Moving In

Jambo!

Here is an update on our living arrangements…

Some of you will know that moving into the basement apartment at PACE has not been our first choice for accommodation since we first saw it a few weeks ago. The musty odour mixed with the smell of gasoline, the low ceilings (Ry has hit his head on the concrete cross-beams a number of times), and the utter emptiness of it (almost everything – including lightbulbs – had been removed) made it less than appealing! And, the more we enjoyed the comforts of Joanie’s house, the more we wanted to stay there. But, the plan was for us to live in the basement so that is what is going to happen. So, we less than joyfully started to clean out and organize our little (by our standards, but it could house a family of ten here!) apartment this afternoon. Most of that was ok and it actually started to smell nice near the end, but it would be a snowy day in the saharra before Taryn was going anywhere near the bathroom. Can somebody please tell her why some men can’t get their business IN the toilet instead of on or around it?! On a good note, we were able to round up some odds and ends and will hopefully get a few more things from Joanie later so that we’ll be able to keep our apartment “start-up” costs less than $100. Our biggest expense will be a new mattress, which is a necessity as the ones we’ve seen are VERY used and VERY uncomfortable! All in all, we’re growing quite happy with our little dwelling. It isn’t move-in ready yet, but hopefully after Christmas we’ll be settled in. And, I’ll have some pictures posted shortly after

Something Kenyans are known for is their hospitality and their eagerness to have you in their homes. For this reason, we’ve already enjoyed two Kenyan-style dinners with a couple of PACE’s teachers – and we’ll be eating another tonight! The amazing thing is that we felt so blessed and honoured to be invited into their homes, and yet we discovered that having a white person in a Kenyan home brings great honour to that family. When we were visiting Teacher Anne on Wednesday, her grandfather got word from some of the local children that muzungus (white people) had entered his compound – oh boy, was he pleased! He popped in for a friendly visit to make us feel welcome in his home and country. How cute! Aside from the wonderful food, it has been such a joy being able to get to know the teachers outside of school. Plus, Taryn has been promised Kenyan cooking lessons after the holidays, so she is very excited to learn how to cook with the local foods.

Speaking of muzungus, The responses we get when people see us are extremely diverse. One thing is for sure though: We are always being watched wherever we go! Even today we saw a girl staring at us from inside a bus, and another yelled out, “Look! Muzungus!” from a bus that was driving past us. Fortunately, muzungu is not derogatory, like “Gringo” sometimes is in Central America. Generally, people – especially children – are very excited to see us since many have not seen white people before (aside from in movies). Many of the children will run to us, or yell, “How ah yooouuuu?” at us from afar. And some will even walk right up and shake our hand. The cutest was a young child – maybe a year or so – who started greeting us in her high-pitched baby voice. By the way, “How are you?” is a phrase/greeting that all Kenyans seem to know and greet muzungus with. At first, we figured they thought this was how all westerners greeted each other, but we’ve since discovered that it is the direct translation for the standard Kenyan greeting, “Jambo”. On the flip side, there are many people who fail words and simply stare. And if you want to see their eyes bug out, just say, “Jambo!” …. it’s like they’re shocked that we can speak their language. (by the way, we can’t – which makes it extra amusing).

So after a long day today of running errands in town, setting up an apartment, and solving computer troubles, our bed is looking more and more inviting. Plus, we need to rest up for our visit to the prison and hospital on Monday. Taryn had also hoped to spread some Christmas cheer at the orphanages, but it turns out that most orphans visit extended family during the holidays and so most of the facilities will be empty. Oh well, we’re sure she will find other ways to spread the good cheer!

And as a final note - we promise - we wanted to thank all of you for your continued prayer support .... last week Taryn was fighting off a cold and struggling with back pain, and this week she's feeling great!! Thanks so much!

Lala Salama (good night)
(slowly but surely our Kiswahili vocabulary is improving)