Kenyan Christmas

My balcony door is wide open as it’s so hot, the sky is a brilliant blue, and we’re just 4 days from Christmas. Even after 8 years, this is not exactly the weather that I associate with this festive season. Much more the freezing snowy conditions being experienced in the UK – not that I’ve actually experienced that very much! We had our home group Christmas party just over a week ago, opting for brunch rather than dinner. The location was the pool area of the house of one of our families. It was beautiful. After a glass of Bucks Fizz, sausages, tomatoes, bacon and eggs (30 of them being fried together in a large paella pan!) were cooked outside over gas stoves or on a large barbecue. We rounded off with a gift exchange, gifts being randomly selected with options of stealing those already unwrapped. It was fun! Having had a number of gifts pass through my hands, and done my fair share of stealing (and being stolen from), I wound up with a piece of wood that opens out to reveal a nativity scene within.

There’s not the mad rush in the shops around Christmas time that you get in the UK. I remember standing in a queue to pay at a supermarket in Newark, Nottinghamshire last Christmas Eve with my parents for what must have been about 45 minutes. Today, I popped into the supermarket down the road and queued for all of, oh, 3 minutes!

However, Christmas is getting more commercialized with billboards advertising special Christmas deals. The singing Santas are present at the doors of the supermarkets again, though they’re new ones this year – Santa’s gone completely bald! Elsewhere, there are tall inflatable Santas outside, which vibrate, duck and dive rather alarmingly in the wind! There are nowhere near the number of Christmas lights that you get in the West, though shopping centres are strewn with white lights, and with an increasing number of shopping centres, that’s an increasing number of lights! One nearby has opted for something more Kenyan this year rather than the traditional fir trees, and has quite a number of tastefully decorated baobab trees made out of banana leaves – including some in the parking area.

My own apartment is decked out with quite a number of lights, candles, a tree, and a vase of red and gold baubles. It all looks very nice. I’m leaving that behind tomorrow as I’m off on safari for a few days, and will be in the bush on Christmas Day. I’m interested to find out what will be provided for us of a festive nature – taking some crackers, Christmas music and cookies just in case!

Monkey Capers

Yesterday morning, I was sitting down to breakfast when I heard a commotion outside. On investigating, I was first just aware of a silhouetted largish figure sitting on the trellis at the side of my balcony. This turned out to be a vervet monkey demolishing a peanut bird feeder that I’d had hanging there for months, and helping itself to the goodies within. He was clearly unperturbed by my presence at the window (and occasional opening and closing of the balcony door to try to scare it off), as on finishing the peanuts (there weren’t that many left), it moved on to the dish of millet and sunflower seeds. All the while this was taking place, two pied crows were making quite a ruckus. They clearly weren’t at all impressed by this behavior (or perhaps just his presence), and made that even more clear by effectively dive-bombing the monkey. Between the flash on my camera and the crows, the monkey realized that this wasn't perhaps such a good place to be after all (or maybe he preferred a quieter breakfast environment?), and eventually leapt off the balcony into the tree. Not that the crows gave him any respite there. He eventually leapt on to the apartment roof. Needless to say, I’ve now removed all bird food from the balcony for the time being at least. There’s a big deal made in the UK (where I bought the peanut bird feeder) about bird feeders being squirrel-proof, but I've not seen one yet that makes any mention of monkeys!!!!

A Juxtaposition of Cultures

The aim of the walk with the dung beetle episode was to get to the main lake from our separate small lake. We’d gone that way before, so knew the way, although in the interim various fences seemed to have been put up. Anyway, we made it and found a scene very different to the one 18 months ago. Then, the water was a long way from where we were. This time, we happened upon a water bird paradise, with a swampy section, papyrus, water hyacinth, and a host of birds (as well as some fishermen). After a while of taking in the scene, the peace was broken by the jangling of bells as a flock of about 200 goats came hurtling down to the water’s edge, some of them leaping into the water. They were evidently quite excited to be there. Behind them came a young boy, with a very long stick – the goatherd. He was very interested in my camera and binoculars. Evidently he’d come across such things before as he had an inkling of what they did, though using them proved rather tricky. It struck me as being a real juxtaposition: His usual life is probably a world away from the modern life that we know in Nairobi (and the West), and yet here he was with a decent digital camera in hand, trying to use technology. He reminded me a bit of my nephew when he was three, pressing every single button in sight! I have to confess that I was a little anxious that he’d inadvertently delete all the photos on my memory card! The fruit of his efforts weren’t that great – photos of grass when the subjects were a dog, a man on a motorbike and the lake!!! However, it’d give him a few stories to tell when he’d finished his work with the goats that day.

Along for the Ride

A few weekends ago, I was near Lake Naivasha with some friends, staying in one of my favourite spots. Wildlife abounds there, and this time as well as the usual giraffe, zebra, gazelle and hippo, we saw buffalo and jackal down at the lake front. I wasn’t so keen on the buffalo sighting when on foot, though they were a fair way off at least. On a walk on the Sunday, Jill and I came across a round piece of dung being moved along the path by 2 quite large dung beetles. There was no other dung in sight, so goodness knows how far these rather determined beetles had come already. We weren’t sure if it was our presence that did it, but the beetles’ course changed on getting closer to us, and they veered off the path onto the grass. This must have been much harder for them, as they were now having to get the ball over stems of grass and hummocks. It was then we noticed that it was actually just one of them doing all the work, planting its back legs on the ball, and using its front legs to push it along, while all the time, its companion was sitting on top of the ball, and seemed to just be along for the ride! According to Wikipedia, this is normal: “The "rollers" roll and bury a dung ball either for food storage or for making a brooding ball. In the latter case, two beetles, one male and one female, will be seen around the dung ball during the rolling process. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, with the female hitch-hiking or simply following behind. In some cases the male and the female roll together. When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the dung ball. They will then mate underground. After the mating, both or one of them will prepare the brooding ball. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it.” It seems that once the larvae hatch, they make use of this food source at hand, and feed on the dung, Very clever, and wonderful to have witnessed part of the journey – but I can't say that I’d fancy starting life that way!

