Safari!

Today, Rod Reed (the Deputy Vice Chancellor at ANU) and his daughter Hannah took us through the Nairobi National Game Park. We started very early so that we could get there by 7am when the park opens and when the animals are most active. Rod was actually killing two birds with one stone on this visit. First, he had promised us when we got here to take us to the game park. Second, he wanted to teach Hannah (age 13) to drive. He has two older girls that he has taught to drive, and each time he takes them to the game park for their first experience. The parks offer wide open dirt roads with very little traffic, and Nairobi does not have a lot of large open parking lots like we do in the states to teach your kids to drive. The traffic in Nairobi is also atrocious. Take any traffic you’ve seen in the states, multiply it by 100, remove all traffic lights, remove all lines on the road, forget about any traffic laws, and there you have it! Actually, there are a couple of traffic lights downtown, but no one pays attention to them, so they might as well not be there. They also have a lot of traffic circles that would be a nightmare for a first time driver. Even as an experienced driver, I would crawl up into the fetal position under the dashboard if I had to navigate one of them! The Kenyans also have a very different perception of a safe distance between vehicles when driving than Americans do. They come within inches of each other, and just as close to pedestrians (which there are a lot of on the side of the roads – I just forgot to throw sidewalks out earlier too). We are just glad that we don’t have to drive while we are here!

Anyway, we got to the game park and didn’t know what to expect. It is a very large park (45 sq miles) located just on the edge of Nairobi. Rod told us that sometimes when they go they get to see a lot of animals and other times they do not. Well, we saw a lot!

We got to see rhinoceroses, giraffes, lions, crocodile, baboons, water bucks, ostriches, zebras, storks, gazelles, wildebeest and a lot of other things that I do not remember the name of. It was really neat to get to see the animals in their environment and it was a lot of fun to drive around searching for them. It was also unique since you can see the Nairobi skyline (or ANU) in the background with the animals up close.

Since the animals are used to vehicles, you can drive up pretty close to them. We actually got within 20 ft of a lion and lioness! Maddy had lots of fun spotting the animals and taking pictures of them (she actually took most of them you see here!). Sometimes she would spot animals that no one else ever got to see, but other times she would find animals before we would and we would all get to see them.

We all enjoyed eating a picnic lunch in the Reeds car while watching the zebra and elands at the watering hole. However, after lunch, we were all pretty weary of looking at animals. Although they were amazing, there are only so many zebras and giraffes you can see…

It really was a lot of fun and we did not even mind that Hannah had a driving lesson since she turned out to be an excellent driver. While we hear that there are other larger game parks with even more animals in Kenya, we think we got our fill right here in Nairobi!







Finally, we thought we should include a picture of Maddy with some of her friends from school. Can you figure out which one is Maddy??? The little girl in the back with her is her good friend Valerie.

The Massai Market and Maddy's First Week at School

Last weekend, we went to the Maasai market. It is in downtown Nairobi, and it is a very large open air market. There were hundreds of vendors selling their goods: clothing, bowls, purses, jewelry, paintings, carvings, trinkets, even machetes. We were warned not to go alone, but to take a Kenyan with us since we don’t know what things should cost, and they could help us negotiate good prices (not a skill that many Americans have). They are also able to keep the “brokers” away. The brokers are people who want to negotiate for you, but then always take a little off the top as their fee. So Jane, a very nice lady who works in our department agreed to go with us. She brought a friend as well, James. Between the two of them, they were wheeling and dealing to get us fair prices. The whole market experience is unusual (for Americans at least) in that you go and look at everything and then return to the items that you were most interested in (if you can remember where they were) and then negotiate a price. When we asked how much something was, we would think the price seemed reasonable, but that is precisely why we did not go alone. Jane and James would step in and start negotiating (in Swahili) with them and the final price would be at least half (one time even 1/10th) of what it had started at. James told us we should always cut their first price in half and subtract another 100 shillings as our first offer, and then be happy to pay half of their first price. After a couple hours of looking and negotiating in the hot sun (as this market is held in a parking lot), we were ready for a break and went to get lunch. We ate at a Kenyan restaurant. Maddy, Jane and Sandy had rice and chicken while Matt and James had fish and a brown version of ugali. With drinks, the whole meal came to around $20. One of the things that is different about life in Africa is that the people do not waste anything. To that end, the gizzards are eaten from the chicken as well as the brains from the fish. I admittedly tried the brains, but was not fond of them. One of the children in Maddy’s children’s church told us that they even eat the eggshells, so they truly do not waste a thing. The meal was excellent, and gave us the energy to continue shopping. We went to the other big market downtown and shopped some more. We bought small treasures for Maddy’s friends back home as well as a few things for her and for us to take back. Then it was time to head back to the first market which is where we were to meet the bus to bring us back to campus. We got there a little early so we stopped to get some cool drinks and then rode the big bus (a treat for Maddy since she has been wanting to ride the big bus ever since we got here) back to campus. It was a long day, but a lot of fun.

