Lions, Giraffes, Warthogs OH MY

Out for a run

2010-04-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

So I woke up one morning and decided to go for a run. Low and behold there were a few other thousand people who decided to do the same. Ok so I actually, was participating in 10k in the Nairobi Marathon. What a great day!

The Kenyan band came to serenade us as we ran. They showed up at various places in the route.
I am a little worried about this man. He might become cross-eyed from reading so closely.

The gals. Jo, Mel, and Kerry were in the half marathon- Great Job! Ladies. Lisa and I ran the 10k. (Ok Lisa ran, I ran- walked)

A few of my close Kenyan friends. Ok I know none of them. :)

It was fun and a great experience. If only I was more dedicated.

Thanksgiving in Africa

2010-01-30T12:14:00.001-08:00

For Thanksgiving we (Chris, Chris, Jessie and I) traveled to Lake Boringo. It was about a 3 or 4 hour drive from Nairobi. On the way as you can see from the sign below we had to be careful and watch for turtles. The lake had some amazing birds. I saw some of the craziest beaks around and some beautiful color.

Well, you can't see the beak that well, but it was cool.

This is about 30 yards away from our porch. Each day we got to enjoy the crocs. On a boat ride, we were startled by a croc who was apparently mutually startled by us when he came out of the water. Um his head (large jaw) was less than an arms length away from our little canoe type boat.

In the brush, just next to our cottage. A large lizard (can't remember its name). He came out one day for a walk across our yard and I chased it. He was very fast. It was pretty amazing.

Our cottage and Chris L enjoying the morning view. I do not miss the misquitos. We came away with sooo many bites. I was paranoid about Malaria.

The hippos were also just below our cottage. At night you could hear them grunting and you had to be careful if you left your cottage at night. These little dudes are loud and not so little.

A termite hill. It was huge!!! The top is cut off, but it was super tall. That is me kissing it. Not sure why, but apparently I felt the need to pucker up.

It was such a relaxing time and other than the mosquitos it wasn't too bad. A cook, househelp, a yard to pass the volleyball, soccer ball and frisbee around, a comfy porch to read and play cards on and so many amazing creatures just a couple feet away and depending on the bravity of the bird inches away. I will miss this about my Africa.

OCTOBER 1st

2009-11-01T05:11:00.001-08:00

Here at Rosslyn Academy, the date OCTOBER 1st is huge. It is the day that teachers must decide whether or not they are re-signing for two more years. So every other year teachers must make this decision. Sometimes it is not difficult. You know for sure which way you are going. However, for some it is a long journey of indecisiveness. That would be me. If you had asked me last April, the answer would have been I am staying for sure. This summer although, I enjoyed not doing a lot living out of suitcases, caused me to really miss my family and life in the states. As the school year started, I was torn. I had a dozen pro con lists and they were of no help. I had a million people praying and well actually (as I told my mother) was not feeling it. Basically, God hadn't written me an email or message in the clouds that said "stay" or "go". As the day of the 1st grew closer, I was in such turmoil and couldn't decide what I wanted.
My two biggest problems: 1) I am tired of teaching, I am tired of kids 2) If I am not going to teach what will I do in the states (where the job market is definitely not at its peak)
So my decision... after talking to my mom everyday for 5 days straight...I decided to re-sign, with the possibility of resigning next year. So if you have any job opportunities for me, can you hold them until the summer of 2011?hehehe

Mara Safari- Part II

2009-11-01T05:03:00.000-08:00

Me at the border of Tanzania and Kenya. Our Tent

The outside view of our tent.

Me conquering the extension bridge (or whatever they are called).

My Students

2009-11-01T04:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Room M1. The 6th graders for 2009 and 2010.

This has been a very trying year. Not only is the largest class I have had 46 with 3 more coming 2nd semester, but they are DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA! I was dying the 3rd week of school. It is ALWAYS something with this group. I have some real sweeties, but unfortunately they are completely outnumbered.

Masai Mara- Birthday Celebrations

2009-11-01T04:12:00.000-08:00

So the boys each have a birthday on August 1st. So I planned a safari to the Mara. Complete with decorated birthday van, birthday cup cakes and treats. July, August, and September is when the wildebeast migrate and there are thousands of wildebeast. The pictures here do not do the Mara justice. Not pictured (a cheetah and 2 leopards). The gang Christopher David Lehman, Christopher David Ritchie, Jessie and Me.
Two hippos.

Two more hippos, but you only see one because ladies and gentlemen it is MATING season. that's right lots of gurgling and "farting" noises.

Ah the baby hippo so cute!

Wildebeast on the Sand River.

Wildebeast (known as the idiot animal) trying to decide if they want to cross and where.

The slippery slope up. This is actually a very dangerous route up. there were lots of falls and cuts, but no deaths today. Shew!

Wildebeast grazing.

The birthday boys and I.

Oh look more...

Buckin' wildebeast!

Another baby.

King of the Mara!

Queens of the Mara. We saw over 9 cats this weekend.

Wide open Mara.

They walked so nicely in a single file line. If only my students could learn the one thing these animals do well.

We had a crazy ex-matatu driver, so our rides were extremely adventerous.

We had an amazing time saw a man staggering down the middle of the road in a small village covered in blood. Chased an "Across Africa" truck down and chewed him out for his bad safari habits. Nearly broke my arm while standing during the drive off the actual dirt road.

Amazing time!

Rome Part II

2009-10-10T03:41:00.000-07:00

Rome was hot so we ate lots of ice cream. (Don't know how to spell the Italian term of ice cream!)
The Spanish Steps.

OH YUMMY FOOD!!! Hard Rock!

The Mediteranean Sea!

The 'White Cake' at night!

The place where Ceasar was murdered! Now the home of hundreds of stray cats!

A weird statue!

The Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel

'Small World Little People' at the Vatican.

Mailing my grandfather a letter at the Vatican Post Office.

The Sistine Chapel.

The Pope!

Where the Pope sits and preaches.

The Vatican. Another oblesk.

Me under where the Pope comes out from his window.

St. Petersons.

So, this was Rome in a nutshell. I am not impressed with my picture taking. I need to work on that.

Kammie and Rome Part ONE

2009-10-10T01:42:00.000-07:00

Well, finally, I have found some time to update a little. Time is important because here in a freakin' 3rd world country it takes LOTS and LOTS of time to update a blog (when it is working properly).

This summer my friend Kammie came to visit me in Kenya. We had a great time. After some real Kenyan experiences, we left for Rome. Rome was fabulous! Below are some pictures of my trip. I am horrible about putting things in a good order. Please forgive me.

In case you were lost, maybe these signs can help?
Lots of motorcycles. It was crazy seeing women in these business outfits just trekkin' down the road.

Gee Kam! Were you hungry? Kidding one of these is mine. The vanilla with chocolate chips. YUMM!!

A plaza we came across. It was so Rome. (Since I am an expert in that area.)

A fountain to cool my feet. There were fountains every where!

In case you wanted to know.

Inside the Pantheon.

Before the Pantheon was a Christian center it was where the Roman gods were worshipped. This hole in the ceiling is how they sent their prayers up to the gods.

An oblesk that was taken from Egypt. Shame on you Romans!

The Pantheon.

Romans don't like this building (or didn't when it was built). I forgot what it was hahaha. But they call it the 'White Cake'.

A real live gladiator. Who knew they still existed?!

One of the best signs I saw!!! I love this place!

Our first stop. The colloseum. (spelling?)

KAMMIE IN AFRICA

Kammie and I on a walking safari at Crescent Island.

We were so close. Amazing animals.

The baby giraffes were only 2 months old.

My friend Max. You have seen him before. I took Kammie to visit him.

My friend Armida and Kammi and I at the Tea Farm

Kammie and I at the Tea Farm.

We did a lot while Kammie was here. She got to go on a walking safari, a game drive at Sweetwaters, stand at the equator, kiss giraffes, eat a fantastic meal at a Tea Farm, shop, break down on the side of the road - wait 3 hrs to get the car fixed, see Mt. Kenya, eat at DP, play with babies at the Nest, hang out with my camp kids, visit the elephant orphanage, and see my school. Come and visit and you can do all this and more. :)

Hey Friends!

2009-07-26T09:44:00.001-07:00

Well people, I realize it has been forever since I have updated you guys on my life and shown you some evidence of my easy living here. hahah. The summer started good. Just relaxing and hanging out with friends. I also prepare for summer camp. This summer my friend Kerry and I co-directed a summer day camp for US Embassy kids. It started the 3rd week of June. I took this job solely to buy a car. Which I did. My roommate and I co-purchased one. One of my biggest regrets (sorry Jess) so far in my life. Anyway it is done and purchased and lucky Kim is not here to deal with it. :) Then camp, well lets just call it- glorified babysitting. A job that I did not really enjoy. However, I did meet some cool parents and have had fun with them. (Not all the kids were bad, but they are kids and well I need a break from them haha).
So I did camp for 3 weeks, then my friend Kammie came to visit for week. We had tons of fun seeing Africa and do the Kenyan thang! Thanks Kam! I miss ya!
Kammie and I flew to Rome for a few days and did the Rome thing. Now here is the kicker. I would be posting lots of pictures from our adventures, HOWEVER!! I no longer have a working computer. I broke my the night before we left for Rome! Yes, this is my life...ALWAYS ALWAYS something.
I got back from Rome on a Friday and found out that my new house would painted on Monday. So Sat, I headed to the paint store. I will not tell you how many trips had to be made to the paint store in a weeks time. I will tell you that while I was going through HELL at my last week of camp, the painters were painting my living room wall the WRONG color! So here is how they solved it. They painted it one coat a deep red (should have been in Kim's room) so to fix it they painted the LIGHTER red over the darker red. HMMM!! OH well for now. I am leaving it.
Ok so again NO COMPUTER!! The worst part about the no computer thing is I may have LOST ALL!! Do you hear me ALL my pictures from the past TWO YEARS!!! Prayers would be appreciated. I don't know what I will do when I get the final verdict and they say sorry we can't save your pictures. I will be crushed!! So in all seriousness, prayers to save my pics. I realize life will go on and I can't take them to Heaven, but for now it will be devastating to hear those words.
Plus, I had an amazing anniversary gift planned for my parents and well that will not be happening (it involved pics).
It is now Sunday, July 26th and my house has been completely painted, I have a little more packing to do in my house tonight and the movers will be there at 9 am.
I am moving back to Rosslyn campus to a small, tiny, crappy house, but it is free. I have just been spoiled this last year with an amazing house!
I hope your lives aren't as crazy as mine, but I am sure they are. When I get my classroom computer up and running I will put this summers pics on here.
Thanks for your prayers! Luv ya! Wendy

My Father

2009-06-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

I serve a great and mighty God. This Father in heaven has given me the most amazing man. This man is my father. It is Father's day (essentially) and as I look back on the man who raised me, I can't help but think, how blessed I am. As a teacher, I see students who are abused in various ways, neglected, unloved, manipulated, abandoned- essentially fatherless. It saddens me to see this and makes me know how rare a man like my father is.
My dad loves to read, he is the most self-disciplined person I know and have ever met. My dad goes to bed early and wakes up early. My dad loves James Bond and electronics- hahaha!! My dad is always quick to listen and slow to speak. My dad loves my mom and still believes in chivalry. My dad is dedicated to everything that comes his way. He loves good music and is a talented musician. He is the most humble man I know. Over the years I have come to recognize how important my dad's role has been.
My dad taught me the importance of not judging a person or situation at first glance. There is always another side. My dad knows the value of respect and shows it to all. My dad showed me the importance of giving sacrificially. He showed me the value of hardwork and that it was my job to work to please only the heavenly Father. He taught me that having compassion and mercy and grace is the way of the Lord. He taught me these things through his lifestyle. My dad never preached alot, in fact he is a man of few words. But his lifestyle, the love for his family- this is more than any speech or talk could ever teach.
My dad loves Jesus! He is one of very few men who exemplifies Christ so clear. No he is not perfect, but he as God commands- he strives for that perfection. He loves his family unconditionally.
My Father in Heaven- Oh how you have blessed me and enriched my life. I can only pray that one day You will bring such a man to marry me. A man that encompasses all these Christ-like characteristics. I love you Jesus and I love you my father on earth. Happy Father's Day!

Paradise Lost

2009-06-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 12th, a group of my friends and myself went on a little trip just 10min from our house. We went to Paradise Lost. It is a 54 acre park that has animals, a lake, a play place, "stone-age" caves, and a few short nature trails. So we took the kids and packed some lunches and head on over. It was actually a nice place. However, there were a million Kenyan school kids and one group apparently thought the Mazungus were part of the attraction. They loved looking at the babies and just staring at us. It was very interesting and got old after a bit. Maddy can't really walk by herself yet, but she can definitely rock climb. The peeps that went. The Nippers (Keturah and Dan), The Greenwiches (Ann and Jeremy), The Barnetts (Lara and Scott) and Keith and Laura (forgot their last name. They've just been living with me for the past 3 weeks-I am so horrible.) and Me. No male attachment included.

Keturah and I being ourselves.

Keturah and I acting mature.

My babies and me. Maddy and Sydney.

Keturah and Kaylee

My kiddos and me!

My newest friend Gertrude. She is quite friendly. And her favorite thing is Sikumu Wiki.

The camels.

The kiddies posing. They were great sports about getting their pics taken.

A trip Up country to Shosho's

2009-06-12T05:41:00.000-07:00

This past Monday, Kerry Jividen was asked to go pick up Leah from her Shosho's (grandmother) up country. Leah, known to me as baby Kate, has been adopted and was visiting her new grandmother. She has grown so much. She is super cute as you can see. They live about 3 hours away from Nairobi in the middle of no where. No running water, a kitchen separate from the rest of the house. Here is Leah pronounced- Ley-uh.

We had to use the out-house and the hole was small and angled weird- I missed. hahaha We went through at least 10 check points, but never stopped us- since we are white. :) Sometimes-that's why they do stop you- haha. It was a 12 hour day. OH, Yea, I ate Kenyan food. Very little- I haven't changed that much, but I am branching out VERY slowly on my food intake. Shosho kept trying to force food down us. So a good traditional Kenyan day. We dropped Margaret and Leah off at their apartment which has 3 rooms and is smaller than my kitchen and living room. It was jam packed with furniture (and calenders).

Leah taking a typical bath for most Kenyans.
Leah and I sitting in Shosho's 3 room house. They sleep here too.

Leah making faces and playing with her stick. No toys-R-us toys here.

Telling the sheep what to do.

Going to look for the sheep.

Calendars hang everywhere in lower class homes here. I counted I think 7 at Shosho's.

Mama Leah, Leah and Shosho saying goodbye.

Leah deciding if she really wants to mess with the sheep.

Last week of school

2009-05-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

It is the last week of school for us at Rosslyn Academy. It is bitter-sweet because my good friends Dalina and Jess are leaving. I am also lossing an amazing class. I am ready for a break and no more grading or getting up early. I will be working a little this "summer" at a summer day camp for the US Embassy. Remember it will be our winter. I am ready to just chill and hang out at home and do some scrapbooking. It will be somewhat lonely though. Kim, my roommate will be gone, Jessie will be gone for part of the break and the Chrises will be gone some. But I gots Kerry and the Nippers and Greenwiches and I am hosting some people from the states the first two weeks of June.
Our grades at school are due tomorrow first thing, so this week we just have parties, watch movies and pack up the classroom. What a great way to end the year. Let me know how you are doing. I will need some "summer" entertainment.

The Bridge

2009-05-24T05:47:00.000-07:00

So, I hate bridges and heights. Here are some pictures of this suspended walking bridge.

This is me crossing the bridge. It only took me like 8 mins. Me posing. Acting like I am not afraid.

Dalina and I resting before we crossed back.

The gorge.

Kerry in the middle of the bridge. It only took her like 2 min. She wasn't scared.

The bridge. the long, scary, moving bridge

Me and Africa. Kenya is the dark spot.

Road signs in case you get lost.

My new boyfriend and I . He is a very colorful person.

The choo. How creative!

Me and the choo.

Just a fresh idea for planting, if you need one.

Camp Lukenya

2009-05-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kids that some of you sent to church camp. These kids are from a slum area outside of Nairobi. Many of them share the floor in small shanties. No beds, no showers, and for sure no toiletts. Here at camp they get 3 full meals a day, love, God's word, a bed, washed clothes, fun times, toilets and hot showers. They were good kids. I enjoyed hanging out and meeting them. Our kids from Rosslyn did a great job mingling and hanging out with the campers. Thanks to all of you who sent money to send kids to camp. Special thanks to Sheridan Middle School- 6th graders. You guys are the best. Every time we have shared about this project, we have told the audience that even people all the way from Arkansas have helped out. :) Also, thanks to my favorite Ellendale Baptist Sunday school class. Because of you we were able to send 70 extra kids. And I think she had money left to send some kids in August.

S'more of Egypt

2009-05-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

I loved this trip!

Where there's a baby, there's a mama

2009-04-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Yes people it has happened. ALL my FEARS have happened. Nope not engaged- that would be a welome fear (hahaha), but yes to all you people fond of slimy slivery things. I had a freakin' SNAKE in my house. Now, I know the animal stories have been few and far between lately, but I am not sure what beats this one.
So last night, the Chrises and I are sitting around just chatting. It is about 11pm and we are all tired. The boys are thinkin' about leavin' and Ritchie looks down and sees something slivering on the floor. It was VERY small- I thought it was worm. I was CONVINCED it was worm. Sometimes you just have tell yourself stuff so you have a peace of mind.
After some examining of the FREAKY creature, it was a baby snake. Living in the south we have lots of snakes and the sayin' always was- "were there's a baby there's a mama" So I am sure that there is a mama snake somewhere in my house.
I made the boys capture this thing and dispose of it, however, in the process of getting it on paper and carrying it to the window, Ritchie drops it!!!! And the even better news- WE COULDN'T FIND IT!!!!!! This was last night and it is now 8:30 the next night and the snake has yet to be found. So, Kim and I have been putting towels under our doors and literally watching EVERY step. So there you have it people- the one creature that I think I detest the most- although rats are close second- followed by any animal that can trample or eat me is third, is loose in mi casa.

