Mombasa April 29

Mombasa

April 29

Have you ever been to a place where the breeze blows softly across your face and the white sand between you toes is so soft you don’t even notice it?  Well I hadn’t either until I came to Mombasa. Talk about white sand beaches ... OH MY.  Yesterday after we got here I went out on the beach just to see what the sand felt like, and believe me it’s nothing like Santa Cruz, Ca or anything that I’ve ever experienced before. The sand is so soft and white it reminds me of white flour.  

Last night after dinner, the kids went off on their own and I hung out at the hotel pool bar for the evening entertainment.  There were traditional African dancers, and they were pretty good. I think they were part of the staff and they dance at night for extra cash. Don’t get me wrong, they were good and I enjoyed myself. While I was there I met a really nice couple from Wales. Anthony and Adele. Very nice people and we talked about their safari they went on a few days ago. Adele said is was great and they really enjoyed it. At this hotel there are a lot of Europeans, a lot from the U.K. and then some from Germany.  I asked if many American’s come here and I’m told no.  Then the receptionist asked me if I would tell my friends about Mombasa. I told her I would, but I also told her that most American’s don’t want to fly all the way over to Africa to go on a beach holiday. If American’s want a beach holiday they usually go to the Caribbean or Hawaii for fun in the sun. Personally I’ve never been to either, so right now at this very point in time I prefer Mombasa to the other choices. If I go there I might change my mind, who knows, but for now this is IT for me.

Tonight the kids hung out with me until about 10pm. Then I decided to talk a walk around the garden/pool area and look out unto the Indian Ocean for a bit. The kids took off, I have no idea where, and then after awhile I went up to my room. At least I didn’t wake up with a hangover ... ha ha

Lake Bogoria ll / Nairobi

Lake Bogoria ll / Nairobi

April 27

It’s hot here in Lake Bogoria. I had the fan on all night long, and supposedly we have air conditioning, but there are no vents for AIR....so I’m gonna guess the fan is the air conditioner. LOL It didn’t bother me not having it. I slept just fine with the fan on, it was almost like home but my fan at home is a lot louder than this one. ANYWAY, this morning I woke up at 5:30 but went back to sleep. My alarm went off at 7am and then I got up and I took a shower. NOW, this was the first HOT SHOWER I’ve had in 4 MONTHS.  YES first hot shower in 4 months.  It was GLORIOUS!! Need I say more?

Went down for breakfast and had Kenyan pancakes. LOVE THEM... Now I’m all packed up ready to hit the road or the lake whatever Kiptoo has arranged I’m ready to go. lol Just waiting on him to get back from the front desk here at Lake Bogoria Resort and Spa to see what is in store for me today.

OH and the kids I’m with, Simon & Brittany Yego, Chelse, and Kiptoo (aka David) are great kids. Well they aren’t kids but they are so much younger than me. 

The drive here was really nice, except I’m totally turned around and can’t figure out east from west, let alone north and south. YEP I’m an idiot here with direction. I wish I had a Mt Hood I could use as my point of reference. Anyway, I can only say that Kenya is really beautiful. As we were driving down here the difference in the landscape and terrain was so different from Kitale. Kitale is more of a farming area, where as Lake Bogoria and down to Nairobi is more of a arid desert type. We drove across the Great Rift Valley and then up the mountain to the plateau and then on into Nairobi.

Now tonight here in Nairobi we are at Bishop Yego’s home. It’s a really nice place, and it’s really big. Well it’s big compared to my house in Vancouver.  For dinner we had chicken and chips (french fries), pizza, and a avocado tomato salad. YUM-O. Needless to say I ate my fill.  Tomorrow we leave here at 9am and we are off to Mombasa. I’m excited about going to Mombasa. We will be in Mombasa for 3 nights and then we come back to Nairobi for one night. Then we are at Masai Mara for 2 nights.  This is so cool because I get to see all of Kenya while I’m here.  After I get back to Kitale, I’ll be going back to Lake Bogoria with the 5th grade and then Kisumu/Lake Victoria with the 6th grade. 

If you ever have a chance to come to Kenya, COME you will not regret it.

Lake Bogoria Kenya

Lake Bogoria Kenya

April 26

I awoke early today to get up to the road so David, Simon, Chelsie, and Brittany could pick me up. 

Finally on our way and the first part of the drive was horrid because the road is so bad, but one we arrived in Eldoret the road was just like at home for the most part.  We didn’t take the main highway to Lake Bogoria, we took the scenic route. The road was really whinedy but it was a fabulous view of the north part of the rift valley. The valley is so huge and yet it’s not. It’s hard to explain, but it didn’t take us that long to get across the valley.  To look at the valley it looks like it’s a million miles wide, but in reality it’s not.

