DECEMBER 26^th (DAY TRIP TO LAKE NAVAISHA)

Don and our family went for a short day trip to Lake Naivasha. I read on the Internet this lake has 450 species of birds, therefore I had to visit this lake. Fortunately, it is only an hour from Kijabe. We took the lower road through the valley. This road is quite smooth after the Kijabe turn-off on the highway. The road has fewer vehicles than the upper road. Visibility seems better due to straighter and flatter roads. We stopped at a small cabin resort to get our view of Lake Naivasha. The lake level was very low due to lack of rain, but we were able to see a large area of wetland with papyrus growing at the edge of the lake. We could only walk for a five minutes before we were faced with a wall of thick marshland vegetation. We saw some larger shore birds such as the Yellow-Billed Stork, Sacred Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Fish Eagle, egrets and a large formation of cormorants. A plover and Pied Kingfisher were some of the smaller shore birds seen. We had our quick picnic by the cabins and then returned to our home base of Kijabe.

DECEMBER 27^th (KIJABE)

I longed for our air-conditioned city of Saint John! Mike took me on an hour and a half hike on the barn trail and the Kijabe Town Road. The path and road had many twists and turns. I was certain we were lost. Mike had last seen this path fifteen years ago. I questioned his memory of this long sweltering stretch of forest. Were we walking in circles? I even checked the footprints ahead of me to make sure they weren't my own . The shadow of every tree covering the path was our saving grace. The walk ended with a single sighting of a Colobus monkey minding his own business in a treetop. He must have been laughing at our lack of endurance as we trudged through the forest.

Don took us on a tour at the A.I.C. Bethany Crippled Children's Centre. The centre was in the process of major renovation over the Christmas holidays. There were no children in the hospital during this time. This hospital has a 30-bed capacity. It's fully equipped with a couple of operating and recovery rooms. Twenty-four of the beds are located in a common area, divided into four sections. Three sections are for orthopedic patients. The forth section is set aside for neurology. It is used mostly for spina bifida and hydrocephalic cases. Two private rooms contained the remaining beds. The children had a playroom, outdoor playground, spiritual centre, dining room, and physiotherapy room. An orthopedic clinic was located downstairs in the centre. It was equipped with an examining and cast rooms. Laboratory and x-ray rooms were found on opposite ends of the clinic. From a nursing perspective, this centre had much to offer. I was thrilled to see this wonderful facility in such an impoverished country. More privacy between the patient's beds would be much appreciated in our Canadian culture. I am certain many other cultures would feel privileged to have this centre, regardless of its lack of walls.

When it rains in New Brunswick, life stops. We only emerge in the rain when it is absolutely necessary. Not only are the adults from New Brunswick wimpy when it comes to the rain, the children try to avoid the rain at the best of times. It has been raining for the last half and hour. Both are my children are outside running wildly, while singing on top of their lungs. Were these my children? Even though we have had rain since we've come, this is the first chance my children have had to play in it. When Julianne was asked why she likes the rain here and not at home, she replied, " It doesn't rain here much, that's why!" How interesting!

DECEMBER 28^th (TO EASTLEIGH IN NAIROBI)

Today we met up with the Carline family in Nairobi. The Carlines are a missionary family Mike has connected with in New Brunswick through Forest Hills Baptist Church in Saint John. Paul Carline spoke at our church service two years ago. They were also the missionary family the children learned about at last summer's Vacation Bible School. It meant a lot to Julianne to meet the missionaries she learned about at V.B.S. You know the world is getting smaller when...you can visit missionaries in a foreign country you met at your home church! It seems even smaller when you are asked to hand-deliver a Christmas shoebox from Titusville to missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya. Mike keeps in touch with the Carlines via e-mail. It keeps us posted to their happenings. Paul teaches English as a second language to the Somali refugees in Eastleigh, a section of Nairobi. His wife Kelly is busy with their four children. She is also involved with a Bible study with the Somali women.

The Carlines took us on a quick tour of Eastleigh. This area of Nairobi contains mostly Ethiopian businessmen and many Somali refugees. Very few Somali women are seen walking on the street due to their Muslim culture. If they are seen, they tend to be tightly wrapped with black or colorful cloth from head-to-toe. On the contrary, Ethiopian women are out in the open. They tend to be from Christian backgrounds. In general, I felt largely out-numbered by men while visiting Eastleigh. It took me a while to realize why so few women were in sight.

The roads were extremely bumpy and unpaved. Dust was everywhere. Garbage was found all over the streets. If someone were to judge it by its outer appearance, a person's instinct would be to roll up their windows tight, lock their car doors, and pray for safety. On the contrary, Kelly told us Eastleigh has a lower rate of violent crimes compared to other areas of Nairobi. The city of Nairobi is known to be plain dangerous, therefore, this comparison failed to give me any warm fuzzy feelings.

