Nairobi National Park

Here are some shots from our first real natural adventure. I have had limited internet access so I am sorry I have not kept up with my posts. But the kids's blogs are relatively up to date. Thanks for all your comments! It really brightens their day (and mine). Blessings to everyone. I will try to write more (and upload my first imovie project) later. Dede

Nairobi National Park

Photos by Dede and Eliot

The middle of the night on the other side of the world

I just spent two hours sifting through emails and school studywiz posts and a feeling of Christmas Joy came over me! This year, I actually get to focus on celebrating Christmas; a previously unpublished reason for taking this Safari. It is simply amazing what we all put ourselves through this time of year. I hope I don't sound too grinchy; I really do like the parties, the presents, the decorations and visiting with extended family. But honestly I am often too tired to enjoy it all.

We got back today from a visit to the less sanitized version of Nairobi. "City Park" is a village produce market with stand after stand of every kind of fruit and vegetable piled high. There are hundreds of stall owners haggling over the price of maize, mangoes, avocados, plums, apples, squash, bananas, okra, etc.; all of it the freshest and most beautiful I have ever seen. Dolma is already a pro at getting the best price and the best selection of everything; I guess her years in Delhi have paid off. I decided to bring the kids to show them some of the reality of this place. They were a little overwhelmed but some day I hope they appreciate what they saw. They loved the fruit but the ground was too dirty, the sun too hot, and the activity boring (I on the other hand was fascinated). They saw their first third world beggars, which are surprisingly scarce in this country. Only the handicapped people beg, by law I think. After seeing this bounty, it is hard to understand why people are still starving in this country when the soil seems so fertile and the climate so mild.

The day further defined the dramatic chasm between the wealthy and poor here. It is this chasm that has lead to the high crime rate here. We are located in a Nairobi suburb called Runda. This area is a part of a larger wealthy area which includes the American Embassy, the Canadian Embassy and the U.N. We are not actually in the U.N. Compound, where Bunny works but not far in a secured neighborhood. The Bindras are basically the first residents in a new section of the neighborhood with huge houses going up all around us. There is a security team that patrols the entire neighborhood and questions anyone that they don't know. On top of that the property is surrounded by a tall wall with an electric fence. There is a gate house with a twenty-four hour security guard. Right now the two night guards and the evening guard dogs and I are the only people awake. It will be my job to turn on the house security before I go to bed. All the windows are bolted and alarmed. (I can say I feel safer here than at home!)

In addition to the main house and the guard house there is the servants quarters. The cook Susan, and the housekeeper/nanny, Elizabeth, live here from Monday morning until Saturday evening when they go home to their families for their day off on Sunday. Dolma has hired a second housekeeper/nanny, Nora, to take care of me and the children while we are here. They work about a 12-13 hour shift with some time off in the afternoon. This is expected of us and an important part of the economy. These women are among the best paid workers in their village. In addition Dolma and Bunny share a driver Ferris, a very cautious man, who lives in town but also works long hours, from about 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. (I think he has already had his limit of Thomas!)

Now, I really must go and try to sleep; I hear Thomas fussing in the room we are sharing. My thoughts are turning to Roger somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean - Safe journey, we miss you. (Thank you Mary for picking him up.)

Love and Blessings to all of you!

Kenya Under the Duress of Jet Lag

Its Monday afternoon and I survived the red-eye flight from London to Nairobi(and our first day of home-schooling)! I only have a brief amount of time to update. We are so happy to see Dolma and family and are settling in nicely to their beautiful home. Dolma has spent the last five months getting the house ready for them and us (her first visitors). The children are adjusting well with just a few embarrassing temper tantrums about sleep/food etc. I keep telling them that Kenyan children are always well behaved and I might trade them in if I find some better behaved children! That worked a little bit. I think it is a real treat for us to spend so much time together and I did enjoy the school lessons. Must go for now. I have many impressions of Nairobi but no time to share them now. But just to say there is the sanitized version and the un-sanitized version as Bunny described it and we are definately living in the former....(We are safe and being careful so you need not worry about that).
Love and Light
Dede

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

So much to be thankful for in my life. It doesn't seem fair...

I just pulled our Duck out of the Oven and we are waiting for our relatively small group of "family" to arrive. Barry Mellish, my English Friend from Almaden Valley Youth Ministry, his wife Julia and daughter Helena are coming as well as our cousin Katie Jo Dolan, a North Dakota Transplant. We also made a small Turkey Breast because Eliot couldn't stand Thanksgiving without some Turkey. But other than that it will be a pretty unconventional meal. We found some delicious things to eat however at the Borough Market near the London Bridge Station. I recommend this market for anyone who likes food!

By now we are looking at the tail end of our London week and I feel I can re-write the book London with Kids. I am still in love with my Iphone which makes getting about in a strange place very easy. (The little blue dot tells me just where I am). Love the public transportation and the very friendly and helpful people. We take back what we said about November not being a good time to visit London. We have the City and especially all the tourist spots to ourselves. The only challenge is the home schooling and getting Thomas to eat anything...

Missing the rest of you in Los Gatos, Michigan and Benicia...

First Day In London

Wow! It seems no matter what I do with my particular slice of it, the time passes with regularity and here we are in London, 25 Cheval Place, Kinghtsbridge London SW7 1EW to be exact. It seems ages ago when Dolma and Bunny told us that they wanted to meet us for dinner to tell us some "news". A third child? Moving to the south bay (we wish)? or a new job for the U.N.E.P. in Kenya? What? You're kidding right? It got me thinking about the choices we make in our lives and how they lead us here or there, & how easy it is to just let life happen with out much thought. Does that sound like a mid-life crisis?

So here we are in London, trying to avoid jet lag; loving the first images of this very urban place where everything has a quaint name like Princes Garden, Ennismore Mews, and Yeoman's Row without a Garden, Mews or Yeoman in site; just lots of expensive shops, museums, and beautiful walk-up townhouses.

Much Love & Light, Dede


(P.S. Friends & family, please comment back to kids pages -- they will miss you all and get a thrill hearing from you. You can comment annonomously as long as you put your name in the base of the text so that I know that you are not some weird stalker!)