"My" Space

Personal space is something that varies very much from one country to another. This was perfectly illustrated to me last April when I was in the US. In a grocery store, with large aisles, I was accosted by a rather bolshie lady for blocking the aisle with my shopping cart. There was in fact plenty of room around it, but I wasn’t going to argue! Similarly, there were a couple of times when people would apologise profusely for being in the way, when I hadn’t noticed that they were, given the ample space around them, and the distance of several metres between me and them. Contrast that to my return to Kenya. Standing in line at the Customer Service desk in a supermarket here to return empty bottles, I was somewhat surprised when someone stood in the 6 inch gap that was between me and the desk!!!

On a public holiday in October, I joined some friends on a trip down to Magadi, which is a soda lake about 90 minutes to 2 hours from Nairobi. It’s a beautiful drive, with the ascent to the shoulder of the Ngong Hills, and then continuing downwards from then on into the Rift Valley. The landscape i

s pretty dramatic with hills and volcanic plugs, and very little in the way of noticeable buildings. Instead, Masai manyattas blend into the scrub land. Once at Magadi, we looked for somewhere with a little bit of shade to have our picnic (it being 37C there), and eventually found a large acacia. So, we set up our table and chairs. Not long after our arrival, a Masai young man pulled up on his bike, greeted us, and then remained, leaning against the tree trunk, watching this strange bunch of people produce sandwiches, sausages, fruit and drinks from the bags we'd brought with us. He was within feet of us, but that certainly didn’t seem to bother him, and we just found the whole thing rather amusing! After about half an hour, he received a phone call on his mobile that caused him to wander off to some bushes. Not sure if he was concerned that we might listen into his conversation in Masai (!), or whether he was taking the opportunity for a call of a different nature. Eventually, he continued on his way. Soon after, we were joined by 3 youngsters, who stood and observed for some time, while talking with each other. One refused a drink of water poured into a Tusker (beer) bottle, but another accepted - and was possibly disappointed to find that it was indeed water as we’d said.

So, space is relative. Maybe all of those people had decided ahead of time to stop at the tree, and our presence was in no way going to stop them. Or maybe, they just wanted to have a good look at our strange behavior. Certainly, there was no concern about impinging on someone else’s space and privacy!

Creative Plumbing

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything quite like this creation that has appeared on my bath taps before. It’s not perhaps the most beautiful of creations, and is perhaps more appropriate for behind the scenes rather than on display, but it is very practical, and will prove, I’m sure, to provide a great convenience, because of what it allows me to do.
I bought a washing machine this week after 7 years in my apartment without. So, why did it take so long? Well, principally because there is a communal washing machine in a small building on the ground floor. There used to be a tumble dryer there too. Actually, I think there still is - just that it ripped a few of my clothes and put dirty marks on other things, so I’ve stopped using it. That building is fed from the mains rather than from the water tanks, so often times, there’s no water and you have to fill the machine with buckets. In times of very sporadic water supply, I’ve thought before of getting my own washer, but could never quite figure out where it would go. However, on coming back in September, I found that the communal one wasn’t working at all, and 7 weeks later, still isn’t. After many trips to a friend’s house to use her washer (thank you Jill!!), I figured it really was time I got one, and whilst the space issue hasn’t changed any, it’s now installed in my bathroom. The next question was how to plumb it in. Not a question I’ve needed to face before as both of my houses in the UK have been modern, and came with all the pipes (and indeed allocated space in the kitchen) in situ for such a necessary household appliance. However, here that’s not quite how it is. In fact, on making my purchase, I was told at the shop that of course washing machines should be installed outdoors not inside. Well, that’s certainly not the case in colder climes where the water would freeze for part of the year! That must be a throwback to when all washing was done outside, and by hand (and still is in the majority of homes in the city), in the river or whatever source of water there is.
To install it in my kitchen would have meant needing to completely redesign it, plus the cupboard bases are concrete, and the cold water comes from the mains, so is generally just a trickle. Certainly not enough for a washer. Hence, it’s in the bathroom, taking up a good proportion of the floor space. The creation was put together with various bits of galvanized iron pipe from a plumbing supplier, …… and, it seems, liberal amounts of a pretty horrid-looking putty substance, to allow the attachment of the washer hose to the shower attachment (whilst still allowing me to have showers!). And it does in fact work as I’ve already tested it out. The only downside that I’ve discovered is that it has to be plugged in in another room, and the electric cable doesn’t fit underneath the door. So, when the washer’s on, the bathroom door can’t be closed. Not a problem when I’m on my own, but it could prove interesting when visitors are here!!

Orchids Galore!

When people think about Kenya, they most likely think of the Big Five, safaris, Big Cat Diary, poverty, aid, …. Living here, I’ve come across all the above, but I also have opportunity to experience a different side. Nairobi is an exceedingly cosmopolitan city that is full of contrasts. Today, in this city in a Third world country, I went to an Orchid Show held by Kenya’s Orchid Society! According to an entry on the internet,  “The Kenya Orchid Society was established in 1953 to create and increase interest in orchids and their cultivation throughout Kenya and other East African countries. Membership is open to any person already in possession of at least 15 orchid plants, who is proposed and seconded by members and approved by the committee.” Hmm, well that’s me disqualified from joining!
Anyway, the show was held at the Exhibition Centre at Sarit, one of the older shopping centres here. There were various displays putting across different messages about the environment (the theme was ‘Orchids for a Greener World’), but for me it was the orchids themselves that were the focus. I had no idea that there are so many different varieties, and of so many sizes, shapes and colours. Each one so intricately designed and beautiful. Sadly, I had somehow forgotten to take my phone with me (which is very, very unusual here), so couldn’t take any photographs. However, there was a stall selling orchids imported from Taiwan, so I bought one (rather more expensive than the ones in Sainsbury’s in the UK!!), and here it is. I’m just hoping that It survives and flourishes as well as the ones my parents have in their conservatory.

Messy Eaters!

I’ve talked about the birds on my balcony a number of times, and I’m about to again! Since I took to feeding them on a regular basis, I’ve noticed that they have decidedly messy eating habits. In tucking into a plateful of leftover rice or millet side, they seemed to toss a good portion of it to the side. Not I think because it was substandard, but because that’s just the way they eat. Whist in the UK, I decided to purchase a seed feeder in the naïve assumption that this would save on this mess. However, whilst observing some birds with a friend from a bird hide in Warnham Nature Reserve, I realized the naivety of this assumption, as I saw seed dropping all over the place. And sure enough, that’s what’s been happening. It took a few weeks though before seeing the full effect as it took the birds themselves a while to figure out that this cylindrical object contained good things! Now, I have a balcony that has a fairly liberal sprinkling of seed on it, and plant pots that are bringing forth an abundance of millet and sunflower plants!!! What’s more, there are bird wars being waged over the 4 feeding holes in the container!

