So I finally got my camera fixed- just in time for the great snow melt




I love the perspective differences in this one:



And I got this pic just before all the snow melted! White Pine Trail looks so cool here!

Picture of the Week- Sunset

So here is a link to the most amazing youtube video of all time!! Kel and Gavin dancing at their school's New Year's Eve Party. Too funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUaw3V3vKDY

Amazingness!

One of my favorite pics this week...

Turkeys running across the frozen (and rapidly thawing) river

Road to Bethlehem

Here is a really interesting series of articles on BBC- a reporter documents his trip walking from Nazareth to Bethlehem (through Palestinian and Jewish lands) with various donkeys and guides. Make sure you start at the beginning of the article (the first entry is at the bottom of the page- each new entry is on top of it. Here's the link.

Interesting Marketing technique

I think this is just hilarious. Why would you advertise your christmas trees by hanging one a hundred feet in the air with a cherry picker?? I guess its effective- it made me notice the tree (as it dangles above the road). too funny.

More Winter Pics

for all my friends who don't get snow...


This one looks like something out of Dr Seuss!!!

snow...

I love having outdoor trees to decorate this year (inside ones are fine, but I love outdoor trees that get snowed on!!)

Mzuri Sikuku ya Kuku Mku!!!

Or "Happy Turkey Day"!!
(literally "Happy Great Day of the Big Bird")

Go Vote

Make sure you go vote today!! There is a nifty state-by-state (or in Michigan, county by county) results map on the side bar in case you are wondering how it all is working out.

11 Things I'm Gonna Miss About Kenya

(because narrowing it down to 10 was impossible!)

1. Z- one of my favorite kids ever- so adorable, such a trouble maker!
2. Bargaining with vendors for everything from tomatoes to meat to shoes. All prices are negotiable and bargaining is half the fun! The interaction, the laughing at my Swahili, the hilarious conversations that last 20 minutes, the “A-a bwana! Ni bei GHHHAli sana!!!”
3. Tea fields
4. The smell at night- no way to describe it, but after a dusty day, there is this fresh, night smell.
5. Samosas (meat, not veg) and Bajias
6. Safari ant invasions (and other random insect invasions- flying termites, Nairobi fly, cockroaches, etc)
7. Matatu Bongo mixes- the most unique and amazing music you will ever hear- nothing beats being in a Westlands Matatu and hearing “Banjuka tu” blasting out the speakers.
8. Goat- we are sooo missing out on this amazing food in the States!! We really need to eat more goat (especially the shekla at Habesha)
9. Whole Fried Tilapia at Kosewe- enough said!
10. Feeling like there were things everyday that I wanted to photograph- moments I wanted to remember.
11. Having random adventures- every day.

Obviously this list was excluding all my people here- I have amazing friends who I will miss SO much. And its no mistake that almost half of this list is food- we take food seriously here!! (Plus I’m Lutheran- we take food VERY seriously!)

So pray for a safe and uneventful day and a half of travel for me!! I leave on Monday night. Craziness. See ya all soon!!

Bike Races and Goodbyes

So the Canadian branch of my organization decided to have a "Ride For Refugees" this weekend in Toronto to raise money for programs benefiting refugees. And my roommate, being the Canadian refugee worker that she is, decided to ride in solidarity with her sending organization. We got a few friends together here and they rode 41km- that is a very long way when you are riding at an altitude of 8000ft though the very hilly highlands of Kenya!! There were a few near-misses with matatus and donkey carts, a few drizzles of rain, and uncountable potholes but I think they had a blast. I was the photographer/emt so at least I didn't have to try to bike up some of these monster hills- I got to kick back in the follow car.
After the mini-marathon, I went to say goodbye to the families I have been working with. So sad. I'm planning to come back to its not GOODBYE goodbye but given the transient nature of refugee culture, its very possible that some of the families won't be here when I come back. I hate goodbyes. I can't wait to get home, but I hate missing things here too.

So I will be back to MI in a little over a week- crazy!!

The 2 Week Count Down

So I'm leaving in 2 weeks!! I got the official word today (it was this whole big thing with travel agents, tickets, power outages and multiple public holidays but I finally have confirmed tickets home).

