Pumpkin Fun!

Well, it's somehow December and November came and went so quickly. Time to do a little backtracking, beginning with all the fun things our 2nd grade class did with pumpkins last month.

An organization called Uhuru Child grew the pumpkins and brought them into town to sell. The proceeds from the pumpkin sale went to help out with all the great things they do for girls in an IDP camp. These were American pumpkins, so they were orange- a specialty here. The pumpkins here in Kenya are green.

It was fun to bring the orange pumpkins into the classroom and hear the observations from the kids. Many were excited and curious as to what we would do with such things!

First of all we started out by describing our pumpkins. Since we were talking about adjectives, and some of our pumpkins had some pretty cool features (green spots, curvy stem, leafy vine) the students were able to really come up with some great describing words.

Later in the week we weighed (in kgs), found the diameter (in cm), tested to see if they sink or float, found the height, and pondered if a pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable. Students then took all this information and predicted how many seeds were inside.

Since many of our students haven't ever really looked inside a pumpkin before, the estimates were something like 20 or 30 seeds. They loved digging and feeling the "gross" insides. The actual number of seeds was quite higher than their predictions!

While cleaning up, one of our janitors asked what I would do with the seeds. I explained to him that I'd take them home and bake them. I gave him some to take home too, and he excitedly told me he would try to plant them upcountry and see if the pumpkins would grow up there. The orange pumpkins are quite a novelty!

I did take the seeds home and baked them- the kids loved it! They wanted more and more.

Plus, I baked one of the pumpkins to get the pumpkin insides to bake pumpkin bread. (We don't have canned pumpkin in our stores.) It was great! Definitely a first, and more time consuming, but worth it.

Click here to watch a video of all the fun! Enjoy!

That time we went caving

Living in East Africa I've had the chance to do a lot of fun outdoorsy things. For instance, I've hiked a volcano, watched lion cubs play around, and rafted the Nile. I'm pretty much for any adventure if I've got the time and funds to do it. So, when the idea of exploring caves was on the table, my roommate Lindsey and I thought, "Why not?"

Our adventure began early, as most do, with a stop for coffee. Only this time we also need to pick up lunch. You see with a full schedule (and lack of planning) our fridge was bare and we didn't even have bread to make PB&Js. So, to Art Cafe we went excited about the amazing lunch we would have. Of course, when we got there they didn't have any water and weren't prepared to serve food yet.

Fortunately, our friend was working there that morning and with a few trips to the kitchen she rounded up some sandwiches for us. Whew! Crises averted. We happily drove off to Diamond Plaza where we met up with a few other adventure seekers ready for a trip out to Mt. Suswa.

Perfect day for a drive!

However, we met another bump in the road, so to speak, when we loaded up in the van. Our mustached driver, Bernard, had misplaced the keys to the van. After some searching the keys were found in the door. After they were recovered we were off!

The drive out to Mt. Suswa is a beautiful one. You pass along the escarpment on a windy road that overlooks the Great Rift Valley. After about two hours we came to the conservancy and make a pit stop to stretch our legs.

As we continued on a dirt road we regularly had to shut the windows due to the dust that flew up. It literally looked like we were in a car wash of dust. The van made it through and we continued- through a fork in the road, past herds of goats, beyond a church here and home there. We stopped to ask for directions once or twice and the locals pointed us ahead.

Pretty soon we came to a log in the road. (You read that right, a log in the road.) Said log was guarded by a teenage girl who claimed a toll fee of 1000/ksh (about $11). After a little discussion, the fee was paid and the log was moved. After the payment our young friend skedaddled off.

In a few minutes drive we came to a gorgeous site. It was a crater along Mt. Suswa (I think). Once again we got out to stretch our legs and take some pictures of the beautiful landscape in front of us. Then, we found out that we made a wrong turn...about an hour before. So, we go into the van and made our way back. We ate the delicious sandwiches and laughed that we were lost, making the most of the situation.

Sometimes it's worth getting lost. 

Another wrong and some help from the local boys who helped us go in the right direction, we made it to the caving spot. We put on our gear (a harness & helmet w/ headlamp) and made our way to the first hole in the ground. You see, we had to repel or abseil down into the caves. Let me tell you, it took all the courage I could muster to squat into the harness and lower myself down. Turns out I'm pretty fearful of heights. However, I lived to tell the story and obviously survived.

