No Subject

I know I've been a horrible blogger. I'm so sorry. As most of you know, I've been a bit distracted lately. Something about a handsome man I know... :) So as I sit on the computer tonight, I thought I'd just give a random update on life in Kenya. This is not a usual blog post - no subject or point and unfortunately, no pictures. Just want to say I'm still here and I haven't forgotten my blog fans.

The Water Crisis... It is so dry here! Crazy dry! All the Masai men are bringing their cows into town because there is no grass in the valley for them to graze on. The other day on the way to church we got in a jam - a cow jam. No other cars were around, just a herd of cows we couldn't get past. They were so skinny with their ribs sticking out. The water crisis is hitting Rosslyn campus as well. There is no more city water coming our way and the big borehole is empty. We have a little water left in the smaller borehole on campus, but once that runs out, we're out of water. What does that mean? No showers, no drinking water, no flushing toilets. Possibly they might have to close down the school if we can't buy water to fill the tanks. We'll see. Please pray for rain in Kenya. My lush part of Kenya is turning into a dry and yellow landscape. We need rain!

My class... Loving them! I have a great group of kids this year that I am thoroughly enjoying. It was a tough start to the year for me because I was pretty worn out from a busy, traveling summer. But this class has helped me get back in my teaching groove, and I'm loving it. We're back to singing about nouns and dancing to multiplication hip-hop. I still love this job!

I'll add more updates later. Sorry for being a lame blogger lately. Love you all!

Only in Kenya...

In North America you have "snow days" - days when you unexpectedly don't have school. In Kenya we don't have snow, but we have random national holidays that are determined the day before. Last week, Tuesday was declared "Census Day" and everyone in Kenya got excused from work. We found this out on Monday, when the government declared that they needed more than four hours on Monday night to go from door to door throughout Kenya to count people. So Tuesday, as we sat at home because almost every place was closed down for this national holiday, the census people came by with their notepad, asked us questions (including "Have you ever had an abortion?"!), and marked the door with chalk to show that they'd come by our house. The funniest part was that I didn't even count as a resident of my house because I spent the night at a friend's house the night before. Census Day... Obama Day... I'll take all these holidays anytime! :)

Another random note... The other day at work I got an email stating that "the school fields are being sprayed with diesel, so be aware." Why diesel? To get rid of termites, which burrow into the ground. Think that solution would work in America? I think not, especially being sprayed during the school day with kids about. You gotta love Kenya... no OSHA!

Back to School!

There are things I always like about the start of school... The rows of school supplies that fill the stores. The warm days of summer still lingering. The fresh smell of new textbooks and curriculum. Unfortunately, none of these things start the school year in Kenya. School supplies in Nairobi are mostly found at one store. The warm days of summer don't come till October, and believe it or not it's COLD! And our textbooks and curriculum are on a sea-faring container somewhere on the Kenyan coast waiting to get through customs. However, some things always remain the same about the start of school and remind me why I am a teacher.

My 18 students arrived two weeks ago with eager, smiling faces. Some were a little nervous, others excited to be the "top dogs" of the elementary school. My students come from seven countries: Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, U.S., Canada, Ethiopia, and Korea. They speak six different native languages and have lived in more places than I can name. We're off to a great start in my new huge classroom! This is the biggest classroom I've ever taught in. It's amazing. I even got to paint a couple walls red for a homey-feel. We're in the middle of place-value to the billions, editing our own work, and researching Native Americans. So far this year is looking like another great one!

The Latest in Kenya

I've been back in Kenya for less than a week, and the constant talk around campus is the WATER CRISIS. The rains in Kenya have been very small. In some parts of the country there has been no rain for several years. The last year that I've been in Kenya, we have suffered from drought on occasion, I've been without water for several days at my house, and I have known people whose crops failed because of drought. My school, however, has not been without water during these times because they have an extra borehole which provides water when the city water is no longer available. This may not be the case for long though. At teacher inservice this week, my superintendent expressed great concern that our school may run out of water because our water sources are almost empty and no rain is in sight. If we run out of water, we have to close the school. Please pray that rain comes to Kenya, that our campus water holes will be filled, and that Rosslyn staff would be creative at ways to conserve water. While we wait for the rains, one of our current campus mottos is: If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, let it drown. Family and friends who I stayed with this summer... now you know why I didn't always flush the toilet. Habit! Thank you for your prayers.

I made it!

After two months of traveling across America, I made it back to Kenya safe and sound. It was a crazy summer in the States, but a fun-filled one. I've been horrible about blogging it all the last month, which I'm sorry for. I'll make it all up soon. Now it's back to the normal routine of things, which I must admit I'm grateful for. Traveling non-stop and moving to a new place every two to four days was a bit exhausting for me, but totally worth it. Thank you family and friends for a wonderful summer. You blessed me lots! I don't think you can know all the ways you have been a support to me this summer. Sleeping in my own bed again and seeing people I love in Kenya is refreshing and strange. Refreshing because I can just sit and do nothing and be in my own neck of the woods again. Strange because it feels so normal. Kenya is home. However, Oregon is home. Alaska is home. I have many homes. I guess I'm realizing that home is where the people I love are.