Last week was Madelyn’s first week at kindergarten here in Kenya. When we came, we did not plan on sending her to school, but she kept asking us if she could go. How could we resist if she WANTS to go to school? So Maddy and Sandy went and looked at a couple of schools nearby. The first one they looked at required her to go all day (8am-5pm) 5 days a week, but we were thinking about taking her just a couple of days a week. Thankfully, the second school said she could come whenever she wanted. She is in standard K3 (i.e. her grade is kindergarten level 3). She goes for the mornings on Mondays and all day on Friday (because she wanted to go to swimming lessons with them in the afternoon).

The playground is Maddy’s favorite part even though it is more like what our parents would have had than what she is used to in the states. She eats lunch with the other kids both days she is there. She really enjoyed the chicken curry, carrots and rice on her first day and the spaghetti and plum on her second day. However, she is not completely fond of the porridge that they eat for tea time, but we can’t really blame her since it has an odd fruity/sourness to it that we find a little hard to get used to. She does like the snack of warm milk and biscuits though (British biscuits which are like a shortbread cookie) that they serve on Fridays. She also really likes the swing.

The school is very different than what we are used to at COR. If it were in the states, you probably would never send your kids to it! There is no security mechanisms in place, and the classrooms are basically garages. Even more surprising to us is that that the bathrooms are outside! They use plumbing but literally are outside; they lock on the outside as well so it takes 2 kids to go to the bathroom, one to go and the other to lock the door and then unlock it when the child is done. I suppose the locking on the outside is pretty practical for stalls with kids so they do not lock themselves in and then not be able to get out.

We’re not sure Maddy really notices these differences, but we sure do! Regardless, she really likes it and enjoys being with other kid. The teachers are also very nice and understand our anxiety as Americans trying to get used to their system. They were surprised that we were having her eat there (I think most young kids are not as adventurous in their eating habits as Maddy).

She also enjoys practicing her reading and writing at school.

Not knowing the Kenyan systems, we were a little uncomfortable letting Maddy going swimming with them. We decided that Sandy would go watch for the first time just to make sure everything was fine. Of course, the school was alright with this, but said that Sandy would need to get her own transportation since the matatu they were taking to the resort was full. The resort were they swim (Massai Lodge) is about 5km from campus on a dirt road, so Sandy decided she would take a bota-bota (i.e. a motorcycle taxi) to the resort and wait for them. However, they never showed up. When the school called to see where she was, Sandy found out that they had changed the location of the swim, but forgot to tell her about it! Sandy was pretty irritated, and stressed since Maddy was swimming without us being there, but everything turned out fine and Maddy really enjoyed herself. Sandy meanwhile had to walk all the way back to campus since she couldn’t get any transportation from the lodge. It was a hot dirty walk, but she said that she will never take a bota-bota again!

Finally, I thought this was a funny picture. I think they chose the wrong English word. It is actually an outdoor toilet at Maddy's school! I don't think it is in use any longer, at least I hope not...

Africa Nazarene University

We have been getting a lot of questions about life on campus, so though we would dedicate this post to describe life at Africa Nazarene University (ANU) and how it differs from other universities that we have been part of in the past.

ANU has a beauty that is distinct from any campus in America. Since Kenya has a tropical climate, they can get anything to grow on the campus year round. This means they have everything from cactuses to roses to birds of paradise all growing next to each other. Not that we know what most of the plants are (outside of the roses) since we can’t grow most of them in Kansas City, but we have enjoyed their beauty and fragrance since we got here. It has not rained since we have been here, and the Kenyans say that it will not until late February or early March. That is when the rainy season begins, and we are told that it will rain briefly every day. So, to keep the plants alive during the dry seasons and looking nice, they have a crew of gardeners that are constantly watering, grooming, planting, etc.

