Tomato Update

I wanted to let you all know that my tomatoes are now recovering (I'm sure you were all holding your breath for me)! The problem was what the Maasai call, "Inkarboboni"--I call them midget squirrels. These Maasai squirrels live on the ground and don't climb trees, but basically are a nuisance if you're trying to grow crops. They eat anything that is young and green. So, after realizing they were the culprit behind my chronically slow-growing tomatoes, I created a small fence of a plastic-mesh netting. In the past week we've had a lot of growth and I'm now waiting anxiously to see how my tomatoes will produce....

Ice Cream Escapades

Recently, both Steph and I have been craving ice cream. Its one of the things that we can't get regularly but we can get in Nairobi, reminding us of what we are missing. The problem has always been getting it from Nairobi to Najile. The drive has been taking 3-4 hours over the past few months as the roads were even more deteriorated than usual thanks to the heavy rains April-May.
Fortunately, we recently found a faster (less bumpy dirt road) route that gets us from Najile to Ngong in about an hour and a half. Now if we could only get ice cream in Ngong.....
A second revelation was finding an ice cream shop in Ngong where they sell small bowls of ice cream with fruit for the equivalent of 75 cents. This is a start, but not enough to bring home to Najile. A few weeks ago, I decided I would try to find a way to bring home a gallon of ice cream as a surprise for Steph.
I went to the ice cream shop with some of our friends from Ngong, mostly so they could translate into Swahili. I said, "what's the biggest ice cream you can sell us." The guy pointed to a bowl that would be like 2 regular scoops back in the states. I said, "no...I mean, the very most you can give us." The waiter was confused. We went to the freezer-case of ice cream and pointed to the container holding one of the flavors, "we want the whole thing!" It finally dawned on the guy what we were asking. Interestingly enough, he was happy to sell a large box of ice cream for a reasonable price.
Once I had the ice cream, it was a race against time as I drove home to Najile. I made the trip in an hour and a half flat and even was able to sneak the ice cream into the fridge before Steph saw it. Later that night we were looking for a snack when i brought out some ice cream with brownies. The look on Steph's face was priceless.

Bummer

So....while we try to stay mostly positive on our blog, this week had a variety of events that could be summarized as "bummer."
1. We had our first mouse in the house since last year (when a mouse died under the guest bed). Later in the week we had a second, slightly smaller, mouse for two mice in one week.
2. My tomatoes are officially, "not growing" after 4 weeks of regular water and care. My guess is that birds or squirrels (called enkarbobo in Maa) are eating the little leaves)
3. The water has been out for much of the week, including today
4. At work we've had to deal with a variety of issues including poor attitudes and corruption.
5. On-going computer problems, including regular freezing (for no apparent reason)
6. I've been working on a survey for a friend in the States which basically has found out that development has had little impact on the community other than making the people think they can't live without it.

On the other hand, we have a beautiful little house of our own, we serve people in our work, and we have a great circle of friends and family to surround us. Be praying we can remember God's many blessings in the midst of a host of bummers.

For the Birds

One new past-time we've learned to appreciate in Najile is bird-watching.  Neither of us ever considered bird-watching "fun" or really understood why somebody would be interested in sitting and watching birds for hours on end.  However, here in Najile the birds basically have come to us.  We have a great tree with yellow flowers that attracts a wide variety of "exotic" birds.  Today's new find was the African Hoopoe.  I've never seen this bird before and was surprised by its contrasting colors and strange head feathers.  If you can watch birds while checking the Phillies score on your computer (like Matt did this morning), that's bird-watching we can get into!

Back-to-School

When I hear the phrase "Back-to-School" certain images come to mind:
Lots of shopping trips for new outfits and school supplies, joining the hundreds of other families doing the same
Trying to adjust bedtimes routines to "school hours" instead of "summer hours" 
Energy and enthusiasm for the new year
Hopes for a fresh start
Everyone being at school the first day on their best behavior trying to impress

This week was the start of a new semester here in Najile, but "back-to-school" looks quite a bit different:
First of all there's an ongoing question of "when does school start again?" Depending on who you ask, you might get answers that range over a period of two weeks.  This means that the first week usually sees low student attendance and even lower teacher attendance.
While a new term does start in september, its not a new year so the "new feel" of a new year is lost.  Many students are missing because school fees are due and they aren't allowed back until they can pay up.  Instead of "back to school" sales, we have "back-to-school" fundraisers where the parents try to get people to give them money for fees.
When asked what they did over their break, students gave answers like....
"Looking after" (meaning herding cows and goats)
"Cleaning the house"
"Nothing"
"Helping my parents"
"Go to church"

Not many, "went to the beach" or "had summer camp and learned how to swim..." 
So while all of you parents, teachers and students are enjoying the normal back-to-school routine, be thankful you know when school starts!

Passport

In Kenya, official documents are both harder and easier to come by. If you are a legitimate sort of person, getting the government to work for you is like going to war. You need to outnumber and outgun your opposition in every way possible. If you can bring in your entire extended family to the government office, you'd probably have more luck getting an resident's card. At the same time, most government documents are easily forged and most people ignore the bureaucracy and just buy a fake.
That being said, a funny thing happened on the way to Najile last month....A woman visited us and asked if we could photocopy her daughter's birth certificate. This has been very common recently since the government passed a law saying you need a birth certificate to go to secondary (high) school. Unfortunately, most Maasai don't have birth certificates (or any government papers) which puts them in a tough situation. To go to school, they need to go to the district office (a 4-5 hour drive from Najile) and wait in line, often 5-10 times before the official agrees that they are indeed....alive.
So, this woman needed a copy of her daughter's certificate. No problem. Our printer is 3-in-1 so we shoot off a quick copy, to her amazement. Then she asks a more tricky question, "can you make me a passport too?"......Welcome to Kenya

A Good Day in Kenya

Last friday, on the 27th of August, one nation ended and a new one took its place. We watched the so-called "Promulgation of the New Constitution of Kenya" from Nairobi and were happy to see a new Kenya being created. The ceremony was filled with pomp (as only ex-Commonwealth Countries can execute) and was attended by many dignitaries, including Omar Al Bashir (indicted by the ICC). It was a great act of God to keep people safe and seemingly it all went off without a hitch. We are now in the Second Republic of Kenya and all we hope for and pray is "God Bless Kenya".