My Balcony Garden

In recent phone conversations with my parents, I’ve been hearing about their endeavours to get their garden ready for the winter, and all the work that that entails in cutting things back. Also that temperatures are steadily dropping (this led to the demise of their busy lizzies!). By contrast here, things are heating up after the cool dry season such that I made the decision this morning, having woken up fairly dehydrated, that it was time to move from my Spring duvet to the lighter Summer one. I look forward therefore to an equally comfortable and cosy, though cooler, sleep tonight. Like my parents, I’ve been cutting back a number of the plants on my balcony, However, this is with the sure knowledge that they will continue growing over the next few months, and as the light has increased, probably will do so at a gallop. And this afternoon, I’ve sown some seeds – lettuce and basil – in the hope of a harvest in a few months’ time. Mind you, they’ll have a battle on as the soil I’ve sown them in is a million miles from the wonderful richness of the likes of John Innes or Homebase Multipurpose compost that I’d use in the UK. One pot appeared to have been a termite graveyard going by the number of wings in there, but maybe it’s actually where my househelp has been depositing the sweepings. If I get anything, it’ll be a testimony to the seeds’ endurance. I’ll wait and see. Whilst my ‘garden’ here is somewhat different to the one I had in the UK (a fraction of the size, and covered over), it is very therapeutic to have at least a little patch of green-ness to sit out in the few times that I’m home during daylight hours.

Dirt and Beauty

One of the things that struck me when I got back to Nairobi a month ago from my 7 weeks away was that the sky was a strange brown colour. And going out of town a few weeks back, I was shocked at how brown the countryside had turned in the time I was gone. There too, the air was brown, a result of all the dust that is kicked up by both vehicles and wind. In town, I rather suspect that it’s a combination of dust and pollution. Upper Hill, where I live, is not the prettiest part of town, though decidedly smarter than a lot of places. With all the construction that has been taking place in the neighbourhood, it’s been noticeable that a lot of the roads are covered in dirt. Well, either dirt or rubble and rubbish! (No mechanized roadsweepers here!) Marks for aesthetics therefore would not be great! However, right now, it’s easy to forget this because of the glorious lilac-coloured jacaranda trees that are flowering profusely. Maybe it’s the contrast from the dirt that is making them stand out, or maybe I just marvel at them every year, but they really are very pretty (though some of my friends who are very strong on only having indigenous trees might disagree) and a wonderful distraction from the dirt.

Footpath, Road or General Dumping Ground?

After 6 years of commuting to the office, we moved in April of last year to a location such that I can now walk to work from home. That was wonderful as the 6km commute had become a hour-long (plus) traffic nightmare. However, over the time since we moved, the walk has deteriorated somewhat. To get from my house to the office, I pass through the double compound next door (thankfully, the askari (guard) is very friendly, knows me, and always lets me through), onto the road that is parallel to mine. From there, you get a nice view of the Ngong Hills (as in ‘I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills’), though I’m sure that when I first came that wasn’t the case. An indication of the ‘development’ (aka construction) that has happened in the neighbourhood, resulting in the chopping down of quite a number of trees, thus revealing the aforeto-concealed view. And then comes, what used to be, a pleasant dirt road down a hill, with a footpath higher up on the bank. Over the last couple of years, this has become quite a thoroughfare for vehicles trying to dodge the traffic. In fact, the volume of vehicles coming down this dirt and rather rocky road, is an indication of the volume of traffic elsewhere, ie how bad the jams are. This got to the extent earlier this year that vehicles began using, what had up to then been, the footpath. That’s now quadrupled in width, and the vegetation inbetween the path and ‘road’ has quickly receded. Because of the vehicle traffic, it seems to be that the route to the office is either a mass of mud, or it’s inches thick in red dust. Either way, you arrive rather less clean than when you set out!

Yesterday at some point, someone started dumping building rubbish there (at least, that’s what it looks like).There were piles of it! Was this an attempt to stop cars going down the ‘footpath’; an effort to do something towards paving it; or was it in fact just a convenient place to dump stuff?! Given what was actually dumped, I’m leaning towards the latter: Sheets of glass aren’t generally the best thing for vehicles to be driving over!! On my way home for lunch today, a friend and I were witness to this dumping, as guys with a wheeled cart full of rubble, tiles, and a blue toilet cistern (!) dumped their load. Unfortunately the toilet was nowhere to be seen (buried?) later – it would have made a great picture! It made me ponder briefly whether men might start using that in preference to peeing at the side of the road into the bushes?!!!!

It seems such a tragedy. That road used to be quite pretty, resembling a rural country lane. Now it’s just a dumping ground, with some of the toxic trash being burnt, and is a ‘super-highway’ (well, okay, not exactly!). Still, as I choke on dust and fumes, and twist my ankle on the uneven ground (I’ve got through 3 pairs of shoes so far on that hill!), when I can lift my eyes up from the ground, the lilac-blossomed jacarandas (which are at their best at the moment) still make it look fairly pretty, and the colourful bee-eaters chattering away on the overhead wires make me smile!!

Unexpected Sign

People collect all sorts of things – stamps, mugs, registration numbers,…… you name it. One of the things a number of people in Africa do is to collect pictures of slogans on the back of public transport vehicles, or (unintentionally) comically worded signs. One of my favourites is one I saw in Ghana, while travelling from Tamale to Accra in 2000. We’d stopped off for a natural break, and at the gents’ and ladies’ urinals (yes, the ladies had urinals too!), were greeted by a sign proclaiming that this was ‘A Special Place to Free Yourself’!!!

I don’t however generally expect to see such things in the UK. I don’t know why, it just doesn’t normally happen. So, imagine the amusement a couple of friends and I experienced a few weeks ago in one of the UK’s oldest universities, when we happened upon this sign on our way up the stone staircase to the dining hall. It was just at eye-height, and to these visitors at least, its apparent meaning was very clear. The only place downward of the downward pointing arrow, was clearly the base of the wall! However, maybe it was because we’d all been in other parts of the world where that might be the case. The guide to the college could not see our point at all, and was clearly baffled by our mirth.

