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• American Soil

  28Apr
  Categories: The Road Home Comments: 4

  We are back on American soil, exactly seven months after we left the country. Our nearly 40 hours of travel went by fairly quickly and we were once again well occupied by the in-flight entertainment system on Qatar Airlines. Erin’s dad, Ed, and sister, Emily, met us with big hugs at the Norfolk airport. Unfortunately, Erin’s bag did not make it from New York to Virginia and we left the airport with the assurance it would arrive the following day. After making a call this morning, we found out that the bag ended up in Baltimore and actually won’t be here until Wednesday. Pretty amazing that after 15 flights, this was our first lost luggage, on the shortest flight of the trip! It is probably the best place for this to happen, but it certainly wasn’t the most fun thing to hear after such a long trip. The good news is we have travel insurance that covers delayed luggage so we can pick up some clothes today and let the insurance cover it.

  We are already finding there are some things we are going to have to get used to again–really soft toilet paper, driving on the right hand side of the road, the news (already tired of hearing about the pig flu), people speaking clear English, and paying for domestic luggage. We’re easing ourselves in and I’m sure we’ll be processing for quite awhile.

  Even though the trip is winding down, we plan to continue posting our thoughts about our re-entry and transition. We look forward to processing with you.

• Week 30

  26Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Uncategorized Comments: 2

  Our last few days in Kenya were pretty low key. Here are a few highlights:

  Kenya Burning Photography Exhibit. This was a photography exhibit displaying images from the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya. We were very glad we went, although there were many disturbing photographs. The violence was primarily tribal clashes–it’s incredible the atrocious things we can do to one another.

  Date with Kim. Before Kim left the US the three of us went on a date, so we figured before we left Kenya we should do the same. We spent Thursday evening enjoying a nice meal out and followed that up with a great flick which was set in and filmed in Kenya, The Constant Gardener. No this movie was not about tending your garden, but it does give you an idea of the Kenyan landscape and some of the social issues facing its people.

  Masai Market. Of course while in Kenya we wanted to do a little shopping. Going to the market is quite an experience. You walk in with no friends and by the time you leave everyone’s your friend. Luckily Kim was with us and she helped us navigate our way through the maze. Bargaining is the name of the game and we don’t play this game very well. The trick is to name your price and walk away if you don’t like theirs. The real problem for us was we usually weren’t sure what our price should be. In the end we came away a little stressed but with things to remember our time in Kenya by.

  Sleepover. At home we have had several sleepover but this was our first international sleepover. We crashed with Kim and her friends at Will and Joe’s house which had more than enough beds for all of us. It was a fun evening spent eating personal pizzas, playing ping pong, talking, and watching a movie. The next day we were treated to pancakes and sausages before we left. We look forward to our next domestic sleepover and since our bed is in storage, it will probably be sooner than later.

  Kibera- We had the opportunity to go to Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum where thirty percent of Nairobi’s population lives. Global Connections, the organization Will and Joe work for has a vision to build a secondary school in Kibera. We got to see the primary school that the secondary school will be connected to at which we got a panoramic view of the slum. Building a secondary school is very important as there are many more kids than seats available in the slums. We spent a little bit of time saying “hello” and “how are you?” to the kids until we started to attract too much attention and decided we should leave. The situation of the people living in Kibera is desperate and it was valuable for us to see it in person. If you want more of a glimpse, watch The Constant Gardener (make sure to watch the special features as well).

  This afternoon Kim dropped us off at the airport and we set off on our nearly 40 hour journey to the East Coast. We are currently sitting in the Qatar airport on a 12 hour layover hoping for some recliners in the quiet room to open up–otherwise it’s the floor for us.

• Kenya groove

  23Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 4

  
  YouTube Direct

• Diani Beach and the Beach Boys

  23Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 2

  One thing we had been talking about since the beginning of our trip was ending our international travel at the Kenyan coast.  Kim had just the beach in mind and we headed out on a bumpy night bus to Mombasa.  From there we drove south and ended up at the Warandale Cottages on Diani Beach. After getting settled we ventured out the beach and quickly realized why it is low season.  The rain started lightly and we decided to walk down the beach anyway. After 15 minutes the real down pour started and we were in for a wet walk back.  One of the good things about the rain was that it kept most of the beach boys away, but not all.  One of the questions asked before going to a Kenyan beach is, “How bad are the beach boys?”  We didn’t quite understand what that meant until we experienced it for ourselves.  The Diani Beach boys are pretty bad, although we haven’t experienced other beaches to which we can compare.