I just realized I forgot to mention another guest that we had a week ago. I was walking merrily down the hallway one sunny afternoon when I look down and see a chameleon. This is an endangered reptile (from what I hear). This one, like all of them in this part of the world, has 3 horns and looks like it came from the dinosaur days. They are friendly creatures and harmless. John (Kim had some friends visiting at the time) was fascinated by this creature. So he adopted it and even had some early thoughts of keeping it and taking it back to the states, we (Kim, his wife, and I) had to gently remind him that, well, it was sort of illegal to bring live animals into the US. Anyway, he understood and decided he would just keep it while was here. A few hours later, I noticed that John's friend was not sitting on his shoulder and so I inquired about it. His answer..." Oh, I didn't realize it was gone. Hmm, I don't know where it is." Now, this is nothing like a snake, rat, or trampling animal, but I still would like the comfort of knowing I won't wake up with a friend in my bed (unless I personally invite him) hahaha.

I am pretty sure he was later found and put back in his natural habitat or at least that is what I was told. I wouldn't put it past John to just tell me that so that I could sleep better. hahaha JK- John and Erin- hope you made it home safely. It is a bit quiet around here now.

Egypt Continued, What day are we on?

2009-04-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well friends here is more of my trip to Egypt. On the boat each night there was entertainment just like an cruise ship. The first night was Nubian night and the Nubian members of our crew played music for us and in true Egyptian/Arabic fashion it is truely about pulling up the women and dancing with them. So first night Jessie and I, along with 10ish other gals danced in circles and did trains and yada yada for the "men" of the boat. The next night was Egyptian night and they had some various contests for the guests. First up Chris R. had to do this embarressing game, but he WON!! Woohoo! Then they made various people come and did the number game. When the music stopped the caller would say a number and the people had to form groups with that number. Well, Chris L. and I tied with another women. So the Nairobi group is 2 for 2, then they pulled just the women up to "belly" dance. It was so awful. we sat in a circle and one buy one had to dance in front of everyone!! It was so embaressing, but I must say that Jessie did a splendid job, me on the other hand- well it was NOT pretty. Because the crewmen (by the way there were only men who worked on our boat, NOT a SINGLE woman!!) couldn't decide who the winner was they put us to one last test. Cause of course there has to be winner. It was musical spoons. I tied with my friend Jenny from Australia. The tie breaker... are you ready for this...? Well, we had to kiss as many men as we could in 30 seconds. WOOHOO. The best game in the world. Well, to shorten the story a bit. I WON!!!! I'm a competitive girl, I like to kiss boys, and so 2oish men in 30 seconds. I could have had a few more, but oh well. The Egyptian men, got their thrill and well I won 3 postcards. hahahaha!!!
Ok below is a temple in Edfu. I like this picture.

This temple was actually underwater and it was moved and put back together on another island in the River Nile. On this pillar, you see a fish- yes that's a fish- and the 4 things inside represent Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Below I have several pics of the Christian influence in these temples. The Coptic Christians would flew Roman rule and hide out in these "old" temples. They were disturbed by the ancient Egyptians "idol" art and so they would destroy it and also add their own touches.
This looks like an ice cream Sunday. hahahaha YUMM!!

Notice the different tops on the pillars one represents the lotus flower and the other the papyrus plant. However, the point of the picture was for the black stuff at the top. It is smoke damage. The early Christians while hiding out would need a fire, but they didn't want to give away their locations so they would build them in the temple so the smoke would be limited. The farther back you go in the temple the darker it gets, because there is no outlet for it.

This is their agricultural calender

This temple, can't remember the name or where. I think it was in Edfu. Notice the blank Kartushes. Each pharoah would have his name in a kartush all over his temple, however, this temple was built during a time that the pharoahs can't changing. And so the builders never could put the pharoahs name in the temple because they never knew who would be pharoah the next day.

This is what our boat looked like. Notice all the small boats. They are shouting at the people on the cruise boats trying to sell things. They would throw things at you and want you to buy it. haha

All of the "wholes" you see are tombs from ancient Egypt, holding noble people of the time. They are all over these dusty mountains.

A face that was destroyed. This is actually Queen Hathshipsuit (spelled wrong). She became pharoah after her husband died- no woman had ever been in charge before. Some people were not happy with her being the leader, but she led ancient Egypt for many years, dressing just like a pharoah. When she died, her relative that followed her had her face and name and many things about her destroyed.

Our group. Front row: Sue, Me, Jessie, Jenny; Back row: Ed, Mohummed, Chris R., Chris L.

The four of us did not know any of these people before the trip. We had so much fun with them though. Sue and Ed are from Jessie's small hometown in New Mexico and they knew a lot of the same people. Mohummed was my friends tour guide two years back. Good times!!!

This was Egyptian night so we are somewhat wearing our attire. Some people went crazy on the dressing up, but it was fun.

Egypt Journal Day 3 - 4

2009-04-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

So I didn't plan this very well and started this blog and ran out of time. I will edit it later tonight or tomorrow. But if you read this now sorry. It is Luxor Temple and then Valley of the Kings and The Temple of Queen Hatshipsuite. (Spelled incorrectly, but that is how you pronounce.)

Egypt Journal Day 2

2009-04-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

Ok so these are a bit out of order but oh well. Day 2 in Egypt. We woke up around 9 left around 10 and headed to the Egyptian Museum. It was full of lots of stuff. HAHAHA!! It really was neat, but if you are looking for facts well... sorry I forget them already.

We then went to the Citadel which has a huge mosque inside. We learned about the mosque and got to actually go inside. This same day we went to KFC twice. HAHAHA!!! WOOHOO. Good chicken and fries. The only sad part was no mashed potatoes. But I got over it fast. After our second trip to KFC we headed to the train station for our over night train ride.

Below here you see a lovely train. We waited for over an hour and half for our train. Our guide told us the next one was ours. So here you see a train.

Now look closely. You will see bars and lots of pad locks. The train stops and we see lots of guards with huge guns. Then men from the bus start yelling all these curse words and at the people waiting. When we figured out it was a PRISON train and not OURS I had a to take a picture. The men saw me and were shouting at me. I was rather popular. I think I will move there. I have never been more popular. Jessie and I pretending we are thousands of years old. Can you tell the difference?

The ancient KFC. I loved this historic restaurant almost as much as Mac!

Egyptian Mt. Rushmore.

Egyptian Museum. They have just started breaking ground on the "Grand Egyptian Museum". They have so many artifacts that this museum can't hold even half of them.

The Citadel.

Something similar to our ten commandments. This is above the entrance of every Mosque.

Inside the Mosque. The prayer leaders stand.

The clock tower at the Mosque . It only worked for a few hours and has never worked since then.

Women who weren't wearing enough clothing had to wear these green coverings. HAHAHA. Luckily I wore a long skirt.

The view of the city, from the citadel, with the pyramids in the background.

Well that was day two. The next few days should go a bit faster. I will try to add some more this weekend. By the way, the train food was HORRID! I was pre warned so that is why we brought KFC on board. It was so bad that the Chris squared wouldn't eat it and they will normally eat ANTYHING!!! Then I got absolutely NO sleep again. So far in this trip I have yet to sleep well.

Stay tuned to see if Wendy's sleeping improved. Oh yea I haven't forgot about the kissing... oh but wait... I think I was told to not kiss and tell. HEHEHE

Egypt Journal Day 1

2009-04-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

Well friends I had the most amazing time in Egypt. We were crazy busy the entire 9 days, but it was fantastic. I went with three other teachers: Chris Ritchie, Jessie Gacs, Chris Leyman. However, the Dunnings were sort of with us. We went separate ways after got to Cairo. We left our houses at 2 am on Saturday morning. Below is a picture of Jess D. and I chillin' in the Nairobi airport around 4 something AM!! Cairo is short 5 hour trip from us so it wasn't bad and the plane was practically empty. I had a whole row to my self. It was wierd knowing that I was going to the land where the oldest civilization existed. A place where Moses floated down the Nile in a papyrus basket. The same Nile that God turned to blood. The same region that God plagued with frogs, locusts, gnats (I'm convinced it is still plagued with these creatures), darkness, death of livestock and more. It was a little erie knowing how much history had occurred here. We arrived in Cairo around 9 am (1hr time dfference). Cairo is a developing country, but still considered 3rd world. However, the great news is they have AMERICAN food! Forget the pyramids man, I am looking for the golden arches. :) Cairo, unlike Nairobi, has rather decent roads and freeway systems. Yes, there is a lot of traffic, but it seemed to flow ok. One of my first sites besides the millions of highrise apartment buildings was the billboard below. Oh God is so good! This was my first picture in Cairo. HAHAHA!!! We went straight to our hotel to check in and then we were off for a full day of adventure.

Our first stop was well Mac or McDonalds to you and I. However, below is a picture of the 2 tallest pyramids. The one in the foreground, I was able to go into. A bit freaky.

Back to Mac- here is the heavenly site. McDonalds in Arabic. Our tour guide Marwa (a wonderful lady) coudn't get over my excitement about this stop. She kept taking my picture all over the store. HAHAHA I have one with the Happy Meal Toys display and several in the playground area.

The evening of our first night in Cairo we met up with the Dunnings at Chili's! WOOHOO the other best place in the world. I hadn't eaten that much in years. (Hodge- I am never eating again!!!) Chili's along with many other restaurants, some American, were on these huge boats in the Nile. It was really cool. The water you see behind us is well, yelp, the Nile. Aka The river Nile.

Ok to part that actually brought me to this land. Here is the great Pyramid. The tallest of them all. I learned lots of facts, but unfortunately, I am not an auditory learner so I remember very few. :) This is the first pyramid you drive up , but you can't go inside it.

Here is the gang Jessie, Me, Chris R., and Chris L. Standing on a ledge of the pyramid. It is made of oh crap I think stand stone maybe. Well I think I am wrong. But as you can see it is huge pieces of stone stacked on top and they made it using ramps as they went up.

The same pyramid this view kind of gives you an idea of its size and height. I am being Egyptian here. Can you tell?

We drove behind the pyramids and did the typical tourist pics. We are all supposed to be touching a part of the pyramid. Turned out ok, but not perfect.

This is the second pyramid. We were able to go inside. I almost backed out. First, let me start by saying it was scorching outside. So we walk down this walk way here and behind Chris is small door. I had to crouch down to enter and walk in it. At the doorway, I was hit with a musty smell, heat, and a very narrow path that seemed to go on forever. I almost backed out, but I went and lived to tell about it. We walked a ways down this steep, narrow path and then came to spot that we could stand up in and walk straight. Then it narrowed again, I was sweating like a pig by this point and short of breath- not much oxygen flow here- and we had to duck as the path inclined. Finally, we reached the burial room. It was interesting. Not much to see, but an empty tomb and the just to say I have been in a pyramid.

Chris L and I braved a camel. Here I am freaking out. It is very awkward when the camel gets up or down. They are very tall animals. Poor Chris had to put up with my screeching hahaha. I am wanting to hold on to the guide, but he is telling me to just hold on to the saddle. It was fun. Now I can say I have riden a camel. This camel is Charlie Brown. He was a good man. I even got to lead him. (Well, I just held the reigns. I am pretty sure Charlie Brown new what he was doing.

The owner of C.B. took my camera so he could take some pictures, but as we were walking to the "picture area" and while Chris and I were just enjoying the scenery, the owner was looking through my pictures on my camera. hahahah Nosy lil guy.

Chris and I in front of Pyramids. We took several different pictures. This was the most flattering for me. hahaha. The camel owner, turned photography is apparently, wanting to change careers. He took a million. Ok maybe just 7 or 8.

Didn't mean to put this one here.

Behind the 3 great pyramids are 2 smaller ones that still exist. These housed the bodies of the wives of the pharaoh in Pyramid 3. (I think that is right.) You can see Cairo in the background. We are in Giza here the West Bank, but it is in the middle of the city.

The famous sphinx. They are currently doing some maintenaince to the structure.

Sphinx and Pyramid 2. If you look closely you can see the top of the pyramid is flat (no ledges). This is how the whole pyramid looked at one point.

We stayed at the President Hotel. NOT impressive. Actually, I think there are motels in the states that are much nicer, but it was a bed and shower and breakfast and only 2 nights. I survived. It did have a spectacular view though. I want you to focus on the roofs if you can. What do you see? Yes these are lots of highrise apartments, but for miles in every direction all you see are satelites. The satelite company made bank off of Egypt.

We finished day one with dinner at Chili's as I have already shared and then headed back to our apartment. It was a great first day, but very tiring, since we only got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep the night before. So here is day 1. Coming soon to a blog site near you days 2,3,4 and much much more. Wendy kissed who? What kissing?

In the world of Wendy

2009-03-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

Well not much has been going on, but here is an update of how life is for me. This past week we had volleyball tryouts and will start official practices on Monday. Friday I did some running around with my friend Chris and then headed to the airport to pick up some of his friends. We finished getting them settled into Hampton House and decided we were hungry. But no late night taco bells or Wendy's here. However, there is ONE place that stays open rather late so we headed there, picked up some FRIED food, and ate it (at 11pm- not too good on the ol stomach).
Saturday, I slept in and then worked on school work. I watched A LOT of movies while doing that. I have no tv stations. I never know what is going on the world or the temperature.
I do know that it is scorching here. I am sweating as I type this.
I walked to church today and then went to lunch with some friends.
I will walk to school in the morning and sweat in my classroom ALL day long. After school, I will have volleyball practice until 5:30 and then the busses will take those kids home. (A difference from the states- we have "late" bus drop offs)!!!
I will walk home and unlock my gate- we are locked in everywhere. :) And end my day with watching some 'Friends' getting online and foraging for some food. Maybe I'll drink some Dr. Pepper. WOOHOO!! I found some for 62ksh a can. A little less than a dollar a can. Well worth it for something familiar.
We have to go to the grocery store weekly because food here ruins so fast. So I will hit the store on Wed.
Well a bit of a boring blog but that is my life. Pretty normal and non-exciting, but it is not near as hectic as the American lifestyle and I don't spend near the money I would in the states (No Hobby Lobby or Target)!
I love the community and always having friends nearby. It is like college in the sense that there is always someone around to hang with. It is pretty almost year 'round and pedicures are really cheap.

Excitement at Lobelia House

2009-03-04T07:33:00.001-08:00

Well, as many of you know or don't know, I live right down the road from the school that I teach at. It is in a pretty safe area since the UN and US Embassy are right down the road. Every house has gates and high walls that "protect". We also have a gate guard. Today, I came home from school and found our gate was locked. We only lock the gate at night, so this was a bit strange. Micheal our day guard said that we had 6 men come in our gate and go to our house. Well I called Kim to tell her and we just said we needed to be more cautious. Apparently, it was a bit more serious to our landlord. He came down with a head security guy from school to talk to us. They are changing our gate lock and giving us each a key (incase our guard is not around- he does other jobs on the compound) They then informed of us of the details that happened while we were at school.
Micheal came down to our house and started talking to them, and they said they were with the electric company. However, they were just sitting on our porch. So he had to "shew" them out and they never went to a vehicle they just disappeared separatly into the bush! One of them was Muslim (that has nothing to do with the matter - at least I don't think- other than to recognize them in the future). Yea, so it was very interesting. Nothing bad happened other than we have to be on our toes and paying attention to our surroundings. Which we do anyway. I think I will go buy a ponga.

My Very First Video!!!

2009-02-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

This is a video of the cheetah finally getting up after about 45 min or more of resting in front of his prey. Remember, cheetah are the fastest land animal, and after they reach their top speed they are very tired. Like me after I walk up a hill. I need to rest for a while. So they rest for a while. You can see in the video she doesn't have her full strength back as she gets up and walks to her prey. Enjoy!

Amboseli

2009-02-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the vast savanah of South Kenya. This is nature at it's best! Here are a few of the things we were able to see on our game drive in Amboseli.

A Hippo with wildebeast and zebra in the background

The worst animals of them all... the tourist. When you see a bunch of vans all gathered like this across the plains you know you are missing something. In this case it was a cheetah with a kill.
A beautiful bird. A secretaries bird (I think).

A lion!! One of many that we saw.

Harmony.

They really do walk in a straight line sometimes. Just like in Jungle Book.

Kilimanjaro. Tallest mt. in Africa.

The infamous cheetah with it's kill.

Sponsoring a kid!

2009-02-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the responses guys! If you still want to sponsor a kid to go to VBS camp, you can send the money to my mom (Debbie Porter; 6820 Beagle Run Ln; Arlington, TN 38002. We will need it by the last week of March so we can tell Mrs. Mendoza (the children recruiter) how many kids they can recruit. I am super excited about this project since my kids and I are personally involved. I will hopefully get to meet the kids, and I will for sure be sending you pictures of the child your money goes towards plus others. I will do my best to try and upload the video, but remember I do live in Africa and I am grateful for the internet that I have, but it is often to slow to upload videos. I will try. :) It is a good video that shows where the kids are coming from and what they will get to experience at camp. God Bless each of you!

YOU can help spread God's LOVE!

