A Time To Celebrate

Me and Haley, one of our little neighbor girls...we’ve nicknamed her “Pig Pen” though it may be culturally inappropriate to talk about that animal...she loves dirt and sometimes it plumes off her!  Part of the problem is that she is on the verge of walking, but her current mode of transportation is just to scoot across the ground...haha!  Sometimes she just lies in the dirt and goes to sleep making her look like a poster child for World Vision...I assure you she is not.  She has a mommy and daddy who love her very much as well as an australian auntie and an american one who cuddle her every chance we get, no matter how dirty she is :)

Since it’s been a year, I thought it would be fun to show you what our backyard looks like now...it’s really green!  We are growing all kinds of things from bananas, to pumpkin, to corn, to tomatoes, to watermelon!  It’s amazing how fast and how well things grow here...good volcanic soil you know...haha! :)

We called on Ali, our brother who lives next door, to come and chop down our tree...he is better with a machete than me and Corinna combined...haha!

We held a neighborhood block party in our backyard following the felling of our banana tree :)  It was great to get to sit down with our local family on our turf and share a meal that we were able to give thanks for in the local language.  It was such a fun time and gave us the opportunity to play “host” for those neighbors who have been SO hospitable to us!

Our party had a special holiday meal type feel.  It came complete with fried bananas, fried cassava, grilled chicken wings, sodas, and of course the local hot sauce!  Delicious!

Me, Lesley, and Anna took a quick trip to the "big island" to visit the ATM and do a little grocery shopping.  It's 20 miles between our islands...by glorified row boat with two motors it's a 1.5-2 hour ride across the Indian Ocean...haha!  It's like being at Water World for next to nothing...haha!

Here are some of our groceries:  Real Hamburgers with cheddar cheese!!!

Real Hotdogs on homemade buns!

We had a two day team retreat on the south side of the island.  My mom had sent a birthday package which included stuff for smores, so I talked the boys on the team into helping me construct a bonfire on the beach.  We sat by the ocean roasting marshmallows and reminiscing about old campfire stories and teaching the Commonwealth team members what a smore is and how to eat it..:)

I am now a quarter of a century old...for the first time in my life, I feel old...I was graciously told by my older teammates that I should get used to the feeling.  The other three single ladies celebrated with me.  Corinna made a delicious chocolate cake with strawberry jam in the middle! :)  And they agreed to suffer through my movie choice..."The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"  Haha!  It's never too early to get into the Christmas spirit :)

Corinna, my housemate, gave me a beautiful rolling board and pin and two purple coffee cups :)  I love it!  I'm making homemade tortillas tonight!

Continuing on with the birthday celebration, we decided to create an oven on our stove top.  Theoretically, you buy a very large pot and a medium pot to go inside.  You elevate the medium pot with sardine cans, rocks, corral, or whatever is available...Everything was fine until the pot started to smoke aggressively.  As we removed the large pot from the stove we discovered that we had managed to burn our way through the pot...it wasn't a total failure though...

We successfully cooked pizza before we lost the pot :)  All in all it was a great birthday!  It was quite different from any other birthday that I've had, but it is one I will not soon forget! :)

The Flavors of Life

Did you know that you can make pumpkin pie from scratch...haha!  My housemate, Corinna, is from Australia and she didn't know that you can buy pumpkin in a can...weird...:)  Well, we bought a pumpkin the other day and we've been eating it for days: pumpkin soup cooked in coconut milk, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin and beans, and pumpkin bread...it was a big pumpkin :)  It's been fun learning how many ways you can eat pumpkin!

Here is Ginger curled up in the dust pan...it can't be comfortable, but he sleeps there often :)

There have been many wedding dances lately.  A wedding here usually lasts for up to two week.  The first week is full of fried bread making by the women.  Then the wedding happens on a Friday and almost everyday after that for the next week there is at least one dance a night...they don't usually start until 9 or 10PM and they turn the speakers up loud enough that the next village can hear the celebration.  Most of these dances have been happening a few yards down the street from my and Corinna's house...:)  We've gone to a few of the wedding dances mostly to take pictures for friends.  This is Mama Hannah.  She is our next door neighbor and a joy to hang out with :)

This is Mama Hannah's sister  Zoey.  She is all dressed up having come from one of the many wedding dances.  My friends love getting their picture taken when they are all dolled up :)

This dance is called the Ngoma Nyombe, "the dance of the cow."  This is a man's dance where women dance into the circle and place a lei of jasmine flowers around a man's neck...hence why I am watching from a distance :)  It's called the dance of the cow, because they tie a cow right next to the speaker.  Sometimes at the end of the dance they will let the cow run through the street and chase people and other times they slaughter the cow and have a big feast.

