Trip Over

Oh, how good it is to be home, with my children hanging on me, my wife's lovely face nearby!  The trip was just the right length--any longer would have been too long, any shorter, it wouldn't have been worth the 28 hour travel days.  Hopefully many were blessed by my efforts to share. Many thanks to all who made the trip possible--The Coates family, the Middletons, Debbie, and all the conference attendees. Blessings to all of you!  Will I go back to Africa? Time will tell.

Last Dinner in Kenya

We ate at Haandi’s—fine Indian cuisine.  It was excellent food and not cheap, but reading the drink menu was great entertainment.  Although I had been looking for odd English signs around the city, I hadn’t really seen any that were dramatic enough to remember.  The menu at Haandi’s, however, was.  I don’t know if these taste better than they sound, as I ordered mineral water.

Yogitails (Yogurt Shakes)

1. Salty Lick
2. Sweety Sweets
3. Pinky Pink
4. Passionate Feel 
5. Avacado Green

Sadly, I was not in Nairobi long enough to have a chance to eat at the famous restaurant, “Carnivore,” which although possibly somewhat of a tourist trap type place, would have been a culinary adventure for me.  Perhaps next time…

 

Goodbye to New Friends

The conference is over.  In my view it was a success—many people expressed their sincere gratitude and left excited, full of ideas.  I did a total of nine talks, finishing with my favorite one on poetry memorization.  Lunches, dinners, and breaks were filled with mini-talks, discussions, stories.  The three days zipped by.

The conference grounds were peaceful and beautiful, the food satisfactory, the internet access quite good and cheap, the cappuccino in the coffee shop was close to perfection and less than a buck—it would put Starbucks to shame.  

The little cabin was adequate, mosquitoes not too numerous (even fewer after a few blasts of “Doom” insecticide), and the company in the room was pleasant—a small gecko and a large banana slug.       

I am so grateful to have had a chance to be of service to the home educators here—both the missionaries and the Kenyans who are truly pioneering homeschooling in this country.  I will leave Africa tomorrow with the knowledge that I have many new friends in far away places.  Will I see any of them again?  Time will tell.  God bless these folks—their work is vital, their efforts sincere, their hearts full of joy. 

Yes, I'm Working

No picture today.  Today is the second day of the conference, and all is going well.  I’m doing 3-4 talks per day, and they seem to be enthusiastically received; I’m constantly being grabbed in the hall by a mom or dad with questions.  It’s great to be able to help! Evidently most missionaries put their kids in boarding schools—especially for high school, so these folks are the mavericks, and really love being together and sharing ideas. 

Also in attendance, there are several Kenyan nationals who are truly the pioneers of home education in this country. They have the best questions, and are very, very sincere and attentive. Evidently the state of education in this country—even for those with the money to pay for better schools—is about the same as mediocre public schools in the U.S., or worse…

There are folks here from adjacent countries as well, and it’s been fascinating to hear their situations and stories. I don’t think I ever had a sense of how many missionaries there must be in Africa and the world.

I also spoke to the teen group, and they were a pretty somber bunch—I hope it was helpful…I’ll probably hear a few comments tomorrow.  I really wish they’d invite me to play Ultimate Frisbee with them, but it doesn’t look likely, so I’ll just hang with the adults and tell stories about my wonderful children.  (Sorry, kids.)

 

Trip Trivia

There is no garbage collection in Nairobi (or anywhere else, I suspect).  All must be burned, thus creating a constant smell of smoke everywhere—some times worse than other times.

Evidently, an independent international agency took samples of eggs from all over Nairobi and found them all “unfit for human consumption.”  I’ve had eggs for breakfast every day…

Every decent home, every apartment structure, every office complex, pretty much every building in Nairobi has 24-hour guard.  Like South America, fences (often with barbed wire) and bars on windows are the norm.  I was told that there’s a joke that’s maybe more truth than not, that one-third of the city guards another third of the city from the other third of the city.

Q: How can you tell a Kenyan from an American?   A:  The Kenyan is much better dressed.  It’s so true.  Everyone, even the very poor, always try to dress well.  Men along the side of the road are always in slacks and a collared shirt, generally with dress shoes (old though they may be), and often a tie.  Women wear nice dresses, often matching outfits everywhere, even while selling vegetables on the street corners.  This may be from the British influence, but it seems that Kenyans want to look their best in public.  I wish Americans had similar inclinations.

 Most Kenyans are afraid of dogs.

Personal status after 3 full days:  Upset stomachs=0.  Mosquito bites=3.   Volleyball games= 6 wins, 6 losses.   Excellent meals=8.

Today we travel up to the conference location and the event for which I came begins. 

 

A Glimpse at the Real Kenya

It was a remarkable day. The Coates family, here in Kenya for 11 years now, has many Kenyan friends; among them is a remarkable family living in a remote area near Kimende, an hour outside Nairobi. The beloved matriarch of the clan, Mama Susan (“Mama of Susan”), is now 83 years old and still working a large hillside farm producing potatoes, kale, cabbage, plums, corn, avocados, bananas, spinach, and more.  

We visited Mama Susan, bringing up two guests (one of them her daughter Susan) with our group of 8.  Among local relatives, at least four more joined in for a meal together in their tiny house.  

Electricity came to this village only a couple years ago, and an 80-foot hand dug well is also a new development.  Before then, all water was collected from the metal roof or hauled up from the river (80 meters down a steep hill). 