Texas Living

I’m currently in Dallas for 2 weeks of meetings at SIL International’s headquarters. As well as being able to meet with Finance colleagues here, and discuss some of the current issues that we’re dealing with in the accounts in Africa, it’s a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends, most of whom are now working here, but have, at some point over the last 7+ years, been based in Nairobi.

Coming from Nairobi’s ‘winter’, followed by a few weeks in the UK (where temperatures were on average cooler than Nairobi’s!), it was something of a contrast to be greeted by a wall of heat at Dallas airport. Temperatures that day reached 42C (106F)! However, it has cooled down since, and we’re now enjoying relatively cooler days ‘just’ in the low 30Cs. Not that I really notice, as most of the time, I’m indoors in meetings, and generally reaching for my cardigan due to the air conditioning!

Over the weekend, I was given orientation to Texan living, though, bizarrely, this was done by a couple of New Yorkers who’ve spent the majority of their adult years in Africa! However, Rob is an anthropologist so that probably qualifies him! We visited a ranch belonging to friends of theirs on Saturday. ‘Ranch’ to me conjures up pictures of horses and cows. However, the only animals I saw there were a couple of domestic dogs and a baby squirrel that had been rescued! This was more of a weekend getaway house. It was big though (pretty much everything in Texas is), the land spanning over 220 acres. I got to see a fair bit of this on an ATV (all-terrain vehicle), ‘whizzing’ (I made it up to 25 mph!) up and down trails, through copses, across fields, and along a creek bed. It was fun. Steering round corners was a bit of an issue at times, but I only once nearly didn’t make it, and didn’t come off at all.

On Sunday, I went to a Texan barbeque with them. Barbecued meat here is smoked rather than cooked over charcoal as I know a barbecue to be. And, rather than being outdoors, which is how I think of barbecues, this was indoors. All very bizarre – but very tasty!

Toe Dipping Not Recommended Here!

I just got back from a very relaxing 2½ days at the Kenyan coast. What a treat, and a very welcome break from the cool July temperatures of Nairobi! Colleagues working in Uganda and Tanzania hold their annual conference at an all-inclusive hotel in Watamu in July, and the rest of us are able to benefit from the discounted rates that they as a large group have negotiated. It’s a great place. The beach there is beautiful – mile up mile of white sands, lined with palm trees. Great for walking (at least when the tide’s out), though I generally wind up with blisters on my toes from the extreme exfoliation factor after hours of walking. It’s also very nice to go exploring the rock pools when the tide’s out, and have the benefit of observing from ‘dry’ land just what you’re swimming amongst there when the tide’s in! Crabs are all over the place, scuttling across the rocks. A first for me was seeing what I think must have been squid (though I think our guide said it was a sea slug). With a little bit of encouragement, he caused it to spew forth beetroot-coloured ink, which made swirly patterns in the water. Most of the fish in the pools are small and prettily coloured, but there are some rock pools you just don’t want to stick your toes into! There’s a colony of Moray eels that weave in and out of the pools, coming up when people are around in the hope, no doubt, that someone may have brought a tasty morsel from the hotel. King George has dined on sausage for many a year and has grown to a significant size as a result. At least I assume it’s been the same one since I was first there in 2004. It could be King George XII by now I guess! We didn’t see him this time, but we did meet Queen Mary and King Henry. We were also told that there was an Obama lurking around somewhere! You never know who you’re going to meet here!

Kenyan Political Happenings

I was reading through a fellow blogger’s site last night, and came across an interesting article she’d written summarizing the current political scene in Kenya. I have taken some of what she said, and made a few changes, but the bulk of it is down to her (see http://www.africaexpatwivesclub.blogspot.com/).
1. A few weeks ago, Kenyan MPs quickly voted to vastly increase their monthly salaries to 1.2m Kenyan shillings including allowances (about £10,000). This would make them amongst the most well paid MPs in the world. And given the current number of MPs in the coalition government (222), this amounts to a vast sum of money for a third world country where the average annual income is about £490. Thankfully, the Finance minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, pointed out that there isn’t the money available to fund these increases. Someone had evidently been doing creative / pie-in-the-sky budgeting! In addition, there was an outcry against the increases by the Civil Society and the public, and an organised demonstration was held last Thursday. We were warned to stay clear of that area, though as far as I’m aware it passed peacefully.
2. Current talk is all about the upcoming referendum on August 4th regarding the proposed constitution. The choices are either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, i.e. you either accept all of it, or throw it all out on account of however many things you don’t agree with. In spite of initial hopes, the campaigns have got ugly and political with the 2012 election in sharp focus for many of the politicians. A month ago, the detonating of grenades in a large church prayer meeting in Uhuru Park caused some deaths and multiple casualties. (I’d actually driven by there just earlier than evening.) In addition, 2 MPs and a junior minister on the 'no' side were arrested and brought before the courts for peddling 'hate' speech, ie manipulating rural communities by using tribe in their arguments to persuade the public to vote no. That in itself is positive. A lot of hate speech was going on prior to the 2007 elections, and nothing was done about it then. Seemingly something has been learned from the post-election violence.
3. A development brought in a few weeks ago in an attempt to control crime and monitor hate speech/incitement etc, is that all pre-paid SIM cards in Kenya must be registered by 30th July (noticeably a date selected pre-referendum). The threat is that lines will be cut if registration hasn’t happened in time. This is something that I’ve heard of in other African countries as well. A recent serial killer case that had Kenyans gripped a few weeks ago illustrates the benefit of doing this. A young man in his thirties who had killed 17 people, and drunk their blood for good fortune, and was working towards a target of 100 victims, was finally tracked down and arrested thanks to a traceable mobile phone trail of SMS messages.

Rivers or Roads?