Daisy helped me cook the other night.  Can I say that I think headlights are quite possibly one of the awesomest inventions for those who live in places with limited electricity!  I love it!

We cooked rice over our newly created firepit!  Our grill grate is made out of wielded re-bar...it was so fun!

We also grilled/roasted/smoked chicken...I was so proud I cried, then again I may have been crying because of all the smoke in my eyes :)  But the chicken was pretty amazing too!

Visiting the Mainland

Here's Mt. Kilimanjaro as seen from the airplane window while flying to Kenya.

Welcome to Kenya!  This is one of my teammates going through immigration...notice the sign above his head,  "Kenyan Citizens Only"  Haha!

This is the upper half of the mountain we climbed for one of our Saturday activities

Stopping to smell the flowers on the way up :)

In the spirit of Julie Andrews, "Climb every mountain..."

These are some friends I met on top of the mountain...I discovered that they really like Fanta

Chaco dirt lines following in the hike :)

We went on safari for a day...the monkeys were cracking me up...they really enjoying groom each other...haha!

Off-roading :)

If you look closely you can see the zebras :)

Look Mom it's a giraffe!

The internet cafe was out in the field beside the dorm where we stayed during our training conference

I was on the decoration committee for the big dinner following the conference...I was in charge of building the fire

We went with a survivor theme for the dinner :)  These girls are quite the artists!  I really enjoyed getting to know them!

This was taken at Rift Valley Academy...the entire campus was beautiful, this is just a taste

A view of the Rift Valley in Kenya...so beautiful, the picture doesn't do it justice, but it's all I got :)

Welcome to Tenwek Hospital, their sign says, "We treat Jesus Heals" 

This is one of the original buildings at Tenwek

I had the privilege of touring the Tenwek School of Nursing.  I was very impressed with the organization and the fact that their nurses are triple qualified with general nursing, midwifery, and community health.

This is the sign outside of the Tenwek Hospital ER departement.  Emergency Rooms in Africa and the UK apparently don't give their patients much hope...haha!

Never a Dull Moment

We have successfully completed 5 weeks of conversational English!  These are some of my students.  They are holding up their "certificates of participation."  It was a great learning experience and it opened the door for lots of new friendships!

I happened to grab my camera fast enough to snap a picture of a lemur doing gymnastics on our power lines!

Corinna and I attended a wedding dance with our friend, Ritta.  We got all dressed up in the island style and danced from side to side for over two hours.  I tried to throw in a few western moves, but one of the grandma's gave me "the look" and came over and taught me how to dance correctly...haha!

Meet Sally and her daughter, Rebecca...yes, I now have a child named after me...:) 

Congratulations to us!  Our banana tree "gave birth" as the locals say once the banana flower appears and then they congratulate us...haha!

Here are me and Corinna's cats.  The orange one is Ginger, he is a boy so I call him Gingerbread Man.  The white one is Zorro, he is quite rambunctious and lives up to his name.  They keep each other warm in their little cardboard box.

These are some of my friends during a village celebration.  My friend Ryan is carrying a pot of goat pieces on her head...:)

Here is a closer look at the goat...in case you were wondering :)

Not Just Another Day

English classes have begun!  I have never heard the ABC's sung so enthusiastically...by adults! :)  It is so fun and still slightly odd to hear people throughout the village greeting each other with a "Hello Good Morning!  How are you?" 

A game of cat and rat...what an experience...what a story!  So, I live in a mud walled house and apparently this little rat had built some passageways in the walls...he no longer travels those passageways...he got a shoe to the head and became the cat's dinner...

I love this picture!  We have lots of kids in and out of the house...little Dwy left her footprint on our welcome mat :)

I have lots of little friends in the village and they all love to get their picture taken.  Meet Ruthie :)  She is a little stinker :)  Think of Ruthie and the other village kids when you encounter the little stinkers in your lives

An open-air kitchen is actually really nice, especially when there is a slight breeze.  Lots of good conversations take place in the kitchens of the village mostly because that is where the majority of women spend their time.  This is one of my friend's kitchens...it comes complete with chickens :)  Think of the women here as you cook in your kitchens.

The staples of life here:  A jeri can, which is good for hauling water, storing water, and it functions as an extra seat another staple is the homemade basket full of green cooking bananas

The ingredients I use to make my morning mocha...it's not Starbucks, but it gives a great illusion...haha!

Our one banana tree has raised up shoots and has become encircled by several other banana trees...kind of creates a cool picture of our purpose complete with the "sun" shining through :)

Never has my wardrobe been so colorful :)