a banda (like a little cabin) where the monkeys, hyenas and frogs serenaded all night long. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the kids that kept the adults awake! The food was delicious and the campfire hilarious!

During the day the students had classes on survival skills, safari drives, team building activities, orienteering, and how to make an equatorial sun dial. We also participated in a game walk with a local conservation officer named Nation. We learned that female zebra dung is found in a neat little pile while male zebra dung is scattered. It’s all about being organized, ladies – no matter the species!

Lisa also acted as the “camp nurse”. Except for a million ticks and a few acacia thorns in bare feet, the whole group stayed healthy and happy.

Last October Lisa and Tim also attended the Grade 7 CFS trip to Lake Naivasha. The focus of that trip was taking care of the land of Kenya – through conservation.

Banana Stew

2009-03-17T16:58:00.007+02:00

We have heard from many Kenyans that one of their favourite meals is banana stew. Some time ago, Timothy our gardener promised to bring us the very special green bananas used to make the very special banana stew. I promised to supply the beef and Cathy promised to use her expertise in making the stew. This week we all pooled our resources and a banana stew was born!

The green bananas are a particular variety of bananas – not just unripened bananas. First they are dried in the sun, then peeled. They cook with the meat, vegetables, and a spice called Royco.
The result is a thick tasty stew not unlike my mom`s stew. The bananas do not have a sweet taste; it is a bit nutty tasting. Quite original!

My banana tree has been replanted (after the mole ate all its roots) and growing nicely despite the lack of water. I can expect to have bananas by December 2009.

The Cracks are Showing

2009-03-11T20:51:00.005+02:00

It's been a few weeks since we have had any rain here in Nairobi and the ground around our home is starting to show signs of drought. Nairobi was blessed with three heavy showers since Christmas so we are not as dry as some parts of Kenya. These pictures show how the land dries up and large cracks form. These cracks can get up to a few inches wide and 8 - 10 feet long. It's like the land is crying out in desperate need of moisture.

Most of the grass on campus has turned to straw and crunches when you walk on it. Once the longs rains begin everything will turn green again. One of my Kenyan friends, James, predicts the rains will start on March 18th.

Grass and plants cannot move about looking for sources of water, however, ants can. So we are now in battle with tiny ants (about 2 mm long) but lots of them. If we drop food crumbs on the floor these ants will find it and they like to check out the kitchen and bathroom sinks in search of water. They're not dangerous just a nuisance and once we find their trail we a little ant poison takes care of them.

We are looking forward to the long rains and pray that they will be enough to help all the farmers in Kenyan.

Happy Birthday Max!

2009-03-05T14:25:00.008+02:00

This morning at sunrise we had 13 boys come to our home for a celebration! Today is Max’s 11th birthday and we planned a breakfast party. Because no one wants to travel after dark we thought it was a wise idea to start the day with a party.

The party actually started last night when Max’s friend, Isaac, stayed over night. Isaac lives an hour bus ride away so his parents could not make a special trip here so early in the morning.
The boys took part in a scavenger hunt that led them all over campus counting windows, studying the colours of flags, measuring basketball courts.

Then we ate a feast – orange smoothies, fruit salad, angel cake with strawberry sauce, egg and cheese pizza. It was marvelous and delicious.

A special note to all you bakers ...... making Angel food cake from scratch at 6000 feet above sea level requires real skill. I am not bragging but my friends were laughing behind my back when I shared my plans and then were wide-eyed impressed when it was more than one inch tall.

By 8:10 the crew had left for school and I was alone with crumbs all over the floor and an army of ants waiting to get in.

It was then that I received a text message from Cathy (our house helper). I was so glad that she was coming to help me clean up – only she wasn’t. Her text told me about a militia group of Kenyans that were disturbing the city today. It was not safe for her to travel to us. There were vehicles being burned and gangs walking the roads. There was a huge police presence on the streets to quell any mob groups. The matatus (public transportation) stopped running before 8:00am. And so most Kenyans are home today. Unable to get to work, they will wait until it seems to be safe.

This group of outlaws is called the mungiki and has been active in Kenya since 1980s. This week they are protesting a newly released report from the United Nations which calls for the removal of the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General (due to their involvement in killings following last year's post-election violence). While the mungiki's most famous trick is burning matatus, they are also known for scalping people.

