I AM NOW A "SHORT TIMER"

Hey friends - only 59 days to go!! I even have my plane ticket - land in NYC July 29th.

Here are photos of my last birding trip to Lake Baringo. It was even more exciting than Lake Naivasha - the lone bird is a goliath heron and the fisherman is in a sort of canoe made out of bamboo.

Also pictured are my Kenyan family installing their rain catchment system (funded by Mammoth residents). Then a group of orphans from a nearby nursery school.

The shot of the green mosquito net was taken during one of my malaria lessons at the dispensary. I am now focusing on family planning and birth control. Kenya really needs to address the situation of populatioin growth. It is truly out of control in many rural areas like Kadzinuni. There is a shot of some traditional dancers who performed at the World Aids Day.

I love the shot of the kid doing the high jump - Kenyans can really run and jump!
Stay Alive is a HIV pervention/education curriculum that I followed for the younger classes.

This could very well be my last edition of "Mary in Kenya". I have given up on ever getting electricity and I am so busy, it is difficult to allocate time to travel and sit at the laptop.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my Kenyan experiences and adventures. If any of you have friends who might want to talk with me about Peace Corps or Kenya, I should be back on the Eastside in September. You can reach me through Susan Burgett or Leslie Whitmore. I will eventually get a phone of course but maybe not for awhile.

Kwaheri kwa Kenya and Siku njema!

Mary

My Big Vacation in Kenya

I finally got around to taking a vacation and doing some serious birding. I went to Lake Naivasha and intend to return to that general part of Kenya and visit Lake Baringo. These two lakes are known for the diversity of bird varieties that they host. I was not disappointed. The only decent bird picture I got was of the disgusting, huge, maribou stark. They are ubiquitious wherever there is garbage and I mean, they are HUGE. Stand a full 3 feet. They also sport a waddle that only adds to their disgusting appearance. As you can tell here, they pranced around the campground where we stayed at Lake Navivasha. As usaul, my photos are in a weird order. So, next to Mr. Maribou is a shot of me at Crescent Island. Part of "Out of Africa" was filmed here. It is privately owned and hosts a variety of animals. Guests are allowed to walk all over the island. You are able to get quite close to some as you can tell by the photo of me with the giraffe. Next photo shows the tents where we stayed in Nairobi. Yes, a campground inside the city of Nairobi. A very reasonable place to stay and fun too. Drank cold beer and watched football on TV.
The baby elephant is a resident at the Elephant Orphanage outside of Nairobi. It is hell to find and they only open to the public for an hour each day. We got so lost we almost missed seeing the elephants. The shot of Lake Naivasha - well, look closely, there are lots of hippos in the water. Lastly, out boat raced through a large flock of comorants. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the African fish eagle. There were so many on the lake - very similar in appearance to our bald eagle. Very regal. I will surely do at least one more blog entry before leaving Kenya. I am also into the double digits now so August is not too far away! Bye for now ---

135 days to go!

Yes - the countdown has begun. I am still very happy and content to be here but won't be terribly sad to leave either. I am weary of being dirty most of the time, weary of not having refrigeration, weary of hand washing my clothes in very little water, and yea, that rat that lives down my choo (toilet) won't be missed either!!

But my work here has gone very well lately. I have 10 Life Skills classes in 3 different schools, also a library club in addition to the running club. The library has really thrived - many more students come each day to use some study books we recently purchased - books that help them prepare for the national exams that are WAY more important than the SAT results for US students.

So - on to pictures. Here is Brent with daughter Izzy and , OK - check out the laptop screen. That is me and a Kenyan friend just barely visible -----skyping has allowed me to watch Izzy grow!

The next photo is of Kakunde Mwangata helping his parents replace their palm thatch roof. They are doing this in advance of the rainy season but this photo was taken some weeks back and the rains have yet to begin. The situation is rapidly becoming critical. At Kadzinuni (and most of rural Kenya) there is no irrigation so if there is no rain, there will be no crops. People are worried I know and I worry for them.

Yes - that is me performing a condom demonstration to an audience of class 6 & 7 students.

The flame tree is in full bloom despite the lack of rain! It is gorgrous.

And lastly - the motorcycle, called a piki piki, is a common form of transportaton in rural Kenya. I have honestly seen 5 people riding one bike! I took this photo to show how they perch a small child in front of the driver and the child holds onto the side mirrors. It is so dangerous!!

