CONSTRUCTION METHODS

We thought this concrete shoring looked pretty scary….until we saw this construction site! The women are better at hauling buckets of water on their heads, so you can see them carrying water bit by bit to add to the concrete mix. The men have formed a line to toss buckets of concrete person by person up to the second level. The whole site looked like a busy little ant hill. How thankful we are for cement trucks and hard hats!!!

ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

Last weekend our friend Trenton came to visit. He has been working in Nairobi for two months with a micro finance organization that provides loans to low income workers. His visit gave us an excuse to go out for a couple of nice meals and also go on our first safari! Arusha National Park is only 20 km from where we are living, but rarely visited by the regular safari crowd who are going to the bigger parks; Serengeti or Ngorongoro. It made for a perfect day trip. Our guide book informed us that hiring a ranger and walking thru part of the park was an option, which sounded like a great way to get some exercise (unlike us Trenton has been spending his days sitting at a desk). However, when we arrived at the first gate, the park ranger told us that yes, it was possible to go on a walking safari, but not to the part of the park we wanted to go to. He also told us that the only way to get to the next gate, from where the walking safari started, was by taxi. Somewhat reluctantly we opted to hire a driver (with a pop-top van) for the day to take us thru the park, which in hindsight was a good idea because we were able to see much more of the park and get much closer to the animals. The Animals! Within the first 100 yards we came upon a heard of giraffe, practically in the road. There were eight or ten of these majestic creatures just relaxing, eating, passing the time. We could have stayed and watched them all day, but our driver was eager to keep going, a sign which we took to mean the entire park would be as densely populated. So for the next hour we drove thru the mountain and saw only colobus monkeys, sausage trees, and elephant dung. We did get a chance to walk for a little bit after the van spun out and could not make it all the way up the hill, but this part of the day was overall uneventful. Moving thru the next section of the park we saw many baboons; then zebra, buffalo, water buck, huge warthogs, gazelle-like creatures, and some unidentifiable birds (sorry Lacey). In addition the day was clear and we had great views of Mt. Meru and caught our first glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We could write more, but I think checking out the photos will tell the rest of the story.

NEEMA'S BIRTHDAY

One of our favorite nannies, Neema (a very common name that means Grace in Swahili), came to work the other night and told me it was her Birthday. Why didn’t you tell us earlier, we could have made you a cake! She admitted that it was kind of a bummer to be babysitting on her Birthday, but that there was no reason to complain. She was just thankful and praising God that she was having a 24th Birthday because she has had a good life. How sweet is that!

When we returned to our apartment later that night we realized that we had a couple things stashed away for a kid's birthday party, like birthday hats and candles. We even had a couple small loafs of banana bread and a bottle of chocolate syrup, so we added a few bananas, came up with a makeshift birthday cake, lit the candles and took in downstairs to sing happy birthday! It was really cute because she was so excited. We got the impression that they don’t do the ‘birthday candle’ thing because she looked at us like ‘why is my cake on fire’ and on of the other ladies had to tell her to blow them out. She wanted a proper birthday photo taken, so she changed from her nanny clothes into her normal clothes.

Apparently the custom is for the birthday girl to feed her guests their first bite of cake, and for someone to feed her as well. So we have photos of everyone taking their ceremonial bite!

"WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE TODAY?"

Everynight after we put the kids to bed, Emily likes to play a game we call "Who's your favorite today?" That's when we talk about what each of the kids did that day, who was good and who was not so good. As we get to know each of their personalities better, and as they get more comfortable with us, it is easier for us to tell which kids are just having a bad day and which ones scream their heads off because it's their nature. We also get to see the pure goodness of some of the kids, like Cory, who will share his bread with someone who did not get as much. What is it that makes people so different? These kids that grow up in the same place, eat the same food, and share everything (clothes, toys, food) each have such unique personalities. It is enjoyable to get to know each of them and love them all, but impossible not to have favorites.

Ned

CRADLE OF LOVE

CRADLE OF LOVE
I really wanted to write our first ‘blog’ about the hiking trip we took through the remote villages in the Usambara Mountains. We have not seen Kilimanjaro yet or been on a safari, but I am pretty sure this 3 day trek with a hired guide will be top on our list of tourist things to do while in Tanzania. But, now that we are settled in at the baby home that is foremost on the mind!

