More December Photos

We saw our first monkey.

These are my favorite dogs I have met. They live at the Tumaini grounds. They are known as Brown and Black, respectively.

Found this guy in the house.

Side view pose.

Recent X-mas event for Tumiani held near center of town next to river and barracks. Games in the morning before going back to Tumiani to serve roasted goat and ugali to the streetkids (and older people of the street). There were between 100 and 200 in all. I spent most of the morning cleaning and dressing wounds.

For the X-mas event some chickens were slaughtered and plucked(in photo). Of course the staff was very amused that I had never killed and prepared even a chicken. They encouraged photos. I enjoyed learning.

Here I am trying to capture how roads are built. This one has been in the works at least since we arrived 3 months ago.  Big boulder-like rocks are hauled by truck, then hit with a sledge hammer, then placed like a jigsaw puzzle in place, then spread over with smaller rock.

Photos of Late: running and goat and mtatu

 This is the trail we have taken to running, it follows the rails out of town

 Looking toward the river and fields

 This was the goat that was slaughtered, then roasted, at Tumaini as part of a celebration for the boys

The mtatus are often rickety though they sometimes distinguish themselves from others with some flashy seats or slogans ( a rare open seat during a ride).

The most rambling yet

In an effort to write something I am sure this will be a rambling mess. Let’s start with today. Today is another beautiful day.  The short rains, as they are called have ended.  For the past week and a half the weather has been fabulous- Sunny and clear during the day with cool breezes and a temp of about 75 F or so.  It feels hotter than this in the sun of course, and sunscreen is still a must or one of my pallor will burn quickly. People say the short rains lasted longer this year.  People say lots of things about the weather that makes it hard to get a good feel for the usual cycles, but we have also heard that in the last few years it has been much more unpredictable.

Today’s efforts will include study.  I am trying to keep up on a few topics, so I will devote some good time to reading.  I will also put in a solid chunk of time to my Kiswahili.  I have been more passive of late with the language. I have achieved enough knowledge that I could begin to be complacent- because I know enough to be friendly and ask some simple question and also because I know enough to know how much further I have to go.  But I will get out my homemade flashcards and add to their lot. I will head into town later for my Kiswahili lesson.  I have continued with the lessons, but have been less assiduous with study at home.

It is nice to be at the house in Kenmosa during the day.  To work here is great.  I look out of huge windows into the garden or I even sit on the little veranda. It is still a bit weird that there is a gardener who works outside tending to the garden and grounds as I work on the computer or do household work(which I am sure seems strange to him- me being a man doing laundry). We are looking to have a different living situation soon.  We would like to be closer to Deb’s work.  We would like to find something that is smaller (this place here is too much in a few ways…) and is cheaper. It is pretty cheap by US standards, but we’d still like to spend less. More school loans come calling this month… So we’ll see.  Things take time here.

Today I will probably run- I mean jog.  I have been a little more consistent of late, as we have found a nice little out and back route that is more pleasant than the road. Instead, we follow the train tracks on a little path that crosses the countryside.  I have been enjoying the view of the small Sosiani river flowing by acacia trees and the open field where corn stalks have been cut and ordered in small haystack-like structures.  Cows and sheep loll in the open areas.  Yesterday at my turnaround point I was being stared at while I stretched by two very young herders with their herding sticks-so I yelled a greeting to them.  They walked over and we did a proper handshake greeting and we exchanged a few simple words in Kiswahili about the weather.  Then I said farewell and ran back home. (I will post a few pictures of the area where we run)

I will not drop by Tumaini (the center for streetkids) today.  It has been very quiet there lately and I have been feeling a bit ineffectual in my time there. I have been avoiding writing a long post about the center or the work there or my thought on the streetkids. I may be a bit more self-conscious with this blog than I had imagined. It is a strange thing to self publish these thought our there on the internet and have them sit. So there, so be it. I can always promise to write more later, right?

World AIDS Day

Last Thursday, Dec 1st was World Aids Day.  A longtime friend, who remarkably also found work here has these great words.

Jumble of Pics from Kisumu

 Deb from the rooftop of a hotel in central Kisumu

 Some cows standing in the road

 The crooked art in our simple room

 We were shown the pier by new friends

 A grounded steam powered boat, due for some rehab

Deb picks up the camera for a minute.

On Toothpicks

This is a great place for toothpicks

Toothpicks are pretty much on every table in every restaurant. If not, they are brought after the meal. There are some at the house where we stay. I use them.

Foods warranting Toothpicks:

(in no particular order)

·      Mangos

·      Nyama Choma Ya Mbuzi (Roasted Goat)

·      Mahindi Choma (Roasted corn on the cob –think chewing very sort “old maids” at the bottow of the bowl of popcorn. I like it!)

·      Githeri (beans with corn kernels- the corn is a main culprit)

·      Kuku (chicken)

·      Sushi (just kidding-)