Not sure about abseiling down through that hole in the ground.

Lindsey was a champ!

In the cave, waiting on the others to join us.

Once inside the caves our eyes adjusted and we waited for the rest of the group (about 15 of us) descend under ground. You could immediately smell something that wasn't quite pleasant (think animal urine). As we made our way through the caves the soil became softer- it was bat guano. Gross, I know. The sound of the bats grew louder also and you could see them fluttering around.

Hard to see, but they're there!

It reminded me of watching the bats fly out of the bat house at Lake Alice in Gainesville, only this was much larger than that little bat house. Who knows how many little critters were sleeping upside down in those caves! It smelled like a lot.

See their ears?!

In some points we climbed over rocks- literally climbed over them. Then climbed back down. We had to crawl on our hands and feet at one point, and walked on a narrow path at another. It felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie- I loved it.

One of the coolest parts was walking up to where the cave ended. You could just see the light shining down through holes. One tree was on the edge of such a hole and the roots drooped downward searched for a water source. Plants flourished in these spots that opened up where they received rain.

At one point our guide has our entire group turn off our headlamps and experience the total darkness of the cave. Psalm 139 came to mind: "If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you: the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."  How great it is to know that our God is not phased by the darkness!

We had a blast, but the adventure wasn't quite over. We returned our gear and loaded up in the van. We made our way back, but this time our van got stuck in the dust. The eight passengers got out...we pushed a little and realized the tires sunk a little deeper. A quick search for some rocks proved fruitless, but we came back with sticks to put underneath the tires.

The breeze was chilly and the sun had already started its decent. Mt. Longonot in distance was a picturesque view. Soon a neighbor came out to see what was going on. A cart pulled by three donkeys made its way passed us. A couple men brought out a hoe and shovel and so the guys began the task of digging us out. We provided light from headlamps until another car could come to our rescue.

It truly was such a great day. I'm so happy to have shared it with some amazing friends. What a blessing to experience God's creation here in Kenya.

voting from Kenya and other life updates

It's hard to believe the first quarter of the year is almost over. In some ways it feels like we've been in school for a long time, now. On the other hand, I feel like I'm still getting to know some of my kiddos and figure out second grade.

I can tell you, though, that I am having a blast with these 7 and 8 year olds! Everything is so exciting to them, from reading about  Moses and the Israelites escaping Egypt to playing a math game up in the loft to writing a poem about a chameleon found in the grass. Learning is so fun at this age- it encourages me to continue to make learning fun for them.

Another exciting tidbit is that I get to co-host two Covenant groups (discipleship groups) with my lovely roommate early in the mornings before school. We've got a high school group one morning, and a couple high school gals are leading a middle school group on another morning (we get to be there to make the coffee and provide a cozy space). Pray for us as we read through Psalms and the book Crazy Love with our high school girls.

Also on my plate, I'm coaching a couple Odyssey of the Mind elementary teams. We've just begun and I'm having a blast encouraging them to think outside the box! I'm a little nervous about finding all the materials we will need here in Kenya, but we will make due. From what I saw on the OM website we may be the only teams in Africa!

I'm feeling more settled in this second year in Kenya. Even my bedroom is cozier with pictures on the wall, a bedspread that actually fits my bed, and festive lights in the window. Adding more responsibilities to my schedule makes me feel that much more like a part of the community here. Although, I do miss my Hardee County home. Today I filled out my absentee ballot that made it all the way to Kenya. Let's hope it makes it back in time to be counted!

Kenyan Food

Realized I never posted this from last year....Here's a little insight into Kenyan cuisine:

Food. It's a pretty big deal. A couple weeks ago my students experienced cooking and eating some Kenyan foods. Here's what went down:

So, the room was divided up into stations for the kids to visit. They were armed with a plate, fork, and a cup of chai. Chai is a very popular Kenyan drink since it's grown right here. It's tea, milk, and sugar. Then, off they went from station to station learning about some popular Kenyan foods.

