blessed

M is napping, J and E are playing nicely and quietly together, and Kevin just left to pick up some things in town. I sit here thinking about how blessed I am. This has happened more times than I can count since we've been here in Kenya. Whatever is going on and I am overwhelmed with a feeling of humility and love. I am so thankful for God's grace upon our family in this transition. We have said many times that we wonder when things will be hard and when we will want to leave, what will set us off, what will cause us to desire "home," what will make this place less enjoyable than it is now? We are feeling at home in Narok and enjoy life as it is here. Sometimes, I feel like it's not all that different from "home." I do wish I just knew Swahili, not because I'm not enjoying the learning part, but more because I see the benefit of speaking to friends and people in town in their language instead of mine. I have really enjoyed teaching the kids and being with them all the time. I wonder what it will be like when Kevin's working full-time in the office and I'm with the kids all day by myself (and w/ Jackline). I am in the midst of planning school for the next few months and I'm excited for what the kids will be learning. I am also looking into next year and what curriculum to use/order. I wish we had more books for the kids to read and for us to read to the kids....I wish we had a library! :) I am setting up the school room, trying to get things in the best place for the kids to use and enjoy. I wish we had bulletin boards to decorate instead of slanted ceilings although I have some fun ideas about what to do with those too! Well the kids' quiet playing has gotten a little louder and now involves tackling so I should go. I am so thankful for all of the prayers as well!

we are still here

thanks for checking out blog...we are still here.

we are on christmas break from both work and language. we find our days warmer this time of year...low 80's still, but the sun is intense. the days are warm and the nights are cool. it makes for a nice days.

we are spending a lot of time just relaxing these days. in the mornings we are not up as early as when we had class, but typically we are done with breakfast by 9ish. Then we get the kids ready for not doing a lot all day. they are absorbed with their gifts and occasionally a movie (as am I).

Danielle is working to keep us with clean clothes and dishes as we don't have jacklyn back until wed. I typically have tried to go to town each day both for the language, but also for the workout. For anyone who hasn't heard I am climbing a mountain come the middle of March. so now is when i need to get on a workout program. Being at 5000+ ft we have a bit of a jump on the mountain, but it is a 19,000+ ft mt so....I need to be in better shape.

Next week turns around for us as everything starts picking up as school will start and language as well. all the shops in town will be opening up for brisk business. And the new year will be faced with vigor. There seems to be a renewal of hope ...a common thought is that this year is going to be better than the last.

so there you go for now

Christmas differences...and similarities

so here is just a short comparison of Christmas in Kenya to the USA...

-in narok there are no santas.

-I haven't ever heard the word "reindeer"...except when listening to my kids music.

-I have seen fewer than 5 decorated trees...2 in personal homes the rest in the local supermarket.

-There is one 5 foot table with all the Christmas decoration the local supermarket has to sell.

-NORAD doesn't track santa here

-Santa ins't necessarily an old white man with a beard

-people in kenya don't expect gifts....some of the expectations that I have heard are: things to eat...meat, flat bread,soda...and many people want a new set of clothes. usually the gifts are reserved for the kids only and the adults are content.

-meat and transportation prices out of Nairobi double.

similarities...

-many people like to gather with their extended families.

-food and conversation are an important part of the gatherings.

-there is a big rush around Christmas...many people doing things and going places.

just a few thoughts

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birthday

....so today is my birthday and I am finding that in kenya it isn't celebrated in the same ways as in the US. My family is still holding onto some traditions like giving gifts (a happy birthday poster and a rugby ball), special meals (I had B-cinnamon rolls, L-kenyan food, and D-Mummies hamburgers) and pie. In kenya, some people who have known expats seem to expect that I would be doing a lot more. What more they were expecting I don't know...but something more.

I will say that I did tell the kids that I wanted something special from each of them.

from e I wanted her to read me a book (she read two)

from J I wanted to play a game of skip-bo (we have played two so far)

from M I just wanted cuddles

...so far I have gotten more than I asked for...what a great family. What a great birthday!

this is the day that kenya celebrates its independence. or as the kids say "it's the 4th of july." then we add, "on the 12 of December".