  The beach boys are men who prey on tourists selling an assortment of trinkets or trips out for snorkeling, fishing, or swimming with dolphins.  An encounter with a beach boy usually starts with them zeroing in on you from a distance and then joining your walk down the beach whether you like it or not.  They usually start with a friendly greeting, the questions of where are you from and how are you enjoying your holiday and move into their sales pitch which usually involves some sort of guilt tactic.  They would tell you they hadn’t eaten in a long time, they have a family, or just say “can’t you support a brother?”  We tried many different approaches to kindly decline their offers as they all were selling the same things, none of which we wanted.  We felt sympathetic as we know Kenya unemployment rate is quite high.  As we talked with people who worked at our resort we learned that there is work the beach boys can do but they prefer the easy road of selling on the beach.  Of all of the places we have traveled this year these sellers were the most aggressive and persistent.   As we got to know a few of them that were tolerable, we tried giving some basic business advice and suggestions on different things to sell.  John even got one of them to make him an authentic Kenyan ball made from plastic bags and banana leaves which he would kick around with the beach boys.

  Despite being hassled by the beach boys there were a lot of really good things to mention about the coastline.  One of our favorite parts about the beach was having a personal cook, Ali, who was included with the cottage.  Ali shopped, cooked, and cleaned for us every day.  Excluding breakfast and one dinner we ate seafood the entire time.  Yes, even Erin ate and enjoyed the seafood.  We dined on red snapper, white snapper, crab, squid (not our favorite), tuna, and prawns all fresh from the sea daily.  We had many opportunities to talk with Ali and had a good time getting to know him–he gave us some good advice on the beach boys too.

  The weather was beautiful the remainder of our time and we spent our days either by the pool, at the table eating, watching the monkeys play (and try to steal our stuff), or walking on the beach.  We also went on a sailing trip, or least that is what we called it.  It was actually two floating mattresses and a sarong which acted as our sail.  As we passed by people we got many stares and responses like, “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”  We successfully sailed about a mile and half down the beach and then had to walk back on the sand against the fiercely blowing wind.

  These five days were a great final “holiday” before we start coming back to the reality that we are leaving for the US on Sunday.

• Diani Beach Photos

  23Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 0

  We just returned from five days at Diani Beach on the Kenya coast. Here are a few photos from our time.

  

  Colobus monkey

  

  Ali

  
  

  

  Crazy Millipede

  

  
  

  

  Frangipani

  

  
  

  

  

  Camel rides on the beach!

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  Sailing the high seas

  

  
  
  

• Miss Grimes

  23Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 1

  It has been nine years since we graduated from college and we have never seen any of our teacher-friends in the classroom. We asked Kim if she could be our first and she happily agreed. On Wednesday morning we were in front of her class sharing about our trip. Miss Grimes also put us to work. We facilitated reading groups and helped with math corrections. It’s amazing what we have forgotten from the 5th grade! We also had the privilege of seeing Kim work with the kids on diagramming sentences using the Shirley Grammar methods. We had heard her do this many times with our family group and always had a good laugh at it. Sitting in the back of the class listening to them all diagram sentences, we had to be careful not to laugh out loud. It was also a little humbling as any of her kids could easily kick our butts in a diagramming competition. There were many songs she used as teaching tools which didn’t surprise us a bit as we had heard some of her teaching songs before, but when a whole class is singing about nouns and verbs you can’t help but chuckle.

  It was cool to see Kim in action and note the respect she had from her kids and how well she managed the class. We ended our morning teaching time with hot lunch from the school cafeteria which we ate in the teachers lounge with some of Kim’s co-workers.

• To Hell and back… and other events

  23Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 0

  Since our safari, we have been keeping busy enough with little trips and adventures, but have enjoyed having some down time preparing ourselves for our return to the US. It’s been a blast to hang out with Kim, but also get to know her friends and spend time doing things with them as well. The weekend we came back from safari, we headed out about two hours from Nairobi to a national park called Hells Gate. The reason for the name is because of the geothermal activity from the nearby volcano. We spent our day climbing through small gorges, jumping over streams of hot water, and scaling rock walls with Kim and her friends, Scott and Lara. We also spotted some wildlife–zebras and antelopes. We were hoping to see a giraffe, but weren’t so lucky.