It's crazy- I'm so excited to see everyone from home, and I'm so sad to be leaving my friends here.

Lots to do, lots of goodbyes to say, lots of goat to eat (it really is too bad goat isn't a major staple in the States- its really good.) So I'd better get to work! See ya all soon!!

NEWS!!!!

My big news for the month is that I'll be on my way back to the US to raise support for my next term in Kenya soon- as in 'end of this month' soon!! As I was talking with my leadership (both here and in the US) about WHEN I should plan to come home, I mentioned that since it was nearing the holidays, I’d really like to be home for the holidays this year and they agreed! As we talked out some other details, we decided that the best time for me to transition home for a while is at the end of OCTOBER!!!

I'm crazy busy now, trying to get stuff in order to come home, but I can't wait to see my family and friends!! And at the same time, I'm really sad to be leaving (but I plan to come back, so its not like its the end or anything- but still hard to leave all my people here!)

So that's what I'm up to!! If you're in the greater BR area- I'll see ya really soon!

Oh, and since I'm getting back just in time to catch the tail end of a beautiful Michigan Fall, I expect to see pictures!! I haven't had a Michigan Fall in 2 years!!!

Impromptu Public Holidays!!!

So I'm loving this whole impromptu Public Holiday thing. Muslims have been observing Ramadan for the past few weeks and Eid ul Fitr (the celebration of the end of Ramadan) is a public holiday here. But here's the catch- no one knows when it will be! It all depends on when you can see the crescent moon in that last week of Ramadan (so Eid can vary from place to place- I saw that the Philippines were celebrating it today). So you have to wait for Eid to be announced. Today, Eid was announced for tomorrow (if that makes sense- it officially starts at sundown tonight but is celebrated tomorrow). Gotta love an unexpected day off!

More Amazing Flowers from Kenya

My Fake Autumn

So I'm missing Fall (which is possibly my favorite season in Michigan) and even though I'm missing the leaves starting to change, deer season and all that, I do have a pseudo-fall! The Jacarandas are in bloom around Nairobi! I love it! They are amazing!!! Trees here don't do the color-changing thing like they do back home so Jacarandas are as close as it comes! They turn downtown Nairobi into this crazy purple and the petals fall all over the roads and sidewalks (kinda like fall leaves) adding some color to Nairobi (which as much as I love it, tends to be on the dusty, dirty side). Admittedly, this is actually more like Spring then Fall (since we finally seem to be rid of the icky, wet, freezing-ness of summer and coming into the hot season) but I'll take what I can get!

ps- I have NO idea how I got a picture of a Nairobi street without cars!!! It was pretty early on Saturday morning (and this is a side street) so maybe that was it. The streets here are never this empty! Honestly!

Mwalimu Lindsey

Speaking of English being a hilarious language (see previous post), I am now teaching English. I'm working on basic literacy (English and Swahili) with the women who come to our sewing program, and I'm teaching one of the girls English (reading, writing, speaking) until we can find her a full-time teacher (my teammates are covering the other subjects). But teaching English is ironically helping my Swahili because I will give directions in English but then I have to translate things back to Swahili so my students understand (at least for now). So talk about an adventure! My spelling has improved since I was in school so don't worry! I'll try to make sure to teach these ladies to spell things the correct way (although Swahili spelling is WAY easier then English! In swahili you spell it like it sounds- no breaking rules, no weird sounds (except for that ng'u sound- its a little challenging!!))

English is a hilarious language. Last night I was sitting around a table with 2 Ausies, a woman from England, a guy from Zimbabwe/New Zealand, 2 irish guys, a Canadian, 2 other Americans (1 from the deep south, the other had lived in Ireland for years) and myself. Talk about cross-cultural communications! All 10 of us speak English as our first language but we all definitely don’t speak the same language! So hilarious! We may use a lot of the same words but the meaning of said words is VERY different!

Just found out that some of my extended family check the blog almost every day, so I feel like I should say something deep and profound for them to read to reward their diligence but hey! this is me! profound kind of alludes me! No heroic stories of my roommie and I battling safari ants this week (although they did sneak attack my feet a few times!) I do have a horribly disgusting story involving 4 rats and a water jug but really- you don't want to hear that story. It's nasty.