There are three main buildings on campus, and many smaller buildings (see the aerial view I posted prior). In one of the buildings (Harmons), is most of the administration, a few classrooms (where Sandy teaches), and the dining halls. They have one dining hall for boarding students and another for day scholars and faculty (Caribou Café) where you pay as you go. Since we can eat for free in the boarding students’ side, we generally eat there. However, based on how long the line is and what they are serving, we will sometimes opt for the Caribou Café for lunch, the only time they are open. They generally have a broader selection and it seems to be a little better too, but perhaps that is just because we are paying for it!

The faculty complains about the cost of the café, but by American standards, it is very cheap since all three of us can eat a nice meal (with drinks) for around $5. So, what do you eat in Kenya? In American schools, there is a lot of ethnic food diversity (e.g. Chinese, Mexican, Italian…) for students to pick from. Well, not so here, and I have to admit that the food on the student side does get very repetitive. The basis of every meal is either rice or ugali (a firm cornmeal mush that is shaped with the fingers into a flat round disc and used to pick up other food to eat) – you get to choose. After that is the meat. So far, all that we have seen is beef or goat (only one served each day). Either way it is stewed with a little spice.

If you are on a restricted diet, they also cook chicken in the same manner, but you have to get a note from the nurse saying you can’t eat the beef since chicken is quite expensive compared to beef. However, they always let us have the chicken if we ask for it. Finally, the vegetable is either kale greens with spinach or green beans with carrots. Since the majority of the food is a little bland, we are thankful that there is salt and red chili sauce on the table to spice it up a bit! While Sandy and I have become a little bored with the food, Maddy loves it. She especially likes it with the hot sauce!

One of the other main buildings is the Helstrom building where chapel is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the gym at 10’ish. I say 10’ish since that is the publicized time that chapel starts, but like many other things here, the time is just approximate. In fact, we showed up at 10 the first week and found out that was just the time they started to set up! So, on a good day, chapel really starts around 10:20. There are also a number of classrooms in this building, one of which is where I teach my calculus class.

The third main building on campus houses the library, IT, and the Computer Science department (the department we are in). Our office is located in this building overlooking the green. We share it with Mr. Kahenya (I have no idea what his first name is since everyone here is referred to as Mr./Mrs./Dr. such-and-such). He is the only lecturer in mathematics in the whole university! Consequently, they use a lot of people like us and adjunct faculty. They are planning on starting a mathematics department of its own, but it is still a ways off. Hopefully, it will create better standardization and coordination of curriculum in the department.

When we were assigned our courses to teach (the Friday before we were to start teaching on Monday), we were very surprised that we had the liberty to select our own textbooks, teach the topics we thought appropriate, and even change the time our course was offered if we didn’t like it. Coming from a large state university, we were definitely not used to any of this! At FSU, we were told what to teach, how to teach, and when to teach months in advance of the semester. However, the system hear seems to work well for them. We just had to go with the flow.

The majority of the other buildings on campus are either housing or service departments. We have already told you about our apartment (“flat”), but thought we would post a picture of the outside as well so you can see what it looks like. It is primarily used for Work & Witness teams when they come to do projects at the university, but they thought it would be a good place for us since we brought Madelyn along with us. I’m sure those living in the other staff quarters are thankful too since Maddy and I can get pretty rowdy when we are playing! Since we have been here, there has just been one group that lived in the building with us, and only for 3-4 days. It was a group from Ethiopia that came here for a conference. Only a couple of them spoke English, and they were very friendly.

One thing that we were a bit surprised about was the few number of Nazarenes that attend the university. In America, private church affiliated universities are generally attended by those in the denomination. However, at ANU, I am told that <10% of the students are Nazarene. While there is the occasional Muslim student, I guess the majority are of other Christian denominations or nothing at all. Many just attend ANU since it provides a well-known solid education at a reasonable price.

In our next post, we’ll describe our day spent in downtown Nairobi at the Massai Market. What an experience!

Glass and Giraffes

We’ve been teaching for 2 weeks now. Matt is teaching calculus to 14 students and Sandy is teaching two sections of basic math to 45 students in each section. It was a little discouraging to only have about one-quarter of the students present the first day of class and one-third the second day. However, we are told that by the second week, we should have most of our students present in class, and that is how it worked out. Many students have difficulties with either finances or travel, making it difficult to return the first week of class. The Kenyan students are very different than those in the US. They are very quiet and respectful in class, and don’t ask questions, even when they don’t understand something. They will come up after class and ask questions, just not in a public forum. When we ask them to answer a question, they are also uncomfortable and quite when they do respond. I’ve also noticed one other difference in my calculus class: their precision in graphing. All the students bring rulers and most use graph paper. They take a lot of time getting their graphs to be very accurate. I asked them if this was because they are all computer science majors, but they told me that was just how they were taught in school. Much different than American students where you are lucky just to read their graphs!