Many of the group spoke little Swahili, even less or no English, and so a lot of the conversation was translated from Kikuyu, a tribal language common in the area.

Welcoming guests is a great privilege for Kenyans, and having a large party with several foreigners coming up their little road in two shiny Toyota Land Cruisers was likely a huge event.  We were treated to a delicious meal of hand-made chapattis (nothing like what is bought in a store…), rice, zucchini, and potato/meat stew.  While the food was excellent, even more remarkable was the fact that it was cooked over a small fire in an adjacent building called a kitchen, equipped with wood, a blowing tube to stoke the fire, and a hen in a roost.

Afterwards, we were given a tour of the property, introduced to more neighboring family members, served chai (yes, tea with milk—or maybe more precisely milk with tea), and heard some songs in Kikuyu language.

These people smile. They are profoundly happy.  Though poorer than anyone I have ever met, they are full of life, joy, peace. Their Christian faith, combined with their intimate connection with the land and their love of extended family is without question a treasure far beyond that of many with wealth and comfort. Kenyans love their country, and they are so happy to share their joy.  I have touched, and been touched by, I believe, a piece of the real Kenya, and I will be a different person forever because of it.

Day Three – Meeting some Nairobi Homeschoolers

Today was fairly relaxed. In the morning, I traveled to an apartment in the city to meet with a group of Christian homeschool parents and teens. They asked me many questions about homeschooling, conditions in the U.S., music, and my faith.  This particular group (not representative of all home school families in Kenya) is very diligent about the study of Hebrew, believing that reading the Scriptures in the original language will give them a better understandingof the Word, and a stronger walk with the Lord. In the course of the conversation, we discovered many similar areas of thinking, although they didn’t seem much interested in hearing about teaching writing. I did, however, leave some DVDs with them, so maybe there will be interest in the future.  This was a getting-to-know you meeting. The fledgling Kenya homeschool association would be very happy for your support, and you can do so by purchasing anything from this Avon-linked website: http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Kenya/200811130.asp

Evening found us at a very popular authentic Ethiopian restaurant; we ate outside in the dark near a fire pit.  The ambience and conversation were great; he food was fantastic—even the roasted goat meat.  I ate to complete satisfaction.

Smiling, I'm in Kenya

What a welcoming sign at the airport! 

Indeed, it appears that most Kenyans smile a lot of the time.  From the missionary families hosting me to the domestic help—even the police seem to be smiling.  And now I know why…there are few places (if any) on earth where you can kiss a giraffe.  If that’s not enough to put a permanent smile on one’s face, I don’t know what is!  Though many people may choose to kiss a giraffe because it makes a great photo-op, others likely smooch with these towering creatures because of the antiseptic nature of their saliva. Read more about the Giraffe Centre: http://www.africanmeccasafaris.com/kenya/nairobi/excursions/giraffecenter.asp

And if kissing a giraffe is not enough to move those facial muscles, then playing with a 3-month-old cheetah kitten certainly will.  While being affectionate with cheetahs young and old is possible, caressing lions of any age is not recommended.  Evidently some cats can be domesticated—others never.  Also not recommended is attempting to touch warthogs (although they do have right of way in some places), buffalo, and hyenas.

This all happened here: 

http://www.kws.org/nbi-edu.html

Overall, my first full day (Tuesday in Africa) was a relaxing, get-to-know-each-other day, begun with coffee from what I have been told was the world’s best coffee shop (Nairobi Java House), continued with visits to the above local attractions, climaxed with a backyard volleyball game and completed with a dinner of Indian cuisine from a local restaurant and eaten at home. Still catching up on mild jet lag, I awoke at 2am for an hour or so, but managed to get back to sleep and am feeling rested for a new day, when I will meet with some local Nairobi homeschool families.  Do keep me in your prayers!

Curiosities at the Amsterdam Airport

My layover in Amsterdam was just about right , 3 hours, enough to stretch legs, see what’s there, get a bite, and avoid airport burnout. As would be expected in Amsterdam, the KLM hub, the airport club there was large and well-stocked. Of particular note, was the ground-fresh-per-cup espresso/cappuccino machine. US Airport clubs could learn a lot from the Dutch about tasty coffee.

The Amsterdam airport is very clean and elegant, even sporting a fine art gallery, and I think they have hit upon an solution to the economic challenges facing the airline industry: In-Airport Casinos!

 

 

Another great idea for keeping the place clean—targets in the urinals. Now, I’ve seen little spiral targets in urinals in the US before, but the ones here really inspired careful aim—they are little, realistic fly pictures embedded in the porcelain! At first, I imagined I was just fortunate, being able to wash a wandering fly down the hole, but then I noticed it wasn’t moving. Renewing my efforts but to no avail, I realized that indeed this was not a real fly. Upon further inspection, it was evident that all four of the urinals in the men’s room had a fly in the exact same spot! Clever, very clever.

I did not make it to the Meditation Center.

Fortune smiled on me for the last leg of the trip, as I was able to get a seat change and had an extra wide aisle on my left and an empty seat on my right, thus being able to spread out without fear of tripping a flight attendant. I attempted to watch the really-old-Harrison-Ford Indiana Jones movie, and it had the desired effect. I went to sleep and woke up when we were an hour away from Nairobi. Thus I arrived in good condition, ready to stand in line at immigration.