This photograph was taken about 4 weeks ago now by a friend from church. Whilst I wasn’t the photographer, I remember the day and the scenes well as it took me 2 hours to get into the office from Karen (without traffic, that same journey is about 20 minutes)! Torrents of water were pouring down the sides of the roads, and in many places, covering the roads as well. Actually, within a day or two, there was pretty well no tarmac on this particular stretch of road (a sign of rain or poor quality tarmac?!) – which in itself led to huge traffic delays for weeks after. And for pedestrians, life was very difficult. Despite the huge number of pedestrians here, pavements (sidewalks) are rare, so during the rainy season, pedestrians are picking their way carefully through thick sticky mud, or trying to avoid being swept away (as shown here).
The roads have certainly suffered. Potholes abound around Nairobi, some of them taking more than half the width of the road, and deep enough to do damage if you drove into them without realising it.

We’d been in a season of drought for a long, long time, but since about November, there has been quite an incredible amount of rain. Everywhere has stayed amazingly green – this has certainly been the longest period of ‘green-ness’ that I’ve known in my 7 years here. Drought isn't fun, and the consequences can be very serious indeed. So, despite the mud and potholes, we are all very thankful for the rain.

Goodbyes

The American schools have already been out for a week, which means that we’ve already had the main lot of goodbyes for the year. People seem to leave pretty much as soon as the school year finishes, partly because they need to get ‘home’, and get themselves and their children settled before schools and colleges start up again. So, we’ve had the round of household goods and furniture sales, and then a number of leaving parties. Two of the SIL families leaving Nairobi this year have been here a while, so their departures have been hard on many. Don and Jackie have been good friends of mine since my very 1st day here in February 2003. At that time, I came to take on Don’s role as Regional Accounting Services Manager, and actually moved into their apartment for the 14 months that they were gone on furlough, This time around, I’m stepping into Don’s shoes again as Africa Area Finance Coordinator, though I’m sticking with my own apartment. And next time, whenever that is, I’m not even going to step into his shoes – Calgary would be way too cold for me! As well as friends and colleagues, they’ve been my neighbours. Many a time have I popped round to borrow a can opener, just drop in, or ask a favour – and have reciprocated too. And Jackie has been my main research assistant in comparing the police stations of Nairobi (there hangs a tale or two!)! Life in Nairobi is very transient: Goodbyes are very much a part of life here, though they don’t seem to get any easier with time. I’ve asked a number of times, “How many hellos does it take to outweigh the goodbyes?” The ratio is surely at least 10:1. An amazing side of life here is the diversity, and the many nationalities that you rub shoulders with. The downside is that when people leave, it’s back to the four corners of the earth.

Due to the BA strike, their departure date was put back 24 hours. So, to celebrate ‘Buhlers’ Bonus Day’, and to help make their last day in Kenya after 15 years a memorable one, we got to spend it in Nairobi National Park. Despite narrowly avoiding having our lunch swiped by a troop of baboon (!), we enjoyed several hours in the Kenyan countryside (just outside the city), and the beauty of bird and animal wildlife. Next time, Calgary, or the UK, or …………..?

Memorials

Last weekend, I was privileged to be asked to play at the memorial service of an 86-year old gentleman, Dr Geoffrey Irvine, whose guest cottage I, and many of my SIL colleagues, have enjoyed staying in over the years. Geoffrey passed away a few weeks ago, having been airlifted to Nairobi because of pneumonia. He grew up in the highlands of Kenya, his parents having been sent out as missionaries by the Church of Scotland nearly 100 years ago, and then served there with his wife, both of them as doctors. He was truly a gentle man who took a delight in life. I always remember talking with him one time. “I used to dream of a place to retire with a few trees and some water”, he said. “And look what God has given me!”, as he pointed to the view from his garden of acacia trees, and through them, glimpses of the blue of the lake with the pink fringe of flamingoes; the occasional giraffe, zebra, or gazelle passing by; mountains beyond; and the humph-humph-humph of wallowing hippo. It was against this backdrop that the memorial service was held, marquees having been erected on the lawn. I didn’t get to experience it myself, but I’m told that the sound of a Mozart duet emanating from my flute and Julie’s violin, with that view behind us was quite something.

This was the second outdoor memorial service I’d been to (and played at) in the last 3 months, the first being for my dear friend Jane, who passed away in February after a battle with cancer. Both occasions were marked with an abundance of beautiful flowers (a benefit of being in a country where flower farms are big business), and people testifying to the faith of these saints, and the impact their lives had had on many.

All in the pink!

There are some sights here that might me smile every time I see them: some because they’re just plain funny, and others because they give me such pleasure. One of the latter is the view of Oldien Bay that you get as you drive onto private land (legitimately of course!) of the pink mass on the water that is made up of thousands upon thousands of flamingoes. Even more pleasure is derived when, sometimes for no apparent reason, one sets off the alarm, and they run on the water, then take to the air, the sound of their wings overtaking the chuntering sound that they make as they dabble in the shallow waters. As they circle around, necks straight ahead, legs straight behind, the air becomes speckled with their pink and white bodies, the flash of brilliant pink on their wings then becoming particularly visible. Whilst walking close to the lakeshore, there appears to be a ‘Red Sea’ type experience, the seemingly ever-present throng of pink parting just at the point of the walkers. Strange to think that the first time I visited Oldien Bay in 2004, there wasn’t a single flamingo there! Lower water levels, and therefore a more concentrated alkaline solution has perhaps attracted them. I’m not sure what the hippos make of these rather skittish and noisy neighbours though!

Not what you want in the pipes!

A number of my colleagues and various of their family members have been going down with stomach upsets over the last few days. On Saturday evening, I noticed that the water coming out of my bath tap was decidedly brown, and I was thankful for my filter which takes out both dirt and bacteria to the micron level.
This morning, we discovered the explanation for all of this when the following article was published in one of the national newspapers here:

Fears of a disease outbreak are rising in a Nairobi estate after it emerged that raw sewage had leaked into the main water supply in the area. Residents of several estates in Upper Hill have reported diarrhoea and stomach pains after drinking the contaminated water. Last Friday, residents raised the alarm after they noticed their tap water reeked of sewage. They alerted one other not to use the water. "I drank water from the taps on Thursday night and by Friday morning I started suffering from severe stomach pains and diarrhoea. I must have drank the contaminated water," said Dennis Ndunda, a resident.