  The following day we enjoyed an Easter celebration service at Kim’s church and came home to feast on a potluck meal with a collection of friends. There wasn’t the traditional ham dinner we are accustomed to at home as ham is really expensive here, but there were a lot of delicious potatoes (the most popular potluck dish) and we contributed our famous (at least becoming so) deep fried bananas.

  Later in the week we had the chance to visit a children’s home where Will and Joe, friends of Kim’s, work. Will picked us up at lunch time and we stopped by his place first where we met some of the kids who were out on the property learning to farm. The kids led us out to the field to show us the work they had done. As the rainy season is just kicking in, they are at the beginning stages of planting. There are 38 kids who live at the home full time and hundreds more who are fed daily by the feeding program run out of the home. We had a great time spending the afternoon with the kids, getting whooped on on the soccer field, and seeing the positive environment these kids are nurtured in. It was cool to hear that they are working on opening a home for abandoned babies and a school, on the other side of Nairobi, in the slums.

  

  

  Hells Gate

  
  

  

  Kim’s friend, Will, with Jane

  

  
  

  

  

  
  
  

• The Stanfields

  14Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 3

  Driving from the Masai Mara we headed north west into an area of Kenya, near Bomet, where the green hills reminded us a lot of western Oregon.  With the severe drought affecting Kenya we were quite surprised how lush of this part of the country was. Our reason for going this direction was to visit Jeff and Christine Stanfield, missionaries from our home church.  Nearly a year ago we talked to them at church, letting them know we would be in their part of the world in April. They generously invited us to visit when we were in country and we decided to take them up on the offer. Kim was keen to join us too as she hadn’t seen this part of Kenya yet.

  Upon arriving, Christine met us and before we knew it we were on a tour of Tenwek School of Nursing where she wears many hats. The school offers a 3 1/2 year program that gives Kenyan nationals a nursing education qualifying them to practice traditional nursing, community health nursing, and midwifery. The school is one of the several things the Tenwek community supports. Over the course of our two day/two night stay we were also given the opportunity to tour the Tenwek Hospital with Jeff and spend a day out in a village with two Community Health workers, Richard and Edward, which Christine set up for us. The work being done here is impacting so many people and providing education and healthcare they otherwise would not have or would have to travel great distances to receive.

  Our experience with Community Health was impactful. We left Tenwek mid-morning and drove about 30km down a dirt road that made us feel like we were on the mechanical bucking bull at the St. Paul Rodeo. Thankfully we only had one tire puncture which John helped change. A flat tire here is called a puncture because it usually is just that. Richard and Edward are part of a team of community health nurses who make regular rounds to the outlying areas of Bomet. We arrived at the dispensary and there was already a line of women and children forming. One interesting cultural thing we observed was the lack of men around. Kim and I asked about this and Edward said there is a feeling among African men that the clinic is just for women and children. Not sure if it is a pride thing or what, but it was unfortunate to hear as there is so much education and care that could be provided to the men. Regardless, after a word from the village pastor, then from Richard, and finally a greeting from Kim and I, we got to work. John entertained all the kids between the ages of 4 and 12 and Kim and I worked with Edward, preparing vaccination injections for and giving polio drops to the babies. We saw about 50 mothers and babies in about two hours. It was a valuable experience seeing the Kenyan people receive such simple medical treatments we take for granted at home and we realized what a significant difference the inoculations can make for these little ones living in conditions we would consider quite primitive.

  We really enjoyed our time with Jeff and Christine, their son Chris, and their sister-in-law, Eloise Hockett, who was also visiting. It was quite an experience to see firsthand what they are doing, where and how they live, the daily challenges they face, and to hear their heart for the people of Kenya and some of the crazy stories about life in Africa. You can imagine after 19 years of living in Kenya that the arsenal of stories would be impressive. It was also a joy to hear their memories of home–they too are from Newberg and have some long time connections to John’s family that we only learned about in this visit–stories of John’s mom, Margaret-Rose and both sets of grandparents were really meaningful. Their gracious hospitality was a testimony of lives committed to giving continuously of themselves. Even when they are not working, there is always something to be done or someone to be hosted. Our time there gave us a new appreciation for missionaries, how they labor, and the impact they can make.