One of the stations had the 4th graders make mukimo. It's a dish with mashed potatoes, corn kernals, and peas. You can check out the pictures and can tell there are other ingredients in it as well.

Students worked hard to remove the kernels from the corn. Coincidentally corn tastes very different than what I'm accustomed to; it's definitely not as sweet.

Githiri is another dish that involves corn and beans. You simply put these things together, along with whatever other vegetables you like and boil them up. 

One of the basic staples is ugali. It's a cornmeal + water dish and doesn't have much taste on its own. Although it looks like mashed potatoes, you can cut it with a knife. It's very filling, but you wouldn't want to eat it by itself. Cover it with some kind of sauce or here, sukuma wiki (think greens). 

At another station kids got to make rice, or pilau. Most were a fan of mashing up the garlic.

 All these ingredients were added to the rice, along with other spices, to make it nice and tasty. Also, meat was added in.

You can see the rice on the plates- its light brown. Students also enjoyed watermelon! 

Another Kenyan staple is chapati. It's round and flat; for those back in Florida, think tortillas. Chapati is good for soaking up juices and a vehicle for all the other foods to get to your mouth. 

Students got to roll out the dough and form the chapati.

Um.....bless their hearts.

 In Uganda we ate a delicious breakfast meal: Rolex. Basically you take a chapati, then accompany it with a thick layer of scrambled egg. Rolled Eggs turns into Rolex. It's a great on-the-go meal and we even had the fortune of stopping by Uganda's No. 1 Chapati Company. Since we had no time to spare, we missed the cooking lessons. Next time.

I was quite delighted with my Nutella and banana chapati. Delicious!

For those of you wondering if this is what I eat all the time- it's not. I'm a fan of stir fry, fajitas, sandwiches, and other easy to make wonders along with all the fresh fruits and veggies found here.

Since I originally wrote this, a Subway has opened up just a few minutes away. We also enjoy ordering pizza for delivery and going to Ethiopian restaurants.

Taking my New Wheels to the Tea Fields

I'm now officially the owner of a '99 Rav4! This is so exciting, because it means more independence and opportunities to get out of the city and explore more of this beautiful country. When your classroom is literally a 2 minute walk from your house and you live and work on the same campus, sometimes you just need to be able to get away for a little bit.

Enjoying the full service at the gas station.

So far I've mostly taken little trips to the mall near us to get groceries or to go out and get coffee. This weekend though, as part of our efforts to get out of town more, a group of friends traveled out to enjoy lunch in the tea fields.

Seriously, Crayola should make a box of green shades inspired by tea fields.

This particular farm has a gorgeous flower garden that attracts all kinds of birds. The food was delicious- I particularly love the pumpkin casserole that is creamy with some kind of cereal on top.

Although I'm a little nervous about driving out on the Kenyan roads sprinkled with potholes and crammed with animals, carts, pedestrians, and crazy matatus (buses), I'm so excited about the opportunities having a car will bring.

New School Year!

Well, I've been back in Kenya for about a month now. We've made it through four weeks of school already, and I am very much enjoying second grade. I've got a class full of sweet, rambunctious, bright learners. It amazing to think of all the places these kids have lived and the experiences some of them have had at the age of 7 or 8. I am blessed to be their teacher.

Here's a little peak into my AMAZING camping classroom, complete with a LOFT (YAY!):

Ready for S'more learning!

Classroom library in the corner over there.

Everyone loves the loft- perfect for curling up with a good book!

View from the loft

Another view from the loft

My desk and the Smart Board.

View from the back of the room.

So that's where I spend a lot of time! All these pics were before school started, so it looks even more lived-in and cozy.

You can be praying for my students to feel safe, loved, and excited to be at school and in our classroom. Lift up their families and the work that they do here- it's incredible to hear how God is using these ministries in Kenya and East Africa. Also, pray for those students and families who are not yet believers, that they may come to know Christ. You can ask God to fill me with patience and love for these kiddos, to build great relationships with them and their families, and to have lots of energy in the next couple weeks as I take on some more responsibilities. I love my job and I'm so thankful to teach here.

Thanks so much for all the well wishes, support, and encouragement. It's great to know you have friends and family in your corner, rootin' for you.

-Sarah