Ester's Family visit

What an incredible day. I spent the first part of the day finishing my math lesson! Yes, Harvey, I was teaching math - as scary as that might be! :-) It was fun. I was using video and podcasts again. I learned today that the other classes have been asking where is that lady that has been carrying that thing! Everyone wants to see it. It has been fun.

After my math lesson, I had an experience that I don't know if I can talk about in detail yet. I was in the class and started asking simple questions about the children and recording it on my ipod. Then I went to the backrow and asked a group of boys if they had any questions for me. They started asking about school and how long it took to get your doctorate. They asked if there were any slums in the US and what they were like. They asked if there were people without shoes, food, etc. So, we were tlaking a while and then they just opened up and for 45 minutes talked about the violence and what they had seen. They say at night it is still scary because they lay away and listen to make sure no one is coming. I will try to write more about this later. I just can't do it right now.

In the afternoon, Bethany, Megan, Carroll and I went out north of Nairobi about 1 1/2 hours. It was beautiful farm land. Carroll has a friend in the US and her sisters, brother and parents still live here. They had invited us for tea. Well it wasn't just tea, it was a full blown meal HUGE! They live on a shamba (farm). It was beautiful there. It really looked like a mix of Hawaii and California farm land. THere was even a patch of evergreens. As we approached the house, we saw a group of zebras just grazing out in the middle of a field. Then we saw some boys playing soccer with a group of donkeys in the middle of their field. It was pretty cool!

As we approached the drive, the father was standing out to greet us. He smiled SO big. As we turned in the whole family was there cheering and smiling. It was beautiful. The reception and graciousness of these people are incredible! As soon as I stepped out of the car, I got VERY big hugs and they introduced themselves and I felt a familiar touch after the past two weeks. A little hand put in mine and squeezing to not let go. One of the youngest, Kenton, had attached himself to me, just like the little ones at the school do every morning and all day long. He sat on my lap, held my hand, played with my hair band, anything. He did not want to leave my side. It was great. Their house was simple but huge compared to the ones in the valley. They had several cows, a corn field, a dog, chickens. I felt like I was home. :-)

I want to answer some questions I have gotten, and I am getting very tired since I have been getting up at 5:45 a.m. the past couple of mornings so I can get more work done than if I come on the bus with the others who get there about 9:30. I will try to finish the Ester family story tomorrow.

Questions -
Do the children wear uniforms? Yes they do. The school colors are navy for the babies through class 8 and burgandy and gray for form 1 & 2 (high school). There is also a Mercy Care sewing school to help some of the girls who won't finish high school and go to the university to get skills. They make most of the uniforms.

They seem to wear tshirts for different teams? There is someone form Virginia I think that donates the screenprinting and charges a small fee for the tshirts every year. The different colors are only used as teams for the game day which is only held once a year.

How do they keep them so clean and bright? We just gave them to them one week ago, but I must say, people work very hard in an extremely dirty place to keep sidewalks, their floors, and clothes, and especially their shoes clean. It is very common to see people taking a rag or brush and cleaning off their shoes.

What language do they speak there? Swahili is the common language. MOst tribes have their own. But English and Swahili are the most common. It is interesting the children that have been at MCC for several years have quite good English. They really young ones and the newer students have more of a difficult time speaking and understanding.

What kinds of foods do they eat? They have a sweet potato that is yellow and not orange. They grow the sweetest bananas here you have ever tasted. Ray and I fight over them! :-) We have pineapple and watermelon here at the guest house every morning. Plus toast, beans (like the English), bacon, sausage(doesn't taste like home) and porridge. At the school, the students who can have porridge for breakfast, then a soup like for lunch that is maze, beans, some meat. The students look so much healthier than I remember seeing a couple of years ago in pictures. And that is because of the food and there is now a nurse at the school. The board is hoping to start a vitamin program.

Ugali (also sometimes called sima or posho) is a cornmeal product and a staple starch component of many African meals. I am not a huge fan of this. They use cabbage a lot because it is not very expensive.

We eat at the guest house in the am. and for dinner and at the school we usually have rice and ugali and fruit and some type of meat or greens. They have been very gracious!

Who have been taking care of you guys? The principal insures that we are safe. one of the schools helpers gets us water and occasionally soda from the street vendors. We have a bus (not a typical american bus) that comes to get us every morning (I have been going early with the principal in an Isuzu trooper) and the bus brings us back each afternoon. Wayne and Carroll, Bethany's parents have been in charge of making all the arrangements for everything.

Where are you sleeping?showers?bathrooms? We are staying at a Methodist Guest House. It is between a youth hostil and a lower end hotel. We have our own bathroom (I am rooming with Megan and Bethany).


How can we continue to support the school once you return? I will have lots of specific things that we are talking with the principal about right now and then larger more general things as well when I return.

How are the parents responding? It has been really cool. Now that I get their earlier, I am seeing some of the parents dropping their kids off. They have smiles and even linger for a few minutes. It is pretty cool!

What religion is the area exposed to? Christian, Hindu, Muslim, just about anything we are.........

Hope this helps.