• Lions, Giraffes, and Cheetahs, Oh My

  12Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 7

  At 7:30am Monday morning we were promptly picked up by George, our driver and safari guide, and shuttled out to the Masai Mara. Kim had been saving a safari (which means “journey” in Swahili) in the Masai Mara for us as it is considered the best safari in Kenya. The park is about four hours by car from Nairobi in the southwest area of Kenya, bordering Tanzania. We made it to Basecamp, our safari lodge, in time for lunch, and were more then pleased with Kim’s choice of accommodation. Unknown to her, it also happened to be the Obama’s choice back in 2006. The camp is definitely getting a little mileage out of this one and the “Obama Room,” No. 16, is booked well in advance. They even went as far as to name the area where the four Obamas planted trees the “Obama Forest.” As for our room, there was a good balance of luxury and camping–two words not often put together. Our room was a large canvas tent with three twin beds and an adjoining bathroom, all covered by a beautiful thatched roof. The bonus feature was the private outdoor shower which had a view of the trees across the river where monkeys were swinging from branch to branch.

  After lunch we headed out in the rain for our first game drive. The rain was a welcome sight as Kenya has been in a severe drought recently leaving many people starving. George wasn’t sure what we would be able to see, but was willing to give it a try. As we came up to the second river crossing and saw a Masai man knee deep in the river, we decided it was better to turn around than to lose our van to the water. Although disappointed, we were still able to watch the sunset from the camp and later settle into our beds which were heated up with a hot water bottle. Ah…

  In the next two days we had three more game drives for a total of about 11 hours searching out wild animals. The safari van had a pop top which extended about 3 feet up and allowed us to stand to get a better view of the terrain and the animals. Staying on our feet was a challenge with the bumpy dirt roads tossing us around, making it difficult to take photographs. George did stop when we asked and for big game, but it was impossible to stop every time we saw an animal. Safari runs at a relaxed pace and takes some patience since much of your time is spent driving around trying to find the big game, but when you come up over a ridge and see two lions getting ready to hunt or a mama cheetah and her three teenagers chasing each other around your vehicle, it’s worth all the time spent in the van.

  Here is a list of the animals we saw on safari:

  • Lion (23)
  • Giraffe (20)
  • Cheetah (5)
  • Jackals
  • Vervet Monkeys
  • Baboons
  • Mongoose
  • Elephant (20)
  • Zebra (too many to count)
  • Warthog
  • Hippo (17)
  • Eland
  • Dik-dik
  • Waterbuck
  • Buffalo
  • Hartebeest
  • Hyenas
  • Impala
  • Thompsons Gazelle
  • Grant Gazelle
  • Topi
  • Wildebeest
  • Panda
  • Vulture
  • Heron
  • Stork
  • Starling
  • Fish Eagle
  • Crowned Prince
  • White Bellied Bustard
  • …and many more birds

  The only two of the “Big Five” (lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo, and elephant) we did not see were the rhino and the leopard, but we were more than pleased with our “Big 22″ list–who needs to see a rhino and a leopard anyway? =) If you come to Kenya, don’t miss out on a safari–a trip to the zoo will never be the same again. When we return in the future we will try to time our visit with the great wildebeest migration in the Mara where you are sure to see at least one kill and a whole ton of wildebeest. Even if we hadn’t seen any animals, the food alone would have made this three day holiday worthwhile.

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  
  

• Kenya!

  05Apr
  Categories: Around The World, Kenya Comments: 5

  We have arrived at our ninth and final country in our circumnavigation of the globe. What a great way to end, spending time with our dear friend, Kim Grimes, who has been here the last 9 months teaching 5th grade at Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi.  When we arrived at her house we were greeted with jumps, shrieks and big hugs.  It was joyful to be reunited with family.  We quickly settled in for the night and rested up for the day ahead.

  After a quick breakfast we joined up with some of Kim’s friends and were in the car on our way to Mt. Longonot National Park to hike the rim of this dormant volcano.  The summit was at 10,000 feet above sea level and we were huffing from the altitude by the time we reached the top.  This mountain is in the Rift Valley, an iconic and well known area of Kenya.  The landscape was very different from the green of Nairobi and we really felt like we were in Africa. It also helped that we saw zebras and gazelles roaming the valley.  It was also was really fun to hang out with Kim’s friends and see a part of her life here.  After 5 1/2 hours of hiking in very dusty conditions we were all tired and completely covered in dirt.  We headed for home, showered off the filth and met back up for Indian fast food and chocolate covered ice cream cones.  What great first day in Kenya! Our second day here was spent going to church with Kim and getting ready for our trip to the Masai Mara where we will spend three days on safari.

  It has already been so good to be here and we are glad to have three full weeks to catch up, make new memories, and process our travels thus far with Kim.