2009-02-18T11:06:00.002-08:00

Our middle school (Rosslyn Academy) does service projects every year. This year we are helping Christian Mission Aid by sponsoring children from the slums so they can go to VBS camp.(Vacation Bible School)
Here's the 411: Every April, June, August, and December CMA hosts a week long church camp for at least 100 kids. At this camp the children are able to sleep in their very own bed (Most of them sleep 5, 6 or more on the floor in tiny tin covered shacks. ) They are given 3 healthy meals a day, God's word and love, showers, Bibles and lots of fun. It is in a normal church camp type environment with lots of outdoor activities and beautiful scenery.
The cost for one child for one week is 1500 shillings that is about $20 per kid. THis also includes their transportation from wherever to Lukenya (the camp).
So what is Rosslyn MS doing? Our kids are holding various fund raiser projects over the next 4 weeks trying to raise enough money to send 50 kids to camp. We are doing one "outside" fundraiser, but we are doing a lot of "inside" fundraising trying to get the kids to be cheerful givers of their OWN money. Hat days, soccer tournament during lunch, ect.
Now I am personally giving you the opportunity to help the other 50 kids. I know many people have asked how can they help and here it is. My parents Sunday school class is already taking care of 15 kids. Woohoo! That class is one of the most giving classes I have ever met! Some of you have sent me money and I am using that to sponsor a few kids in your names.
I have been really convicted in the last few months over greed! I have not been a cheerful giver and yet God continues to give to me. It is HIS money always not mine. Yes, it is nice having some cash in the bank, but in the end it is God's whether or not I choose to give it to him, he can always take it away. Anyway, this is my heart and where I am at right now.
I am just putting this opportunity out there for those people who have in the past asked about how they can help and also to give detail to a few people who have already given. :) I love you guys! It is sooo summer here!
I am going on a safari this weekend! CHEETAHS beware! It is my roommate Bethany's birthday so she wanted to do this. We are leaving at 4AM yes you heard me right 4 freakin' AM on Saturday morning. THere must be some kind of love for me to do this! It is my Saturday!
AH don't feel too bad for me, because I am taking MOnday off to "recover" hahahah!!!!
I still have more pics to put up. Maybe Monday. I am not promising though!
LUv you!

More Birthday Pictures

2009-02-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

My roomies! We had so much (maybe too much) fun together. Lots of late night singing and dancing and gate dancing! Lots of other unmentionables cause mi Mama would kill me if she knew. hahahahah. NOPE I was never drunk, drugged or naked.

Kim and myself at my birthday coffee house! It was surprise all week. I had NO clue what they were up to, but I was a bit scared. HAHA!

Kami! A native Texan/Tennesseen. Just kinda like me. What a great gal!

My gals Jess and Dalina. My first friends.

All my girls! I am really popular. What can I say. HAHAH just kidding! They treated me so well though! You guys are the best!

Two months later...

2009-02-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

I am growing fond of the "..." from Mama Mia (dot, dot, dot). Here are some pictures from my birthday WEEK!! Remember other than the fact that I hate being 30 the actual celebrations were FANTASTIC!!! SPLENDID!!! I had a glorious week!

Here is Kerry and Mel with baby Gigi's head and me (in case you didn't know who I was). My favorite kids! Look where Caleb's hand is hahhaah!!! So hilarious!

The moms of my favorite kids! Ann and Keturah took me out to dinner. It was a wonderful evening out. I love my OBU ladies!

The sign of my coffee house. I have some wonderful friends here.

More Christmas

2009-02-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

My cute lil grandparents! I love them!!! My Joey! Too bad you can't see the hair real well. He has spectacular hair. My girls!

Cleavage...

2009-02-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

Well, last week my kids had to memorize some suffixes along with their weekly vocabulary words. One of the suffixes was 'age' such as storage or salvage, meaning the act of...
They have to put the definition and give an example and the examples definition.

So one of my sweet boys, poor thing, put "to hold onto for a while" and his example was "cleavage" hahhahahah!!! I couldn't stop laughing. It was so funny.

Just thought some of you might enjoy. hahah

Christmas 2008

2009-01-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

So here is a bit of my Christmas! I had a great time being with my family and seeing my friends. I arrived after 37hrs of traveling and sleeping in airports. I nearly froze to death in Chicago (ah poor me). I found my first dr pepper in London!! YUMM! Whoever makes a new terminal and doesn't put in a McDonalds is seriously disturbed!

I had the longest jetlag I've ever had and by the time I got over it, well it was time to leave. I shopped with my madre until we couldn't shop any more. Well, we probably could have. Oh well! I had lots of GREAT food! And Sonic, well, I had sonic basically EVERY Day. Not exaggerating. I got to see some old college friends and my bff's Amy and Dawn and Joey! I miss you my lil Goode! I also got to visit with my ol pals at Morrilton whom I miss chattin' it up with during passing periods and lunch.

After Christmas, I visited with my favorite Mo-town peeps the Depriest (well half of them) and the Fergs! I watched a LOT of HGTV, a bit of football, and unfortunately no Jon and Kate plus 8!!

Below of course is the BESTEST family ever! I love you guys and miss you! Pete enjoyed his Christmas presents too!!! I luv you too Petie! Isn't he so cute!
We had a great visit with our family on Christmas and opening lots of presents.
The cousins! The one normal picture! Poor Allie is the only boy!

This is for the birds

2009-01-17T00:28:00.000-08:00

Today, Saturday, January 17th I was awoken by the chirping. It sounded like a whole flock of birds were outside my window. Well, I don't know how many birds were outside my window, but there were TWO, yes TWO freakin' birds in my bathroom this morning. I have had one in my bathroom before and apparently he invited a friend to come play with him. I was so freaked out. I slowly walked in the bathroom and they started flying around and thankfully went right out the window. Life in Kenya!

Thanksgiving 08

2008-12-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving began with Cultural Awareness day. I was going to do another entry, but I accidently included this picture of two of my Korean girls performing a traditional dance. On Friday, the day we had off for Thanksgiving we played a little flag football.

It was soo much fun! I loved it. Here is the gang that played. A little dark.
The boys after the game.

The ladies! SEXY MAMA'S! (My 'jersey'said HOT MAMA) hehe!

My basement was turned into a dinning room. We had real turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, jello and lots more! Keturah, Abby and Kaylee did the decorations.

Kelly, Jessica, Baby Syd and Ann.

Jess, Me and Tricia before the game.

Playing hard or well walking between downs.

We had a fantastic day of fun! I miss my family of course, but it was fun being with my "African Family".

Beach Trip

2008-12-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

In October, a few of us went to the beach in Mombasa. It was soo relaxing and enjoyable. Here are a few pictures. I didn't take many. I know crazy.

This picture is a view of the Indian Ocean. It was so pretty. The beach was spectacular. Our cottage was amazing. It had 3 bedrooms, plus an outdoor bed and many different sitting areas. It was marvelous. We had our own private pool too.

Our cottage from the road.

Camel ride anyone?

30 Blessed Years

2008-12-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

Well I turned 30 this week. Monday to be exact. First, I must thank our good Lord for allowing me these 30 years. I have been healthy, I have amazing friends, a spectacular family, and have more of everything than most of the world. In 30 years, I have never been unloved (sure I've had pity moments, but I haven't ever been without love from someone), I have always had gas to put in my car (when I had one hehe), I have always had friends to play with, I have always had M&M's and any other edible substance that I have wanted (have you seen the waist line lately?), I have been able to travel to many places, and had pretty much any tangible items that I could want (except that porsche). Kidding never wanted one, but couldn't get one if I did. God has blessed me! I have an exceptional job, am blessed with 2 wonderful roommates (all my roommates have been great!), I have a marvelous mansion to decorate! I have everything!!!!

THEN I see children roaming through the dump, literally with huge pigs, looking for recycable things to try and get money for theirselves so they can buy food. Most of them are orphans, can't afford school so they can't go and live well wherever their feet stop that night. They have no love, no clean clothes, only the holy (as in holes) clothes they are wearing, they own absolutely NOTHING! I could never imagine having NOTHING. It is definitely a reality check living here. I wish more people could see this. It is heart breaking, but it definitely is a wake up call. I would say that most of you are thankful for what you have, and I would say I was too before moving here, but something about just seeing it first hand puts a whole new spin on my thought process. I realize how extreme the differences of lifestyles are.

Thank you to all of you have prayed for me at any time over the past 30 years. Thank you for supporting me in my many endeavors that I have felt God calling me too. Thank you to our Most Magnificant High Priest! The ONE who loans us so much while we are on earth!

A bit off topic, but I have had a sore attitude towards the people of Kenya and I apologize for that. I feel I owe you that because God has sent me here to do His work and to show love and kindness to all. And regardless of our "ways of life" our differences in "systems" of all kinds. They are God's people. I am commanded to love my neighbor as myself. I am commanded to help the needy and care for the orphaned and windows. I must love and forget about systems and not blame people because they don't do something 'right'! I ask for your prayers in this. I pray that my frustrations don't over flow to you. I want you to see the hurt and need for the people here, but also the good. Kenyans (the ones I am around) are amazing! They are so hard working, caring and will help you at whatever you need. Now obviously there are bad people every where in this world, but that is not Kenya as a whole. I would raise my family here in a New York Minute (well after I had my mom's permission-hahaha). And not think anything of it.

I will post some pics later. But I wanted to thank Jesus Christ my Savior for allowing me such a wonderfully blessed 30 years. "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper and not to harm." Jeremiah 29:11 And to each of you for being blessings in my life and for always showing me love in one way or another. The greatest thing a person needs. I love you!!! May God Bless you!

CFS '08

2008-11-23T21:38:00.000-08:00

In October, Paul and I took our 6th graders back to Wajee Nature Park. The main tribal area of the Kikuyu tribe. The Kikuyu are now the most prominent tribe as far as wealth and power go.
The current president is Kikuyu and remember all of the violence last Jan. and Feb. stemmed from tribal issues between the Kikuyu and Louo. Below is a hill that is SUPER steep! On this day, it was so wet and slippery. This lil hike is tough enough without extra moisture, but Paul was determined to take the kids down this treacherous side of a mountain. I stayed here and you can barely make out a figure at the bottom of this area, don't worry the climb down only gets steeper. Our kids all had mud and dirt caked to their rears. It was very funny to watch them. We had a few of the village women come in and teach our kids how to make baskets. I had fun doing this. I will have to show you my finished product (when I finish).

The kids were taught a game that small Kikuyu children sing and play. It would be like "Ring around the Rosies" however, the idea is to teach them the skill and vocabulary of basket weaving.

We toured a traditional hut. At night the women would bring the goats into their houses and it is located between the sleeping place of the children and the mom. To help with heat. This area is very high up and is wet and chilly for a good part of the year.

A few of my lil ladies cleaning dishes. I know they NEVER do this at home. Someone needs to teach them responsibility hahaha.

The kids really got into the basket weaving. It was a lot of fun! They did a great job.

I don't have a picture, but over 3/4 of our class including 3 out of the 6 adults who went on CFS all got JIGGERS!! What is a jigger you ask? Let me help you understand. We had an influx of this lil thing on campus and freaked our school nurse.
A Jigger is a small flea type thing that embeds itself in the toenail area of the foot. However, I and a few others had them on the bottom of our toes. They then lay eggs and they will spread to other areas of your toe. If not taken care of properly, they will become infected and can cause deformities in your foot. I had 3. I had a kid that had 8!!!

How do you get rid of them. Well they take a needle and scrape that area of your foot and squeeze it out. Your treat it similar to a splinter, but it is a bit more painful because they are usually rather deep. They have to get rid of all of the puss and stuff too. Sounds great huh? Yea, lots of fun. I had sore feet for a bit. If it is real bad, sometimes you may have to take antibiotics. I however, was headed to the coast the next weekend so nurse Rachel opened up the areas and got most of it out then the ocean killed the rest. It was an epidemic. We were the talk of the school hahahah!!! No more flip flips in the woods of Kenya!!

Ann's Baby Shower

2008-11-20T03:24:00.000-08:00

My friend Ann Greenwich whom I attended OBU with for a bit (she transferred), but we kept in contact a bit because her boyfriend (later husband) was still at OBU and of course we had mutual friends. Well, now we are in Kenya together and she just had a baby (September-I think) haha. Ok so Keturah and I (mainly Keturah) planned a shower for her and baby Madelyn. Below is me holding Maddy and Sydney (Keturah and Dan's baby that was born the day I arrived). Not sure how this picture got in here, but it is on my way home. Isn't it cool and pretty?

Our clothes line of gifts for Maddy.

Keturah and Ann

Sweet Lil Maddy.

Mrs. Sue holding the sleeping child. She is definitely a Greenwich and LOVES to sleep!

Some of our friends that came to welcome Maddy into the world (a month later).

Happy Ann!

Ann and I eating some delicious sherbert, made by the spectacular Mrs. Jane.

34 Sixth graders

2008-11-17T23:58:00.000-08:00

Here are my actual kids minus two and plus two. I have had two move already and I have also received two new ones. Back row: Jewon C, Chang Uk C., Janneke T., Nene K., Khumiso M, Alex Ba., Amber M., Feben T., Front row: Kaleb S., Lily W., Micah D., Ethan P., Gillian G., Hannah M., Tia H., Maya N.
Not Pictured: Samuel M.

Back Row: Amy J., Adora L., Mugo B., Jonah E. Middle Row: Mary Shea T., Hannah P., Soo Min S., Trevor G., Brian M., Micah P. Front Row: Sydney P., Ramsey B. (moving), Tim C., Alex Bu., Genavieve W. (moved); Not pictured Kinyenje N.

Picture Scavenger Hunt

2008-11-11T23:26:00.000-08:00

For Dalina's birthday, I organized a picture scavenger hunt! It was lots of fun! Dalina is in the purple here with my roommate Kim. One of our items was to make a pyramid of at least 6 people. The Miltons (girl on top, and guy in black) helped us out. She is the Kindergarten teacher here.
We had to get on a roof. We are on top of the science buidling via the library. I don't like heights.

We had to go to Masaai Market and buy Dalina a gift. This is my friend Jon. He loves me. HAHA!! He was so excited about this and I have to give him a picture.

So a few things we did. It was lots of fun and good cake! (I made it. hehe)!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DALINA!!

My summer past

2008-11-11T22:28:00.000-08:00

This past summer I was all over the place. I arrived in Nashville (remember the caous) and over 30 hours after leaving Nairobi, I arrived home. I was home for a few days then left for Texarkana. Came back to Little Rock and hung out with Hodge!! Then I had a few Uppercase Living shows for friends in the LR area and stayed with my friend Laura! Laura and I met up with our friends for dinner. It was our annual Girl's Weekend just a few months late.

Here is a picture some friend's boys. The one in the yellow is Zeke! I love that kid! Here are some of my bestest friends. Amy, Susan, and Dawn! Love Ya'll
All the college gals for Rachel's baby shower!!

On the Lake it was not very sunny but it was a great day and not too hot! Other than us hot mama's!

Ah my sweet baby Lucas. I love this kid too. He cracks me up! He looks just like his Tito (I think that is uncle- oh well if it's not)!

Some of my great friends from college who I hadn't seen in several years. Lori and I were sweetmates at OBU and Donnie and I well we just harassed each other. It was probably me harassing him. heheh! Sorry D for all those years of torcher! Donnie is now back at OBU (with Lori) teaching. Good times and fond memories at this Cracker Barrel.

Ah my sweet Murphy! All these little "big" boys are so freakin' cute! I loved being around them.

Amy, me and Liz (the mother of Murphy hehe)!! Miss ya girls!

Me going crazy with the camera. I found a new thing on my camera and went crazy with it. I'm not sure but I think a few people were tired of my photography skills. Haters!! :)

Well for whatever reason I have no pics of my sweet little and he really is little, Jansen! One of my great childhood friends who now lives in Memphis. I spent a few nights with them while (brad the husband) was out of town. It was so relaxing and fun to hang out. I love you Mel! Sorry I didn't get my favorite lil Jansen on here! People he is so stinkin' precious. Ok they all were. They are all my favs! I miss you guys and I had a great summer. Sorry it is almost Christmas and I am just reflecting on it! HAHA! I love you all!

My Kiddos!

2008-11-04T23:25:00.000-08:00

We don't normally wear our PJ's to school, but it was spirit week! So here is one section of kids outside our classroom. That is fish pond with a waterfall in the background. Here is my other group on clash day. However, in both pictures I am missing a few students because they didn't dress up. I love this picture. They are crazy. :)

Election News From Kenya!!

2008-11-04T22:57:00.001-08:00

All though I think America is going to well ________ in a hurry, Kenya is rejoicing. You would think it was their president. There were celebrations all over and the buzz was of happiness and joy around these parts of Eastern Africa. So much so that the President of Kenya, whoever he is- since they can't seem to run their own country, (actually it is Kibaki) has declared tomorrow a national holiday. While most people, especially teachers would be seemingly thrilled with the idea of just adding national holidays whenever they want to, I AM NOT!! How in the crap am I supposed to teach and get through my curriculum. This isn't America and just yesterday the President of Kenya was saying, "this is an American election, it is about America and has nothing to do with us" He did this to try and stop any violence that could occur if McCain had won.
Well, now that it went the other way it is now suddenly a holiday? Seriously, people!!!

A look into the past

2008-11-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well friends apparently, I have missed a few important events. Of course, last year and even this year I have experienced many blog difficulties. The only place I can blog seems to be at school. I am not sure why. It is apparently my computer.
Last April, my mom and 3 other people from her church came to Nairobi to see me. Ok well, actually they came for missions. We had some friends (who retired this summer) that worked for the IMB (Internation Mission Board- a southern baptist org.). So this team came to help finish a house (painting, cleaning, building), to work with the street kids (feeding them and just hanging out for a little while), and they also did a one day mini vacation Bible school. The picture below is my mom teaching the older kids at this school some songs. However, they knew a lot already and had great voices. My mom really enjoyed them. I helped a little, but anyone who has sat near me in church knows that God did not give me the same musical talents that he gave my parentals.
Just a side note this is a "Baptist" school in the slums of Nairobi. The couple that started and continue to run this school came from very nice jobs in Nairobi. They run this school on donations only. It is free to the kids of this area and when the school started the child death rate was at 90 (something) %. Today it is 0% for the kids who attend here. Many of their parents have aids, are drunks, have disabilities. The kids get 2 hot meals a day and an education. The teachers who teach here do it for free. They have preschoolers up to high school aged students.