On Saturday, we went to the K&G glass company.

The road to get there was incredibly bumpy. It was a dirt road with many rocks and potholes in it. It is only about 3-4 miles away, but it took about 35 minutes to drive to it. They were not actually blowing glass this week, but that might not be bad. They say it gets very hot when the furnaces are going, and it was a warm day anyway (around 90 degrees, but with NO humidity).

They had started one of the furnaces, but it takes 1 week to preheat. They make some very pretty recycled glass. They make it very hard, so it is not as likely to break as most glass. They also had some small stained glass shops there as well. We bought a couple of pieces to bring back with us.

We then went to the giraffe sanctuary where we had lunch at the snack bar and got to feed the giraffes.

We were surprised that Maddy actually wanted to feed them since she is generally afraid of animals. However, she did not hesitate, and said their tongues felt scratchy when they licked the food out of her hand.

They also allow you to put the food (big pellets) between your teeth so the giraffe can take it from your mouth and in essence kiss you. Needless to say none of us desired to do that. Feeding them was a pretty dirty job as it was.





On Sunday, we went out to lunch with the Stantons, Roland, and Darnel Starks (the speaker for Holiness Week at ANU from Scotland).

While we were waiting to order our food, we saw a family of 5-6 baboons walk across the railing on the deck where we were sitting. They walked on the railing until they got 2 tables away from us and then they jumped up on the fabric awning over our heads. I kept hoping that the awning was strong enough to support them so that we did not have a baboon come through into our laps. They have been known to come steal food off of diners’ plates, so thankfully they did not return when we were eating.

Overall, we are adapting well to life in Kenya, and thoroughly enjoying our time on and off campus. Maddy has asked several times if we can move here, but always recants when we remind her of her friends and family back home that she would miss. On the up side of this is that we can tell that she is enjoying herself as well!

Kenya on Foot

I’m convinced that one of the best ways to experience Kenya is by running. While I wouldn’t ever recommend running through the busy streets where matatus and tuk-tuks run wild, running off the beaten path is a wonderful experience. The “tarmac” (i.e. the paved road) ends at the university entrance, and beyond the university the dirt roads leads to several small rural villages that are quite fun to run through. Since I have been in Kenya, I have run 5-10K every day. Many of these runs have been with Roland who has introduced me to some very scenic (and challenging) routes. Don’t forget that we are a mile high in elevation, so my lungs are just getting used to the air.

We generally like to stay off of the paved roads, but have journeyed a couple of times to the junction where we catch matatus.













Most of our runs are on dirt roads or paths through the many little villages around campus. The people are so nice and always stop, look at us with curiosity, and say “Hello!” The young children are the most curious and always run out to see us and ask “How are you?” Most are just learning English in school (since Swahili is spoken primarily in the homes), and enjoy getting to use it, perhaps for the first time outside of school. It is strange to get such attention while running. In America, the only time anyone stops to talk to me while I am running is if they hit me with their car! I asked Roland if people look at us because we are (a) white, or (b) running, and he said 70% (a) and 30% (b). He’s probably right. It is apparently very rare to see white people in rural villages.

As I mentioned before, one of the treats to running in Kenya is the children. After being dropped off after school, they typically walk in packs of 5-10 for several kilometers to their villages. They always were the same uniform (or costume as they call them). Several times, I have run by one of these packs as they were walking home, and they always join me for the run smiling and laughing the whole way. When they get home, we give high 5’s and I head on my way. What a joy it is to see their smiling faces! It makes my day, and hopefully theirs too. Their ability to run amazes me. I had one group of kids probably around 8-10 years old that ran around 2-3K with me, and not even get winded! I’m not sure this would ever happen in America.

Last week, Roland and I had the treat of running with a Kenyan security guard that works on campus (Bonface). We were to meet him on his day off at the front gate, and when we got there, we didn’t even recognize him since he was in jeans and Safari boots. He said that he only “practices” running once a month at the most, so Roland and I didn’t’ know what to expect. He said most Kenyans don’t have time to run since they are busy working. He works 12hrs a day, 6 days a week. Well, that day we ran around 8K, and I don’t think his heart rate even increased a beat! I know his breathing never increased! Roland and I were huffing and puffing, but Bonface acted like we were on a Sunday stroll through the park. We are hoping that he will join us every week on his day off.