We have been working now for 4 days and I am already at home sick. Partly because I spent too many hours in the baby home and became exhausted too quickly, but mostly because there are a lot of coughs, colds, and runny noses. I am actually a little thankful for being ‘out’ today because it has given me a chance to sit down and write a letter. The other perk is that Ned cut up a bowl of fruit and served it to me in bed this morning! (He was not able to actually climb the tree as you will see in the photo, so he had to resort to buying a pineapple from a lady on the street corner- probably with 20 of them in a basket on her head.)

OUR LIVING ARRANGEMENTS:
The baby home facility is really very nice. It is just 3 years old and probably one of the nicest place we have been in Africa. There is a volunteer apartment above the home for up to 8 people with a large living room and kitchen (we have a stove- most people and restaurants still cook over an open fire.) We are VERY lucky to have such a comfortable place to spend the next 3 months. Another couple and their 14 year old daughter are also here, but leaving soon. The director is Seventh Day Adventist and the compound is shared with an Adventist international relief program that her husband directs. The compound is fully fenced in and there are full time guards and grounds keepers so we feel very safe. We are preparing all of our own food; the out door market is about a 20 min. walk away, it is also possible to flag down one of the many Dalla Dallas (small mini van that usually packs in about 18 people) for a lift down the road for about $0.10 each way. They will go out of their way to stop and pick us up because we are wazungu (white people), and therefore are probably loaded with money; it will be ok for them to charge us $0.20 before we even understand what is going on.

THE BABY HOME:
This is such a wonderful place for all these children to be, but at the same time it is very different from the traditional American family system that we are so used too. It can be tough to see a couple of them struggle for their share of the love and affection. There are about 30 children; 10 toddlers + 20 babies can sometimes equal chaos. There are 3 full time nanny groups, so there are always 6 paid workers in the home (paid- as in $70/month wich is above average), as well as the director and any volunteers that might be around. Most of the nannies are very nice, but we definitely have a different way of pampering our babies! I will save the specifics of the day to day routine for later. Ned and I spend our time running back and forth between those who are the least attended to at the moment (i.e. the loudest). It is really pretty easy b/c it seems that there is one thing that makes them cry, they just want to be held:)It is very unusual to hold just one baby as I usually have one in each arm and one in the lap, propping his bottle up with an elbow.

TODDLERS:
The toddlers love Ned. When he arrives in the morning there will be four or five of them tugging on his arms yelling, “Daddy Daddy!” They are old enough for some sort of routine and group training, but the nannies usually have their hands full getting food made and keeping diapers washed…yes, cloth diapers that hang out on the line to dry. They have two washing machines and would love a third. Anyway, Ned and I are going to try and help come up with some additional preschool routines for the morning. We might have to get creative with supplies/materials because there are not too many and it is not like you can go to a 'Teachers-R-Us' and buy them. I am going to ask my family to send some teaching supplies, but the cost of shipping is so high that it is hardly worth it.

We are also thinking about different ways to help the big kids with dinner. Right now they sit at a nice little set of table and chairs, but all of us adults are feeing babies so there is no one to sit at the head of the table and ‘model’ what you are supposed to do with a cup, a bowl, and a spoon. Last night they all poured their water into their porridge bowls and then the watery mixture back into the cups, and then on to the table, over their neighbor's head, and on and on. I immediately took all of their cups and most of the food away, which caused a good 5 minutes of screaming. It was later that night I realized instead of just taking it away from them in a frenzy, I should have sat down at the table and helped them practice how to take a drink water and then a bite of food, but not both at the same time. Sippy Cups- that would be a miracle! (Porridge is served every night for dinner- they also get really good snacks like banana, avocado, bread, cookies, etc.)

That's probably enough for today. We will have more stories and photos to share in upcoming weeks. Hope all is well with everyone at home!

Ned & Emily

NED

NED
Ned can do everything better than I can…and it really ticks me off. I thought learning a language together would be fun, and it has been. But I like to be the one who gets it right away. Not so. He can sit down with the book for an hour and then walk away using all the verbs he just read, and remember the irregular forms as well. My only saving grace it that I am more willing to approach a stranger/storekeeper and try it out, but I usually have to ask Ned how to say it first…

The Poor Guy… I am the one who has spotted Baboons (while riding through the bush in the bed of a truck, sitting on 20 bags of rice with 19 other men), and the one who was able to see the Colobos Monkey in the jungle. Ned is the one who had food poisoning from his first local dish, had bed bugs attack two nights in a row, and whose best shirt and walking shorts were chewed up by a monkey that got into our hotel room via the balcony in the middle of the night….the poor guy.

Emily