if you listen carefully.....

...you might hear Kenya on the news in the US, or around the world on monday. We are expecting a ruling form the ICC (google it) about if anyone or everyone of the 6 people that have been "tried" in a pretrial hearing will move on to trial.

there have been increased security put into place in the areas that are most likely to be problem area...no worries there are no signs for any excitement here in narok. There does seem to be some possibility of violence because of the increased security, but even the worst will be quickly shutdown.

this does play a role in the upcoming elections as two of the accused are running for the presidency of kenya. so like everything we will just sit and wait.

culture differences

Not so long ago, I overheard E explaining Sea World to Jackline. The conversation went something like this:

E: Jackline, have you ever been to Sea World?

J: What?

E: Have you ever been to Sea World?

J: I don't get what you are saying (this is a common response from Jackline when talking to the kids).

E: Oh, you should go. They have sharks and fish and all sorts of sea animals. They have a thing where you can go in a tube and the fish are swimming all around you.

J: Ok.

Today, the conversation went something like this:

J: E, unapenda wali? (Do you like rice?) After E had requested two big spoonfuls of rice for lunch.
E: yes. Do you know about the movie Wall-E?

J: What?

E: I've seen this movie with a robot named Wall-E. He smashes up trash into squares.

J: Oh.

E: You should watch that movie sometime.

I love and laugh about how the kids have no idea about our differences. Jackline has been to Nairobi once in her life, she's obviously never been to or heard of Sea World. She probably has no idea about sea animals. She's never going to watch the movie Wall-E and I'm not even sure she knows what a robot is. Jackline has never been to America and doesn't really know much about it. Today, Jackline and I talked about the different "types" of Americans after she asked me how many tribes there are in America. I think she understood what I was saying, but, for all I know, it could've been like the conversation she had with E about Sea World.

I look forward to the other things the kids will tell Jackline about. I also look forward to the many things she will teach us as well.

MLK Day

Today we talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and why he is a hero in America. When telling the kids the story of MLK's life, I nearly cried watching E's reactions and hearing her questions. Life in the 60's is so far-fetched for her, she can't imagine people being treated a certain way because of their skin color. When we got to the part where MLK was assassinated, I thought she might cried as she gasped in unbelief.

After finishing our discussion about Martin Luther King, the kids had some time to paint with watercolors. E painted a picture of a black man on a stage with lots of white people listening to him.

I'm thankful that my kids don't have to live in segregation.

Although, here, we are definitely treated differently because of the color of our skin. Interesting.

The boy who called wolf....

All morning, John has been complaining about his stomach. This is normal, not necessarily his stomach, but J-boy is a whiner and can be dramatic. E and M...not so much. They can get hurt and just brush it off. M is good at running too fast for her legs and falling on her stomach and momentum rolls her up on to her face and we get nothing from her. She just gets back up without a cry. E has broken two bones and both times we waiting at least a day to take her to the hospital because it didn't seem serious. J-boy is a different story. He's often screaming and crying. Our Swahili teacher used to say, J anapenda kulia. (J likes to cry.) So anyway, this morning, we told J is he wasn't going eat before church, he wouldn't get a snack during church and would have to wait until lunch. He insisted on not eating.

We were all ready for church and had just walked out our gate and J-boy threw up. Hmmmm....I want to say I feel bad and I do, but seriously, he whines all the time so I'm not sure how I would've known. Regardless, he's now watching BOZ and drinking Sprite. Unlike E, J-boy really likes soda. The kids had never had soda until we moved here. E doesn't like the "spicy-ness" and J loves it. So, he's watching his favorite show and getting soda...not so bad.

I'm thinking I should find the story of the boy who called wolf and read it to J-boy several times.

we are alive...

this is a post to let you know that we are alive and now that that is settled, we also wanted to let you know that we are busy. as is often the case getting onto the blog to write is one of the things that isn't a priority in the super rushing times....like now....

however we are all back in school and the kids are really enjoying it a lot. this last couple of weeks we have been studying botany. they are really advanced!! just today they planted some beans to see what happens. we will keep you posted.

danielle and I have both started up with language tutors. different tutors....in nearly every way. Kevin's is a single guy who had another job as as overseer for an investor (slum lord). and danielle's is a stay-at-home mom. Danielle really guided and directs her time and kevin just goes to town a lot (and reads stories).

.....so that is our busy lives at the moment....