I have been reassured that mzungu ("white men") are not targeted in this type of event but it is hard to know when you will be in the wrong place at the wrong time…… All after school activities have been canceled for today. The students at Rosslyn Academy will travel home after school under the cover of prayer.

There is no way to know how long this protest will continue. Maybe a day, maybe a week. But for tonight we will have a quiet evening at home looking at Max’s baby pictures.

Nyamuchoma

2009-03-03T20:08:00.003+02:00

For the first months living here there were many things that we did not notice. Now that we are more familiar with the environment we are noticing new things that have been there all along…..

Several weeks ago I noticed, for the first time, that there was a small banana tree growing near our house. I was very excited about the prospect of growing my own sweet bananas. When I shared my excitement, however, I was told that the banana tree was not mine! It belonged to James (one of the campus gardeners) – even though it was closest to my house! The staff patiently explained that each person is responsible for planting and tending his or her own banana tree, regardless of whose yard it is planted in. Emily, Timothy, and Evans all proudly showed me their trees.

Last week I announced my plan to get a banana tree. James took pity on me and unceremoniously gave me HIS tree (which is closest to MY house). I accepted his gift.

This week I noticed the leaves on my banana tree were starting to turn brown. Then today, I walked out on my deck and discovered James, Timothy, and Evans had cut down my banana tree!!
When I questioned the three amigos, I discovered that there is also a mole living in my yard. Apparently the mole had eaten the roots off my banana tree – that’s why the leaves were dying. These moles sleep during the day and dig a series of tunnels at night in order to eat the roots off plants. The only sign of a mole in your yard is a new mound of dirt each morning.

The three men were putting their arms into the tunnels created by the mole – trying to catch him. James says the mole is a `nice-looking fellow`. He says that they make a good nyumachoma (Swahili for ``meat roast``). These moles (larger than a rat but smaller than a rabbit) are a favourite BBQ for some Kenyans….

Tooth Stories

2009-03-01T20:59:00.006+02:00

First let me apologize to all of you who check our blog frequently. I have been unable to post a blog or even respond to emails for most of this week. For some reason the Internet has been completely unstable and very frustrating. It has been a busy week and I have several stories ready to tell you!
We have reached a new phase of “settling in” here in Nairobi. It was time to find a dentist. We located a husband and wife team of dentists who have a clinic at the local Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital which is less than 10 minutes drive from campus.

We have all had check ups. Lisa needed some work on a cracked tooth. Tim and Max got a cleaning and a lot of praise for having such BIG MOUTHS. Simon was fitted for and has received an “expander”. Simon has quit sucking his thumb (again) and is now wearing this colourful retainer – which looks something like a butterfly! We crank it open twice each week and it will change his bite and allow his teeth to come in straighter.
This week Max also lost one of his teeth (to make room for a new 10-year molar). He received 100 shillings from the Tooth Fairy. The African children have told us that there are many tooth traditions here. Some do put their tooth under the pillow and receive a few shillings from the Tooth fairy. Some throw the tooth over their shoulder for good luck. Some throw the tooth under their legs to bring blessing on their Grandparents. Some told us about a Luo tradition which says that if you put chicken poop on the empty spot in your mouth, then the tooth will grow back in quickly. Some throw their tooth on the roof – that’s the one Max chose!

Sports Day

2009-02-21T20:05:00.010+02:00

While much of Nova Scotia was having a Snow Day this week, Rosslyn was having its Annual Sports Day. This is a day for all Elementary and Middle School students and teachers to enjoy a day of sun and activity.

The students are divided into 3 teams (Red, White, Green). Lisa was the Red Team Captain this year. The Red Team did not win the trophy for most points but did win the Spirit Award for being the most enthusiastic and supportive of each other.
The students participate in a number of track and field events. Simon won the 400 m race. Max had a personal best in long jump.

Perspective on Age

2009-02-16T20:09:00.005+02:00

It is so much fun for us to share with our Kenyan friends about our life and family in Canada. They have such interesting questions: Does the snow burn your skin? You mean that if someone doesn’t have food to eat, they can go to a bank and get some food? You mean there really is no Santa Claus?Recently our discussion revolved around the photos that we brought back from Christmas vacation. Seeing pictures of our parents, the Kenyans were surprised at their ages and yet how young they looked! They said that most Kenyans have no teeth left by age 50, walk stooped over by 55. They doubled over with laughter when we said that our parents, in their 70s, are still driving!