I got to see pictures of my parents new place! It's amazing (for all of you who haven't had a chance to see it yet!) The colors are great mom (and so is the new vase!!) But I do think that the fire pit looks a bit like a spaceship! But I love that the river is deep enough for some swimming!

Other then that, no real news here! Its been kind of a quiet week (which is nice!).

I heard the family weekend at the Lake was great fun (as usual!) I miss you all a ton! Thanks for checking out the blog!

1 Year in Kenya!

Woohoo!! I've been here one year and 1 day!!! So excited!

Siafu Attack Part III: The Siafu Strike Back

so last night I came home to yet another siafu attack. There were thousands swarming up the sidewalk towards my door. This time I got a little bit of it on video. Sorry it's kind of dark, but they were commencing yet another night attack. I sat on my steps and watched for a while- they looked like a river of ants. So crazy. Salt didn't slow them down this time but boiling water did the trick!

Yet Another Great Nairobi Sign

I'm curious, what exactly are "fire appliances" (step 2)??

Invasion of the Siafu Part II: Revenge of the Siafu...

As I explained yesterday, my house had a bit of a Siafu (safari ant) invasion. After the initial invasion, they must have banded together for the second wave of the attack- the front door. Julia and I fought them off with boiling water- effective for about 5 minutes, then we attacked with salt (a friend suggested you pour salt all over them, the grass, everything to keep them back. That seemed to work and we foolishly thought we had won.

Round 3 happened late at night, I was going to bed and was checking to make sure all the doors and windows were locked when I saw them coming in, AGAIN, through their original attack location. Julia was already asleep, so I poured boiling water down the hole in the wall that they were getting through and then made little salt mountains over all the holes, then I built a salt barrier between the ants and our rooms. At least it would keep them detained in that part of the house if they came back.

When I got up this morning, we were siafu free but I have a ton of salt to clean up!

In answer to one of the comments, Doom (the pesticide we used) probably wouldn't be found in the States- its hard core stuff! It stinks up the house and I try to clean it off me whenever I get it on me- it's pretty nasty.

Invasion of the Siafu (safari ants)

So my roommate and I have been home sick with the flu for the past few days, but today we were both starting to feel better. I had just gotten out of the shower, when I hear her screaming in the hallway. So I run out to find siafu (safari ants) all over the wall/floor/everywhere. Our house has an extra outside door that we don’t use (it’s “sealed”- how well it was sealed is up for debate), so these ants are streaming in through holes in the sealant, holes in the wall, through the vent at the top of the wall- you name it, that’s how they are getting in.

Safari ants are nasty buggers, they travel in groups of hundreds of thousands, they can get into anything and they have these NASTY pinchers that hurt- a lot. They swarm over intruders. And they can be anywhere. If you saw the new Indiana Jones movie, siafu are the big bugs that carry off the Russian Soldiers in Peru (these just aren’t as big) Usually I see them on the path and can jump over them, or I see them in the grass when they get all over my feet- but you can deal with a few on you. They hurt, but it’s not that big of a deal.

So we have ants all over the wall and floor of our hallway, so Julia and I grab the Doom cans (doom is this crazy harsh insect spray for homes) and we try to spray all these ants but this is an aerosol, so all the ants we are spraying on the walls are now flying back at me and into my hair and clothes- so glad I showered before all this! After killing as many inside as possible and spraying a perimeter so the remaining ants cant get to the rest of the house (because they just dominate entire areas- nothing really stops them), then we went to take on the ants outside.

We are both wearing flip flops because once these guys get into your shoes, you cant get them out and they just bite and bite you. So we run around to the back of the house and there are siafu everywhere. I start spraying the ants but I don’t realize that I’m standing in a huge pile of them (they are hard to see in the grass) so I’m spraying the door, Julia is screaming (because she too is standing in ants), and all of a sudden my feet are on fire. Yup, I’m covered in siafu. So now I’m screaming, Julia already ran off, there are siafu everywhere and our neighbors are all laughing hysterically. What else can you do when your feet are covered in huge, biting siafu?? I just sprayed my feet with Doom (kind of had forgotten about the blisters I had)- so now my feet are REALLY burning, the siafu are still holding on, so I run to the front of the house to re-group.

