Sunday

Feb 27

Sunday and went to the English service at AIC church. Good sermon. Then after I came home because I really didn’t want to sit through the Swahili service. So I came home and now I’m here alone. It’s really nice not to have anyone else in the house right now. So often the house has other people in it and there is always a lot of noise. People talking, a baby crying, and the ever present talk radio blaring away.

I want to go into town and go to the coffee shop. I hear it’s where all of us white folk go to have a taste of home. So I’m wondering if I’ll be able to go. I’ll only get on a motorcycle with Michael and there’s no way I’ll get in a Matado. HUM I wonder...

MAX

Max is a puppy here on the farm. He's adorable and all puppy. For the past week I've seen very little of him, and I began to wonder if someone took him or if someone sold him here on the farm. That happens here in Kenya, people will take animals and sell them.  The kittens were taken and the poor Momma cat went a little nuts looking for her babies.

Anyway, tonight after walking home from Silas house, there was Max on the side of the house. He started to slink away, but once I said his name he came running up to me all happy to see me. I got to pet him but when he starts to bite I stop and stand up. Then he stops and I pet him again, and we go on like this for a bit. He's getting better I think but he needs work. The Kenyan's really don't treat their dogs all that well. Well in fact they treat them like shit! I can't seem to get through anyone's head that if you treat your dogs better they will be better guard dogs and protect you better. Will anyone listen? NO. Apparently when the bible says to cast the dogs in the street, they take it literally. When in fact that's not the context of the verse at all. OH well, some will never learn that God's creation includes dogs and puppies.

I MISS YOU ROCKY AND BRODIE

Widow's Meeting

Today I went to a widows meeting on the other side of Kitale. I must admit I didn't want to go at all today. HEY I'm being honest here OK.  I didn't want to go because I'm a little pissed off.  I won't go into why, but just know that I am and I just don't understand how people can say they are a believer when they sure don't act like it.


Anyway, at the meeting I was the speaker, be that as it may. All I did was share my testimony on what happened after Robb was killed and how I handled life. Pastor Achoki spoke before me and I swear that man loves to hear himself talk. Most of you who know me know that I'm really not all that excited about the Pentacostle church. Well Pastor Achoki is a preacher from that denom., and to be honest I just really can't get into all of the yelling. You don't have to yell, for cryin' out loud. I can hear you just fine. It's like if they don't yell, you don't get the message. YIKES give me a break. Anyway he referred to me as being cast off because I'm a widow. Honestly I take offense to that. I don't consider myself cast off in any way shape or form. In fact I'd like to see the man who can cast me off LOL.  God didn't cast me aside when Robb was killed. If that were true, I wouldn't have anything to do with God. Then Pastor Achoki compared us widows to Moses being put in the reed basket and set in the Nile. Personally, I thought that was a bit of a stretch.  I guess it had to do with being cast off.  Well, I know for a fact I didn't float down any river by God's design.  Maybe by Steve's but not God. LOL  (if only you knew)  It's amazing how scripture is interpreted in other cultures.  How can you link widows and Moses I'll never know but Pastor Achoki seemed to think it was a good way to describe widows. Maybe it has something to do with Kenyan culture, maybe not. I don't know, but all I know is that I am by far not any where near being cast off. 

Parent's Day

Parent’s Day

Feb 25

OK, so I went to Parent’s day at Legacy Schools. Alice went as well and we arrived at school a little after 9am. I just got home at it’s 4:15pm. A very long day. All I can say is some of these Kenyan’s love hearing themselves talk. A member of the Board of Trustee’s of the school spoke for over 45 minutes. I mean, come on now, enough is enough!  What makes it so hard for me is the guy spoke in Swahili and then when the pastor spoke he spoke in Swahili as well.  I’m understanding more words but it’s still really hard to get the jist of what is being said. I did, however, had a good time talking with all of the kids. I tell ya, my kids from 8West are great!

I handed out awards for the non-teaching staff, essentially it was the accounting department, grounds maintenance, and the security team. Here in Kenya teachers are awarded money for the scores their student’s receive. Then they get an award if the scores are the highest in that subject. It’s a big deal too, especially when the teachers only make ksh5000 a month and the award is around ksh3000. It makes a huge difference in what is brought home that month. Anyway, Simon, whom I teach with, got the award for the English dept. He can really use the extra money too. The man has 2 wives and 11 kids. He also happens to be a heck of an English teacher too! 

