Neighbours

One of the things that Anna and I have been enjoying recently is playing with some of the children from our neighbourhood. In trying to escape from the heat of the house and find some kind of breeze in the shade we have found ourselves accompanied by various children who a) love Anna and b) love her toys and the toys of our German neighbours who we also hang out with. I think it's great for Anna as she is learning about having toys snatched off her and about sharing (lessons that she would have pounded into her if she had older brothers or sisters!). Here are some pictures:

Doing a jigsaw puzzle together.

This picture makes me laugh because this boy was fascinated with Anna's Mzungu hair, skin and eyes and kept poking and prodding her in those areas!

Still Catching Up...

In February we got to go to Kenya for 12 days, part work (conference) and part holiday. We were very excited about visiting a cooler climate and getting to see some friends at the same time.

Sadly, our trip didn't start well as our 'direct' flight stopped of twice on the way to Nairobi, once only 15 minutes after we took off - an hour later than scheduled - in order to re-fuel (the mind boggles why this wasn't done before we all got onto the plane!!). So we all had to get off the plane while it was re-fueled and then obviously we couldn't just hang around on the tarmac, so we were taken into the airport at which point Anna's nappy exploded and, with no nappy changing facilities available, we were advised to change Anna's nappy on the luggage conveyor belt. The fact that we felt we should take a picture to remember the moment was much whispered about (in Kiswahili) by the airport workers who were sat behind Paula and didn't realise that we could understand what they were saying. Oh well, things can only get better right....?

Sadly, that was not the case. We ended up having to go through security twice more and having been told we could leave everything on the plane, many of our fellow passengers didn't have their boarding passes which caused additional problems. Then our 'guide' disappeared and we were left wondering if we would ever get back onto our plane, let alone all the way to Nairobi.

Eventually, obviously, we did get back on the plane and even managed to end up in Nairobi, by which time Anna had somewhat lost it and was screaming the whole plane down. Poor thing, she did well to last as long as she did being stuck on our laps for the entire time.

The first 5 days of our time in Kenya was taken up with the conference we attended, which was brilliant.

We then headed off to visit some friends who very generously had us to stay for 5 days (clearly they are either slightly mad or very brave :)). We had a wonderful time with them and just hung out (probably getting under their feet and irritating them greatly!) and enjoyed spending time with the family.

We all went to Naivasha for a day and Anna got up close to her first Giraffe.

Although a real water baby, Anna is used to something a little warmer than this pool had to offer and so declined to get any more than her feet wet!

What a beauty!!

Jacqui and Charlie, our brave friends.

Rich with Thomas and Andrew their two great boys.

and Anna hanging out with the lovely Emily.

While waiting at Nairobi airport for our flight home we discovered a play room with slides and cars and even a PS?. Anna (and Rich) had great fun playing about with the cars but the slide and Play Station didn't go down so well. Bit soon for that I think!

Finally on the plane on the way home after a brilliant time in Kenya. Anna looking forward to having her cot again and mummy and daddy looking forward to Anna having her own room again ;)

A (Big) Girls Treat!

Mum and I decided to treat ourselves to a pedicure while Anna looked after the boys. We made an appointment and headed down into town to a nice air conditioned salon for 45 minutes of pure indulgence.

We were sat down with a cup of tea having our feet filed and tickled and so on, when everything suddenly went dark and the temperature started creeping up. You guessed it, the power had gone. We all sat in the dark and waited for a while to see if there was any chance of the power returning but it eventually became clear that this was not just going to be a 5/10 minute outage.

I wandered what the girls would do about our pedicure - whether they would tell us to come back another time, or whether they had a generator they could switch on. In fact neither answer was right. They decided to finish our pedicures with the light from their mobile phones! So with a mobile in one hand and the nail varnish brush in the other, they (slowly) finished our pedicures and actually did a pretty good job!

What we had been completely unaware of, in our pampered bliss, was that there had been a bit of a storm while we were sipping tea and having our toes massaged. This was what had taken down the power lines. As we left the salon we decided to finish off somewhere with a drink and headed down to the seafront where everywhere was packed out (due to the huge downpour) so we got takeaway coffee and hot chocolate and walked along the sea wall. In order to appreciate how nice this was, you really need to grasp how hot it usually is here. We would not normally have a hot drink after 7 am so to be able to have one, and enjoy it, in the afternoon was a rare treat.