One of our neighbors, who had heard the screaming, came out and said to pour boiling water over them to kill them. That meant returning the siafu. So we heated up the kettle, I put on my big rain boots (the flip flop idea was really not a great plan- sure you can find them easier but when they are swarming it doesn’t help) and we went back out. This time we were victorious (well for now). The boiling water killed a bunch and hopefully they are moving to a new place (or at least not coming in our house any more. Icky bugs.

Now I have to get all the Doom off me. Now Julia says they are coming in the front door- great! More later!

So I feel like anything I have to share about this week is somewhat anticlimactic since it isn't accompanied by pictures of elephants, lions or other amazing safari animals!

I'm doing well though- its been a busy week but I love it!

Oh, I did see a mongoose in the road a few days ago! Does that count in the "cool safari animals" category? Probably not. Oh well. Not every week can be as exciting as going on a safari!

Oh! but the weather is FINALLY looking like weather should look like in an equatorial country!! I even got a sunburn on Sunday (hey, it's been so cold, none of my skin has even been EXPOSED to the sun in I don't know how long!) But it seems like the sun may be back for a while!

Ol Pejeta Safari

So this week, finally, I was able to go on safari!!!! I went to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy near Nanyuki (north of Nairobi). There just aren’t words. If you ever want a case for creation, go on safari.

So my friends and I stayed in tents in the conservancy. Now before any of you freak out that I was camping in a game park with lions (mom that means you) the camp is surrounded by an electric fence (it was all of 2.5 ft tall and it was in the trench that surrounded the camp, but apparently it was effective! No lions in the tent with me!). The camp has a great view of a few of the water holes so animals are always coming right up to the camp (never anything dangerous like a lion or anything) so we would watch the giraffe, zebra, impala, warthog, and buffalo from the dining room or our open tent door. I mean I was about 15 yards from a giant buffalo (one of the ‘Big 5’).

Our first day out, we went on an afternoon/evening drive. We saw plenty of regular game (zebra, giraffe, impala, gazelle, warthog, etc). Now you don’t just go driving out in the conservancy in a car or something. We were in a modified van- it’s a regular van but the top flips up so you can stand while you are driving through the park (you can see way better and take better pics- plus it’s just fun!). so how this works is you drive around for 3.5-4 hours and try to see as many animals as possible. There are other people out in other vans too, but the park is 90,000 sq acres so you don’t see people too often. Our driver/guide (Steve) was great- he really knew the park so we were able to see 3 of the Big 5 in our first afternoon out- we saw buffalo, rhino and lions!!!! I loved the rhinos- sooooo cool, but the highlight of the evening was spotting the lions. Friends of mine have come out to this park and never seen lions so we were so excited!! There was a pride of about 10 lions hunting (well the male was just chillin’ while the ladies were hunting warthogs). We saw them stalking the warthog but they didn’t make a kill (the warthog got into a hole before the lioness got him). So amazing to see!!!

So dad, you trained me well for safari by taking us on all those “whoever spots the 1^st deer gets a quarter” trips of my childhood! I was the one who spotted the rhinos on a plain above the bush we were driving through!

We went on 2 game drives the next day, but we only saw zebra, gazelle, impala, giraffe, baboons, warthogs- the regulars. It’s crazy that seeing zebras and giraffes can become common place!!

Our last day out, we got up early and went for a drive at 6:30am. And we hit the mother load. Not only are the bush and plains amazing that early in the morning, all sorts of other animals are out. We were driving down the road, my friends and I admiring giraffes or something and all of a sudden it was there- in the middle of the road. An elephant!!! It was huge. It was amazing. It was about 50 feet from us and moving our direction. Our driver moved the van so that the elephant could pass and it just sort of meandered down the road.

So in the end, we saw 4 of the Big 5: we saw Rhino, Buffalo, Lion, and Elephant. The only one left is the leopard- but that one is hard to spot since they are most active at night.