Once I got home, Nelson was hooking the plow to the tractor and they are right this minute plowing the field for maize. I don’t know when they will plant, but I suspect it will be within the next 30- 45 days. Alice is off with Mary Muttai doing something, I have no idea, and Edna is here doing chores. I think it’s time I go and iron my pants. LOL

The Nature Perserve

Nature Preserve 

Feb 24

Today I went with the Pre-Unit and Grade 1 to the Nature Preserve here in Kitale. Now I know what Kenyan’s think of a perserve. What this place had was deformed animals, a cow with 3 eyes 4 horns and 2 mouths, sheep 3 or 2 legs, and other various odd looking animals. They even have a bull that’s short! I mean short, that sucker was so short he was adorable. I wasn’t that impressed with the nature preserve. I was hoping to see some animals that were endangered or something, but there was only deformed animals. Poor things.

I have an iPod Nano here with me and I’m having a difficult time with it. It won’t turn off. I charge it and the next morning it’s almost out of power. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with it. UGGGG it’s driving me a little nuts.

Frank

Frank, the Bull

Feb 23

Here on the farm there is this bull and I’ve named him Frank. Since I name all of the animals I figure Frank was a good name for this onery bull. Frank is about 4 years old and I tell ya, he makes some funky noises. I’m not sure exactly why he makes these noises, but I have an idea at least. (no I won’t go into it LOL)

Anyway, so Frank is roaming around the farm and he sometimes ends up in the yard. Now he’s suppose to stay in the pasture away from the house, but he’s a tricky fellow and manages to get in places where I happen to run across him. The other day as I was walking back to the house, Frank was on the side of the driveway munching on some green leaves. Now Frank isn’t suppose to be there and he’s the last thing I would have even thought to be there. The babies, calves, yes I expect them to be in the yard, but Frank, um NO. So here I am just walking down the driveway not really paying any attention to what’s going on around me, and then I hear this noise, like a snort, but uglier.  Well to my surprise Frank is right there about 10 yards from me.  So what do I do? I stand there and ask him, “what the hell are you doing there?” Like Frank is going to answer me. Like an idiot I’m talking to a bull. How stupid is that? 

So then I hear Alice’s voice and she’s talking to one of the guys who works here on the farm. So I tell here that Frank is right around the corner, she doesn’t listen until she see’s him. So there she says, “lets go this way.” Funny, Alice knows enough not to talk to the Bull, but me NOPE.  I think I now know why I was raised in the city. 

Tuesday

Tuesday Feb 22

Today I woke up on time but didn’t get out of bed right away. Sometimes just listening to the sounds of the farm early in the morning is so comforting I just can’t get up and leave those sounds behind. I hear that stupid bull making noises on the other side of the fence and then the rooster crows every 5 minutes. Then I can hear Christie as she is sweeping the yard out front, and the voices of the people who work on the farm as well as Nelson telling someone to do something. 

I shouldn’t have stayed in bed as long as I did because Tuesday is my early day at Legacy and I have a class at 9am.  As it was I made it to class on time only to find out they were taking an exam. I swear these kids take more exams than Carter’s got Pills!!

So I went to talk to Mama Steve (Mary Muttai) and when I got there her son Steve was in the office talking to her. After Steve left Mama Steve and I talked about different stuff and I told her that last week was hard because I was so homesick. She understood, and told me that it is OK to be homesick. This woman works so hard for the school and it’s been 2 years since her husband died suddenly and she does all of the school administrative stuff. She is an amazing woman. 

After I left school I came home and made my bed because Christie took the sheets off to wash. Then I ironed a bunch of my clothes. Here in Kenya you iron everything. UGG It doesn’t matter what it is, you iron it PERIOD. Well there are a few things I will not iron, one being my tank tops that I wear to bed. NOPE I will not iron one. Edna insists that they should be ironed but I tell here I’m not wearing it outside the house so what purpose does ironing it have? HA she didn’t have a good answer for that one. 

At 3pm I headed over to the secondary school to teach the form 1 students. I read to them a short story because they don’t have the book. Next time I think I’ll copy the story and then print off 30 copies and they can share. I think it will be easier for the kids to understand the story and me. 

OH and I used my umbrella for the first time today. The rainy season is almost upon us and I’ll be using my umbrella a lot in the near future.