Bye from Kenya -----

Mary

Holiday Celebrations in Kenya

Dear Friends;

Hope you all had nice holidays with your families. I had a terrific time with my Kenyan family, the Mwangata's. In a way, not much happens but school is not in session for the entire month and families do take time to be together. Here on the coast, the highlight of both Christmas Day and New Year's Day is to go down to the beach and watch the children play in their new clothes. I mean, there are so many little girls in long fancy dresses rolling around in the surf and sand. Here are pictures to enjoy: top photo is of the Mwangata family in their Mammoth Mtn. T-shirts. Next to that is a shot of Margo and I - she visited in late November. The rest are all from New Year's Day - and yes, that is me with the Mwangata girls.

School has started again and I am busy with my life skills classes. Yes, what a joke that is - ME teaching Life Skills. I promise I only teach the appropriate skills! Happy New Year from Kenya!!

Margo's Visit

Margo visits the Mwangatas and ofcourse, they loved her just like we do !!



Giraffe at Tsavo West Park


Lava flow at Tsavo West


Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background with it's tiny snow cap





Entrance to Tsavo West Park, Serana Lodge



Here we are on the last day of Safari reading the Mammoth Times!












Watering hole for elephants at Tsavo East Park






Dear friends;

Margo & Kyle are flying back to the States today. They have been here for almost 3 weeks and it has been a wonderful visit. We did a four day safari; visited Tsavo East and West and also the Amboseli National Park that is right next to Mt. Kilimanjaro. If you remember, that is near where I did my initial training for Peace Corps. It was interesting to be back in that part of the country as the newly paved road into Loitokitok was a delight!!

Here are photos of our safari that hardly need any explanation!

The Kenyan schools are closed for the entire month of December. It has been a perfect time for me to have taken a vacation as the last 2 weeks of November are consumed with testing and I was unable to hold my regular classes. Later this month I will go to Nairobi for a workshop with a non-profit group I am doing some volunteer work with. The group, Kenya Education Fund, was started by a former PCV and is focused on finding American sponsors for youth wanting to attend secondary school here in Kenya. I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to travel around to schools near my site and meeting lots of dedicated students.

OK - that is it for now. Must go get ready to take Margo & Kyle to the airport. Look for another posting in late January.

LOVE FROM KENYA!!

Mary

My beautiful daughter who is coming to visit in November!

To the left here is Patrick, my interpreter for my Life Skills classes that I have in two primary schools. Actually the students (4th grade) do understand some of my English but it is very, very helpful having Patrick along to make sure they are getting the content of the lessons. We discussed STD's and Tuberculosis in this particular session. Remember, as I have mentioned before, you can have a wide age distribution in any class. Am sure there are at least 15 year olds in this 4th grade class.


The photo above and on the right shows sisal being dried. Since Kadzinuni is situated above and around a huge sisal plantation, the locals use the crop in many different ways. I am not sure if they purchase it from the plantation or if they harvest at night! But truthfully, many people have sisal plants around their own homes; I won't think the worst here. They use sisal as a heavy twine to repair things and make furniture, etc. Behind the sisal in the photo are two types of beans grown locally. They dry them for use during the dry season. The left hand photo is of a beautiful red starfish that can be found here.





Dear Friends;

I am not skilled at blogging - I see that my last entry has photos on top of one another and some cut off. What to do?? I am a disaster with this but won't give up just yet.

The photo above and to the right shows a solar cooker that I have purchased. Kenyan women, in rural areas, do all their cooking over a wood fire and then to make matters worse, they build that fire inside a mud hut with absolutely no ventilation. I show them the black soot on the walls and tell them "this is what your lungs now look like". But still, getting them to switch to a solar cooking method will be difficult if not impossible. Yes, it is hot and sunny here but once you put that solar cooker out, you realize how many clouds can pass over during the day! I will continue to try the cooker as I do know some people have had great success with it.

The photo above and to the left shows tobacco growing. Not many Kenyans smoke but enough to make growing the crop profitable and smokable! Is that a word?????

OK - enough for now. The monkeys are playing over head and the fishermen are out in full force. I am composing this blog at Pope's House which affords me a spot on a cliff over looking the beach. A beautiful day with a delightful ocean breeze.

Mary
PS By the way, heard Sarah Palin speaking in Reno ----heard this over the BBC. Are people really listening to her? She sounds pathetic here in Kenya. Wonder what Kenyans think of her. No one on the coast has heard of her!!

BABY CANADA HAS ARRIVED! MORE ON KENYA LATER!