Here is my mom and her team.

I told my mom she HAD to do this! I did it remember?

Ok this picture CRACKS me UP!! It looks like my mom and the ostrich are both smiling at the camera and are both just so happy!. HAHAHAHA

The men have to hold the ostrich down otherwise it would take off and you would never stop.

Mom and Morani. Remember he is my friend (rafiki) from Sweetwaters. However, I have some horrible news to report. My roommate just returned from Sweetwaters and Morani has passed away. I was so sad!!! He is just so cute. RIP Morani.

My mom and her flowers. She loved this tree. It is very pretty. I bet she took over a 100 pics just on flowers and plants. I like this pic. I look thinner. HAHAH!!

Mom and I at the Baptist school. There was a little girl named Wendy. VERY unusual.

Kazuri beads. These ladies make clay jewelry and dishes and it is amazing! I think my mom spent half of her spending money on this jewelry.

Great Picture MOM!! Wow how did you do it?

I loved having my mom here. She stayed an extra week with me and we hung out and did things that are normal for me. She did not like the monkey park or Hawkers market. She loved Masaai market, which I hate most days. :) She loved Diamond Plaza and the Bhajias. Ask her to say that word "Bhajias" hahaha. She can't say it. HILARIOUS!! I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Back to the real world!

2008-10-12T10:16:00.001-07:00

Well, CFS went well. No major tragedies, one sick kid and tried my best to play mommy, but I let one of the dads clean up her vomit. HAHAHA! I didn't sign up for that part. Parents automatically have to sign up for that. They don't have a choice and if you think you do well you might need to re-evaluate your parenting duties. HAHA!!

We returned Thursday and almost missed the school buses because our tour bus had a few minor issues. But we made it and they held the buses so all kids got home at least 20 min. lates.

Then Friday was Moi Day (A former president of Kenya) so it was a holiday. NO SCHOOL!! I slept in and then went downtown where it was not very active for Kenya standards. Walked down this way creapy ally that smelled like urine. With several homeless people. It was a bit disturbing. Anyway, Chris and I had the attention of that part of downtown. Not to many muzungus (whites) go to that area. In fact, when I said something to a worker at school about where I was going downtown they told me I shouldn't go it wasn't safe. HAHA!!! It was fine. No problems and I even bought a towl from Kohl's!!! Seriously, I went in this store and was looking at towels and they had one from Kohls it still had the original price tag $9.99 however, I got a good deal on it it was only 350 shillings a lil less than $5. That was a fun find! I came home started to unpack from CFS and wash clothes (I hadn't done laundry in over 3weeks). So I got caught up on that and then it was time to start dinner.
Chris and the Greenwiches came over for tacos and I even shared my AMERICAN velveta and rotel. I am so giving. Man I am nice.
Sat. I woke at a decent hour and worked all day on school stuff. GO ME! Then I went to the school hodown. We had square dancing and roasting marshmellows and the YMCA!! HAHA!!
Sunday church, then worked for a bit in my classroom, came home started to work some more and well I didn't get very far.

We have full week this week. I leave for the beach on Friday. We have another 3 day weekend. It is Kenyatta Day on Monday. I love holidays!

Good news my package has arrived so hopefully I will get it tomorrow and assuming these Kenyans keep their darn hands out of my stuff, my camera chord will be there!! Woohoo! Better not get to excited until I see it with my own eyes. :)

I am off...

2008-10-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

Comparing last years CFS departure to this years there is much more enthusiasm in me. First, I know what to expect (at least I hope I do; this is Africa I must keep that in mind). Second, I have no water here so it can't be much worse than here. Can it?
So I am off and will return on Thursday and then will fill you in on the adventures of the trip. Sorry no pics yet, I am hoping my package will arrive this week. But if it doesn't you will just have to wait a bit longer. However, hopefully this weekend I can do some more catching you up on pics (Astrid is dying to see pics of me- hehehe- She is my Norweign friend whom I miss dearly!!!) Ok so sleep well and I will too and then I will chat when I get back. Please pray for water!!!!

The House

2008-10-06T06:32:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the house. More to come later. This top picture is our basement. It is a bit longer than our living room. At the moment we use it to hang laundry. We are trying to find a bed to turn it into a guest room (or at least part of it). This is the dining room which we have used. We are about to change all of the fabric on the chairs and windows and hang a few things so look for that change. Do you notice anything on the floor that is a bit unusual? Let me know the first to guess gets a treat (for real, a real African treat)!!!
This is one view of our living room the chair covers have sinced changed and the arrangement of the furniture and also some of the decor so more pics to come on those.
This is what you see when you walk into the living room. What a great window.

Catching Up

2008-10-06T06:21:00.000-07:00

Ok so here are a few pictures that my roommate gave me. I still don't have a camera chord but hopefully soon. So this past weekend I mentioned we were without water (which we are still without 3 days later) so this is me washing paint brushes in the rain. You can also see me washing a dish on Kim's blog. Good times. These are my precious roommates! Christa, me and Kim. Christa is engaged. I will introduce you to Stanly later, for the time being this is who I live with. Christa is getting married in December and will be moving out. So sad. They are great and we do quite well together.

No water, no shower, no clean clothes, no clean dishes

2008-10-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

This ladies and gentlemen is my life!!! The saga continues. So I had a break from misfortune/ trials/ hard times whatever the heck you wanna call it, but it has returned. Nairobi is currently have water shortages and if the rains don't pick up then we will continue to have this issue until at last March (this is when our long rains are supposed to start).
I knew about the shortage because the people on campus have had some water issues and have had to stop watering flowers, washing cars and being more conservative with all water usage. However, living off campus even though it isn't far well we haven't really had any problems. Until this weekend!!! Apparently, on certain days the city council is turning off all water supply for certain time periods (however, last week on campus we were without water on a day that we should have had water--- that's Kenya-- not always the smartest in many areas!)
Ok Saturday rolls around and I had a day planned to just hang at home and do some projects around here. I get out my paint and brush and go paint a book shelf (which by the way turned out rather cute). Then I go in to wash the brushes... THERE IS NO WATER!!!! Luckily it had started to rain so I stood in the rain and washed my paint brushes!!
Well, that wasn't the only project. I was wanting to paint some canvases for our living room so I sat out a big tub in the rain so that I could wash my painting devices...
I had decided to paint black circles of various sizes on the white canvas to go on our red wall. Looks nice- at least that is what everyone has said so far. :) The painting devices included a cereal bowl, a pot and a plastic container. After I finished painting I went back out into the rain and washed the dishes. hahaha!! I have pictures but like last year my computer is not being nice so they will have to wait until tomorrow.
I then skipped church today because I hadn't had a shower since Friday and I was nasty!! I graded some papers, finished a book, and played around on the computer and took a short nap. I then went over to my friends Mel and Kerry's to take a shower. I now feel clean and freshed!
Pray for rain! PLEASE!!!!!! I once did a rain dance in 6th grade science class and guess what it started raining! No lie!

The week in review

2008-09-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well it was a busy week. This week was SEW (Spiritual Emphasis Week). This is when we have a special speaker come in and have chapel everyday so our schedule is very crazy. However, the kids like it and our speaker Craig Danielson from Canada was fantastic. We started breakout groups for the first time ever to give the kids time to reflect and challenge them a bit in their walk with God. It was very nice.
Of course as mentioned we won our first basketball game.
Thursday was extremely crazy. I had planned and RSVPed to the Ambassador invite to his house however, Ann Greenwich (a great friend that I knew from OBU) went into labor kinda...
Thursday after lunch duty I get an email from Keturah saying that Ann's water had broke while she was at the dr. office- so the dr. sent her home to get her things and Jeremy. SO I am stoked and I run over to Keturah's telling all that I see that Ann is in labor.
I get to Keturah's and there are 4 screaming preschoolers all excited, Gabe (the big brother) is gunna have a baby and wendy is gunna spend the night with gabe and all this stuff. I look up to find the lady who is supposively in labor eating lunch!!
Apparently, she wasn't having contractions so they were just taking their time. HAHAHA!!
Ok so a little after 4pm they decided to go ahead and go to the hospital just in case (she still wasn't having any regular contractions). I was supposed to be staying with the boys that night, but I had a hot date with the US Ambassador and well I kinda wanted to go. So Keturah kept the boys and acted like she had no problem with this choice (WHATEVER KETURAH!! You are crazy- you had 5 kids all under 4 yrs of age! You are not normal or you really did care hahaha) Just kidding I love that lady!! Ok so I went to my party.
As soon as I get my camera chord I will share my fun stories and pics from that night.
Ok so Ann had her baby that night at 12 something. She almost delivered in the toilet- had to go to bathroom and baby started to come. They had to carry her down the hall. Apparently the nurse didn't believe ann when she told them that she had fast deliveries. Well, I hope this nurse learned her lesson they hadn't even called Ann's dr. so the nurse had to deliver the baby. But all is well and as of today (Sat.) mom and baby Madelyn Alana are home and well.
Ok so last night I planned a picture scavenger hunt for my friend Dalina's birthday and we had a blast- again will give more detail when I can show you some pics.
Today (remember it is Sat.) I had to wake up at 6 freakin am in the morning for a basketball tournament. Don't worry the girls were just as enthusastic about this time.
We played well. We won our first 3 games, then lost our last game in our pool (I'm not sure those girls were all under 15) but made it to the semi's. By this time my girls are worn out. We had been gone since 7:30 it was so hot and the sun was just beating down on us. We then played in the semi finals and lost. It was not a good game for us, but the girls played hard and had great attitudes. I am enjoying working with them and the parents have all been so encouraging!
I came home and cooked dinner for the Greenwiches and then went out to dinner with some friends (I didn't eat the Greens- just had a Dr. P) Now I am in bed and about to fall asleep. I gotta get up early cause I have nursery duty at church. Good times. I will be taking a nap tomorrow. Woohoo for NAPS! I hope we have naps in heaven. :)
I love you guys!

WE WON!!!

2008-09-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

I am once again coaching basketball, after once again saying that I wasn't going to coach. The MS girls basketball coach from last year is taking a year off. So the school replaced her. However, the person they hired well knows ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about BASKETBALL!! She is an amazing person and well now she is learning about basketball.
So anyway, I am coaching and I have my own assistant woohoo. (I had assistants in soccer at Morrilton- I LOVE YOU PAM AND HODGE!!)
So after 3 full practices of about an 1 and half each we had our first game. In case you don't get sports that is NOT enough time to prepare for a game.
Well we played ISK (the American Embassy school) and we KICKED their butt!! GO LADIES!
They played well. The A-Team won 20 to 9 and the B- Team won 30 to 12 or something like that!
We have a tournament this weekend so we will see what we are really made of. I have a feeling it won't be as easy!

My mom has mailed my camera chord so hopefully in about 2 weeks I can start posting pictures.

My Life

2008-09-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

Ok so I can't remember what I wrote last, but well things are starting to possibly return to normal slowly.
I am still dealing with credit card and debit card issues. I have no access to my American accounts. I thought one was taken care of but apparently they didn't credit my account for all the charges so my parents will have to deal with that this week. My bank is currently adding overdraft charges daily. Not sure why since they know it was fraud and my account should be frozen. My other bank was also frozen and I can't pay what I really owe on my credit card cause my money is stuck in no mans land.
I am feeling much better as far as sickness goes.
This week I had a students camera stolen out of my desk. That made me want to punish ALL wicked people on earth to the fullest. I am now in support of cutting off hands and other limbs, as the middle eastern people are known for, for stealing!!!
We have had no hot water this weekend.
On the more positive side, we got a small, but yet greatly appreciated pay raise!
I am very thankful for that and they are starting the raise from July 08 so we will be getting some back pay!! WOOHOO!!
This weekend I went out Friday with Dalina, Mel, Kerry and baby kate for dinner then watched Amazing Race at Mel and Kerry's house! Baby Kate may be getting adopted. The meeting is this Friday.
Sat. the Nipper girls came over and we made cookies and then went to Village for lunch.
Afterwards, Dan kept the girls and Keturah and I went and had much needed relaxing pedicures!
Today, Sun. I went to church, went to lunch and had some yummy pancakes! I came home and took a marvelous nap and then well now I am working on the computer.
This week is spirit week at school so I will take pics and show off my kiddos!
Please continue to pray that all this credit and debit card crap gets straightened out.
Thanks!

Is The Week Over Yet?

2008-09-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok so as if having someone take $3000 that belonged to you and the bank wasn't enough, I started feeling really sick during Chapel on Wed. I finished the day, but was not feeling well. Some friends had invited me over for dinner and since it has taken us a year to match our dinner schedules I didn't want to not go. The meal was great! I love those Hrvatics!
Ok so instead of telling them I wasn't feeling well, I hung around and then still had to walk home. It was the longest walk of my life! There were a few times I wasn't sure I would make it. I did but barely. I ran to the toilet then, realized I had no bag to throw up (I was using the toilet for other purposes.) So I used my sink. Yes, still at this moment my bathroom is very, very disguisting. OK so I was sick all night, didn't go to school Thurs. I was having some sharp pains in my stomach and they were getting to the point that I couldn't handle them. However, Thurs. evening they died down a little and I was feeling well so so. I called my principal and said that I would be at work on Fri. Well, I tossed and turned Thurs. night and sleeped so so, but at 5am I woke up sick again and horrible pains.
At this point I have only had a little bit of gatorade and a few bites of scrambled eggs. I wait until a little past 6 and then text my Princ. that I am still sick. All day long I experiencing nausea and horrible stomach pains. So finally, I text my ex-roomate and asked her to take me to the ER. So she does and we were there for 4 hrs. It took 2hrs to get my blood work done.
I had high blood pressure, which I have never had before, but anyway the diagnosis was a bacterial infection and the doc gave me lots of drugs. I have nausea meds, I have pain meds for the stomach and 2 antibiotics. I am a walkin drug store!
It is Friday evening and I am so ready for a new life! I am not sure what is happening with Florence. She obviously didn't return any money to me. I keep having nightmares about the situation which I am sure has not helped any of my stomach issues. But I will live and God will take care of it! I have to believe that. I love Jesus and I know He will take care of me, cause I have heard that my whole life. But I have never had many hardships so I even though I have relied on Him at this moment I am not understanding how people without Him make it. And things could actually be worse, but they aren't and I am VERY thankful for that. Ok well, I am going to rest. Don't want to over do it! :) Thanks for all of those who have been praying for me this week and always! I miss you guys!
This time next year, I have to decide whether or not to come back. Isn't that crazy. Ok a random thought but that's me sometimes.
Love you!
Thanks Kammie Bass!

Update

2008-09-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

After a night of basically NO sleep, I left for school early to do a credit check at school. I needed to do it at school so that I could print it out and I needed to speak to Don he is kinda under the super. I get to school and low and behold I can't check my credit report unless I in the US or a US territory. Kenya clearly doesn't fit that description. Now I am frustrated AGAIN. Finally, at 8am I decided to go talk to Don, who of course wasn't here yet. So I went to our super. and told him everything. He was just mind boggled and couldn't believe this had happened.
After looking at all the evidence cards being used, but I have possession of them, money in my drawer being missing (over $200), and last year missing money. It all happened on Mon., Wed., and Fri. The days she works.
Ok so Don and Gary come to my classroom just before class started and we discussed the facts again and looked over some of the bank statements. We decided to have Florence meet us at Don's office after school.
She shows up and my roommates and Don and I interrogate her. Christa is a great detective and interrogator. She is a great teacher to, but could possible have a fall back job if she needed it.
Ok so the story goes- Florence had her daughter, without our permission, come and clean our house each day last week while she went to the hospital. Now why she had to go on Mon., Wed., and Fri. and gone all day when the hospital isn't very far from here just didn't make sense.
Ok so Josephine the daughter is supposively at our house all day cleaning.
Now, I was already ticked because last week my lamp was broken, my sheets weren't changed when I asked her to do it and my windows weren't cleaned. We NEVER give a full days work, but oh well. She also never asked for her paycheck Friday which she always asked Jess and I last year.
Anyway back to the meeting. We questioned her. She denied knowing anything and said her daughter was out of town! We didn't get very far with her, but we dismissed her on the spot without pay. She showed no emotion of any kind. I was so hurt. I had originally said I wouldn't press charges but at this point I am so mad and just thinking I really don't care what happens to her.
That evening we talked to our guard and he said that the daughter only came once last week. HMMM!! Go figure!
Ok so now it is Tuesday. We tell Don what the guard has said and that we think we should check the records at the hospital. Don agreed and our Nurse who knew what was happening because she translated the meeting. So not sure what she found out, but late that afternoon I got word from Jose (he uses Florence on the days I don't), he had been told Tues. morning what had happened, so they have another meeting with Florence Tues. afternoon and she was told that as of Fri. she was dismissed from Jose and that by Sat. she must be off the campus and was never allowed to return to any Rosslyn campus or rented facilities again. She has until Fri. to pay me back the money or they were going to the police.
The prediction is that she will run before then, but at least an ultimatum has been given. She still hasn't heard from her daughter she says.
Apparently, in this meeting she was very emotional. I am not sure if she knew how serious we were yesterday. I would be so greatful to get any money back but I am not counting on. However, you could pray for that. :) This has been insane. Well, I don't think this is going to be as stressful for me with paperwork because my parents, my amazing parents have been doing much of the brunt work for me.
Thanks for your prayers. Keep them coming please.