One of my favorite runs is to the east of campus. While it is quite dusty on the road, there are many paths that parallel the road that are used by walkers from the villages.

When I came to Kenya, I brought some new running shoes. Bad move. After a couple of runs, they were as red-brown as the ground (as were all of my socks).

The run provides some great wide open views of the prairies, the mountains, downtown Nairobi, and even passes through a small village.

I also pass by a little river with a forest of acacia trees.

Toward the end of the run, I pass by a beautiful mosque that is a bit like a mirage in the desert. It is very lush and well-manicured in contrast to the little village it borders that is obviously very poor.

One thing I watch out for are animals. Cows and goats regularly walk on the streets (paved and dirt) in Nairobi. I don’t think I have been on a run yet that I did not encounter a herd that is being shepherded somewhere. I’m not sure where they are going, but they are always on the move.










From the people to the animals and scenery, no run in America can compare to those I have experienced in Kenya. While dirty, I have never experienced such joy as running here. I just hope that Roland and I are ready for the Kilimanjaro Marathon that we are planning on doing at the end of February!

Finally, one random picture of my beautiful daughter...

Our First Weekend

We had a busy weekend. Friday, Roland helped us to take the tuk-tuks (small 3 passenger transports usually carts at the back of motorcycles) to get to the matatus (15 passenger vehicles similar to old VW vans with very loud reggae music) to go to the mall to get a few groceries. The matatus are a really interesting system. You can get on and off pretty much anywhere, and the conductors bargain with you on the cost to get you where you want to go. Very different than our “public transportation”, but they seem to work really well in Kenya. I told a guard at ANU that we had ridden a matatu and told him that we don’t have them in the states. He was shocked, laughed, and asked me how people could get around without them. When I told him pretty much everyone has a car, he asked how that was possible and how the roads were not congested. Don’t think I’ll take city planning and infrastructure quite for granted anymore!

On Saturday we used the ANU transportation and went to the Kazuri bead factory.

The company was started in the early seventies by a British woman in order to help single disadvantaged mothers have employment. It still primarily employs single mothers (one of the many groups that needs help in Kenya). The women make the beads, fire them, paint them, fire them again, paint again to add extra details, and then fire again. Then they finally make them into a bracelet or necklace. Most of their beads are for special orders in other countries (US, UK, Netherlands, etc). We then went to the Nairobi National park where we visited the animal orphanage.

It is basically a zoo, but just with orphaned animals that have been found in various parts of Kenya. We got to watch them feed the monkeys and there were a few loose who would go steal the food while the others were being tended to. Maddy loved watching the monkeys, and we spent almost an hour just watching them and having the Kenyans watching us! Little kids really get a kick out of Maddy. Most of them just stare, but one at the zoo just laughed and laughed when she saw her. We told Maddy the little girl was just happy to see her.

Sunday we went to the university church. We enjoyed the service and Maddy enjoyed dancing around while we sang. Very energetic and loud by American standards. Sunday night Maddy made a friend. The chaplain’s daughter, Silka (3rd grade), lives behind us, and came over to play. The meeting was a bit awkward since she just showed up at the door by herself and stood there without saying a word. Sandy invited her in and the girls played, but Kenyan children are quite different than American children. They are very quiet and are well behaved. We have since learned from other Kenyans that the children typically only speak when asked a question, and are raised to be reserved. While Silka does not speak much at all, they had lots of fun and have now played together the last 3 evenings. I think that they both enjoy getting to play with another child even though their ages are different.

Travel Days and Moving In

Well, it took us two days, but we finally made it to Kenya! We flew through DC, Brussels, and made a stop somewhere else in Africa to pick up and let off passengers. Although it took forever, Maddy did pretty well until we had about 4 hrs left, and she had had it. Actually, she made it further than we did! I was done around Brussels! She was very excited about all the new experiences (e.g. eating meals on the plane, travelling to new countries), so she didn't sleep very well. None of us did.

We made it into Nairobi at 11:30pm, went through customs and bought our visas ($50 each) without a hitch, pickup up our 3 bags weighing 50lbs each, and were greeted by Drs. Rod Reed and Daryll Stanton from the Africa Nazarene University (ANU). They drove us to the Nazarene "compound" where missionaries stay and we stayed the night. The guest flat that we stayed in was quite nice, and when we woke up the next morning, we saw that the compound was also quite beautiful. Nairobi is very tropical, so they had many beautiful plants, trees, and flowers. We had breakfast at the Reed’s flats with the Stantons and really enjoyed the fresh fruit selections, coffee, breads, etc. The Reeds have 3 very nice daughters, the oldest of which is studying at Olivet in the states.