So it was amazing. I loved it!!!! There is no way to explain what I saw- it was just beautiful and diverse and amazing. We would be driving and I would just be standing there thinking “Dang I love Africa!”. There is no other place in the world like this. And I get to live here.

Check out some more of my safari pics by clicking on the link (that part of the sentence that is underlined- or just click on the link on the right to my webshots page).

Insane Busy-ness!!!

So this weekend we ran a VBS/camp/retreat for kids from the Horn of Africa. It was a blast! I'm completely exhausted but we all had a great time. 4 days of craziness, games, Bible stories, veggietales, crafts, plays and zebras. Thats right, there were zebras and monkeys living on the grounds of the center we stayed at. And I saw a warthog and a baboon just running down the road. So random. So funny! But this retreat was for entire families (we just ran the kids portion of the program) so it was fun to see these families interacting together outside of our weekly fellowship!

Now tomorrow, I'm taking 2 of our teen volunteers (who came to help out with the retreat) on a safari!! This is my first safari in my entire year here and I can't wait!! There will definitely be tons of picture next week!!

Quilts!!!!

Thought my mom would like to see pics of my new quilt- so you all get to see it too! It's a patchwork gitangi (traditional cloth prints) quilt that a friend of mine made- I love it!!!

Quite Possibly My Favorite Sign in Nairobi

I'm just intrigued by a Lebanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar. Haven't had the guts to try the sushi yet- but one day I will! Just to say I ate sushi at a Lebanese restaurant!

Thanks to all the family who put up Facebook pictures of the Family 4th celebration!!! It's so fun to see the pictures!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Hope you all have a great day with family and friends!!

After work today, I plan to watch 1776 (a classic musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence- if you haven't seen it you HAVE to! It's a road trip staple in my family! What's better then guys in wigs and tights singing and dancing and declaring a country free?) and I'll listen to the 4th of July Adventures in Odyssey episode "The Day Independence Came" (if you don't know Adventures in Odyssey you have been missing out!!! Check out the episode here!

I guess I do more 4th of July-y things when I'm not actually in the States!

2 months robbery free!!!

Woohoo!!!!

New Skills Aquired

So since I've lived in Kenya, I've learned plenty of new life skills:

• How to navigate the complex matatu (public transportation) system of Nairobi
• How to bargain in Swahili
• How to change the gas can on my gas stove without blowing the house up (always a useful skill!)
• How to identify a colony of Safari Ants from a distance (so I can avoid the bites!)
• How to wash clothes by hand in a wash tub in my shower
• How to disinfect water using only UV-A rays from the sun and an old coke bottle

And most recently:

• How to fix a toilet! I had a small (gushing) plumbing problem in my house this week but it was the middle of the night so I had to figure it out on my own!! I could so become a plumber!

And just over a year ago, we were all celebrating at my sister and brother-in-law's wedding (and I was pretty much eating the bouquet that was hurtled DIRECTLY into my face!!) Congrats guys!! Hope you had a great anniversary!!!

The best part of this entire picture is Lyssa's face! So shocked!!

Life Happens Around Chai

I decided to change the name of my blog because here in Kenya (as in many parts of the world) life really does happen around chai (tea). We take chai breaks at 10 am and around 3 pm (especially now that its so cold!) but Chai time is when you sit and talk, discussing life, politics, families... you name it and you talk about it at chai time. When I was in school, chai time could last more then an hour if we had a lot to chat about!! We have chai after Bible studies, we have chai after church, you have chai when you visit friends (or strangers). Chai is an important part of life- its where you build deep friendships, its where you catch up on the news, its when you just stop everything else and spend time with people. So if you come to Kenya, you'd better like milk chai- its 1 part whole milk, 1 part water, loose tea leaves and a ton of sugar! And it is sooooo good- you should try it at home!!! Some people don't like the taste of hot milk but I LOVE it!!

And if you get really brave- add masala seasonings (ginger, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon and other spices) for Masala Chai (the epitome of chai!!!) Its spicy, and warm and just plain good!!

