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 :)

Growling match

Our entertainment comes in unusual forms these days. My mum always said that babies are little time wasters, and it's so true! How much of my day could I spend just watching our little girl just waiting to see if she will do something?! These days she is starting to do more than just lie there helplessly. She smiles and (sort of) laughs and talks all the time and I'm sure it won't be long until she rolls of something. I walked in on her having the following conversation with her Daddy:

Did I say conversation?!

Our 1st Krismasi

Our Krismasi was certainly a bit different this year. We find we are slowly but surely being taken over by all things baby and small child. We definitely missed being with our family back home, especially this year, but having Anna around certainly made the day extra special and eye opening when you think about what it is we celebrate on this day - God come to earth as a baby.

We got lots of exciting zawadi's (gifts) through the post (mostly for Anna who didn't have the foggiest what was going on and why mummy and daddy were acting so strangely and propping her up to take pictures of her 'opening' presents...), we read the Christmas story together, had an enormous roast chicken dinner with Christmas pud, went to the beach and then watched 'The A-Team' in bed with the A/C pumping in the evening. All in all a good day :)

Stocking ready and waiting!

Zawadi heaven!

Princess dress up now comes in baby size! Completely ridiculous but gorgeous all the same!! (It's Cinderella just in case you can't tell!)

We hope that you all had a Happy Christmas wherever you were, whether you were where you were supposed to be or not!

Following in Daddy's Footsteps.

Paula's Piki Piki Lesson

I always fancied having a Vespa and zooming around town on it but it never really seemed appropriate for our needs before. Here everyone gets around on 'piki piki's' (used generally for any kind of bike with an engine). Got a family of 5? No worries! Need to transport your new car windscreen? No problem! (Seriously, we have seen both these and lots more.)

Our school was recently given a couple of piki piki's from Germany and after bringing one home today, Rich decided I should have a lesson. Obviously since I was refused a license on account of my gender, I was limited to riding round and round our house. However, if I may say so myself, I got quite good at this particular route and as you can see from the smile, I rather enjoyed myself!

(Now all I have to do is convince Rich that I should have one :))

Making friends

Since arriving back, we have gradually been trying to visit all our old neighbours and friends. A good friend of Rich's and his wife had their sixth child in August while we were back in England so we went to visit them and meet their new baby. Although almost two months older than Anna, as you can see from the photo there really isn't much difference in size and everyone tells us what a big baby she is. (The women are all very impressed when I tell them I delivered a 4.5Kg baby!!)

It really seems that having a baby here in this culture is the key to getting to know people and making friends. They LOVE babies here and everywhere I go, after being asked 'mtoto hajambo?' (basically 'your baby's OK?') Anna is whisked away to been shown to someone else who may or may not be in the same room/house/street!! For the most part Anna does brilliantly and smiles at everyone, listens to them babble away at her in a new (to her) language and just watches what is going on.

Learner Drivers

We all love to hate them. They are overly cautious and drive exactly on or just below the speed limit, they are afraid of the edge of the road and still feed the steering wheel through their hands. But we've all been there and done it ourselves. I am referring of course to learner drivers.

It seems like it is possible for anyone here to start up a diving school, and that is exactly what people have been doing. All you need is a car and a big bit of wood to stick on top with your big red 'L' painted on it, and you're away. It seems that 'aerodynamic' was not part of the design brief when making up these signs and as we were driving behind this car the other day I just felt I had to capture the moment and share it with you all.

I don't know what happens when there are strong winds... maybe the lesson is cancelled??

Learning to Swim Part 2.

As it is yet again the weekend, we headed to a local hotel yesterday for Anna to have her next swimming lesson. (Contrary to what it may seem like from this blog at the moment, we don't spend all our time swimming in crystal clear seas and lounging under palm trees next to swimming pools!)

Anna making use of her new sun tent and having a snooze by the pool.

Smiling at Dad - 'maybe this swimming malarky's not so bad after all...'

Drying off in her new beach robe.

Posted at the risk of having two sets of grandparents arriving in order to take Anna away from her unfit parents!