HATING AFRICA

2008-08-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

So please pray for me!!! I went on tonight, Sunday, Aug. 31st to try and buy my plane ticket home to find that I had over $1000 of charges on my credit card! Over $1000 of charges that I DIDN'T charge!!!! I have gone buzerk!! So I called my dad crying and daddy to the rescue!
So I checked my checking account it seems fine for now. Meanwhile, dad called credit card people and got them to put a hold all transactions and I won't be responsible for any of it. But it is still upsetting. Not sure how they got my info other than online. HOwever they used atms so not sure how they got money from my account without my actual card. So had a pep talk from and reassurance that we would get my ticket purchased and it would be ok. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that it goes up a ton every day!
So I hang up and decided I am going to check my other checking account. I haven't used it here nor have I used it only but I have been online to check my balance. WHAT DO YOU FREAKIN' know they have stolen EVERY PENNY PLUS SOME!!! This was from my actual checking account!!! I'm just beside myself right now! So called the parentals back and through the crying told my dad what happen so he is as we speak working on it again! Poor dad. He is the best!
I love my parents!
I don't think I have been this stressed and anxiety stricken in a very very long time! Not to mention I just discovered a rash on my hand and arm that is bumpy and itching like crazy. Not sure where this is coming from. No it is NOT poison ivy.
Ok so please pray for me and this situation and that I don't break down in front of my kids for some odd reason tomorrow. haha!!!
Oh and that plane tickets don't go up any more than they already are.
Thanks in advance and yo be careful out there.

Here we go again!

2008-08-17T00:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been back for 3 weeks now and I am finally getting a chance to update you guys.
I arrived safely on July 28th and found out that one of my greatest friends Keturah had her baby. I had demanded that she wait until I got there, but baby Sydney had other plans and couldn't just hold out a few hours. So while I was in flight from London to Nairobi (where I rested very well, since I had once again 3 seats to myself) baby Sydney was hatched. She looks like her daddy Dan. She is the smallest of the 3 girls and has a lot of hair.

Ok so I slept at Jeremy and Ann's the first night back because I couldn't really get into my room and it had just been painted that night.

I came home and started to unpack (this process took forever).

Since being back I have shopped (groceries and a few items for the house). I will try and post pictures of the cutest room ever, but at the moment I can't find my camera chord. So I may never be posting again if I can't find it. I am actually not in the best moods at the moment because of this stupid chord.

Ok moving on. The walk to school leaves me huffing, but that is good for the soul, right?

I have 2 new roommates and they are great. Kim is teaching 5th grade and she is from Alaska/Oregon (grew up in AK, taught in OR). My other roommate is only a part timer. Christa is Canadian (we try to love her the same hahaha). She has been in Kenya teaching in real Kenyan schools for the past 2 years. She is engaged and will be married over Christmas break.

Both of them are super sweet and we get along really well. One main difference is they are both early birds hahaha!! If you know me I am NOT a morning person and HATE waking up early. haha.

We started school this past week. My kids are great, but there is already one chic that I am going to have to put in the back of the room because she won't SHUT UP! Then one little boy has his backpack all three days last week. Welcome to 6th grade my friends.

Ok well, I am going to go look for that freakin' chord. I will try to post some pics later.
Bye

Coming to an area near you!

2008-06-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

So I will be in the Little Rock area (Conway, Morrilton, Perryville, LR) from June 30th to July 5th. I would love to see you!! Kristen I need your digits girl! I will be in Conway with Amy during the first part of that week for sure. I will also be there on July 10th. My digits are 901-352-4071.

I'm BAAACK!!!

2008-06-05T13:16:00.001-07:00

Ok so I arrived at my house Monday, June 2nd at 2:15 am. Here is the story.
Well I woke up on Sat., May 31st at around 8:30 I moved all of my belongings to my new house. Then I let my friends come over and scourge through my frig. Then I went shopping for cleaning supplies for the new place, so my house help will have it ready for me (well actually for the new roommates cause they will be there before me).
Then I went and ate lunch at Mel and Kerry's (I was helping them empty their frig.!) Well, Kerry was going to be having a massage person come to the house and give her well a massage. So I joined in on the fun. NOOO not at the same time. But it was nice and relaxing. I went home and showered one last time for the long journey.
My friends picked me up, we went and dropped off one last bag to the new house and then headed to Java for dinner.
They drove me to the airport (THANKS JESSIE and DALINA and CHRIS).
I left Nairobi that evening at 11:45. No problems. Didn't really sleep. NEVER DO! I arrived in London went through security nicely and then ate a nice breakfast. I walked around a bit and then headed for the gate when they called us. They don't let you in the gate area until right before it is time to leave. Well, then I went through that security and the a** guy sent me to the search line and so they searched me and my bags and I yes I had an attitude. What the hell is the purpose of RANDOM searches. THat just means that you may pick me if I have something deadly or I will probably get lucky and get through!! I am all about people doing their freakin' jobs, but this RANDOM thing doesn't sit with me well. What if you RANDOMLY let me go through and I had something. I was so agitated!!! Ok so I went through after being not so friendly to the lady and the guy who sent me through tried to talk to me and be my "friend" I wasn't so friendly.
Ok I made it to Chicago just fine and then I made it to St. Louis just fine also. This is where the main problem occurred.
I was ready for my flight and first our flight was slightly delayed due to mechanical issues. About 40 min after we should have left, they called us to get on the plane for the short trip home. I was only about a 45min. flight away. WOOHOO!! Well, not so woohoo. After about half of us boarded they deboarded us because supposively we were going to have to wait 45 min to leave so instead of sitting on the runway they were going to let us sit in the airport. I thought, "wow one of the first good decisions ever" Well around 6:45 (an hour after we should have landed in Memphis- I should be home by now) they boarded us again and then as soon as I sat down literally, they deboarded us again. There were some UNHAPPY people. As soon as we got back into the airport, they announced they were cancelling the flight. We happened to be directly across from the little red phones that dial directly to American Airlines service people. We all dashed over. I was second in line at my phone. The lady on the other end of the phone was not willing to try and find another airline. So I was already somehow booked for the next flight out- MONDAY, at 4:45. What the crap was I going to do in St. louis for a whole day with 2 suitcases and stuff.
So I decide I am going to cash my ticket in and rent a car and drive. Keep in mind I have not slept at all since Friday night/Sat. morning. Ok so I am standing at the AA ticket counter and get paged to the info desk. It is my mom. She is at the airport in Memphis ready to pick me and had just found at my flight was canceled. I have no cell phone so this was basically her only chance to get ahold of me.
There was a flight leaving in 40 min for Nashville, they would pick me up there. So I go change my flight and realize, my bags are in the luggage claim area cause they deboarded all of the luggage too. So I run while chick is logging me into the computer and go get my bags. I am running with 2 large suitcases a backpack and purse through the baggage claim area lots of looks and go illegally the back to skip the screening process ( I HAD NO TIME PEOPLE) and so I made it I got to my gate after stopping and asking this place for change for a dollar to tell my mom I was officially on the flight, but she just gave me her cell phone. How assume was she. I arrived and was the last one to board. Always embarressing.
After getting safely to Nashville, I had to wait over 2hrs for my parentals to pick me up. Then we drove home and arrived at 2:15 am. I was so sticken tired. I hadn't been that tired in a very long time.
So long story short. Yes, I am here (in Memphis). I will be in Texarkana next Wed. and Thurs. some and then in LR/Conway next Thurs. -Sat. However, I will be back to both places.

Hey Kristen P. you wanna host an uppercaseliving show? All the cool people are doing it. :) By the way the poptarts are finished. I saved some rice crispy treats. They won't go bad in 2 months will they?

Last Days

2008-06-05T13:15:00.001-07:00

Well, I have wrapped up my first year (more or less a year) in Nairobi. It has been fun, but filled with many new challenges that you might not face other places. I do however, love Rosslyn and my kids. They have been wonderful to teach and fun to get to know. I have met so many people from around the world. Some I will never see again, well until heaven.
The last week of school was more or less a pack up and party week filled with extra amounts of tears. VERY different than a last week at Morrilton. hahaha
Our grades were due Monday morning at 8:30 but we still had 5 days left with kids. A few kids had left early but not many.
So Monday- Kids turned in books, helped take down bulletin boards, put my name on all my desks, chairs, etc., and helped organize our class library better. Then we had a full afternoon of awards ceremonies!
Tuesday- We went to library and made sure everyone had taken care of over due books and fines so they could get their yearbook. At lunch the kids went to the auditorium with the whole school and we had our yearbook celebration which is a huge deal at Rosslyn. The yearbook is included in tuition. Each year they dedicate the book to a teacher. This year it was Ward Nicholson aka Senor Nick!! I actually went to OBU with his son and daughter in law and he is now my life insurance man (the son). SMALL WORLD!! So after 39 years of teaching as a missionary teacher for the IMB he is retiring to TEXAS!! YEA for Texas. So they have a slide show about the person who the book is dedicated to and then present him with the very first book!! He gets flowers and applauses and yada, yada, yada, After that ceremony the kids spent the rest of the day signing yearbooks.
Wed.- Morning we watched a movie, a few kids helped me do last minute cleanup in my room. By Wed. afternoon, my room was 100% packed and ready for summer cleanin'.
Then we had a 6th grade going away party for 4 of our kids. 2 were coming to the states, one to Ethiopia, and one to Barbados (I've already made plans to see him at Christmas hahaha).
Thurs.- A half day we went to the pool the entire morning and had a Middle school beach party!! Friday- A half day- more yearbook signing, me getting cleared through all of the various people so that I can leave on Sat. and then we had 2 assemblies a middle school assembly which we said goodbye to all who were leaving and then a whole school assembly in the auditorium. After that there were many tears (well there were many before that too).
And then the kids were dismissed to go home. LOTS OF TEARS!! It is so different here. In fact one of the teachers said, "This is a bit different than the last day of school in the states." And Dan replied with, "Yea, normally all teachers are on high guard looking for any gang fights or problems that would/could occur" and the sad thing is that is SOOO true! Especially, when I was teaching in TX. That is exactly what it was like. Getting in their last minute beat up sessions to show who was boss. It was sooo different.
Then the teachers all go to the bus line and wave at each bus of kids as they leave. Each bus honking his horn and pausing at the line of teachers. It was crazy! A bit emotional, but I didn't cry cause I'm a big girl now. HAHA!! Well, ok I got a bit chocked up, but no real tears were flowing. I had to be tough.
So that is a quick summary of our last week of school.
I went to lunch with the girls came back for our last staff social (ice cream woohoo) and went shopping. HAHA!! I had to buy some things for me madre. She was paying not me.
Then we went to visit Ward in the hospital- poor guy after 39 years of teaching he was in the hospital for graduation and the last day presentations. I felt so bad for him. No real closure.
We played one last game of rook (a new favorite- except when I am losing). And then said good bye to Ward.
I went home and finished packing. Man I have a ton of stuff. If you recall I was moving and leaving on the same day. I had 7 trunks, 3 large suitcases, 1 small suitcase and other small bags full of random things. I was finished packing by 11:00pm went to bed one last time in that house. Got up Sat. and Dan and Dalina helped me move all of my stuff into my new house.
I am going to have a lime green room. I picked it out myself. WOOHOO!! Shouts out to Keturah for handling the hiring of a painter and watching over him!! I owe the Nippers BIG time!! They are currently my estate managers. HEHEHE!!
SO I am leaving at 11:45PM on Sat. the 31st. I think that wraps up the last few days of life in Kenya. Until next time friends. Peace be with you and thanks for all of the love and support and prayers. I hope God has some big blessings for you and all you have done for me. I love you!!

As if you haven't already done enough...

2008-05-17T04:10:00.000-07:00

Ok ladies, I will be home in less than 15 days!! Woohoo! I am ready for some good food. I think that is all my brain thinks about. Food.

Well, I have a job. I am going to be a demonstrator for Uppercase Living. It is a company that sells a product that I am not really sure how to put into words. It is like a tatoo for your wall, desks, doors, glass, tile, just about any kind of surface. It is similar to stencil work or painting a design, but it comes off very easily. You can do words, various designs. You pick the lettering (font), phrases, color etc. It is really cool and it can be as perminant or non-perminant as you want.

I am asking you to consider hosting a show. I will be living off campus next year and am needing transportation so this money will go towards that. The lady I have been consulting with has told me I could normally make around $300 a show. I am willing to travel (Sarah, Liz, Dawn, my AR friends).
I have one show booked for Kenya. haha My friend here said she would do a show and then I would bring the stuff back. Yea. My first show and I don't even have to attend. HAHAHA!
I would really appreciate it if you would consider this. Thanks! I'll see you soon!

OH MY GOSH!! KRISTEN IS THE BESTEST EVER!

2008-05-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks Kristen! I got it! Man you kindergarten teachers must be really rich! Dang gina! You are the freakin' bomb! So I will be livin' the high life startin' tonight. I'm eatin' me some American Mac and cheese oh I better go check on my noodles.
Toodles. You are so good to me. Thanks and thanks some more!

21 days peeps

2008-05-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

So life is moving along quite quickly. Can you believe I have been here for a little over 10 months? I sure can't. These next few weeks will fly. I have 2 weeks of teaching left then grades are due so we don't teach the last week.
Yes, I was not told this until just this week and actually been counting on that final week to finish a unit. But it is all going to work out just fine so no harm done.
The last week of school is full of award ceremonies and promotion cermonies and parties and more parties and locker clean out and book returns and half days.
The last two days are only half days. So I basically have 10 days left for teaching and then 3 days and 2 half days of kids. THEN I COME HOME!! Don't get me wrong I will be ready to come back. I enjoy it here and love my kids for sure.
When I do return to the states (whenever that maybe) for good, I don't know if I will be able to teach there. It has been such a blessing to teach here and I am becoming very spoiled with student self motivation, the parental support, no paper work, no standardized testing and the great attitudes from the kids.
However, it is a challenge living and working beside everyone. The lack of space and privacy is something I have a hard time dealing with. It is hard knowing your boss is in charge of your living situation. Not a good balance all of the time.
But overall I am so glad that God has brought me here and for now this is where I need and want to be.
Thank you always for your prayers, thoughts, and support!!
Happy Mother's Day to all my moms!!! Mom (my birth mom), my aunt and grandmothers, Mrs. Pam (my utter mutter) and anyone else who wants to claim me. Lov yall!

From 4 months of Hell to 2 months of bliss

2008-05-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Ok so if you are aware of my former working conditions you would know that really, the 4 months mentioned in the title was actually year long and the 2 months has actually been year long too.
I am talking about volleyball. I love volleyball! But was not always in my happiest of states during previous volleyball years. I am currently coaching the JV girls team at Rosslyn which last for a mere 2 months (if even that). No practices or games on Friday and only 1 hear me now only ONE Sat. committment. As opposed to 6 or so straight saturdays filled from wee morning hours to late evenings of nothing but volleyball and the devil!

This past Thursday I had a true African athletic expereince. Well this was actually my second because I had one during soccer season.

We traveled to Moi Girls School which with normal to no traffic would be about a 20 minute drive. Well it took us almost an hour and a half. So we arrive and well I have heard about playing in grass knee high with cows on the field. However, we were blessed with a black top court.
So the school has one coach for both varsity and jv. And NO referees! Well, guess what? I had to ref my game, no coaching my girls. I was a bit put out, but oh well. My girls were not into this game at all and were getting creamed. Not to mention the crowd. Many Kenyan schools are boarding schools. So what else are girls who live on a compound and can't leave gunna do? They are going to watch the black girls play the white girls (I actually have 2 amazing Kenyan girls on my team, but varsity well they are all caucasion).
So the crowd was large and loud and practically on the court. There were no bleachers, and no boundaries as to where people should be so they were just standing around the edges of the court.
After a humiliating game, it took us about the same time to get home.
We are sitting in traffic and 3 of my girls were sitting in the very back of the van with the window open. Paul and I are chillin in the front just complaining about the driving and traffic when we all of the sudden jump at this blood curling scream. Apparently, one of my players, super great kid (her dad is right under the ambassador- major power hehehe), had her ipod in her hand, and some dude reaches in and tries to get it. He was not successful and all windows were then shut.
I have heard of this happening alot, but have never seen it. Well, guys it would be an awful dreadful thing for me to not experience every possible thing before taking a 2 month break (which can't come soon enough).
We finally made it home safe. After I set some, well, road rageful examples for my kids. Ah have I ever mentioned I hate traffic here, especially when it envolves Matatus? Just wondering.

So what happened?

2008-04-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I was hoping to have a chance to put more pics on here and also tell you about my trip, but the pics will have to wait some more.

For Spring Break as most of you know I went to Mauritius. An island off of the coast of Madagascar. It was like being in Hawaii, just with a few changes. Only 1 McDonald's (the highlight of the trip), 2 Pizza Huts and a few KFC's. YMMM!! American food! The other changes besides lack of American food (but more than Kenya) is that the Island was mostly inhabited by Indians (not Native Americans).

It was very pretty mountains and oceans all at once. A dormant volcano, a huge bronze statue of Sheva (a Hindu god), waterfalls, lots of topless women.

So we arrived Sat. night after being in the air for 5 hrs and it was dark and rainy. We had to drive an hour across the island to our resort.

Still misting, they put us across the street from the actual hotel in beach front rooms. So they brought out their very best toyotta truck put our luggage in the back and had us sit in the cab. took us across the street. It was dark and the lighting was very poor. It took them forever to find the rooms they had assigned us. That was a bit troublesome. THen we tried our tv, but it didn't work. Was hoping to see some of March Madness. OH well. So we left for dinner, in the rain and well, our door wouldn't lock. So our very drunk security guard tried to help out. It tooks us about 15 min to get a key and yada yada to eventually get our door locked. So we go for dinner and well it was ok.

