A Break

We got to take a break yesterday, and went to the Solio Ranch Reserve. This is a breeding ground for most of the rhinos in Kenya's National Parks. Turned out to be a very lucky trip as we saw 4 of the Big 5 of Africa - rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo. We did not see elephants though. One often thinks of taking a safari in a big old Land Rover. Not us, though. How about a moderately used Corolla. Sure, sounds good. 4 Wheel Drive was probably necessary, but we made it, remarkably, without a flat. Here's some pics. Click on them to enlarge.

Buffalo and Mt. Kenya
Now, giraffe and Mt. Kenya.

We did disrupt his nap.

Black Rhino that was easily twice the size of our Corolla. Our driver had his foot hovering over the gas.



Siesta with flies.

This guy was huge. We had a zoom lens, but he was so close I couldn't fit him in the pic.

The Apartment

This afternoon I boiled eggs. Somewhere among the brown eggs bumping against each other in boiling water, there was a connection to home, where I learned how to boil a perfect egg just before we left. These eggs, 30 of them, we bought fresh for about three dollars. They are as brown and speckled as the farm eggs I had at my grandma’s growing up, but with pale yellow yolks.

It is almost two weeks since our arrival in Kenya, and I’d like to describe my first impressions, starting with our arrival at the orphanage.

We drove in from Nairobi in a cab with a nice driver. In our Kenyan experience thus far, there seems to be an inclination toward the name Francis among drivers. The scenery along the drive was beautiful, with fields of coffee plants and pineapples, and orchards of bananas and mangoes. After three hours, we turned onto a dirt road, slowly bumped our way down to the Riamakurwe Parish and pulled up to stop at a turquoise metal gate. The driver honked the horn, and the gate was opened by one of the Matrons of the home. Zack (the other American volunteer), the manager, and an assortment of other people greeted us warmly and helped us with our bags. Not knowing what to expect, we were happily surprised to see that the grounds of the orphanage are well kept and colorful, with solidly built structures and beautiful landscaping. We’ve come to learn that most of the landscaping is done by the children, with intermittent aid of other workers. After some minutes of greeting, with a variety of handshakes and much enthusiasm, we were led into our apartment, shown around and invited to the library for a welcome lunch.

We splashed water on our faces and headed into the library. A surprising amount of literature, though in disarray, stocked the shelves. The staff had prepared us a large meal, with a kind of beef and zucchini stew, rice, mashed potatoes, and chipati, a kind of oily tortilla. We dug into our first Kenyan meal, and I only had difficulty with one particularly gristly piece of meat. Not wanting to offend, since we were constantly under observation, I went for seconds and later took an opportunity to stash the impossible piece in a napkin and later, the trash. We were given the remainder of the meal to take into our apartment for later.

First and foremost, let me say that the apartment far and away exceeds our expectations. Kris and I had excpected our living quarters to be more third, but things are very nice. There are some nice quirks to it, though, like with any place. Upon entry of the living room, six large tiger-striped pillows lounge on the blue and gold striped and squared couch, love seat, and chair that dominate the living room. There is also a coffee table, dining table, and bookshelf, which I have quickly covered in art materials for the kids. The apartment has high ceilings, tall turquoise doors, four bedrooms and a kitchen, all with florescent lighting. I found one white light bulb in the pantry, and that has been moved to our bedroom.

We slept on the bed one night (wood frame with wooden slats) before I went to the other bedrooms and gathered the blankets to pile under our mattress. Mattresses here are made of foam that is covered in a sort of flowered pink panty hose material. Over time, they tend to compress in the middle, rolling the occupants into a sort of Kenyan sleeping taco.

It took us awhile to realize that we could enjoy more than tepid water from our shower. All of the outlets here have individual switches, and the shower requires two to be switched on, the light and the heater, which is located in the showerhead itself. Zack warned us not to touch the electric showerhead while the water is on – he’s been shocked once before. After about a week of cool showers, Kris was all soaped up in mid-shower when the water shut off, quickly going from full blast to a slow trickle. Our practice was to turn the water onto full blast immediately (blast here being defined as random spray from 16 of the unclogged shower holes). When the water shut off on him, he realized the water was becoming hotter. What a happy discovery he had made! Too bad he had to finish rinsing with a bottle full of cold water. What we still can’t figure out is how to make the shower stop dripping. We regularly fill and replace big bottles under the showerhead, saving them for the occasions when the water isn’t on.