The Kenyan life expectancy is 46 years (partly due to the AIDS epidemic). An “old” person is anyone over 30. Because of the hard physical work, their bodies just wear out sooner. Also the sun weathers skin and gives it the appearance of being very old. Some of the Kenyan women have commented on my skin looking very young – I have explained that I also have access to face moisturizer and sun block. Most of them tell me they put Vaseline on their faces for moisturizer……

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T19:57:00.004+02:00

Here is my Valentine bouquet. Just like in Canada the price of red roses goes crazy in the week leading up to February 14. Normally roses are 200 shillings a bunch of 20. This week the price went up to 350 shillings for 15 roses. And for those who wait until Saturday, the price will be 600 shillings! I bought these 2 bunches and greenery earlier in the week for almost $8.
Today James, a carpenter on campus, was here to put up some shelves for us. While we were eating lunch I asked if Kenyans celebrate Valentine's. He grinned like a teenager and said that he was going to buy his wife one rose, a piece of fabric to make a skirt, and a chicken wing. It will be a very special surprise meal on Saturday night. James has 2 daughters who will also keep the secret and enjoy celebrating their parents' love.

One of my Norwegian friends came to our house today and was shocked to see Valentine cards for Max and Simon from their grandparents. She just learned about celebrating Valentine's a few years ago. She understood it to be a holiday for young couples in love -- but not for families! Tim and I will celebrate Saturday evening with the boys. We will have a lovely meal of teriyaki steak and then lay in the soccer field and watch the stars.

We wish you all the same peace and love in your families.

On the Move in East Africa

2009-02-07T16:46:00.003+02:00

After seven months without a vehicle ........

We have purchased a 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero from a family whose children attend Rosslyn. This family is extremely generous and consider us family members, so sold the Pajero to us at a great price.

We took possession of the truck on Friday and then attended a briefing given by a Special Agent with the Regional Security Office for the U.S. Embassy. The presentation was entitled "Personal Security and Carjacking Counter Measures". On the first day of owning a vehicle, Lisa decided she would never leave the campus.....

The vehicle only has 68,000 km on it and has been well maintained. Tim wanted to make it look more like an off-road East African vehicle, so he had a few modifications made: a roof rack (for gear on safari), a high lift jack and high lift jacking points (to change a tire quickly or to get out of a mud hole), a bull bar bumper on the front (to protect the front end and prevent someone from stealing the headlights), and window tinting (to keep cooler and to prevent people from easily looking in and seeing who or what is inside).

The truck works really well and has four wheel drive so will be helpful if we are on dirt roads during the rainy season. It also came with a 10 disc CD player (we did not bring even one CD with us). It can seat up to 9 people. It also has an altimeter, digital compass and an inclinometer (to know what angle the vehicle is on - before it rolls overs).

We look forward to having many new adventures.

A visit to Eastleigh

2009-02-06T20:49:00.005+02:00

On Thursday I went on a field trip with the Grade 1 students of Rosslyn Academy. It was a science field trip to learn about the process of making pottery. The students asked great questions about the pottery wheel, the temperatures for firing the pottery, and the hardening of the pottery.

Erica and Aaron Kenny, Canadian Baptist Missionaries, work at the Eastleigh Community Centre. The Kennys teach English to Somali women. The Rosslyn students were able to spend time reading and colouring with a group of Eastleigh students.

I was especially excited to visit the shop with the water filters. Over Christmas, so many of you gave us money to purchase water filters for Kenyan families -- thank you!! However, we returned in January to discover that the Eastleigh pottery studio was all out of stock. They had sold their entire supply at Christmas! Praise God for the blessing those families received! They were also back-ordered another 60 filters. The studio has now begun its 2009 production.
I met Patrick, who is responsible for making the ceramic pot for the filters. I was pleased to be able to purchase one filter to take home with me. I also bought a couple of mugs, a casserole dish and a pot just for "chocolate sauce"! Simon and I enjoyed an afternoon snack of fresh pineapple dipped in hot fudge sauce (the perfect recipe for the perfect pot).