The Carlines wanted to share their favorite type of food. They took us to an Ethiopian restaurant in the heart of Eastleigh known as Green Heaven. It was a small unpretentious restaurant with six tables. The far wall had a mural of a waterfall. In the centre of the restaurant, there was a tree growing up through the roof. Round shelves surrounded this tree. On these shelves were rows of mangos and avocados. As I looked around at the patrons eating their meals, I noticed no utensils were in sight. They were also sharing food from a common platter at each table. I thought, "This is going to be another memorable African cultural experience!" We received our drinks. Later, three large platters of food arrived at our tables. Each platter consisted of soft flat bread on the bottom known as injera. This bread is used to pick up the food. On top of the bread, there were small portions of different types of meat in varying sauces. Paul told us goat’s meat is often used for Ethiopian dishes. I assume I ate goat meat! There were also a few vegetable mixtures on the platter. Paul made it clear that it is tradition to eat with only the right hand. Being left-handed, it was a bit of a challenge. Never the less, the food got to my mouth. Mike loved the food. I only liked it. My in-laws had their fair share so I assume they enjoyed it too. Evan ate one egg white. Julianne just looked at the platter with a blank expression. She did enjoy her Fanta Orange. We wouldn't have gone to Eastleigh on our own. We were pleased the Carlines were familiar and comfortable with the area so they could share it with us.

DECEMBER 29^th (MONKEY HUNT IN KIJABE)

This morning, my family and I headed for an official Colobus Monkey hunt on the old Kijabe Town Road. We must have looked impressive with our cute tourist hats, sunglasses, and walking sticks in hand. As we walked by the ravine, I noticed some branches moving vigorously. My walking stick quickly transformed in to an effective monkey pointer. We had found our monkey! It is amazing how well these black and white monkeys camouflages among the green trees. The white stripe on the monkey's back can look like a branch. The black on the monkey blends nicely with the shadows in the forest. We spotted two of them. As far as our morning safari went, we were completely satisfied. On our way back to the house, a Sykes Monkey appeared in plain view. I have come to discover monkeys are the most exciting when found on an official monkey hunt. It can be a bit dull to find monkeys while not actively looking for them. It simply lacks the challenge of the hunt.

DECEMBER 30^th (FAMILY DAY IN NAIROBI)

The children were looking forward to seeing the baby elephants at Sheldrick's elephant orphanage. When we got to the parking lot, a family of warthogs scurrying about greeted us. They quickly disappeared into a thicket. We proceeded towards the gate to go see the elephants. When we got inside, we quickly located the area for viewing the animals. One rope divided the spectators from three full-grown rhinos and six baby elephants. It is beyond me how a rope could keep us safe. Mike is convinced the rope is placed there to prevent spectators from harming the animals. HA! The workers gave each elephant a bottle of milk. The elephants also received grass and feed. A warthog named Lucky quickly weaved between the crowds of people and the elephants. He was certainly the comic relief for the spectators.

We went to the Carnivore Restaurant for lunch. This restaurant is known for its exotic choices of meat. Mike and Don decided to order the meat plate. They shared some yummy crocodile, zebra, and ostrich. They agreed zebra tasted the best and that crocodile was too fatty to enjoy. The rest of us were not as adventurous. We stuck to the safe choices of chicken and spaghetti.

Our last pit stop of the day was the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife giraffe centre. The children laughed quite a bit as they fed these tall and lanky creatures from a balcony. No one can possibly grasp the length of a giraffe's tongue until they try to feed one. Julianne's biggest moment of joy was when she witnessed Evan's hat getting licked by a giraffe. I was just thankful the giraffe didn't swallow his hat! People were given a handful of food pellets to feed these amazing graceful animals. I believe there were seven giraffe in all. I think the children will remember their hands-on experience with the giraffe. Photos are also a big help for triggering memories.

DECEMBER 31^st (FOOTBALL FRENZY, CHAMELEON ENCOUNTER)

When we had gone to Edith's home on December 22nd, I met up with one of Martha's grandchildren. David is a boy in sixth grade that absolutely loves to play football. Kenya football is better known as soccer in Canada. While talking to David, he made it perfectly clear playing football was his biggest passion. When I asked him if he was planning to play football the day we were visiting, he informed me he didn't have a ball at home. He only played at school. I couldn't resist buying David a decent soccer ball and giving it to his grandmother today to hand to him. The Kikuyu children we met appeared to have their basic needs met, yet seemed to lack toys. No surprise when survival is the issue! In Canada, that same soccer ball would probably get some wear at first, then would be quickly forgotten. That same soccer ball in Canada would eventually lay among all the other balls in the toy box. David's new soccer ball has the potential of changing the whole social dynamics of the village children on the hill. Good luck David on winning more games! Get lots of practice with your friends!

We found Charlie the Chameleon #2 on a family walk this afternoon. The children welcomed him into our family a lot quicker than they did with Charlie #1. Evan and Julianne took turns wearing him on their t-shirts. As we walked by the elementary school with him on Mike's arm, an African man disappeared around a corner in a hurry. I got the impression, he didn't think there was anything appealing about Charlie. Some African women just curled up their noses at Charlie and giggled nervously. Rumours have it that chameleons are not Kenyans' favorite animals. Charlie #2 had a teeter-totter ride and a walk in the grass at the playground. He was taken home, had an official photo session, and then was released in the front yard. These little creatures are growing on me.