A burst sewer pipe the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company workers repaired two weeks ago apparently leaked into the water supply system. The water and sewage pipes are only a few metres apart. Several caretakers of apartment buildings in the area confirmed many people have fallen sick and said they suspected it was due to the contaminated water. "Three people have told me they have fallen ill with diarrhoea and stomach pains. This is very serious," said Robinson Gathuku, a caretaker.
By Sunday, engineers from the water company were working to resolve the problem. "It will take a long time before I can go back to drinking tap water. I have lost faith in its safety and quality," said Joris Ngabire, a resident, whose housemate is admitted to hospital.
A huge river of sewage is still gushing through the estate, while the water supply has been cut to avoid further contamination. "Sewage was flowing all over our compound and for the past four days I couldn’t let my children go out to play to protect them from disease," complained Anne Njeri. The residents asked the company to speed up the repair work and restore clean water supply.

Needless to say, I'm even more thankful for my water filter now!!!!!

Culinary Exploration

I mentioned in my last blog about the culinary delights that Joe and Amy introduced me to in our tour of Chicago. Thought I should probably say a little bit more about them.

The first was Garrett’s Chicago Mix popcorn, a mixture of CaramelCrisp and CheeseCorn. The first of these is, I guess, similar to Butterkist, basically popcorn in a sweet, caramelized coating. The second is hot air popped popcorn which has had melted sharp Cheddar stirred in, which was a whole new taste experience. Reminded me a little of Cheese puffs, and yet different. Combine these two together and you get, in my opinion, a slightly strange combination of flavours! Garretts, dating back to 1949, is obviously very popular. There was quite a queue, and we were just talking a popcorn store! Besides the two mentioned, there were several other flavours. The tin sizes were quite extraordinary, the largest size being 6.5 gallons. Even with the US gallon being smaller than the UK one, that’s a lot of popcorn!

The second place was Gino’s East pizza. Again, a queue, though we were there at about 4:30pm to avoid the lines later on. This was a newer establishment, started up in 1966 when two taxi drivers and a friend, frustrated with rush hour traffic, decided to open a pizzeria just off Michigan Ave. and Superior St. in Chicago. ‘Each deep-dish pizza is created with a secret, golden crust, fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, and loaded with your choice of fresh ingredients. Once baked to perfection these enormous pies are brought to your table in our well-seasoned pans.’ And they were good. Very different to any pizza I’d had before. Not sure if that was the crust or the filling – or both. The other different feature was the graffiti all over the walls, something which is actively encouraged (though the restrooms were designated as graffiti-free zones). Some people get quite creative in how to write over what's already there.

Clouds & Silver Linings

I thought I was coming to the US for 2 weeks, comprising about 3 days of travel, 2 weeks of Finance Leaders’ meetings, and half a week of working with a colleague from Dallas on the SIL Accounting Manual. I was also to get 8 days in the UK on the way back to Kenya, my first break since Christmas, to be split between home church and friends, and family. Being the planner that I am (and knowing how much harder it is to get to see all the people you want to see if you don’t plan), I had managed to book time with close friends in Horsham, and was even going to be around for the 1st day of my home church’s women’s conference – something I was back for last year, and thoroughly enjoyed.


The first surprise of the trip was to find that temperatures in North Carolina were significantly warmer than I had gone prepared for. That first weekend, they were in the 80s (28-29C) and subsequently went up to 90C (about 32C). I’d gone expecting something in the 40-65F range! Consequently, I was out shopping for summer clothes that very first day – and was very glad of them.

The second surprise was finding that I was presenting a session on the new Accounting Manual!

And the third came at the end of my time in NC. Last Thursday, I had a shuttle arranged for 10:30am to take me to Charlotte Airport. Pretty much fully packed (and dressed for the cooler UK temperatures), all that remained was to get the last few bits in the case, and to clean up the apartment I’d been staying in, when I received a phone call from a friend, alerting me to a volcano that had blown in Iceland. Knowing this friend, I was mentally figuring out in my head whether you could have an April fool 2 weeks on! However, he wasn’t joking. My travel agent in Nairobi had also emailed to let me know that the Chicago to London flight was cancelled. Initial instructions were to remain at the JAARS Centre where I was staying, my flight having been rescheduled to Sunday. So, I cancelled the airport shuttle and contacted Housing department to see if I could stay on. In the meantime, I was Skyping with the world (or so it seemed), and emailing with the travel agent. This then led to advice, supposedly from BA, to continue to Chicago. That seemed a risky idea given that in Charlotte, I knew a bunch of people, and could well stay on in JAARS housing, whilst in Chicago, I wasn’t aware of knowing anyone. However, having reinstated the shuttle and cancelled the housing (!), I went, trusting that God would make the way (‘where there seems to be no way’). Several hours later, after much dilly-dallying around in Charlotte airport, and chaos re hotel shuttles, I was on a bus on the way to the Oakbrook Holiday Inn. Along with me were families on their way home after Easter holidays away, business people (one of whom was over on a 1-day business trip in the US), ……. That brought with it a sense of de javu having been similarly transported to a hotel in January near Birmingham Airport. That time, the reason was tangible – thick snow. This time, it was less so, at least where we were – ash from a volcano many miles away.

The following morning, we received a note requesting that we return to the airport. My initial thinking was that there really wasn’t any point. Having seen the news, there clearly weren’t going to be any flights that day. Hoping to not have to lug my luggage, I enquired at the front desk about leaving everything in my room. Thankfully, I thought to ask whether BA had made a booking. They hadn’t. So, off we were all went with all our stuff, only to be told at the airport that we were now on our own. What to do? Facebook came into its own as a source of communication. Through responding to my Status update, SIL colleagues put me in contact with close friends of theirs who I’d met 6 years earlier at our branch conference. I made a phone call explaining my plight, and Amy came to pick me up within 45 minutes. She and Joe proved to be amazingly gracious hosts, and great people to spend time with. God really did make the way. We had a fun time together, particularly on Saturday when we walked around Chicago, enjoying the Spring flowers and the views of all the skyscrapers. They also introduced me to Chicago-style pizza at Gino’s East and Garrett’s Chicago Mix popcorn (CaramelCrisp and CheeseCorn).

