A few things I have learnt so far...

• People here are very friendly, which is almost always a good thing
• It's really really hot at 4pm and you can get burnt very easily
• You can get two mangoes and an avocado for 25 shillings (less than 20p) from a stall near school - depending on the quality when I eat them I may well be visiting that one fairly frequently!
• Maybe I'm more of a dog person than I thought (but who could help it when this lovely one wants to be your friend?!)

• Old-fashioned rat traps work
• Matatus are not as scary as I thought, and can be quite fun
• The fares on buses vary, without apparent rhyme or reason. This would have been less surprising on a matatu, but on a bus where you are issued with a ticket I would have expected the same journey at a similar time of day on a bus run by the same company and taking the same route would have cost the same!
• Brushes like this are really effective:

• Children at Mahali are addressed by either their first name or their surname, not as a formal thing but just to teach them their names, and therefore I have twice as many names to learn!
• There are four main types of home - a house, a hut, a manyatta (Masai house) and an igloo
• Ice is extremely exciting to children who have never seen/felt it before and may cause loud, shrieking chaos!
• Milk mostly comes in packets like this:

• If you are a white girl on your own getting on a matatu or bus or walking anywhere you are liable to be stared at a lot and also talked to and asked lots of questions (as well as being offered taxis, motorbike rides etc!)
• It is fine to fit a family of 4 on a motorbike, or else a couple of people and a lawnmower
• Kenya is beautiful, surprising, sometimes a bit scary, but an amazing place to be
• God's family is worldwide, and when you are in a new place people will welcome you as if you are an old friend, and you'll find you fit right in :-)

One week since I arrived!

Well, I didn't manage to write more on Tuesday or Wednesday - I've either been nattering and drinking tea with people or out at homegroup when I'm not at Mahali - but those are all good things, it's great to meet new people and start to feel part of the community. Lots has happened over the last few days, but I'll try to summarise...

The time at school so far has been good, as I said before I'm mainly observing and learning at the moment, and I've been in the 'baby' class this week. I've been keeping a few notes of my thoughts which should be helpful when I decide what my focus will be after the first few weeks of observation. Talking things through with Dee and a couple of other people has been very useful too. Mahali is such a great place with very committed staff and they are doing an excellent job, but I can see lots of ways that it could be fine-tuned and made even better. Each day seems to bring a new focus or something else for me to think about, my brain is getting quite full!

I've not taken any photos at the school yet, I will probably take my camera in next week but it was part of my attempt to be seen as a long-term person - although some of the children still call me 'visitor'. It's very cute hearing the little ones call me 'teacher Sarah' though! Anyway, I will substitute some from my visit early in the year to give you an idea of things.

The day begins before I arrive with the children drifting in any time from 7:30/8ish, and they have free choice activities. After that it is parade, which is usually when I arrive - they line up outside and do songs and usually hear a story, a bit like assembly. They are also counted at this point. After that it's inside for first lesson - maths or language - followed by porridge time and a short break.

Next comes maths or language, whichever they didn't do before break, another lesson (Montessori activities or something else) followed by a long break. During break times the children use the great outdoor space for football, skipping, playing with tyres etc as well as playing in the sand, in the playhouse or on the climbing frame.

There are another two lessons that vary according to the day, such as creative activities, science etc and then comes lunchtime!

It really is amazing how much these children eat, but when you consider that it may be their only meal it makes sense. The lunches are nutritious and filling, I eat lunch with them too and mostly enjoy them very much (except perhaps the ugali!)

After lunch comes more time to play, cleaning up and usually some singing before home time at 3. Many of the children walk home on their own or just with siblings, which is quite incredible when you think they're mostly 6 or under.

After the first day, when I got a lift with Dee, I've been travelling by taxi. However, this is quite expensive as a long-term option, so I have been experimenting with other forms of transport on my way home. On Wednesday I used a matatu for the first time, which is like a minibus and they are usually very old and often crowded, but despite being a bit worried beforehand it was actually fine. I was also very pleased that I paid the proper amount rather than being told a larger sum - one of the teachers waited with me and told me what the fare should be, I got on and said 20? and the man said yes :-)  I got the matatu into Karen, where it stops, and then I did some shopping and got the taxi from there, which at least meant only half a taxi fare. Today I got the matatu to Karen and then a bus - it cost me 50 shillings (about 40p) instead of 600 (around £4.50). Although the taxi isn't that expensive for the distance, it's a lot to pay every day, so I am hoping to try out the bus/matatu route in the morning next week... although that will mean getting up rather earlier!