Once we arrived at Lake Bogoria Resort and Spa we waiting until we were shown our rooms. OH nice rooms too! Here on the property there are monkey’s and I’ve seen an male ostrich on the far side of the front grounds. There are two pools, and one of them is fed from the hot springs that are very close to the resort. The hot springs are HOT! I mean super hot. The steam from the springs was hotter than a sauna and the water, I’m told, will burn you if you touch it. Supposedly you can cook an egg in the water, but I didn’t have an egg in which I could use to test that theory.

As I’m typing this I don’t have any internet connection so I can’t find out exactly where I am in Kenya. I know I’m very close to Lake Borgoria, but I’m not sure exactly where that is on the map.

Easter Sunday Celebration

Easter Sunday Celebration

April 24

Easter here in Kenya is nothing like it is at home. No where did I see an Easter Basket, chocolate bunnies, PEEPS, or anything that we American’s associate with Easter. What I did see was unlike anything I’ve witnessed in the U.S.  On Good Friday there was a procession of folks walking along the road and the lead guy was holding a huge cross. I’ve never seen that in the U.S., maybe some have but I have not. Good Friday service began at 9am at AIC Naisambu Church. The service lasted a good 2+ hours and it was focused on the death of Christ and what it means to us as Christians. Now the sermon was in Swahili so I didn’t understand much, but that’s what I got out of it. Bishop Silas Yego was preaching and I do believe he is one of the nicest members of the male sex I’ve ever encountered. 

Saturday was the Choir Extravaganza at AIC Naisambu Church. Now that basically was all about celebrating weekend with a number of choirs singing and dancing. Here in Kenya choirs don’t stand on risers and sing. OH NO.  Choirs here sing, dance, and tell a story all in the song they are singing. In this regard, I believe, we American’s are truly missing out. Some of these choirs are really very good. It was a fun thing to watch and witness. Now this lasted all day. It started at 10am and went until dark at about 6:30pm or so. AIC Naisambu was Rockin’ on Saturday!!

Now on Sunday at the Swahili service, it was a different story from what I am used to.  Aside from not eating any chocolate, the Service was different. The preacher was Rev John Mark Ndaluka from Tanzania. He referenced Isaiah 53:1-5 for his sermon. What was interesting was that he spoke about what the cross means to us as Christians, and do we really see and understand what it means. I know what he talked about because Pastor Kibet and I went over the English paragraph that Pastor John gave to us to put int he bulletin. In the English service, I read this paragraph and I expanded on the concept of what does the cross mean to us. Anyway, what was so different in the service was there wasn’t much mentioned about how Christ arose from the grave. The hymn wasn’t “He Arose” or anything about the resurrection of Christ. I actually missed singing songs with that theme. The preaching focused on the meaning of the death of Christ and the cross.

Now the service was combined with a Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of AIC Naisambu Choir. So instead of being 2 hours long, it was 5+ hours long. I was basically at church from 8:30am until 4:45pm. I told Pastor Kibet that I had enough church to last me for the next month. LOL 

Easter is celebrated here in Kenya, but it’s nothing like what we do in America. I enjoyed the day, but after 4 hours I was really tired. Will I be here again for Easter? HUM, probably not. Not because I didn’t like it, but because I really miss being with my family on days like this. I’m certainly glad I was able to experience Easter in another culture. Life as a Christian is different here in Kenya.

Saturday before Easter Sunday

I must say today has been rather odd. First off I overslept, then Kibet showed up with problems with the bulletin for tomorrow church service. Murphy's Law was in full effect today. We finally got all of the problems sorted out on the bulletin, and finally printed one entire copy to be photocopied in town. Got into town, went to the photocopy place and they began coping the bulletin. Well guess what happens. Power goes out all over Kitale. UGGG Then the power comes back on only to go out again a while later. So we ended up coming home with only 3/4 of the bulletins. Got those folded and put together with the help of Julie and Ednah, Alice's daughters. and Owen, Alice's grandson.  YEAH... Now I can relax.

Earlier as we were waiting for the copies to finish, I was talking with Kennedy and his uncle.  Kennedy told his uncle that I am from America and apparently his uncle asked how old I was. So I told him, 52. Then the uncle told Kennedy that I looked 26!!! YES...I am a happy camper!