Currently, I’m in Dallas, having flown down yesterday. My flight to the UK has been rescheduled for Tuesday, just 12 days late! (Had I stayed in Chicago, the delay would have been 15 days!) I won’t have as long in the UK as planned, and probably won’t make it to Horsham, which I’d really been looking forward to. I’m also missing out on a week of handover in Nairobi relating to my new role as Africa Area Finance Coordinator. However, I will get to see family. Having promised my nephew that I’d do all I could to get there, I couldn’t break my word. And the time here is good, at least so far. Further progress on the Accounting Manual, and an opportunity to see friends here, plus the bluebonnets (a Spring time flower) which are out in abundance, and which I’d heard about, but not seen, previously. So, flexibility has been key, and this literal cloud has had several silver linings.

Trip to D.R. Congo

On a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, it struck me again how life as a missionary in Kenya has meant my being able to do and experience some things that I would probably never have done otherwise. To get to the eastern side of DRC from Nairobi requires 2 flights. One, a regular flight between Nairobi and Entebbe, much like any other international flight that I take. And the 2nd a Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flight to Bunia, DRC. This latter was a Cessna Caravan, seating up to 12 passengers. No dividing door between passengers and pilot here – I was right behind him! Another difference was that not only are your bags weighed, but the passengers have to be weighed as well! Bunia Airport was an interesting place. The U.N. has a large presence due to the insecurity there over the last 14 years. Their aircraft, base and tents dominate the airfield.

We were met and very ably shepherded through the various stages in the airport by a Congolese colleague, Bagamba. Another friend, Sarah, was there to see her mum off – and to meet us at the same time. Departing and incoming passengers were all together in one room, semi-subdivided by a row of wooden benches. At Immigration, despite the visa in my passport, an extra $20 was required given that I’d not been into the country on that passport before. (On the way out a week later, it seemed that I was paying hand over fist for different taxes – tourist, hygiene, departure, …..) No baggage carousel here – just point out your bag on the floor, and open it for inspection if required. On the way back through the airport, there was clearly something going on as a crowd was gathered outside, and there was a brass band which started playing at one point. It turned out that the governor was expected at some point that day. It wasn’t quite known when so the people could have been there the entire day. The police were out in force – all armed with AK47s of course.

We stayed at a Catholic Retreat Centre for our week of meetings, an hour’s very bumpy drive from Bunia along muddy roads. Thankfully, we didn’t get stuck! I didn’t quite figure out if it was the road that was exceedingly bumpy, or just a lack of suspension on the pickup truck we were crammed into (the result of much driving over bumpy roads!). Going into what seemed like thick bush, it was quite a surprise when we reached the Centre to discover an oasis of peace and tranquility, with a backdrop of green hills. It was beautiful there. Some evenings, between the close of the last meeting and dinner, those of us who wanted to made the most of the opportunity to stretch our legs and walk along the roads surrounding the Centre. We were met with smiles and greetings wherever we went. “Unashinda” (literally “Are you overcoming?”, but more “Are you passing the day?”). We were gawked at quite openly, but not in a menacing way. They were just genuinely pleased and surprised to see us. Indeed, one gentleman stopped in his tracks, and said, “Je suis surpris!” (“I am surprised!”). Around us were scenes of everyday life in an African rural setting – ladies carrying great piles of firewood on their heads; children carrying jerrycans of water; people chewing sugarcane; people gathered together… What was slightly unusual was the sight of 5 wazungu (white) ladies walking in the midst of it all!

Sightings

Some things I’ve seen in Africa that I probably wouldn’t in the UK:-

- People carrying an assortment of things on their heads – jerrycans of water, bundles of firewood, stacks of clothes, a tray of bananas, piles of soap, bowls of laundry. Perhaps the strangest recently were a number of men in Yaounde, Cameroon, each carrying a single shoe on their heads!
- Vehicles reversing back round a roundabout to the turn they’d just missed!
- Vehicles driving along the pavement to get ahead of the traffic.

- Giraffe, warthogs and baboon at the side of the road, on my drive to church.

- A walking clothing store (this in DR Congo).

- A group of labourers sitting at the side of the road, making road chippings out of lumps of rock, using hammers and chisels.

- An entire household of furniture on the back of a pickup truck.

- A truckload of 20-30 people standing in the back – no seatbelts there!

- A herd of cows being driven across one of the main roads into the capital city.

- Workers on wooden scaffolding, or on top of billboards with no safety harnesses or hard hats in sight.

A Weekend with Hippos and Crocs

Within 17 hours of getting home from the UK, I was off again – this time with friends from church to Lake Baringo, the most northerly of the Rift Valley lakes, about 290km north of Nairobi. What a contrast the Kenyan scenery was to the stark winter scenes I’d left behind in the UK! And the temperature was somewhat different too!

After a lunch of chicken and chips at Delamere’s near Naivasha, we drove straight to Baringo, only stopping for the mandatory photographs at the Equator. Our home for the weekend was Heron House, a cottage at Roberts Camp, looking out onto the lake. An exploratory walk down to the lakeshore revealed the presence of hippo and crocodiles – we were to see many over the course of the weekend. Strange to be walking along, be aware of something moving in the mud a few metres away, and then see a crocodile launch itself into the water. The owners of Roberts have been feeding the hippos during the drought, and presumably will continue to do so until the grass has grown back sufficiently to support these huge herbivores. We had a prime view from our cottage, seeing the 16 or so hippo come ambling out of the water as the sun started to sink in the sky. Motorboats on the lake startled them one evening, and they all went dashing back into the water – hippos really can run!

On the Saturday, when I finally woke up (lack of sleep from the 47 hours in transit, despite the 2 brief hotel stays, had caught up with me), we went out in a low-lying boat on the hippo and crocodile-infested lake, and spent the afternoon on the island of Ol Kokwa. We were able to use the swimming pool at the lodge there, which was wonderful. Views over the lake were quite amazing, and the variety of birds was wonderful. Jules and I went for a walk around the island and were soon greeted by a young man called Alex. I’m generally very wary of people approaching me as whether it’s ‘helping’ to load a car with your luggage, guarding it, assisting in changing a tyre, or acting as guide, there’s generally a request for money sooner or later – and we had none on us. However, he was not at all put off, explaining that it was important to him and the chief of the island, that visitors felt welcome, and that money wasn’t his motive at all. How refreshing! And he was a very informative guide. The Njemps people live on this barren island. Looking around, it was hard to imagine being able to live there, as it didn’t appear that anything edible would grow. On asking about the diet, we were told,… fish. And more fish! The population has nearly doubled in the last 10 years from 400 to 750 in the census taken just a few months ago.

