So we arrived here very late on September 1st. School had already started for the kids nearly a month prior, and the guy Chris was replacing was leaving within 2 weeks after we arrived. We knew we had to jump in with both feet quickly! September 2nd, we awoke and had some eggs, pretty sure that was all we had in the house, and then we were picked up by Seth (the guy Chris replaced) and one of the unit drivers so we could go to school, get our phones switched to Kenya phones, and get some shopping done!
We got to meet Kimberlynn's teacher and in fact her whole class first! They were in the middle of transitioning from one class to the next and when they saw us and Dr. Gilmer (the principal) introduced us, they all greeted her, "KIMBERLYNN!" They wanted her to stay and go to lunch and play with them! She was overwhelmed, but you could tell she enjoyed it. We then went on to meet Benaiah's teacher. The class was out, so we just got her. She was very excited to meet him and introduce him to the class who were anxiously waiting for him. They had been pronouncing his name wrong, so she was happy to learn how to say it correctly. Benaiah was pretty excited to see his desk and his cubby. We then went to John's class. Neither his teacher, nor his class was there, but we were able to see his cubby and his desk. We also got to meet the music teacher who was very friendly.
After about an hour we finished, and headed to the Village Market, an outdoor shopping mall, similar to a strip mall. It was my first experience getting airport level security at a mall. They open all the doors of your car as you enter and look in the glove box and any other compartment and they open your trunk. Then you go through a metal detector as you walk into the shopping area. It was a little overwhelming at first. Then our first stop was Safaricom, the phone provider, where we also got wanded! It was also strange to get our first experience at the customer service here. It is definitely not as hands on as we have had at other phone service places! :) I was a little overwhelmed, maybe b/c I was so tired! Thankfully, Seth and Debbie (Seth's wife) watched our kids outside so they weren't underfoot while we tried to figure everything out! Then, Debbie introduced me to Zucchini, essentially a vegetable market. The prices were amazing (well unless you wanted an imported fruit-kiwi, nectarine, peach), even if they weren't always labeled. Here at Zucchini, I learned another thing, paying with a credit card, means you get rung up at the cash register and then he prints out a receipt and you take it to another desk to pay, while your groceries wait at the line, even if there are people behind you! After picking up some fruits and vegetables while our kids were taken to the toy store, where they had LEGOS, we went to Nakumatt, the "Walmart" of Kenya. We were able to pick up some other necessities as far as groceries go, including peanut butter and bread!
We all pretty much needed a nap by that point, so we went home!
The next day we went back up to the school for a play. Really it was an excuse to get out of the house! The play was put on by a Korean group. It was called the "Dandelion's Story!" It was about a dog poo feeling like it had no purpose, and all these animals came up and essentially said it had no purpose, til one animal encouraged it, that it would find it's purpose, which ultimately was to help a dandelion grow! It was REALLY well done, and really cute, and I loved the message about how everybody no matter how big, small, or smelly, has a purpose.
Afterwards, we met two gentlemen from Europe, Stan and Jeroen, whose kids attend Rosslyn. Chris sat and talked with Jeroen for over an hour, and then he actually gave us a ride home with two of his kids!
Sunday we went to church at the kids' school, and then in the afternoon, went to meet our neighbors! Chris had met Jamie, on Saturday, but we got to sit and talk with his wife Kathy, and meet his two boys Jake and Luke who were both in high school, but actually really enjoyed playing with our kids! Oh and they have two dogs too!
Monday was our kids first day at school! I was a bit of a wreck! And then Chris tells me that he signed them up to ride the bus (since we didn't have a vehicle, and didn't know when we would get one). I never thought I would send my babies on a bus, especially in 1st grade. We bought John a recorder and then we left. It was so weird. I should not be leaving all three of my kids at school. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with myself. It didn't help that we had essentially none of our belongings, so I couldn't even organize something! I was never so happy for 3:30 to come! We went to pick them up and the boys started intramural soccer!
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| The only picture of the school I happened to grab! |
After about an hour we finished, and headed to the Village Market, an outdoor shopping mall, similar to a strip mall. It was my first experience getting airport level security at a mall. They open all the doors of your car as you enter and look in the glove box and any other compartment and they open your trunk. Then you go through a metal detector as you walk into the shopping area. It was a little overwhelming at first. Then our first stop was Safaricom, the phone provider, where we also got wanded! It was also strange to get our first experience at the customer service here. It is definitely not as hands on as we have had at other phone service places! :) I was a little overwhelmed, maybe b/c I was so tired! Thankfully, Seth and Debbie (Seth's wife) watched our kids outside so they weren't underfoot while we tried to figure everything out! Then, Debbie introduced me to Zucchini, essentially a vegetable market. The prices were amazing (well unless you wanted an imported fruit-kiwi, nectarine, peach), even if they weren't always labeled. Here at Zucchini, I learned another thing, paying with a credit card, means you get rung up at the cash register and then he prints out a receipt and you take it to another desk to pay, while your groceries wait at the line, even if there are people behind you! After picking up some fruits and vegetables while our kids were taken to the toy store, where they had LEGOS, we went to Nakumatt, the "Walmart" of Kenya. We were able to pick up some other necessities as far as groceries go, including peanut butter and bread!
We all pretty much needed a nap by that point, so we went home!
The next day we went back up to the school for a play. Really it was an excuse to get out of the house! The play was put on by a Korean group. It was called the "Dandelion's Story!" It was about a dog poo feeling like it had no purpose, and all these animals came up and essentially said it had no purpose, til one animal encouraged it, that it would find it's purpose, which ultimately was to help a dandelion grow! It was REALLY well done, and really cute, and I loved the message about how everybody no matter how big, small, or smelly, has a purpose.
Sunday we went to church at the kids' school, and then in the afternoon, went to meet our neighbors! Chris had met Jamie, on Saturday, but we got to sit and talk with his wife Kathy, and meet his two boys Jake and Luke who were both in high school, but actually really enjoyed playing with our kids! Oh and they have two dogs too!
Monday was our kids first day at school! I was a bit of a wreck! And then Chris tells me that he signed them up to ride the bus (since we didn't have a vehicle, and didn't know when we would get one). I never thought I would send my babies on a bus, especially in 1st grade. We bought John a recorder and then we left. It was so weird. I should not be leaving all three of my kids at school. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with myself. It didn't help that we had essentially none of our belongings, so I couldn't even organize something! I was never so happy for 3:30 to come! We went to pick them up and the boys started intramural soccer!
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| I sat and watched Benaiah and Kimber on the playground before they went to class. It pleased me so much to see them playing together and taking care of each other! |
The boys were on the lime team. Here's some pictures of their first practice and game. They practice for 45 minutes and scrimmage another team for 45 minutes!
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