Jamhuri day is celebrated to a much lesser degree that in America. Of the four or five perspectives that we have heard, the days celebrations range from, "everyone will be celebrating"...to ...."no one really does anything special". so what does that mean for our family...well, we slept in (office is closed). We are having people over for tea, and will likely have a day of rest at home.

no fireworks, cook outs or even flags.

happy

Jamhuri Day

E's new lesson

Last week, E and M were given "bangles" by our Indian neighbors. E and J sometimes play with kids that are visiting their house and E has admired the pretty bracelets the girls are wearing. Our neighbor's daughter lives in Nairobi and visits often and said she'd pick up some bangles for E, asking her what color she'd like. Well she came to visit last week and brought E some pretty pink bangles and M some pretty green bangles. E frequently reminded J that Indian boys don't wear anything special, only the girls.

Yesterday some friends of ours were visiting and the guy said he had a small gift for J. He asked if it was ok to give to him since he didn't have something for E. I said yes, that E and M got something last week and J was totally ok with it. He gave J a small, wind-up flashlight. E immediately asked what was for her. When hearing J was the only one to get a gift, E started whining and crying. It was nap time anyway and the kids were sent to their beds. E made several more comments yesterday about how she didn't get a gift.

Today, one of our teammates picked up her parents at the airport. Her parents brought her Chick-fil-a!!!! Seriously, AWESOME! One of our favorite family dates in Florida was going to CFA, mostly because of the playground. Anyway, Kevin was telling E about how our teammate's parents brought her Chick-fil-a. E started crying and saying that she really likes CFA and she should get to eat it, not our teammate.

I talked with her about being happy for others, but I think we'll have to keep working on that.

last day with elias

well, today is our last official day with elias our esteemed teacher of what I call..."intro to Swahili" . we have had a lot of good times and have by far spent the most time with him over our first three months. the kids are very fond of him (not just because he brings them mangoes from nairobi) as well so this will be a hard good bye for all of us. this is a chance that we could hire him on at some point for a quick refresher (a week or two at a time).

beyond Swahili, we have gained a lot from ellias's perspective on most things Kenya as well as some things American. We have gained from his insight in the war between kenya and al-shabab....the price of goods and services with in kenya....the relationships between family members as well as how the family plot of land is divided with each new generation. We have learned the three biggest towns of kenya (and found out that we don't know the three for the US). We know all of the presidents (and almost all of the VP's) of Kenya. We know a lot about corruption from ellias's perspective as well as stories of how he has avoided serious trouble is Nairobi. He has taught us about the high cost of cell phones and how carrying many cell phones is actually a savings plan.

he has spent many days learning and playing UNO with j and letting m play with his cell phone while he's trying to text during his breaks. he has also taught e many things in swahili and now both of our older kids know about the game snakes on the cell phone, while neither of us adults do.

Elias has had unending patience with kevin, correcting his mistakes...and always ends danielle's sentences (uncorrected) with "thank you very much".

so today we will have nyama (meat) for lunch in celebration.

things that I am getting used to....

1) not eating meat at every meal (and not missing it that much).....we haven't been eating any meat for lunch...and not eating meat every meal for supper.

2) not getting anything for the price I want at least at the first offering.....almost every time we go to buy something we are told a price that is about 4-10X what any Kenyan would pay. I don't blame the Kenyans for trying ...it works sometimes, just not with me.

3)not finding what I need....if it is a plug for the sink, or whatever...I will never find everything that I thought that I would "need"

4)being around the kids everyday...this one isn't going to happen for too much longer, but it is nice for now.

5) not getting to grill out....This is an attainable luxury, but just not right now. I am also finding that I am not missing american food as much as I thought that I might.

6)carrying 75% of the stuff that we buy back to our house. Even food or things to cook food in we have to carry it back to the house or pay for a taxi to do it. I often wonder on these trips back from the store if all people around the world would buy fewer things if they had to carry most of them home.

7)(perhaps related to #6) that my clothes are fitting differently....in the US it was getting to the squeeze point on some of my clothes. now I have room to spare.

these are a few of the things that I am getting used to...all of them have been easy to get used to may be because we have little choice except for our attitude towards it.

the beginning of imaginary friends

conversation:

E "daddy, Emma just gave you that plate"

ME "who is Emma?"

E "my classmate."

...last I checked J was her only classmate and he is not a girl....