The toilet closet doesn’t bear much description other than the lack of lid on the tank, which, when flushed, proceeds to spray and utter strange (and loud) noises.

Our kitchen is filled with the most pleasant natural light, as the windows are the only ones lined up with the outdoors. Our living room windows line up with the stairwell leading up to the girls’ dormitory, as a result, all day we hear amplified talking, laughing, stomping and singing. Our bedroom in the back of the building has windows that open over the wash area where kids scrub their clothes several times a day. We also hear the roosters crowing in the morning, and the neighboring dogs barking and yelping throughout the night. The kids tell me they’re just hungry.

Back to the kitchen … We have a nice big pantry, which already contained the leavings of prior mission trips. Sauces from 2006, old spices, half a bottle of soy sauce, and assorted leftovers litter the shelves. We hesitate to throw anything away, worried of looking wasteful in a place where people lack. A little boy presented us with another good reason to sneak it into the burn pile when we found him munching on three-year-old Skittles we’d thrown away. Zack is still not such where his two-week-old and moldy Clementine orange went.

Anyway, the kitchen is a good size, with a small fridge, table, and tiny stove. Thankfully, we now have a new stove, switched out from another apartment. It only has one burner that doesn’t work, where as the first one only has one burner that worked. Much improved. We have plenty of silver ware, stamped out of a single piece of thin metal (they just fold when you try to mash potatoes), one good knife that someone left (thank you) and several pots with rounded lumpy bottoms that we balance on the burners with coffee cups. So far we’ve eaten with the children at least two-thirds of the meals, but githerie lethargy has driven us to make pasta, boiled eggs, experimental leftover dishes, and flour tortillas.

hjk

Got a few pics for you, as well.
Powered by Burro.
Our daily fresh milk comes from here.
Some of the kids - Hannah, Mary Ann and Rhoda.
Two little guys walking.
Goat and soccer.

The Kenyan Diet

I'm not saying that this is country wide, because I don't know. In our area though, we are eating a lot of bean, rice and corn based meals. A lot of runners asked me to write about the diet, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. For a couple that ate meat most meals of the day (an occasional burger for breakfast is nice), we have transistioned to a mostly vegetarian diet. The three main meals we have eaten are:
1. Githeri - This is kind of like a stew without the broth. It is made primarily of beans, corn, potatoes, kale, cabbage, and carrots. It is boiled in water. I belive, just barely covering the food. The water boils down, then let simmer. It has been served hot, and in something of a paste form. Not bad with hot sauce. I'd kill for a bottle of Cholula. Seriously.
2. Ugali- Maize (corn) flour boiled in water. Once it becomes firm, you eat it in pieces. Kind of like a large potful of a corn dumpling. Yummmy. Kinda tasteless.
3. Porridge - I still cannot figure out the name of the porridge. It is chock full of stuff though. Mix maize flour, wheat flour, soybeans, sorghum, water and milk. Boil it and serve in a cup. Mmmmmm. Kinda tasteless.

Here's a few more pics for you.
Drying out the running shoes. I have found that kiosks make the best dryers.
My new desktop.

The farmer's market. Word is Whole Foods is going to buy them out. I mean that in all seriousness.

This is Robert.
This is Lucy and Ann.

Let's talk again soon.
Kasper

Got a few Pics

Football and laundry.
Supercuts.
Some of the kids.

One wing of Tumaini home.
Little goat in the restaurant window to draw in the customers. Mmmmm. Goat.
Burro catching a breather from all that wagon pulling.

Jet Lag.Fighting Jet Lag.

One Week

One Week 1-13-10
Our first week in Kenya has flashed by. We are stilling dealing with jet lag, and are still frequently waking between 4:30 to 5:00 a.m. The internet has been down our entire stay so far, so forgive our lack of postings.