So we woke up on Easter morning and had a small little 4 person service on the beach. It was very nice. We were going to try and find a church, but we got is so late the nigth before we didn't have a chance to find out details.

We hung out at the hotel that day. Took a walk to a "cyber-cafe" it had 2 computers and it was a store that sold lots of Prada, Chanel, you know a very high class store. It was all so REAL looking!!

It rained the next day also, but we went on our planned journey. And saw the island and what it has to offer. Beckham is building a house on the island so they are very excited about that. We stopped at McDonalds on the way home and it was SOOO freakin' good!!

THe next day IT RAINED!! We awoke to a monsoon. We went into the city where the capital is and toured around and at ate PIZZA HUT for lunch and then a bit later got some Micky D's for our late afternoon snack!! The had some really fun shops, but a bit pricey. In fact, I bought 2 things on the whole trip a t-shirt and some postcards. I know totally not me, but it was very expensive and they didn't have anything I couldn't get in Nairobi.

So Wed. guess what? IT RAINED AGAIN!!! However, late afternoon, it started to clear up and that was nice.

So we finally had some beach time. They had some pretty nice beaches. Our actual resort beach wasn't the best, but overall the island had some very nice beaches.

So we spent Thurs. at the beach and Friday. We were supposed to have a trip Friday. We were going to go swimming with the Dolphins, but when we got their it was to windy to take the boat out. So we got up 5:30 am for no Freakin' reason. I am not bitter about that.

I will do my best to put some more pics of our trip on later.

However, mi madre is here this week so I have been very busy entertaining her. It has been great having her here. Getting to see where I live and what I do. My kids are so excited about meeting her.

Ok well, I will be home in 33 days!! Woohoo!

Then we decided to go eat dinner

Fun in the sun... or rain?

2008-04-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

Long Rains

2008-04-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

We have entered the long rain season. It normally rains in the evening and through the night and then clears up during the day. It is so nice. Everything is lush and green and beautiful. It does however, stay a bit wet, which means I constantly have red clay on my shoes and in my house, but oh well. The temperature is usually in the upper to mid 70's during the day and wet and chilly at night.
Volleyball season has started and we played vb outside in the rain on Thurs. (it started raining early). I have 11 girls on my team (High school JV) and their skills range from beginner 7th grade type skills to 9th grade levelish. They aren't the most coachable girls in the world and need a lot of work and time is something we don't have. But they are all very nice young ladies.
I have worked a little with varsity and wish I was coaching them because I feel like they are a bit more coachable and from my 4 hellish years at Morrilton I did learn a lot that I could teach them. FOr the most part, they have no form in anything they do. When the varsity coach first showed them how to block I was outraged. Now he has played vb and is a very good player, but we have some style differences and my ways are better. Seriously, I may have worked with the devil in Mo-town, but between her and Kim they knew their vb. That explains all of the championships and conferences and tourn. they have won. Our mo-town girls had some of the best training in the state.
Anyway-I am having fun for the most part coaching vb.

OH yea! I CHOPPED off my hair!! It is about to my chin.

April Fools!

2008-04-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

Well, in the past 8 years, none of my kids have ever really tried any kinds of April Fool's jokes on me. Well, that has ended. Monday, March 31st was our first day back after our week and 2 day Easter Break! On that Monday, I had to get on to my kids for not having any of their supplies. I was a bit agitated with them and chewed them out. Telling them that school wasn't over and they still needed everything that was required at the beginning of school. I am also not the nicest person when they don't have their books when needed.
So Tuesday, April 1, it is the afternoon class of Language Arts and they haven't needed any books for a few weeks (before Break) and so I asked them to get out their book and NO ONE had theirs (now remember this is the day after I have just wailed on them for not having things they needed and that their would be consequences here on out for not having supplies- including books) so I was like did I not write on the board that you needed this book (I have a white board outside of my classroom where I write each day all of the supplies they will need in the various classes that I teach). So I just kind of laughed (a very unusual reaction for me- when my kids are prepared) and I had no clue what was going on. So I said, "hmm, did I forget to write that on the board? Well, I guess I didn't change it. Ok well, I guess all of you need to go to your locker and get your book. " Still I have no clue and all of the sudden the entire class in unison (would have that they practiced this) stood up and yelled April fool's and then ran to their back packs and got out their books. It was so cute. I couldn't believe it. Then I asked whose idea it was and told those two girls they would fail hahaha!!! It was great!!

It can be done people!!

2008-03-21T02:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, it can be done! I have completely updated you guys on all of my pictures and major events. Yea!! I have figured out that my classroom computer works faster and better than my million dollar laptop and so I have started coming to the classroom on days off to update. It would be so much better if my personal computer would change his attitude, but that is not likely to happen so I will have to stick with mixing lesson plans with blog updates. Seems to be working well so far.
I will be leaving tomorrow morning for the country island of Mauritius!! (East, off the coast of Madagascar). I am so excited. You should google it and see what paradise I am being forced to vacay in. The bad news is I am now officially broke so I better make this a good one. Cause it is the LAST VACAY for a VERY LONG TIME!!!
I am looking for a summer job (SERIOUSLY). Any thoughts or suggestions just head them my way.
Ok well have fun in America. I will try to enjoy Kenya and Mauritius.

Life on the wild side: Safari #3

2008-03-21T01:22:00.000-07:00

My trip to Sweetwaters!! It was short, but fun. Here we are at the Equator. Our camp was on the freakin' equator. How crazy is that?!

Sweetwaters is a private game park. It is owned by a British man and some of these wild animals were orphaned and brought here for their protection. This is me with Morani (haha not Moran, but Morani which is Swahilli for Warrior). And no she is not dead, but resting. She is the only tame black rhino or something like that. She was orphaned and eventually ended up here at Sweetwaters.
Here is the group with Morani, she would not get up for nothing! Dang her. Her body felt really weird. Morani is kept in a secluded area that is several hundred acres all to herself protected by an electric fence. So the other rhinos won't come attack her. Apparently, rhinos don't get along with other rhinos very well. So sad.
This is max. He is a white rhino. I forgot how to tell the difference between the two kinds of rhino's, and just FYI there is a very big chance that I have the two "colors' confused. HAHA

So Max is another orphan who roams the range free unlike Morani, but he has his own private guard. Max goes whever his guard goes instead of the other way around. It is very funny. We stopped and talked to his guard and max sauntered over to our car and started rubbing against the spare tire. He got in trouble for that. hahaha. Then after we talked for a bit the guard said it was time for Max to go to the waterhole and so the guard left and headed for the waterhole and guess who followed. It was hilarious and crazy. Who has rhino's following them everywhere they go?
My artistic picture of a cape buffalo.
Our sleeping quarters. The bathroom was really nice! However, no real privacy.
I love this picture.
AHHH!! My first African sunset on the open range.
Ok these next few pics might be deemed inappropriate, but hey be MATURE people. This is real chimp life!!

Grooming. We all groom don't we? How many of you pick your family members bugs off of them and then EAT them!!! AAAAAHHHHH!! Ok are you ready for the next one? HAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! This cracked me up. I could barely contain myself. I am laughing as I write this. AHHAHAHA!! Gross yes, but stinkin' hilarious!! Puts a whole new meaning to Kiss my butt!!!
Ok no more crud pics. Here is my head getting eatin' by hippo!! We walked a trail along this river that was full of hippos. I didn't get any good shots, but we could here them. It was fun. To be so close and in nature with them.

I actually knocked this head apart. HAHA! It scared me to death, but apparently the jaw was not connected at the back. So I really did almost get eatin by a hippo.

THE EQUATOR!!! WOOHOO!! I have crossed it many times in the air, but I am finely standing ON THE EQUATOR!!

My peeps at the equator!
My view from my tent. There were tons of wart hogs and those little dudes as ugly as they are are so cute and funny.
Me, Dalina, and Jessie in front of our tent.

PATRICK? What are you doin' here? You are a lil wild man, but not what I was thinkin'. Oops.

He is so cute though. Look at that tongue. He always has his tongue out.

The wind was blowing like crazy! We finally got smart and went to the other side. hahah!!
Mount Kenya. You can see the only snow that ever comes to Kenya and it is actually at the equator. I thought the Equator was supposed to be the hottest area? HMMM oh well. Proven wrong here.

Thanks Ellendale Baptist- GOD IS GOOD!!

2008-03-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you to my favorite Ellendale Baptist Sunday School class. After much prayer and haggling and stress, we finally recieved the large supply of baby items for the Nest. Below are a few of the little tikes (Ziporah and Patrick) playing with some of the toys and the baby I am holding is Lucy and she is wrapped in one of the new soft blankets. I cannot tell you guys the joy that Irene (the owner of the Nest) and the workers had for all of these items. The get items occasionally and this Christmas received A LOT of items (because our school picked them as our Christmas Project so we raised several thousand dollars in cash, plus many donated items for the kids) however, most of the time donated items are not NEW. EVERYTHING in this box was BRAND SPANKIN' NEW ( can you tell I'm from the south?). I am not sure they even want to use it cause it will get dirty hahahah!! Ellendale peeps. I just wanted to give you small glimpse into the life of a small orphan and how much fun they had with these toys. Thanks and God Bless each of you for your many sacrifices and prayers to make this happen and to help out the Nest!! Irene is eternally grateful! She says thanks too. :) Above is Ziporah on her last day at the Nest (she was adopted, which is great, but selfishly I am sad cause I will never see her again). She loved these things. What are they called anyway?
Me with Lucy and her new blanket. They keep all the babies wrapped in blankets ALL the time. They will never get cold here no matter what. Usually they have little hats on when they go outside too and it will be 75 degrees, but these kids are still bundled up!!
Patrick playin' his new favorite toy the piano. He thoroughly enjoyed making a "joyful sound".
Ziporah showing Kerry the new blanket. HAHAH!! She was excited about that green blanket.
Ziporah and Patrick playing with some of their NEW toys!!

Ok so maybe you are wondering why only Ziporah, Patrick, and Lucy are enjoying these new found gifts. Well, I was at the Halfway house which is part of The Nest, but it is located right down the road from Rosslyn. And they keep about 8 to 9 babies and sometimes one or two toddlers at the Halfway House. So most of these items you sent will actually be taken to the Nest which is about 30 min away. But I did want to see your things being used. And trust me they will definitely BE USED!! Thanks again for all you did. You guys are the best!!

Today's day

2008-03-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

Today we had our AR party. For those that are non-teachers that is accelerated reader. A program that well they read and get points for reading. So if they meet their goal they get to have a party. Well today's party was games and competitions and snacks and waterballoons. We finished and were going back to class to get ready to go home and I was told that a student said, "She is the best thing that ever happened to 6th grade." Yelp that is right. I am no longer the mean old woman who makes us do everything perfect. I was quiet proud of the compliment.

Then the bestest thing that happened... OUR LAST SOCCER GAME!!! Woohoo lets celebrate! We won 5 to 0. Our record was 4-2-2. Great record, nice season, nice girls and so glad it is over.

Ok that was my day not to shabby, however, I haven't gone to workout class yet and that could bring things down real fast. This man is a tyrant. I have been so freakin' sore. Nothing like any 2-a-day.

Oh and Shouts out to Kristen Parham again. Taco seasoning is always good, kool-aid, cheese from mac and cheese, fun things (not sure what that is), I could actually use some white board markers. Thanks!!

Valentine's Cookie Decorating Competition

2008-03-01T02:19:00.000-08:00

The day before Valentine's Day my friend Dalina and I organized a V-day cooking/cupcake decorating get-together/competition. It was a fun evening with teachers, moms and some of the older staff kids. Everyone was asked to bring their choice of cookies or cupcakes and decorating supplies to share. We just scattered all the supplies on the tables and started decorating. It was so much fun. We actually had some fun prizes and gifts. Every person received a "Love CD" courtesy of one of my most precious friends in the world Emily (Thanks Goode!). Everyone choose one cookie/cupcake and entered it into our contest and we all voted. We had tie so we had to have a re-count (so Kenyan these days). Well, the first place winner was Sherene a high school math teacher by one vote and our 2nd place winner was Rebecca our high school art teacher. 1st place received a 1000ksh voucher to a local high end restaruant and 2nd place received this HUGE chocolate bar and 500ksh phone card. Much fun was had and Dalina and I received lots of compliments.

Below are 3 staff kids (the one in the middle is my student Claire) who partook in the festivities.

The cookies/cupcakes entered into the contest!
My dear OBU friends Keturah and Ann (both with child)! Yea for babies (when they're not mine).
Keturah's mom-in-law Pam (Elementary librarian and the Sups. wife) love her, she is fabulous and Trina who is super sweet. Trina is leaving after 10 years of being at Rosslyn. Her husband is going to pastor a church in Maryland. Great lady. One of the most servanty person I know. Seriously!
Sally (our new 3rd grade teacher, very nice) our CRAZY chaplain Lisa (also coaches basketball - first place this year woohoo, and field hockey), and the far right is Sherene our first place chic! Luv em all!

The sideways table was not really sideways, but this was one before all the people and goodies got here. By the way this is at the Hrvatics house. When Dalina and I started to plan we realized we needed bigger houses. Well this is probably the largest on campus. It was still VERY crowded! Thanks Mrs. Sue!!!

Many people- Jade in the front (my student teacher), with Mrs. Bressler (my neighbor literally we share a wall) super hilarious lady!! I owe her lots of spices and milk and flour!@ What would we do without neighbors who actually stay stocked on cooking supplies?
My friends Mel and Kerry. We are in a small group together and hang out a lot. (they cook for me- so of course I'm gunna be there friends- hahaha)! Great ladies. Mel (the one on the right, grew up here and most of her family is still here), Kerry grew up various places put TEXAS was on place and she went to school and taught a bit in ARKANSAS!! Kerry and I also coached bb together. She is an amazing player.
HAPPY DECORATING!!

Happy 30th Birthday Jessie!!

2008-03-01T02:07:00.000-08:00

My friend Jessie's 30th birthday celebration. She student taught in Thailand and so has come to love the food, therefore, for her birthday wanted to eat at Orchids, this classy Thia restaruant. I actually found a few things I liked. Lesson learned Wendy now likes certain Thai food. I am moving up! (The only place for me to go in the food area!) Mom can I get an amen?! Above: Most of the gang- Chris, me, Dalina, my student teacher Jade, Paul, Jessie, and 1st grade student teacher Mindy.

Just the girls! ( I look bald!) Jade, Jessie, Mindy, Dalina, Me

Sports Day

2008-03-01T01:22:00.000-08:00

Every year, Rosslyn holds a sports day. It is a pretty big deal. All students K-8 are involved in this day. (The high school has their own sports day, with another school. All of our school teams go and play their teams, and all students are bussed over and get to hang out with ISK- International School of Kenya- students and cheer for our teams. ISK is the US government school for Kenya.) Anyway all of the kids are put onto teams based on the 3 colors- red, green, and white. Now the older kids don't actually compete against the younger kids, but each team has approximately the same # of kinder., 1st graders, 2nd graders, etc. And they all earn points for their colors.

They practice for several weeks various events during PE. And then show their stuff on the big day. Parents come and everyone is involved. I was a timer. WOOHOO!! A very easy job!

Below are some of my students. Can you tell which team they are on?

The White Team won overall. Apparently, the white team wins a lot. Hmm... Kerry are you stacking the teams. This would be the Red Team. My kids are the ones in the very middle 2 girls on the left and next to them 2.5 boys.
My neighbor and elementary art teacher with her 4 yr old Tyler, stretching. Tyler was in the preschool, toddler race. So he had to get warmed up so he didn't pull anything during his 50 yard sprint. By the way, Tyler tied for first, with my good ole 'lil buddy Abby Nipper. (Abby is the daughter to my good friends Dan and Keturah whom I attended college with, practically lived with in TX and taught with.)
More White Team!! A Norwegien, Malaysian, and Korean. WOW! What a diverse 6th grade group.
How cute!
The GREEN TEAM !! WOOHOO!! Can you tell which team I was on?
Yes, we green team members believe in having peace!
Sadly to say, the Green Team came in last place. Not the most athletic group. But super cute and cheerful!

Just an FYI. Each team creates a simple cheer and ALL day long you hear these cheers. Let me just say, I had fun, but the cheers almost pushed me over the edge.

AG school in Mathari Slums

2008-03-01T00:54:00.000-08:00

Every grade is responsible for a service project each year. The high school grades generally take their project a step further and sort of adopt a project and work with it for the year or in this case, the 10th grade team has worked with this school for the past 2 or 3 years. This school became a safe haven for over 150 students who lost their homes and some of them their parents. They slept in the sanctuary each night on hard, wooden benches with little covers and no exra clothes. The 10th graders at Rosslyn asked for donations from the school to help with this school after the violence started.

My 6h graders did a marvelous job of helping out. As usual! They are so wonderful at recognizing needs and knowing how fortunate they really are. So Chris (a 10th grade sponser) and I went to bring some of the donated items to the school one Sat. Here is the outside of some of their classrooms. They are doing some maintainance in the rooms so you can see the benches that they use to sit on each day. This is the playground. I could be wrong, but I believe it was repainted by Rosslyn students.
These are some of the students in Form IV (I think that is right) with Steven in the red, he is asst. to the headmaster and also teaches math and science classes. Chris is the white guy. HAHA!! The 3rd boy down from Steven in the green shirt is wearing a Rosslyn shirt that one of my kids donated a week or so earlier. HEHE!! How cool! I love my 6th graders.
In the background to the right, is the side of the church, and then on the left are the offices. We were given a tour of the compound which had a nice Assembly of God church, about 8 classrooms (which only the older kids were taught 8th grade and up, but they had to pass a test to get into school- this is normal), then they had about 12 or so prayer rooms that had blankets and things for you to go and just cry out to God whenever you wanted, a descent looking so called kitchen, they had about 7 or 8 offices for the various positions (choir, youth, school headmaster, prayer team, evangel team, etc), they also had a nice medical facility. People from the area could come and get tested for various things (however, I am thinking they did not test for aids, but could be wrong) and they would give out prescriptions. They had nurse that was there daily and I am not sure who else normally came to help.