OH and today we had thunder and a little lighting. It rained as well, but I don't think it was a lot at all. Anyway, the thunder today was rumbling away and it just kept on going and going. That is what I think it so interesting here in Kenya. The thunder doesn't just boom and then you don't hear it again. Thunder here is like constant, rolling thunder. It will be loud and then not so loud. I love it. But then again I love the sound of thunder anyway.  As I was looking up at the clouds (thunder) there was a hole in the clouds and threw the hole I saw clear blue sky.  It was like a light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually the thunder will stop and Blue Skies will be once again bright and clear.  Just sayin'

Local Paper

April 18, 2011

The Standard is one of the local papers here in Kitale. I don't usually purchase any of them because they are usually sold by guys and they all hang out on a corner, so if you buy one they all bug you to buy another. ugg. Anyway, so today as I was waiting for everyone to get back to the car, I noticed that our very own Barrak Obama made page three with the entire page given to the claim that he was not born in the U.S. Now the article wasn't written by a Kenyan, it actually came from the Associated Press. I thought it was odd to have an American issue in the local Kenyan paper. I mean, why would Kenyan's be interested in our President? Is it because he's black? Is it because his father was a Kenyan citizen? I mean why are they interested? I find it interesting that one country in Africa is so concerned with out President. Is he or isn't he, kinda sounds like a hair coloring commercial, a "real" American? At this point in the Presidental term it's a little late to even worry about it now, but I believe the in the future anyone, I don't care who you are, anyone who wishes to run for an political office needs to prove they are eligable to run and possibly hold office.  USA is at a point now in it's history where we need to consider the requirement of proving ones nationality when running for a public office even if the office doesn't have any requirements for the candident's.

So Anyway this paper kinda cracks me up. It's a good paper, don't get me wrong, but it does make me crack up. Like with most papers the sports section is in the back, and there are commentaries by various writers, non of which I know.  Some of them are funny and some are very serious.  One of the commentaries that I like was one called, "life's a circus" by Ted Malanda. The by-lines reads Ted Malanda draws on the wisdom of his royal Wanga ancestors to try and understand a world gone mad."
He writes about Crimes against humanity didn't begin Yesterday.  Mr. Malanda writes about how crimes against humanity began with Adam and Eve. Cain slaughtered Able, and then David slew how many in order to gain his wife. So you see what Saddam, Quadaffi, Castro, and countless other's have committed crimes against humanity, so why is it such a shock to us that it continues to happen. The conclusion: Sin. Simple. It's not rocket science people!  Now can you imagine anything like this being written in an American newspaper now? I sure can't. Can you imagine the conflict it would cause? I can. Now why can this be written here in Kenya? I'm not sure, because I see a lot of Muslims walking on the street, so this leads me to believe that being politically correct isn't an issue here at all.  Could it be possible that Kenya has more religious freedom than the good ole U.S.A.? Well it's something to ponder, ain't it?

Beautiful Kenya

There is a lot here in Kenya that I love, and yet there is a lot that really makes me madder than a cat on a hot tin roof!

As I walk or ride on a motorbike I can look across the horizon and see the green hills dotted with fields of red dirt. Then above that there is the blue sky that isn't marred by smog, and the clouds are big, billowly, puffy, and pristine white. The contrast and blending of the three are simply beautiful. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Then the people of Kenya are so very welcoming and kind to me. Yes I get some odd looks, but it's nothing of what I would get if I was walking in downtown Oakland California. During my time here I've had 3 proposals of marriage. Not that I want any especially from men with little or no teeth, but it's what I've received. (can you imagine the dental bill??? YIKES)I'm sure it's due because being a white I'm perceived to have money and lots of it. Only if it were true. LOL Here in Kenya the women of the church meet regularly for fellowship. I really like that about Kenya. Getting together with friends, and friends helping friends when they need it. It's really very refreshing to see and witness.

What I dislike so much in Kenya is the way everything is run.  If the police pull you over, you need to pay a bribe to get out of whatever wrong you committed. If you want a formal piece of paperwork, like a birth certificate, it's just about impossible to get it. Then the corruption in other areas of government is insane. The way to get a job here is to be in the same tribe as whatever tribe is in the ruling power. And that, my dear friends, is so bloody wrong it makes me want to puke.  How people treat their workers is downright mean and in some cases it's slavery. That too makes me so mad I could spit buggers all day long!! Here in Kenya it's as if it's OKAY to treat other people as sub-human and to feel self-righteous over them.  How wrong is that for cryin' out loud. How hard can it be to treat someone with respect and kindness? When they do something wrong, don't shout at them. Correct them with grace and love, show them how to properly do the task at hand and go on with life. How bloody hard can that be?  I could go on, but I won't because it's simply to beautiful of a day to sit here and blog. The sun is out, the grass is green, and the sky is blue with a few white puffy clouds in view.  So I am off.

There is a lot of beauty here in Kenya, but unfortunately there is also the other side that is pretty ugly.