Back to our arrival - Another driver took us on the 3-hour drive from Nairobi to the home. As I mentioned in the last entry, he was a couple hours late in arriving. The drive was relatively easy, though, with the only traffic and obstacles being in Nairobi. Neither of us really knew what to expect on our arrival at the home. What did the home look like? How are the kids going to react to us? How will our proposed programs be implemented? The kids were in school as we unloaded our things, giving us some time to look around. The Tumaini home was constructed in 2003, so it is relatively new. The house and grounds are meticulously maintained by both a small staff and the children. The day before we left, we found out that a large portion of the yearly budget was cut as donations have decreased due to the poor global economy. A number of the staff was let go prior to our arrival. Additionally, a number of older kids (between high school and college) had to find other living accommodations. You would not know it by looking at the home; sadly, this may actually work to their detriment, as people would naturally assume that the home does not need the money.

The children started to drift in from school, and we began introductions. I believe that Heather’s name must only be used in America, as we have not yet been in another country where it can be pronounced. “Heavah…..Heevah…….Heehhaah.” The kids are getting better with it. My name, on the other hand, sounds so much cooler in other countries than it does in America. “Krees.” Drag out the e’s a little. Krees.

Heather has held 2 art classes so far, and they have been a large hit. The kids are really enjoying them. I began running with the kids a couple days ago, so I don’t yet have a feel for it. I am still getting to know the two coaches – Titus and Douglas. Titus has a 2:16 marathon under his belt, and Douglas is currently trying to make the Kenyan national team. Obviously, they are a wee bit above my level, and appear to be watching how I relate to the kids first. My other intended program was to pair as many kids as possible with a pen pal in the States. I’ve got a few things working against me on this one. The internet has been down the entire week that we have been here. The budget cuts make paying for normal post impossible. Finally, very few kids are allowed on the computers, making this hard to sustain once Heather and I leave. We will see. I am discussing ideas with the manager, matron, and our extraordinarily helpful friend, Zach. Zach is a fellow American who spent 8 months here last year, working to implement an introductory business course in the high school.

I will post some pics later when the network here isn't so funky.
Kris and Heather

We Made It

We Made It 1-10-10
For the amount of time it took, I would say that we made it to Tumaini (pronounced Too – Mine –E) without much of a problem. From the time we left our house in Texas to our arrival in Nairobi took about 28 hours. It was another 3-hour ride to Tumaini the next day. It is about 5 a.m. (8p.m. Texas time) on our second morning at the home. Never really had “jet lag” before. I recommend a name change to “Jet Throws Your Body Into A Complete Tailspin Lag”, as it seems more apropos to me. I would consider requiring that it be written in all caps, rather than just initial caps, as well. I’ve been waking up between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. so far. Heather has been doing a little better, but not too much.

After our bags arrived at the airport, we hopped into a car with our driver, Francis. Francis would best be described as crazy nice. When he heard we were from Texas, he immediately proclaimed his love of Clint Eastwood movies, and his fear of snow. Heather in her fashion assuaged his concerns, telling him that it rarely snowed at our home in Texas. She then delved in the beauty of a fresh snow, and, after an evening snow, the miracle of waking up in a brand new world. Francis responded, “If I were to have to step in it, I think I would just die.” Interestingly, Francis was just the first of a number of Kenyans to reiterate this fear of snow. If only I could make it snow, I might rule all equatorial countries. Our first night was spent at Karen Kottage, just outside of Nairobi. If anyone every makes this trip, I highly recommend crashing there. This is a very nice family run bed and breakfast. I will be using the word “nice” and other iterations frequently throughout this writing. Most of our interaction was with the family’s son, Michael, a freshman at Oklahoma State University. Michael made the stay very easy and pleasant. The next morning, while I was inside reading, Heather wandered around the grounds. She came back in to tell me that she had just met very nice man name Tahnlee while walking around. Soon thereafter, Michael came over with breakfast, and we chatted awhile. Michael asked if any of his family had come by. Heather repeated her pleasant conversation but could not remember the name of the man she had spoken with. “His name begins with a T. Maybe Taylee, or Tahnlee?” Michael appeared confused, ”There is nobody that lives here with either of those names.” We bounced around other possible names for a bit. Finally, Michael figured it out. “I believe that you met my father Stanley!” Yes, we are both having some difficulty with the accent right now, but getting better every day. The next morning, we were to be picked up at 9:30 a.m. to begin the 3-hour drive to Tumaini. We were also introduced to the flexibility of the Kenyan schedule when our driver arrived at 11:30a.m. It is now 6:15a.m., and I am feeling a bit tired. I am going to try to grab some more sleep before we head to church.

Due to internet problems, I cannot get pictures to post. I will try again later.
Kris and Heather