The variety of birdlife around Baringo is well known – 470 species of bird have apparently been recorded there in total, with over 300 having been sighted in a single day! We didn’t see anywhere near that many, but enjoyed the ones we saw. 6-year old Benjie and 4-year old Zebedee, 2 budding ornithologists, assisted me in the early evenings in identifying the ones I’d taken photographs of in the day.
People generally retired to bed very early in the evenings, leaving me (with a body clock a bit screwed up still) on the verandah. Bugs were aplenty, and you’d occasionally hear the grunting of hippos nearby. We’d actually had to sign a waiver on arrival releasing Roberts Camp from any liability relating to injury by wild animals! And it was advised that if we wanted to go to the nearby lodge for dinner, rather than walk (as you did without thinking during the day), we should take the car. The first night, we had a campfire. It was great sitting out there under the star-studded sky, telling stories.

On our last morning, I’d been vying to stay on until lunchtime. However, the others wanted to get an early start, and it turned out to be just as well that we did.... About 30 minutes into the journey, the vehicle overheated! We then limped another 30km, going slowly, and periodically filling up the radiator with water (some of which we bought from boreholes in villages along the way). When we finally reached a petrol station, it transpired that the radiator had 3 holes in it! Thankfully, there was also a welder in the vicinity who could close up said holes, and we were able to continue on our way. The journey took us 8.5 hours in total. So, that was two journeys in the space of a week that had been twice as long as they should have been – but for very different reasons!

Snowbound

“It’s a shame I won’t get to see the snow”, I said on seeing the weather forecast. I’d been home for just over 2 weeks for Christmas, and whilst we’d seen a smattering of snow (enough for snowball fights with my 4-year old nephew (and his parents) on the first and last days of my time home), it hadn’t been more than an inch at any one time. Lovely to see even so, but not quite the ‘Winter Wonderland’ scenes on Christmas cards – even those sold in Kenya! We wound up leaving very early for the airport, my dad anticipating getting stuck in snow drifts – or something like that anyway! Well, we saw some snow on the way from Nottingham to Birmingham Airport, but really only in the last few miles. Dad actually took a wrong turning at one point - I suspect that it was with the intent of showing us that there really was snow on the minor roads, thus justifying his earlier agitation! It meant arriving at the airport 4 hours before my flight departure time of 8:20pm (having checked in online, 60 minutes would have been sufficient!).

Mum and dad stayed for an hour at the airport oblivious to the weather outside. Apparently when they left, there was a further covering of snow, - and for anyone wondering, they did make it home okay (unlike the dad of someone I met later in the day). So, it was through passport control and security. I have to say that Birmingham Airport staff seemed much friendlier than other airports I’ve been through. Jokes about a group of people in front of me all wearing purple, and generally just chatty. As were passengers, even at this point. I wandered around the shops (more to kill time than to buy anything), bought my duty free and sat where I could see the Departures board. Announcements started to be made about European flights being cancelled. It seemed that the runway was closed – not very encouraging. As each one came up, they were told to resell their Duty Free and proceed to gate 58. For the Emirates EK038 flight to Dubai, there was no notice given. However when the ‘Gate to open in 5 minutes’ notice had been up for 1.5 hours, it started to seem a little dubious that we’d be leaving. And sure enough, around 10pm an announcement was made that all passengers destined for Dubai (we were the only ones left at that stage) should resell their Duty Free and proceed to the dreaded Gate 58. We went through to retrieve our baggage, and then after a while of standing around while Emirates staff sorted out what was happening, we went to the Arrivals hall. Unfortunately, people chose to stand right by the automatic doors, which of course were then open, allowing the freezing air and snow to blow in. I’d left my winter coat, scarf and gloves with my parents thinking I wouldn’t need them for another couple of years, so was absolutely freezing. Not quite as bad as a fellow passenger though who thinking that she was on holiday on her way to Australia, just had flipflops on her feet! I soon got to know Mandy and Anna (Anna was going home to New Zealand having surprised her mum in the UK for Christmas), and really that made a huge difference to the whole experience. It was one of those things that just happens. What’s the point of complaining and moaning (as some were doing)? We actually just had a good laugh (our taxi driver commented that we were the first happy passengers he’d transported that night!), and enjoyed what we could, Mandy and Anna taking the opportunity the following morning to make a snowman, and get photos of Tigger (the mascot from Mandy’s ward at the Derby Children’s Hospital) with it. Emirates staff were great, as were the Arden Hotel staff, where we were gradually taken. My only criticism would be that families with small children should really have been given priority, as some of those kids were really tired, though there was hardly any crying. Amazing really! It was around 11:15pm by the time that we got to the hotel. And a meal of soup, sandwiches and cheese straws was put on for us. What it must have been for them to suddenly have 300 extra people descending on them!

Noone knew quite what would happen the next day. An Emirates representative was available from 7am. After a good breakfast, we were bussed back to the hotel. Initially, it was though that we might be leaving at 2:30pm, but then it was pushed back to 4pm. Our plane hadn’t been able to land because of the snow at Birmingham, so had been diverted to Gatwick – and then got snowed in there! Looking at Sky News, it seemed that Gatwick stayed closed all that day. Yet somehow, our plane got through, and suddenly it was there, Duty Free was rebought, and we were on our way!

Flying with Emirates generally means that most passengers will be transitting to somewhere once they get to Dubai. Sorting out all the new connections must have been a logistical nightmare for someone. Again, hotel reservations had been made (our connecting flights had long since gone!). However, nothing was ever said officially to let us know that this was the case. We were operating on the basis of unofficial information, and I’m glad that we did. It took a while to find the right desk (Dubai is a huge airport), but eventually, we were on a bus on the way to the Capitol Hotel. Only there for about 4 hours but it was better than nothing – certainly better than spending that time in the airport! And that was the last I saw of Anna and Mandy. They left for the airport an hour before me – and of course, had a lot further still to travel. Strange how lives can come together at such a time, and then that’s it, I made it home 24 hours later than scheduled – and 47 hours after having left mum and dad’s! But I did get to see (and walk in) the snow after all!