After breakfast and letting Maddy play on the playground a bit, the Stantons had us for the day. First, they took us to ANU to unpack all of our stuff at our flat. It was quite eye opening to drive through the streets of Nairobi in the daytime. After we left the compound area, things changed rapidly. The roads got really bad, and the poverty of the people was shocking. You see it on TV, but it is definitely different when you see it in front of you. Animals freely wander on the road, there are people walking everywhere, and we almost hit a baboon crossing the road in front of our SUV! Near campus is a place where people make a living by crushing large stones into gravel with hammers. When we passed by there were several men sitting on the piles of gravel working away. Quite a sad situation.

The campus itself is pretty isolated being 1-2km from much of anything. In fact, they only built the asphalt road to the school 3 years ago, and the road becomes dirt after the campus entrance. Even though it is isolated, it is very well guarded. It is fenced with barbed wire, and there are many guards that roam the campus day and night. At midnight, they release the hounds that roam the campus until 6am. We are staying in a really nice place with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on the back edge of campus.

We have a balcony on the front, and one on the back that overlooks a ravine. The second picture is off our back balcony where there is supposed to be a family of monkeys living.

Typically, people that visit like us stay in a building that is in the center of campus, but with Maddy, they thought this would provide us more space and a little quite solitude as well. It is perfect.
The campus itself is beautiful! They have tons of flowers, palm trees, and cactuses all throughout the campus. I think pretty much anything will grow in this climate. The buildings also appear to be very well maintained.

We met up with Roland Tetter (a friend from KC who is teaching at ANU for 1 year), and the Stantons then took us on a tour of the couple of towns that are nearby where we can do our grocery shopping. They had just planned on showing us the town of Karen (named after the lady who wrote “Out of Africa”), but Maddy said she was starving so we stopped in at a grocery store named Tukeys. According to the Stantons, this is a very typical middle class store, and it was packed! We were warned before we left the states that the Kenyans would be very attracted to Maddy, and they are. We had a pack of 8-10 little girls follow us around the store just staring in silence at Maddy. It was quite cute. Who knows, Maddy might have been the first little white girl that they had ever seen. We bought her some cookies and headed to The Galleria (mall & grocery store) that caters to more international folks and the more affluent Kenyans. They even have a Pizza Inn (where we ate lunch) and a KFC that just opened. The KFC is supposedly the talk of the town. We did all of our shopping at Nakumatt (the Kenyan Target). You can get pretty much everything you can imagine at the Nakumatt. We could not find 2 things that Maddy wanted: mac and cheese or hot dogs. Everything else was easy to find, but just different brands than we have in the states. There are some noticeable brands from the states, but they are pretty expensive compared to the African equivalent. We were really glad the Stantons were with us since they helped show us the ropes for things like purchasing produce, knowing which brands to buy, and buying minutes for our cell phones since all of the phones are pay as you go. Everyone has a cell phone. Land lines are pretty much non-existent.

When we got back to the flat, the cafeteria on campus had delivered dinner and it was on our table. It was a very good meal with chicken, potatoes, rice, beans, and kale. It went really well with the hot sauce we had purchased on the Stanton’s advice.

Maddy really like the food and the yogurt drinks that we bought her.

We learned that there are 2 cafeterias on campus: one for the students that live here (we get to eat here free anytime), and the other for the day scholars and faculty where you pay as you go (Caribou Café). For the first week, we were invited to eat in the faculty part for free, but after that we would have to pay. So, we figure we will eat for free in the faculty part for the week and then go to the other side where we don’t have to pay.

After we ate our meal, we went to bed exhausted. However, none of us slept well since it was really day time for us back in the states. Maddy and I woke up at 2am and stayed awake playing until 5am when Sandy came out and told us to go back to bed. We have to sleep under mosquito nets since there are no heaters or air conditioners in our flat (or most anywhere in Kenya, I suspect), and the doors and windows are left open to let the cool air in. Even though it is the summer here (highs in the upper 80s, low 90s and lows at night in the 50s), the breeze is always cool. If you get in the sun, it gets hot quick, but it in the shade it is nice and cool! Our flat stays nice and cool too.

We have been very warmly welcomed by the Kenyans, the Stantons, and the Reeds. They have all been quite a blessing to us to make the transition smooth. Tomorrow is a day off for rest, and then we go to an all-day faculty meeting on Wed. We’ll post more this weekend.