Peace FINALLY

2008-03-01T00:44:00.000-08:00

Well, as of Thursday, February 28th the government and its opposition have finally come to an agreement on power and who will control the country. As of Tuesday, it was looking very unlikely and there were threats of more trouble. Annan had said he was leaving. He had been here for a month and this was the longest time he had ever spent in one place. So after a month nothing. Each week seemed hopeful and the weekends would come, Annan would send each group home for the weekend and usually gave them a homework assignment.
For example: Last week, I believe, they had made some progress and each side was told to go back to their parties, work on this agreement and add what you think is needed, and Kabaki (the President) came back this past Monday with a completely new idea and had totally disregarded anything they had already agreed on.
But we now will have a President and he will have a cabinet and also a Prime Minister and he tool will have a cabinet and some control over Parliament. My neighbor said from what he understood it sounded like Odinga (the new Prime Minister) will actually have a bit more control. Anyway, it still must pass in Parliament, but it is looking up. Now the real test will be how these people will all work together and get things accomplished.
Odinga, has even made a statement (and I am not quoting, because I can't remember exactly what it was) but something to the effect that he didn't care about being President just wants power or something like that.
He was previously over the roads and their maintainance in Kenya and let me tell you has done a HORRIBLE job!! These roads are ridiculus. They could be better maintained if someone tried.
Anyway, peace for now. Keep praying for the government as corrupt as it is and for the people who really do want peace. Pray for more education for these young males, who will do anything to cause trouble and make peoples lives miserable.

Crazy Kenya, Crazy Times

2008-03-01T00:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, these are the famous matatus that I have mentioned. every vehicle you can see in this picture is a matatu. They are the cause of every traffic issue that Kenya has. I have yet to see a wreck that doesn't involve one of these bad boys. Before the elections matatus cost about 50sh (less than a dollar) now they cost a lot more. Because people weren't taking them since they weren't safe. They were often times the target of violence. Also, the Kikuyu mafia (I forgot their name) charge illegal tarrifs on the drivers and this has raised the cost as well. This mafia is much feared through out Kenya. They are known for their beheadings and for attacking the women on the matatus if they aren't the right tribe or if they aren't wearing a suitable outfit (skirt, long shirt ect.). The driver has a person who gets people on and collects the money. He often times keeps the door open and hangs out the opening. They drive on any drivable surface, sidewalks, dirt trails (made for the walkers and bikers), dirt shoulders. They are also very well known for making a 2 lane road into a 3 or 4 lane road. They pass at crazy times and you as the oncoming traffic have to hit the ditch and hope that you don't hit a biker or walker at the same time. I DETEST these things. I honestly hate the concept of them. They are dangerous, they make a 10 min. drive 45 min. becuase 7 or 8 will pass on the sidewalk during traffic and make your drive that much longer. They get so close to your car that they either hit it or you can literally touch it. It is awful. Did I mention I HATE matatus!!

So I made the next 2 pictures smaller so it wouldn't take 4 lifetimes to get them to post, but this is a small example of some torn down huts, shammies in the Mathari slums area. The Mathari slums were some of the hardest hit areas in Nairobi at least with violence and rioting. Sorry they aren't very good to begin with and it doesn't help that I made them smaller.

My Contact

2008-02-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

Ok so here is my address (my luv Kristen - who used to be a Smith- but got married the day before I left- so I couldn't see her wed- and am blaming that reason for not remembering her new lovely last name- I do remember he is a postman and very lovely) :)

So for those folks interested or not here it is:
Wendy Porter
Rosslyn Academy
PO Box 14146
Nairobi, Kenya 00800

Well to all my peeps (hehe). I am safe and doing well. This summer weather is killing me! HAHAHA!! It is perfect! No tornadoes or winter weather. However, I hear the rainy season will be starting soon, so I too must suffer.
Rainy season = long days of hard rains and lots and lots and lots of red clay everywhere. No more clean classroom, no more bright sunny days. So sad. So even us privilaged people have bad days too. :)

Love YA ALWAYS!!

Karura Refuge Camp Pics

2008-02-26T05:51:00.001-08:00

This is Karura which is a church that has been housing refuges from the El Doret area since the beginning of January.

In this first picture, you can see the amount of food that they need. I helped cut tomatoes on this day and we had a million it seemed liked. They were feeding over 250 people at the time and were expecting a few more. I am not sure if the extra people ever came though.Another day that I went, I sorted clothing that had been rained on. The volunteers had the clothes nicely organized and then they just kept getting more and more. They had thousands (not an exaggeration) of clothes to hand out. So they started putting them in potato sack things and were going to take them to another camp. However, it rained and so all of these clothes got wet. They smelled from mildew and many became muddy from the kids not respecting that the clothes were being layed out to dry. I just kept thinking, some of these things are really nice and your letting your dirty kids tromp all over them, when there is a perfectly good sidewalk for them to stay on. So we picked up dried clothes, put out wet clothes, and threw away clothes that were damaged and non-fixable.
Here are the heeps of clothes, plut that building is full of clothes and there was another storage room that had clothes too. I am telling you they had more than Macy's.
This man is preparing something for dinner. How would like to cook with that pot? They actually had some that were bigger. Craziness.

We are taking our kids this coming Monday to the camp to play with the preschoolers and package food. That should be fun. I will let you know how it goes.

This is Wendy Porter reporting for channel NKRA...

2008-02-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today, February 2nd, all is quiet in Nairobi, not sure what is happening around the country though. So this week in Kenya we have had 2 MP's shot and killed one was an assassination (murder, homicide, whatever you want to call it) and the second was a supposive "passion of crime" or maybe that's a crime of passion. Well either way, dude and woman were shot and killed as they were traveling from El Doret. A few incidents happened in Nairobi, Tuesday after the first MP was killed and we didn't officially shut down school, but some buses left at noon and most of the other kids were picked up by parents by 1:30. We had less than half of our kids remaining in class by 3:30.
Well, we didn't dismiss school anymore the rest of the week although we had to plan as if we were going to, just in case.
Tuesday evening we went out for dinner and to see a movie and many of the restaurants closed at 7pm. I guess it was so that their workers could get home a bit earlier for safety purposes.
GOOD NEWS !!! The violence will end in 6 days!! Not sure how this is going to happen, but that is the latest news. I guess they are going to hand out happy pills and everyone will live in peace and harmony at that time. Or that they will kill everyone that they can during the next 6 days and then just stop. Welp, we will find out in 6 days!!
So that is the latest news update from here. Not sure what you guys are hearing.

Crazy Dayz

2008-01-16T07:49:00.000-08:00

Well, we didn't have school today. Our first week back and we only attended school for 2 days.
So what happened today in Nairobi. It was pretty quiet for most of the day, but this afternoon some things started happening. There were some small riots (not sure if that is a good term). Gun shots were heard and people were told not to go downtown for any reason.

I was working at a refugee camp when I heard the news. We had a lowerie (however, you spell that) aka large truck that was going to take some of the donated clothing to another camp. As they started loading the truck the driver shut all the doors and said no he can't take them now. He was not going to be able to get to the other location without going through the trouble and he was afraid they would rob him and take all of the clothes. I know that Mombasa, El Doret, and Kisumu had some pretty big problems today.

Teachers at Rosslyn had to be in their classroom from 9:00 to 12:00 and if students lived near by they could come get extra tutoring. I had about 7 kids, but they all stayed in Paul's room so basically I had no kids. I am going through all of the folders that have been left over the past few years and THROWING this crap away!! Then I am organizing the work that I am keeping by chapter. So it has been a nice work day and hopefully it will be tomorrow too.

I will keep you updated as to how things are progressing. I am perfectly safe where I am at and no worries here about safety (for me at least). Thanks to all of you who are praying for me and Kenya.

I Am Back!!

2008-01-09T02:56:00.000-08:00

So I am back in Kenya. I tried to change my ticket on Friday, but apparently, when you go through a travel agent they have to change your ticket. I couldn't even upgrade my ticket. I will always book my own flights from here on out.

So Kenya...Well, when I was first making my decision to stay or leave as planned I was a bit torn. My area of town was completely safe and pretty much business as usual, however, the stores were opening later and closing earlier and a few were not open at all. The grocery store was starting to not get in shipments and so the food supply was becoming scarce. The Embassy keeps in dailyl contact with our warden and they had a "Town Meeting" at the Embassy the Friday before I left and yes they were telling people to be cautious and smart about where they went and the times of day that they traveled, but that there was no immediate danger.
Many of my friends that had left for holiday had delayed their tickets just to stay a bit longer with their families, not so much because of civil unrest.
While, my parents wanted me to stay with them (naturally, who wouldn't) and a few of you expressed that same opinion, I was a bit torn. I was excited to get to warmth, but also to have some days to recoop and to work in my classroom. Looking back I am SOOO thankful that I have had this extra time to plan and work in my classroom and get unpacked (there was a lot to unpack). And my sleeping habits are still way off.
However, I would have loved to have spent a few more days with the parents and my brother and to run some errands that I had planned on fitting in, but had procrastinated because I was planning on not returning until a later date.

Back to Kenya. Kibaki the current president is the lesser of two evils. While I don't encourage cheating at the poles, it is believed that there was rigging on both sides. There has always been conflict and some underlying unrest between these two tribes the Kikuyu and the Lou. The Kikuyu are business minded people who do what they can to educate themselves and to make their lives better. They have worked hard to get where they are at today. The Lou as a whole are less educated and don't push their people to become educated and successful in a monetary way.

The people here tend to also see that if their group is in power then they own the land and they too are in charge. So it would be like if I voted for Bush and since he won, then all the democrates should move away and they are also inferior to me. Just because my "person" won.

It is ignorance plain and simple. So in areas that were mostly populated by Kikuyu they have now kicked out the Lou (who a few weeks ago they were living in mostly harmony with) and in areas that have higher Lou populations they have kicked out the Kikuyu. There are many displaced people here.

As for now their are some negotiations and mediations going on. However, as of yesterday Kibaki appointed his cabinet and he appointed his vice president- I forgot his name, but he was an ODM candidate (there were two ODM candidates one Odinga and then this guy). These guys were the top 3 candidates in the election Kibaki, Odinga and guy who's name is forgotten. Odinga and Kibaki are the two who are fighting.
So my point is that it will be interesting to see how Odinga reacts towards this other ODM candidate becoming the Vice president.

Some history on Odinga. He was once part of a Ku (not sure how to spell that) and was imprisoned for a while because of this. He has also been linked to some genocides. The man is not a good man and the fear by the "educated" people was that he would come in and change laws so that he could stay in power. He is also muslim. Which in the long run could cause a lot of problems for the Christian population and for all of the mission organizations here in Kenya.

For now, I am safe and have not felt any different than before I left. Except for the fact that my stomach is readjusting. I saw the movie "I AM Legend" and I am not a fan. Although will smith did a great job.

Ok well, I will keep you updated. As for now kids come this Monday the 14th and we are well on our way to normalicy I hope. Love you and thanks for all of your concerns and prayers.
Please pray for the Kenyan people, as a whole they want peace, and are tired of this ruckus caused by mostly male youths who are very uneducated and some who just want to fight and are using this political drama as an excuse.

Do I stay or do I go?

2008-01-03T17:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the mother figure would of course answer that question with "you stay". However, I am really wanting to get back on a schedule and warm weather. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and wouldn't mind staying if I needed to.

I just received word that our school has been delayed for a week. So, if I did return as planned then I would definitely have time to recover. I was really dreading the idea of getting into Kenya at 10pm and then having to wake up the next morning for a full day of work.

I don't really think my safety is a concern. It is mostly two tribes fighting against each other (that sounds so 1800's to me). The violence has mostly been in other cities until the past two days. The violence in Nairobi has been in mostly 2 of the main slums. I live no where near them. Well, I suppose I live closer than all of you. I have talked to several people on my compound and they have had no problems. They are staying in our area and coming home early just to be on the safe side. The nearby grocery store is closing early each day and groceries on the shelves are starting to become scarce along with gas. I hope Paul has enough gas to pick me up. HEHE!!
So, I will inform all you lovely peeps what is going to happen when I know. My mom has had so many of her customers call and one even made a special trip to the Gallery to see if she was there, all because they are concerned about me. (how sweet-give those people a discount)Plus I have received quiet a few emails and calls from you folks. I do appreciate the prayers and concerns! Thanks guys!
The most stable country in Africa outside of South Africa for many years now, would become slightly unstable the year I move there. Go figure.
Love ya'll!!

Better Watch Out They'll Get Ya!

2008-01-02T21:26:00.001-08:00

This lioness is probably not going to get ya. At least not at the moment. She was having fun entertaining the passer-byers. She kept rolling onto her back and just looking at people.

Now this big boy is looking at our van and is not happy. We are not sure why but just before this shot he took off in a dead sprint and charged our van. We had stopped and Patrick was about to turn off the van when he suddenly throw it into gear and floored it. Then the dude stopped and just stared like this. Crazy animal.

This lion was not very pretty, but he was very laid back and almost acted drunk.
He kept staggering and weaving. It was funny being commentaries (from inside the van). Patrick got us to the perfect spot and then this dude and his brother walked to the other side of our van and another van came and pulled right up in front of us. How rude!!

Mr. Lions close-up. Notice, he isn't the most handsomest lion. Reminds of Scar.

The brothers chillin' in the shade that some of the vans provided. They were quiet thankful.

Elephants!! They were everywhere. These elephants would migrate to several miles to the swamp and then back to their home every day. They have it better than the Elephants in South Africa. Have you ever seen Planet Earth (the movie)?

The elephants are currently near their home and are starting to walk towards the swamp for the day.

This dude can't wait for the lushes green grass at the swamp so he is eating dry grass mixed with some dry dirt. It's like Ethiopian food I hear. HAHA!!

Hippo!! These cute little things are actually very dangerous. Who knew?

A male ostrich. The females are an ugly brown. For whatever reason in the bird world. God created all the male birds with lively colors and all the females without any pretty colors. I think I will ask him why one day. Poor females. They should have the looks I mean they are the ones who have to pop out all of them eggs.

Safari Pictures

2008-01-02T20:58:00.001-08:00

Wildebeast. They are everywhere. Not very exciting. Not to cute either. Sorry boys.

Warthogs!! One of my favs only because I love the lion king and my favorite quote is...
"When I was a young warthog...!"

Vultures looking for food. Good luck boys.

A giraffe with Mt. Killi in the background.

Ok so you can't see this bird to well, but it is hilarious looking. I forgot the name of it (where
are you Paul when I need you?) but it has spiky things on its head. Kinda cute.

Dalina, Jess and I in front of the sign to our lodge.

The front of our lodge. It was very nice and nicely decorated. I was impressed.

Our safari van. Patrick was our driver. Pretty cool dude.

A view to the entrance of our lodge. Everything in Africa has gates and guards. They are supposed to make you feel safer, but with no weapons on most of them, I am not sure how safe they actually make me feel. Just an extra person to pay.

The back side of our lodge. You can't tell, but it overlooks the wild. Elephants, zebra, whatever, come right up the fence that is about a 100 yds from this building. Our room had this same view. Pretty cool.

The fun stuff. So notice the red on this hyenas face. That would be blood. He has just finished breakfast...

The white dot (shows up better on my camera) is a zebra. Probably killed by a lion and then finished off by the above hyena. It was pretty nasty.

This is what the zebra will look like in a few weeks. Lovely huh?

The Coast Part 2

2008-01-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

I love the beach!
We had tons of fun in the sun and I man did I get sunburned. I put on sunscreen, but it still happened.
This picture is already on this blogsite.

A beautiful view of the Indian Ocean. Where you see the waves in the background.
Just before that is where the reef is and so the waves didn't come up to shore except during
high tide.

Not sure about this picture, but it is a view from our beach house.

Another view of the Indian Ocean.

My fellow teachers. On our last evening in Malindi, the electricity went out.
SHOCK! NO electricity in AFRICA?! So we went to a near by resort and just hung out and got drinks and desserts. It was nice. We were all tired and most of us went back after about 2hrs and well we tried to play some games, but the wind had picked up and kept blowing out our candles so we just went to bed. It was a miserable night! I was sunburned, hot and because of the stupid mosquito net around my bed the breeze just wasn't gettin' to me. Not a good night.

We ventured out into the crisp, blue water. Man it was so pretty. We rented a boat and went snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. I didn't see Nemo, but I did see a few of his friends. We even saw 2 small sharks. I was not smart and failed to take a picture of them.

As we finished up our snorkeling and came back to the boat, our captain would throw
bread in front of you. Then all of the sudden hundreds of these zebra fish would swarm you and attack the bread and whatever. Chris here apparently enjoyed it because he stayed in the water and kept feeding them. Me on the other hand was trying to get to the boat, but dude kept throwing the bread and then I would be attacked over and over again. Driver dude apparently thought it was funny, but hmm he wasn't going to think that no tip was funny now would he.

Dalina and I sporting our sunburns.

The Greenwhich Family! Above- Ann and Caleb (boy is he having a blast)!
Below Jeremy and Gabe!