Friends for Brunch

2009-02-01T09:41:00.009+02:00

On Saturday morning we invited Cathy (who helps me with housework and cooking 2 days a week) and Emily (who works for the family next door) to come share brunch with us. Cathy and Emily are sisters and have become good friends of mine. They talk a lot about their families and this was an opportunity for us to meet everyone! Here we are with Emily (far left), Cathy and her husband, Ken (far right).

Despite the fact that my oven was not cooperating (the muffins and strata were undercooked, the pancakes were burned), we had a fun time. They said many times that they were honoured to be invited to share a meal with us. Cathy’s husband, Ken, said he had never been inside the home of a mzungu (“white man”).
We had brought back a few gifts from Canada for them – cotton underwear, socks, lego, hand towels, stick deodorant, nail polish. The children were most excited about the pyjamas that my mom made for Ricky (age 2), Tony (age 6), and Brian (age 9). We explained our family tradition of having new, hand-made pyjamas for Christmas – Max and Simon showed off their new ones. Tony and Brian insisted that their new pyjamas would be perfect for church! We tried to explain how we have different clothes for sleeping – this differentiation is not known to most Kenyans.
After eating we all went to the pool in borrowed swim suits. Most Kenyans do not know how to swim. This was the first time that Emily, Cathy or the kids had been swimming. They thoroughly enjoyed splashing around the wade pool. Emily even ventured to the big pool and became proficient with the flutter board!

At the end of the day we had bottles of pop and sat on the deck quietly watching the view. Emily thoughtfully said “This was a classic day Lisa.” (I think classic means special.) Cathy quietly followed with “Our minds can’t take any more.” It was a special day for all of us.

Swimming Again!

2009-01-25T20:39:00.004+02:00

We spent another long day at the pool. Max was competing in a Nairobi Swim Association Meet. There were hundreds of people in a facility with little shade, 2 toilets, and no running water. It was not pleasant. However, we consoled ourselves by remembering that we were not sitting in a cold hockey rink for the day......

Max had a very good day! He received 2 medals: silver in 100m Individual Medley (combination of fly, back, breast, free); and bronze in 100m back stroke. He also missed a bronze in the 100m Freestyle by 12 hundredths of a second. He swam his personal best in all 4 races, broke two Rosslyn school records, and qualified for "AA" meets.

We were also surprised not to have sunburns after a day in the full African sun. We are glad that they make SPF 70! Really!

The "local" broom

2009-01-20T16:16:00.014+02:00

"If it's in East Africa you can get it in Nairobi". We have heard this phrase many times. It means that you can buy almost anything you want here in Nairobi. The city imports items from all over the world (and especially from China). You may pay a hefty price for it however. Therefore, we make choices for which items we are willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money -- $12 for a box of Corn Flakes, for example.

The custodians and gardeners on campus have made such a choice concerning brooms. The plastic brooms sold at Nakumatt are somewhat high-priced. Because of the dryness of the land and the roughness of the concrete, an imported broom will quickly look like this.

Therefore the Kenyans prefer to use the "local" broom. Each gardener carries a stick of bamboo to work. Bamboo is preferred because the termites will not eat bamboo. On the way to work the gardener will gather leaves from a tree that have the texture for the work to do that day. Sometimes it is cedar, sometimes acacia, sometimes dried sticks.This morning Sammy was sweeping the courtyard of the Elementary Library. Here are the brooms that Timothy, and William were using today.

When they heard I was taking photos everyone wanted to get in on the fun! On the left is Meshack trimming the upper campus hedge with clippers. On the right is James trimming our hedge with a "local" panga (like a machete).

A Gift from Timothy

2009-01-17T21:17:00.003+02:00

Last October I bought two large clay pots for our patio. I transplanted a large fern in one and could not find what I wanted for the other so it sat empty since then.

While I was away in Canada, Timothy our gardener planted the other pot as a gift to me. I just learned today the story behind this beautiful plant.

Some years ago Timothy and a man who owns a roadside nursery, became friends when a large hedge burned down – long story. This man owed Timothy a favour. So over the Christmas holiday, Timothy took a matatu to the other side of the city and asked the man to give him a special plant for my pot. He specifically asked for something with red leaves because that is my favourite. Timothy then carried the plant on his head back across town and transplanted it into my pot on the patio.

I am thrilled with this beautiful plant and also very touched that Timothy would go to such trouble to surprise me.