A matatu

The children I mentioned before seem to be a little better already, I made the little boy smile today getting him to play with me and some other children, and he seemed perkier. He missed a lot of last term as his mum was ill and the children were staying with their aunt who doesn't live near, which probably means that part of what's wrong is he's not been fed so well as he is at school, and also there has been a lot of upheaval and he's probably quite traumatised. However, it was lovely to see his old smile back today - here he is in February:

(Yes, he does look a little like a girl in those clothes - it's not unusual!)

On my way home today I popped in to a Montessori centre in Karen that looks very well set up and equipped, and I have made an appointment to visit and see round the classes on Monday. I hope to get some ideas of what Montessori education can look like in practice here, and maybe set up a bit of a link - it would be brilliant if the teachers from Mahali could visit perhaps.

Anyway, that's all for now, it's getting rather late and I really meant to get an earlier night tonight! I'll try to update you again soon!

First day at Mahali

I'll write more tomorrow probably, but just checking in to say I had my first day, it was lovely to see the children again and great to see all the progress that has been made on the building, chickens etc since we were there. However it was a little overwhelming too, there is so much that could be done but it's going to be hard to know where to start. I am trying to take a back seat for the next few weeks, just observing and helping out where I can, because I want to see how things normally work and build relationships with the staff so that we will be in a better position to work together on any changes that we can make.

If you're a praying person, please pray for a couple of children who are not very well at the moment, it's a shock to see the change in them since February. One of them has a fever and is very low in energy, and the other is behaving quite strangely and forgetting things, it's quite worrying. I hope to keep an eye on this one and see if I can shed any light on what's going on, but I'm in no way an expert, I feel a bit out of my depth.

Chameleon!

Here is a three-horned chameleon that lives in the ivy in Dee and Peter's garden. I had seen him the other day without my camera and today it was getting a bit dark - the one with flash makes the colours all wrong but you can see more details. He is hiding his horns in the first one!

Today was a good day, especially church, but I am feeling quite sleepy so I must get an early night. The time difference perhaps explains why I am finding it hard to go to bed early enough, and I think the altitude has an effect too.

School tomorrow! :-)

Pictures!

Whilst I'm not planning to post every day, I'm currently making the most of available internet and time to myself before I start at Mahali Pa Watoto on Monday, and I thought I'd show you some more pictures! I've had a pottering sort of day today, organising my new home and settling in. I also seem to have turned into someone who makes homemade dip and even does the washing up straight after lunch - my mother would be proud! Plus I've been letting the washing up water cool and using it to water the plants outside, it's so easy and makes sense in a dry country - although we actually had a few drops of rain this afternoon!

Anyway, on with the pictures...

Mango for breakfast!

View for breakfast!

Banana tree!

Little lizard guy who seems to live under my step

"What are you looking at?"

Massive avocados I bought yesterday with a biro for scale

Having bought these avocados I knew I wouldn't exactly be able to eat them in one go, so I decided to have a try at making sort-of-guacamole (without the chilli etc as I'm not great with hot stuff). So here's what I did:

Take one avocado:

Prepare some slightly squishy cherry tomatoes by sort-of blanching them with hot water to make them a bit more squishable (and also to kill potential germs, I'm a little paranoid after getting food poisoning the last time I was here!)

Pick some fresh coriander from the garden, wash and chop.

Get distracted after tasting the delicious creamy loveliness and decide to eat half the avocado as it is with some grated cheese (well I was hungry, I'd been chatting to my family on skype and it was well past lunchtime!)

Mush together the remaining avocado, the tomatoes and the coriander:

Serve some spoonfuls of the sort-of-guacamole with carrot sticks and bread for a yummy lunch!

It was delicious, though I say so myself!

And now for some pictures of my new home, while it's relatively tidy:

My home from the outside

Asali the dog (with a poorly burnt nose) came to inspect...

... and went away again!

View inside from the doorway looking straight ahead

Looking to the left from the front door

Big comfy sofa

Bookcase with cards from Jon and my family

Pile of stuff to take to Mahali Pa Watoto

My bed with mosquito net just installed - I've been bitten already!

(And yes, that is a tiger. Well they don't live in Kenya so I brought my own with me!)

Kitcheny area

Bathroom (and family photos I brought)

Shower (this is getting silly now!)

Me in the mirror!

And with that, dear readers, I shall leave you. Tomorrow we are going to church for the early service - no sleeping in for me! So I'd better get to bed soon...

I'm here!

I have arrived in Kenya! I got here last night, and am sitting in Dee and Peter's garden using their internet connection on my laptop - ah, the power of modern technology! I meant to write a post before I left but it was a bit too manic; now I'm here everything has slowed down. I may well even have an afternoon nap!