Arachnophobia

So I woke up today feeling like I was in an episode of the Brady Bunch. Do you remember the one where they go to Hawaii, and Peter wakes up with a huge tarantula on his chest??? Yeah- that was me this morning. Only it wasn't a tarantula, but it was a big, nasty spider- realistically, it probably wasn't as big as the one on the Brady Bunch, but was pretty big!!! I woke up and saw it just sitting there!! So gross!! I think it was trying to escape the cold (because buildings are built to stay cool rather then warm here, its always colder inside the house then it is outside!)

Ok, I admit it- I am so my mother's daughter

This is me with my feet literally IN my fireplace (just near the fire place was no where near warm enough). But winter is coming and it's freezing cold at night!!! I know, I know, this is how my mom melts the soles of her shoes every year when we are camping- but its COLD!! Seriously!!

American Politics in Kenya....

Today I was talking to some kids in my community and all of a sudden, out of no where, this one little guy (maybe 10 years old) starts telling me all about politics in the States and the current election news. He's talking about Obama and Hillary- it was absolutely hilarious- and amazing! I mean a 10 year old kid in Kenya is telling me about the latest in American politics (its a good thing I try to keep up on the election news with the BBC web site!) When I was 10, I don't know that I would have known much about American politics and I was living there! So as much as it seems like all anyone talks about on the news in the States is the election- the entire world is watching and talking about this one.

Oh, I forgot...

Since today is June 1st, I have officially broken the "1 Robbery a Month" streak I'd been in for the last 3 months!! My plan for this last month was "No Robberies in the Month of May!" So praise the Lord, I haven't been robbed this month!!

The Wonders of Imported Foods...

So guess what I managed to find in a store here? Frosting!! Like for a cake!!!! And not just any frosting- Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip frosting- my absolute favorite!!

This may not seem like a wondrous event- but trust me, when you go this long without even SEEING frosting- it makes any day a good day!! Who cares that I don't have an actual cake to put the frosting on- you can eat frosting right out of the can! Or on biscuits (biscuits are shortbread cookies here- not like the stuff you get as a side dish at Kentucky Fried Chicken, that would just be gross). The frosting options are endless. Apparently, I'm very easily entertained- but this seriously made my day!
Things here are going well- I'll be sending out a newsletter in the next week with more of an update about what I'm doing. If anyone would like to receive my e-newsletter, you can give my parents your email address or you can leave your email address in the comment section of this blog (I won't post it for others to see- I will be the only one who can see it).

Flowers here are amazing- check some of these out! These are just growing by my house or in the yard at the office. So beautiful.

Sokoni (aka: In the Market)

So here is where I spend my Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings- at the market. I love to go to the market and talk with the mamas and fight over the prices, and try new fruits and vegetables that I've never seen. So today, a few of my friends let me take some pictures. Not all of my usual ladies wanted to be photographed so this is only a few of my friends but you can get an idea of what the market is like (but none of these pictures capture the vast amount of people and food crammed into this market!!)



So I look a little goofy in this picture, but you can see a lot of the market behind me



So I was given this little guy as a gift- I told the guy that I can't keep pets and he's too small to eat, so I just took a picture instead.

I buy a lot of my fruit from these mamas- their pears are seriously the best pears I've ever had
And here is the mountain of pineapples that are in the road each week- yummy!!!

Happy 50th Dad!!!

So if you see my dad, tell him Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Wow- last Cinco De Mayo, Kelly, Gavin, Dad and I were contemplating breaking into Kelly's shower gifts to make homemade salsa (with Aunt Brenda's amazing recipe!). So many
changes in a year! Kel and Gavin are married! We all live on different continents! Good changes. So here we all were a year ago today:

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

If you see my mom- wish her a happy birthday!! Don't worry mom- I won't tell how old you are!!

A Walk in the Tea Fields

So I think I've mentioned that I live in the middle of tea fields. They are amazingly beautiful and just kind of go on forever- so some friends and I went for a little trek through the fields this evening. So for any of you who though tea was grown in a little tea bag- here's what it really looks like (and really- try loose leaf tea some time- it will blow your mind! Tea bags have nothing on the real stuff!!)