Catching up

Shocking how long it's been since the last blog entry so apologies. It's been a hectic couple of months but not in a bad way at all.

Mum and Dad came out to visit at the beginning of February which was wonderful. Anna loved seeing her Bibi and Babu and enjoyed getting to hang out with someone else for a change!

We all went on a sunset Dhow cruise which was lovely. It was so nice to escape from the heat and to enjoy the sea breeze with cold drinks provided and the peaceful and relaxing movement of the Dhow through the water. One of the best bits was that when we got back, the power (which had been off for a couple of days due to a freak wind storm taking out all the cables) was back :)

We borrowed this great life vest for Anna which had a special pillow for her to keep her head afloat should she find herself outside of the boat for some reason. However, we eventually gave in to the continuous wailing and crying and took it off her (not that we allow ourselves to be manipulated in any way!!) at which point she decided that she was actually enjoying the trip.

(No, she really did enjoy it! She just hasn't learnt the art of smiling for the camera!)

Thanks for coming Bibi and Babu! We loved seeing you. Karibuni tena xxx

Football

For about a year now Rich has been regularly playing football with some local guys. There are groups all over town who get together every evening until sunset to have a kick about. From what Rich used to tell me and the injuries he would come home with, the guys all play a pretty rough game here (Rich earnt their respect when they learnt that he would go in just as hard on a tackle as they would).

Since we arrived back in December, Rich has been playing three or four times a week which is no mean feat in this heat. He also took along some goals and nets which were made and provided by some guys who were here for a week or two and the 'kick about' has been completely transformed. All the players now wear bibs. they have shirts for the team (Rich has one too) and there is a ref which has resulted in a slightly less violent game.

Anna and I took a walk along a couple of evenings ago to watch Daddy play footie and took a couple of pictures while we were there.

Rich taking a corner while his team mates are ready and waiting for the cross in...

The guy wearing the green shirt is the ref. Some bizarre decisions are made most days but the players do what they're told (could teach some premier league players a thing or two...).

A big day

On Thursday 6th January 2011 , just less that two years after the official Ground Breaking, PAMOJA Vocational Training Centre and car Workshop was officially opened. We had special guests, a military brass band, speeches and even a ribbon cutting ceremony! The school and workshop looked great having received finishing touches, such as tiles on the classroom and office floors and toilets in the bathrooms, in the time we were back home.

Now officially open for business the workshop side has had a busy week with cars, a motorbike, a bus and even an ambulance! English and computer classes are currently running and the auto-mechanics class will begin in February, so all in all things are looking to be pretty busy in the months to come. (Roxanne is teaching the current English class while I am looking into completing an on-line TESOL/TEFL course before beginning my stint of teaching in mid-March.)

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the day.

The view from the road. If you look closely you can see the blue ribbon across the white gate

!

The arrival of the guests of honour.

An actual military brass band (I think they may have been from the police actually...).

Walimu's (teacher's) Roxanne and Paula outside the English classroom.

The guests of honour in the office eating the party food. Each person was seated in a chair whose comfort was directly proportional to the importance of the person sat in it!

Anna and...

One thing about living here that you would definitely not find back home, is that it is OK and even normal for strangers to greet you and take your child off you. What's more is that the stranger may begin to walk away with your child in order to show them to a friend/neighbour/relative. Alarm bells would certainly be ringing by this point. To be fair, there aren't that many mzungu babies as young as Anna on the island, and everyone knows who she is and therefore who I am ('Mama Anna!') so I'm not overly concerned about a lady in a buibui doing a runner with her.

It makes me laugh though when all of Anna's new found friends want a photograph with her. I am the one who takes the photo's on my camera and quite why they think I want a picture of Anna with every single person we meet, I am not certain. There have even been times when people have come up with their own camera and asked if they could have a photo with Anna...

Coming from a country where using a camera within sight of children, who just might possibly find their way into your picture can cause the odd problem, this is sometimes a little disconcerting!!

Here are some photo's from a party we were at recently of Anna and some new found friends.

Anna and Mariam, our house help.

Through it all, Anna is generally pretty patient and willing to bestow the odd smile :)