Yesterday was a long day. We got up at half past 5 or thereabouts - we being my mum, dad, sister who came down to see me off, and myself. Last minute things were packed, small amounts of (or no) breakfast consumed, and a car arrived before 7 to take us to Heathrow. After meeting up with Jon, who had also come to see me off, and checking in my baggage, we had breakfast together. Then I had to say my last goodbyes which was very sad. I tried not to cry too much but couldn't help it a bit, especially when I hugged Jon goodbye.

After that came the worst bit of the journey - security. They had decided to check every fifth bag by hand as well as scanning everything, and the queue was long and slow. It soon became clear that I hadn't left enough time as I hadn't bargained for this at all - and from the other side it all looked fine. Of course one of my bags was put to one side for checking; thankfully a little pleading with one of the men resulted in him doing mine a little quicker and then I ran - to the lift, into the transit train thingy, another lift, and to the gate - the flight was closing! However, I was by no means the only one in this situation, there were several of us running out of that lift, and as it turned out even the flight crew had been held up!

Once I was on board and had calmed down a bit things definitely began to look up. I had a nice chat with an air steward who had been involved with building an orphanage in Mombasa, and then with the man sitting next to me who turned out to be an American missionary! God definitely put me in the right seat! Although the entertainment system wasn't working very well (and cut out when I was nearly at the end of a film!!) I had plenty to occupy me with chatting to people, reading my magazine and also my Kindle (thank you Jon!) which I am quickly getting used to even though I thought I'd never be converted! I am reading Northanger Abbey - why yes I did download the complete works of Jane Austen as a matter of priority!

We arrived at Nairobi in good time, I got through passport control without them querying my visa (and without using the word 'work' - I am visiting friends and volunteering!) and my baggage eventually appeared on the belt - I hate watching all these cases go past and people leave with their stuff and wondering if mine's on the right plane - but it was. Then I found Elias, the driver that Steve had contacted for me, and we set off for Dee and Peter's house. The journey was fairly uneventful apart from a long stretch of the main road which is 'under construction' - Dee says they're making a big dual carriageway, which will be great, but at the moment it's just murram road which is bumpy and dusty!

After arriving, unloading the luggage and having a drink and chat with Dee and Peter it was time for bed. It took me a while to settle, and thankfully Dee had warned me about the noises - some that I've heard before, such as hyraxes shrieking, and others that I hadn't - where I'm located is close to the stables and the horses can be quite loud, which is fine when you know what it is but would be a bit unnerving otherwise!

This morning Dee and I have visited the shops and I've stocked up on a few things as well as starting to get my bearings. I'm planning to unpack and potter this afternoon, and take some time to settle into my new home. I'm still having a few moments of thinking, 'what on earth have I done??', but these are fewer and further between because I can look back on so many ways that God has been good to me, looked after me and provided for me, and I know he will continue to do so.
  
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

1 Samuel 7:12  (NIV)

Here are a couple of pictures to reward you for reading this far! - I didn't intend to write quite this much but lots has happened!

Lovely flowers in my room from Dee and Tara (her granddaughter)

More pretty flowers next to my bed

A gecko that was in one of the cupboards this morning

Kenyan evening

On September 1st we held a Kenyan evening at my church to raise funds for my trip. We had a brilliant time! It took a lot of organising but I had so many people to help, including the lovely Sue who did most of the shopping and cooking - and the food was delicious!

We had set up tables in the back hall with all the things for sale and auction, many of them handmade by some brilliant friends. As people arrived they were able to browse and make initial bids, and then after the meal we continued with the sale; we made a good amount and people seemed pleased with their purchases.

The sale table

Bekki's sweet cards

Lili's pretty headbands

Kim's cute bookmarks

Lili's customised t-shirt

The auction table

Daphne's lovely jewellery and the print from the Eagle Gallery

One of Sarah's pretty button hearts and the other Sarah's cute tea cosy

In the main chapel, tables were decorated with African animals and jungleish-looking leaves, and at about 7pm we all sat down to a delicious Kenyan-style meal.

Here's the menu so you can read it!

Chicken curry

Beef stew

Vegetable curry

Plantains in coconut milk

Plain rice

Coconut rice

Ugali

This was followed by tropical fruit salad, melon, ice cream and sorbet. Yummy!

Between courses I did a little presentation about where I'm going and what I'll be doing, complete with the obligatory powerpoint and photos of smiley children - those went down well! I think I was quite nervous:

And then afterwards the paparazzi (aka Mr D. Murray) was out in force, insisting Jon and I pose with some vaguely Kenyan-looking things (errr) and taking photos of me with my parents too.

All in all it was a lovely evening and fun was had by all. Thank you to everyone who took part in so many ways!

Most photographs courtesy of Mr D. Murray :)