Brenton, Jess, and Jessie
The peeps before we went to the reef. This whole peninsula is surrounded by a reef so unless it is high tide the waves don't really come to shore. So we had to go out a ways to get to the reef and to play in the waves.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-01-02T20:07:00.001-08:00

Better late than never.
We had a marvelous Thanksgiving despite having to work all day.
Below are a few shots of our potluck dinner that Keturah and I organized.
We had it in the 6th grade science classroom because so many people came. No
one had room for all 25 of us.
Keturah made some really sweet stand up decor with versus on them.

Dalina and our bestest Norwegian friend Astrid joining in on the festivities.
We welcome all nationalities! HEHE!

Our gorgeous fine china and table displays!

Well, the picture is a bit blurry, but that turkey was dang tasty!
Thanks Ann!! (P.S.- I picked it out)

Kerry with the girls (Zeporah- my sweet heart, and Ava). Kerry and her roommate Mel
keep kids from the Nest on weekends and during short breaks like Thanksgiving. It is just
to help give the Nest workers time to spend with other kids, but also to give the kids some one-on-one time. Ava was their previous love, but now she is still loved, but has been adopted by a Rosslyn family. Zeporah is my sweet girl. I get to babysit her sometimes or I go hang out with Mel and Kerry when they have her. She is the best baby!
Another blurry picture (sorry) but just a shot of the folks eatin'.

Oh look, another shot of people eating.

Random Kenya Take 1

2008-01-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Below are a few shots of random things in Kenya and while they are every day things
I see they don't have a specific category.

This is picture is from the Pentacostal Crusade I attended. It was actually my
second crusade and I received a lot more attention at the first, but this was definitely interesting. They love to move around when they sing. The people on stage are from Victory World Outreach Church. I go to this church sometimes and really enjoy it. It is all Kenyan though.

Here is a man leading his donkey/mule/whatever it is. You can see this often on the streets
including in the city.

This is where you pay your shillings to use the restroom. There was actually no one there guarding the box at the time, but we still paid our money. It is crazy. This one gas station we went to I had the chose to go in first and guess what no paper. AAHH Gross!! So Dalina decides that she will go tell the cashier. She was told she had to pay for her toilet paper. Ok no big deal, we have done that before. They made her buy an entire roll of toilet paper. HAHAHA!!! Well, we were ready for the next place.

Dinner-ETHI

2008-01-02T19:36:00.001-08:00

The ladies at Astrid's after dinner. Astrid had this marvelous
dessert made. She is the most amazing cook. She is the
Norwegian Martha Stewart.
Lynn, Astrid, Dalina, and Wendy

Astrid and Wendy

Ok, so we are back Habesha, and for those of you who have
forgotten this is an Ethiopian Restaurant. Wendy doesn't do
Ethiopian food. It looks gross and tastes the same.

Chris, Wendy, and Jose

Dalina and Wendy hanging out in front of the fire at Astrid's.

Wendy's pizza that she ate while everyone else at Ethiopian.
Umm tasty! (The pizza was at least.)

Happy Days to Rough Days

2007-12-05T05:59:00.000-08:00

Anytime anyone ask me how I am doing here I usually respond with great or wonderful. And even though I am not lying, there are days that are so frustrating. I have been fortunate that I haven't really been homesick (don't get me wrong, I miss my family like crazy) or depressed. I am sure that has to do with all of your prayers and I am so eternally greatful for them and please don't stop. But the past few days have been a bit trying.
Saturday was my birthday and I must admit the way people doted on me all weekend long and all of the efforts people made to help me make the day wonderful, definitely put this birthday in the top 5. So coming off of this high I was having a great first of the week. And the call came.
This first call was for Chris. He was leaving town for the weekend and was allowing me to babysit his car. (an automatic). I was so excited. Dalina and I were the only ones going to be in town and had our weekend planned hour for hour. But the call, that was for Chris, was about Chris needing to drive his car on the weekend trip. Yea, you guessed it, Wendy no longer has a car for the weekend and will be stuck at home (jess will also be out of town). I don't drive standards so the only car in Africa that is a standard is Chris'.
I was so mad! I let him know that too (well, not sure if he actually caught on, cause guys are a bit slow at reading signs). All night Tuesday, I was having a pity party. I was frustrated with not having a car and not being able to go and do as I wanted. I was frustrated with all of the frustrating things that Africa brings.
Walking to school this morning, I was trying not to cry and wondering how I was ever going to make it through the day without losing it in front of my kids.
When I got to my classroom I found that 3000 shillings (around 45 dollars) had been stolen from our class fund that was supporting a local ophanage for Christmas. I was so mad.
Then I get an email just before school started to call Jess ASAP it was urgent. So I did and found out that Dalina's dad had just died. It is horrible to lose a loved one, but when you are over seas it is just different. Then a few minutes later I received an email that another person on campus had also lost her dad the day before. I am thinking at this point, What in the world?!
My lesson was horrible, not focused or put together at all.
So it has been a fantastic day. Actually, I have nothing really to complain about. But sometimes I feel so dependent and closed in.
I was told upon coming here that the pay was enough to allow you to live comfortably. HA! I am not sure who is living comfortably, but it sure isn't me and then I was informed on how easy it was to get around, but when you can't drive a stick sometimes you are up a creek without a paddle. And for a girl who likes her independence that is not good.
I am truly so blessed to be here and I do sincerely love it, but life is a bit more difficult in many areas that normally wouldn't be so difficult. Please keep praying for me, but please lift up myfriends Dalina and Jane as they go through this most difficult times in their lives. Give praise to God for all of His blessings and for His unending love and for our place in Heaven. I love you guys!!!

A NEW HOLIDAY

2007-12-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

ONLY IF... Well that only if can only happen in Africa. So, we are supposed to have our last school day on Friday, December 21st. It is a half day. However, there is this Kenyan election going on (well election day is actually on Dec. 27th. It was scheduled for the 25th to help reduce rioting, but last I heard it had been pushed back 2 days).
Well, Kebaki the current president, is trying to gain more votes so he has promised the Muslim citizens another holiday for them (which means the entire state shuts down on any national holiday). EID is a holiday that is based on the moon and so the actual date fluctuates up until the week before the day arrives. Just like American politics Kebaki will do anything to get votes. So he just created a holiday a few weeks ago and so now we may get Thurs. the 20th off, which in turn would mean we would get the 21st off because it was only going to be a half day. I am not complaining, by any means. I love vacations!! Maybe you can forward this to the democratic or republican campaigns and tell them this is the way to get votes. Hey if you get a paid vacation out of it I would vote for them.

Thanksgiving In Africa

2007-11-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and while I greatly missed my family, I did get to speak to every one of them while they ate Thanksgiving lunch (I had just finished my TG dinner).
I had to work on Thanksgiving. For some reason Kenyans don't celebrate the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymoth Rock.
But after a full day of work (that is your hint to say "ah poor Wendy") I organized a dinner for 17 adults and 6 kids. It wasn't that hard, but I ordered the 6kg turkey, and Keturah helped me with the decorations and inviting people, and Ann (dear Ann) made the turkey and it tasted so good. I was a bit worried when at lunch time I heard the turkey was still frozen solid in the middle, but Ann worked her magic and it was so delicious.
We had fun and lots of food and some decorations.
Then I woke up early the next morning and Jess, Dalina and I headed for Safari. It was about a 5 1/2 journey on some very nicely made Kenyan roads (and I say that with complete sarcasm in my voice) Kenyan roads are horrendous.
We arrived at Amboseli and had lunch, then went to the pool. Everything from our room, to the pool, to the dining area overlooked the savanna. We could look out of our window or door and see Elephants walking to the swamp or back home.
So we went out on safari at 4pm and immediately came across a family of elephants and cape buffalo. They were so fun. Then we got word that their was a lioness out so we booked to where she was and saw this chic just chillin starin' back at all the jeeps and vans that were loaded with people.
After that we didn't see much as far as the big 5 go. Lots of Gizelle and wildebeast (can't spell that) a few jackholes, and hyenas. The gizelle and wildebeast population could definitely use a trimming down.
So after about 2hrs we went back to our lodge and ate dinner and hung out.
We had to get up at 6am for this freakin safari. What kind of trip is that? So we got up and went out (we were some rough lookin mozungus). At first it was kind of lame and then we spotted this hyena running across the field with his entire nuzzle covered in blood. He had just been eating somthing and then we saw the Zebra. WE missed the kill and even missed the lion eating, but that hyena was sure proud of his find.
We drove for a while and didn't see much exciting and then towards the end of our morning safari we got a tip that 6 lionesses had been spotted so off we went. Sure enough there were 6 lioness just chillin in this open area close to a bushy area. After a bit, they got tired of us looking at them so they went into the bush. We made our way around this culdesac type thing and saw 2 cape buffalo. Our driver slowed down for us to watch them and all of the sudden this thing started to charge us so Patrick through the van in gear and gunned it. Finally, the buffalo stopped and turned around, but he kept his eyes on us. It was scary and hilarious at the same time. I've never been charged by anything other than the credit card company or police (sorry mom it was only one time).
So we headed in for breakfast and then took a nap and then we decided to go to this Masaii village. So we go to the foothills of Mt. Kilie (the 2nd tallest mt in the world I think). Did you know it is a volcano? Also it is freestanding. As opposed to sitting or laying and it apparently it doesn't need any help to stand. Good to know. Speaking of which, during our first drive on, the clouds finally went away and we could see the top of the Mt. It was beautiful. It had snow on it and all. Very nice touch (Thanks God!).
Ok so back to the Masaai village. Well, like any tourist attraction you have to pay to get in and there is a gift store. No public restrooms though. HMMM! So we try to talk them down to 500 shillings, but apparentely you can only bargain with items and not tours. So we had to pay 1000 shillings. We are white people, so we must be rich. So the villagers come out and welcome us in the most enthusiastic way (very sarcastic tone there) and do their welcome chants and prayer. I am not sure which god I was praying to, but I am almost certain it wasn't the same God I read about or pray to. So then Benson, our Masaai tour guide took us into the village and we received another show. This time the people actually smiled and acted as if they cared about life and that we just gave their village 3000 shillings.
So they do this jumping contest and man Micheal Jordan watch out. These guys can freakin jump and then the women do these little tiny baby jumps where their feet don't even leave the ground. One woman was so excited jumping she lost the left side of her garment and so I got a show of another kind too. I wasn't expecting that I hope she wasn't looking for tips, cause I don't play that game (anymore that is). Just kidding mom. So during one of the dances all of the men came up to us and did this dance and then would get right in our faces and then back off a little. I looked at Jess and said I think we are getting married. (Keep this in mind for later)
Ok so then we go watch Benson make fire from a stick, a piece of wood, and donkey dung.
Then we learn about several medicines that they get from the different trees. We learned how they made medicine to help with labor pains (or inducing or something), for joint pains, and also one for viagra. You got it America. Viagra is not new. It is very old and has been in Africa for thousands of years. Who knew? Well, with 8 wives I guess they need something. Yelp they are like mormans ( have nonChristian beliefs, have tons of kids, live in small village type communities where they only associate with "their" people, and each male has to many wives.)
Ok so after the medicine and fire show, off to Benson's hut we go. Well, we bend over to fit into this hut that is made of cow dung, cow skin, and dirt. It had 2 windows that were about 7 inches by 3 inches (n0 exageration). That is where they get their light and where the smoke goes when they are cooking. So you walk in and turn this tiny corner and it was soo dark. Benson practically had to pick me up to place me on the spot that he wanted me to sit on. This spot ended up being his bed. HMMM!!! I am thinking about what just happened a few minutes ago with the "ceremony" and now he is sitting me on his bed. I was thinking my mom is going to kill me that she wasn't invited, but my dad was going to be so relieved becuase he didn't have to pay for a thing.
So the girls come in and we asked Benson questions about the house, his family (he currently only has 1 wife and one child) great at this point I'm thinking he could be married any day now. He has plenty of spaces left on his marriage card.
Well, Benson sits next to me on the bed, but don't worry dad he was a gentleman. So I am sitting on this cow skinned covered "bed" and about 2 feet from me is the kitchen fire which is in the middle of the dirt floor, and then Dalina was on this tiny stool on the other side of the doorway and next to her was Jess sitting on the bed for the kids. Talk about privacy. There was NONE!! What do you do? Send your kids to grandmas for the night or hahah your other wives houses haha. That would be mean. Sorry lady I don't want you tonight, but do you think you could watch my other kids. HAHAHA!! Ok maybe I am the only one who can amuse myself with that.
After that we went to their "gift store" haha. Well basically it is directly behind the village along the bushed wall and the people are sitting on their blankets with the various items that had been made in the village. I am such sucker. I bought a this bracelet thing and a ring, but Benson led me around and held my items as I went from blanket to blanket and then he placed the ring on my finger. I nearly fainted. I thought I can't marry a Masaai dude, I mean your cute and all, but dude you have no physical toilett or shower, or washing machine, or sink or mall,and you drink goat and cow blood FOR CRYIN'out loud!!! There diets consist of goat and cow meat, milk and blood. That is it ladies and gentlemen. No bananas, apples, carrots, chicken wings with honey mustard sauce, no gatorade and NO M&M's!!! I can't live here.
Well, Benson let me leave, so I took that as a good sign that we weren't married, but he might of gotten the impression that I was going to get me stuff and I was coming back.
Oh they didn't have a wooden school house. Benson is the teacher. At least we have one thing in common.
So we headed back for lunch (sounds tasty after hearing about goats blood, viagra, and seeing an X-rated live jumping ceremony).
We rested that afternoon and then headed back out on one final drive around 4pm. This time we saw all the same animals as before, but we saw some hippos up close so cute! And 2 MALE LIONS!!! It was exciting.
Don't worry I have plenty of pictures of all of these adventures, but yelp you guessed it. I can't seem to put them on here.
It was a blast and we slept in a bit (until 8am) Sunday morning and headed back home to Nairobi. It was fun. I hope to get pics on here, but I am not promising anything.

Coming soon...
Pictures of a November dinner at Habesha
A very ROsslyn Thanksgiving
Safari pics 07
The Nest

Basketball and Soccer Champion Sweep!!

2007-11-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had the finals for girls basketball, tennis, and boys soccer. Our tennis team, although they are pretty good didn't fare as well as the other two teams.

Because of space purposes girls and guys don't play the same sport at the same time. So just like in the states we have 3 seasons. The first season is boys soccer, tennis, and girls basketball. This goes for all grades 6th - 12th.

I coached the b-team middle school girls basketball. I had 4 sixth graders, 5 seventh graders and 1 8th grader. We were 4-3 in our season and then at tournament were 1-3. I got very sick the night before our tournament and was unable to go coach my girls. I have never in my entire 7th grade through college career of playing sports plus the past 6 years of coaching sports, ever missed a game or practice(during season play). That is a lot of sports time. I have on several occassions felt miserable and had trash cans nearby because I had been sick, but forced myself to come to a game.

So this particular weekend I just couldn't do it. There were several factors: we would be outside in the heat, it was an all day thing, and I had had some fever so I didn't want to give anything to my girls. I had been so excited about this weekend and hoped to also get some pictures for you guys to see them.

Well, back to the Friday night games- our high school teams did very well. Our girls basketball team went 25-0 in season and won the game by a significant amount. Then we headed to the last part of the guys game where they had just scored the 3rd goal and won in overtime 3 to 2!! Here are some pictures of our celebrations! It was pretty cool! (They are obviously at the beginning of this blog.

Measles and the Mumps!!!

2007-11-17T05:25:00.000-08:00

Well it is Saturday, November 17th here in Nairobi, Kenya. We have a slight problem. The problem would be that the mumps have popped up on several people at Rosslyn. So there are no measles (thank goodness), but the mumps we have. There have been 4 recorded cases of the mumps. The first case came from my neighbors little boy a few weeks ago. I play basketball with my neighbor every other Sunday. Then a second grader was reported with having the mumps. I teach his brother. The third case came up when my neighbor (whose son had just recovered from the mumps) was diagnosed with mumps. Then just yesterday, my friend Jessie, who I hang out with often and teach next door to went home sick with... you guessed it the mumps.
Now for those of you aren't familiar with the way this illness works let me inform you. You are usually contagous for several days before you actually know you are sick and then you are contagous for at least 8 or so more days. So I have been around at least 2 people directly before they were diagnosed and indirectly around 2 others. I am a bit worried. My friend Jessie and I along with a few other girls are scheduled to take a Thanksgiving trip to Amboseli (safari). So if the time table is correct, Jessie will not be able to go because she will still be contagous. i feel horrible for her. She can't leave her house or nothing poor thing.
YIKES!!!

Again Not Working

2007-11-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

Ok well, once again, this stupid blog site is not letting me put pictures on it. AAHHH!! I hate this. It makes me so angry.
Ok so life in the last few weeks.
Not much has happened. Last Saturday, I went to The Nest which is an orphanage that takes in children whose moms are in prison. Most of the kids are children, but sometimes they get babies. My friends Mel and Kerry usually take in babies on the weekends. Right now they have a little baby named Ziporah. They go and get her each weekend and then the lady that runs the Nest picks her up Monday morning before school. They will keep her each weekend until she gets adopted.
Most of the babies The Nest gets have been abandoned. Like Ziporah someone found her in a ditch I believe. Most of the kids are not up for adoption because their mothers will be back, but the abandoned babies after a 3 month period can come up for adoption.
So I went to the Nest with some people from school to visit the kids and see the compound. Well, every single baby had wet diapers. Which here they have cloth diapers, no pampers. So their pants were all so soiled and nasty. It was gross. I did not enjoy it at all. The kids were very whiny and dirty Now the bedrooms were nice and very clean. The closets were well organized. But the kids had nasty noses and their pants were all wet(well the small ones).
Granted they had like 8 workers and 30 kids (that includes the 4 bed babies and 9 babies that can sit up or stand).
I am not sure if any of this makes sense, but I hope it does.