Our second week-end in the bush was VERY busy with most of the young people making the long and arduous climb up Mt. Kasigau on Saturday while Ken, Jenny, and I went to Voi with Grace for the weekly market trip. We thought we had it bad in hot, crowded, and dusty Voi for shopping, but changed our perspective when we ran into the group who were just completing the mountain climb at the very end of our day. You can tell from the photo that Mt. Kasigau is a definitive presence in this place, and the interns now own it to the very highest point!
We pushed forward for a safari on Sunday, even though our original plan was to go on a later week-end when people were better rested. But we did visit Tsavo East National Park for a game drive and saw many of the incredible animals that are only found in this part of the world: birds (too many to describe), elephants (many, many), giraffe (few but favorites), buffalo (mean), and a host of ungulates (grazers) with and without horns: antelope (various), gazelle (lovely), eland (big), kudo (striped), dik dik (tiny), kungoni (weird), zebra (funny), waterbuck (marked on the butt with a toilet seat shape), and oryx (stately facial markings). 
And of course baboons and even a couple hippos. Our friend Simon was our guide, and is incredibly knowledgable about everything having to do with the history, ecology, animals, and people of Tsavo, and whose wife Rhonda cooked us a wonderful East African feast for lunch. Even for those of us who have been on multiple game drives in the past, each new safari is a wonderful treat, and most of us hope to go again soon.
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Monday the interns were at schools for their first day bright and early, identifying students who need help in reading and writing English, assessing skills, finalizing teaching schedules, and meeting new students. The first two schools, Makwasinyi and
Kiteghe, are the farthest on the back side of the mountain and we drove a circuit each morning and afternoon for a week with 7 people in a Toyota Probox (one of about 15 Toyota models we never see in the US, and NOT meant for 7 people). Our second week in schools we have had private “matatu” (van bus) service from long time friend Eliud in return for helping him get his matatu repaired. Ken and I have been stuck in the sand twice now and carried many local people once we drop the interns at schools. Most recently we had the two of us in front, 4 adult women with a baby and many bags in the back seat, and three adult women in the boot (behind the back seat).
Our reception this trip has been much more enthusiastic than last year, mainly because we have shown how skilled our interns are at teaching the students typically considered to be “slow learners”. Only the best and the brightest are able to keep up in the Kenyan national curriculum, which is delivered at a rapid pace to the entire class with few teaching resources beyond shared
textbooks, and no opportunity for remedial work as we know it. Students can fall behind because they haven’t learned enough English to use the official language to learn, because teachers are sick and there are no substitutes, because of obligations athome on the farms or with younger siblings, or any number of other reasons. Many teachers and children alike walk far distances to school and it is a privilege for us to be here helping out for a short time with the car and with our interns knowledge and skill. The interns have already made great progress in teaching math from number sense to long division, reading from letter sounds to comprehension and test taking skills, and writing from letters to paragraphs. We have two more days in Makwasinyi and Kiteghe and then move to Jora and Rukanga next week.
On my birthday, January 11th, we started the day with birthday cake at breakfast and many well wishes all day from friends here. Thanks also to all of you who sent email birthday wishes; it means a lot when we are so far from home. It was raining very hard in the morning, which is a good omen for me and the coming year. “Water is life” here where there is much more likely to be a drought than rain. We had a big party at night, which doubled as a going away party for Claire, with the requisite beer, soda, goat meat (only a partial goat this time), and even a little brandy and vodka. Chari (Grace’s Taita name) cooked us a fantastic meal of pilau, rice, peas, and cake. Ken took Claire to Nairobi for her flight home a day later and we all miss her.
My father shared something with me this summer that his father said during Dad’s college years, in support of getting an education at all costs: You can lose your possessions, have your property stolen, even lose friends and family, but once you have an education it is yours forever (paraphrased poorly, I fear). In the next posting I will write a bit about the group of young people who are here, because they are central to the purpose of our trip and our accomplishments in Kasigau schools and with families...Ken and I are old news in this part of the world, but each young person brings with them a measure of excitement and interest that transcends their daily activities. They are out there interacting with children and adults while walking around and while teaching, using local language, following local customs, and generally enjoying themselves and their surroundings. You should all be very proud of those you have entrusted to our adventure in Kenya this year.
I'm posting a photo of Grace Chari on “network rock” so you all can see what we see when we are taking to you on the phone or sending email from the bush. It is marvelous for those of us who have been here before and incommunicado to be able to walk 10 minutes and make a telephone call. More next week or maybe even this week-end.
Kris
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