That is "What's the news" or "greetings" in Swahili.
We have had a very busy week again. It is amazing how things are moving forward. We have survived our first week of the kids being out of school. They have played with friends, went to the Masi Market and just plain drove us crazy!
The boys and I hiked up Mt. Longonot last Thursday. It's an old volcano. We hiked up to the rim. It was pretty steep in places, (I'm glad Sallie didn't come)! The view was amazing. You could see for miles. Lake Naivashia was in the distance as well as the Rift Valley. Some of the people in our group hiked around the rim of the crater too. It was another 2 hours or so (10 km), and we had to get back home so we couldn't go. The whole hike was about 3 hours with our lunch stop. Some other hikers told us later that they saw a green Momba (snake) in their way down. Glad that was not me!
This is the view from the rim looking across the crater.
Trevor, Sallie and I did the Masi Market at a Nairobi mall yesterday. That was an experience! The Masi are a tribe here that are basically hearders (cow and sheep). They are a meat (actually, meat, milk and blood) eating society. They are usually very tall and wear bright red clothing. They make all sorts of cool things (drums, beaded jewlery, bags, carvings, painting, knives, etc.). They are very agressive in their sales tactics. You really have to know what you want to pay before going in. Trevor has been planning for weeks about how to get his bargins. He was pretty successful, but still had one encounter where he paid too much for something. I also had one where the guy talked me into something that I shouldn't have bought. They start their prices at "tourists" prices (5-10 times what you should pay)! Trevor got a lion carving about 6" across that the man wanted 6500 shilling for to begin with (about $75). He talked him down to 500 shillings ($6)!
Trevor, Sallie and I did the Masi Market at a Nairobi mall yesterday. That was an experience! The Masi are a tribe here that are basically hearders (cow and sheep). They are a meat (actually, meat, milk and blood) eating society. They are usually very tall and wear bright red clothing. They make all sorts of cool things (drums, beaded jewlery, bags, carvings, painting, knives, etc.). They are very agressive in their sales tactics. You really have to know what you want to pay before going in. Trevor has been planning for weeks about how to get his bargins. He was pretty successful, but still had one encounter where he paid too much for something. I also had one where the guy talked me into something that I shouldn't have bought. They start their prices at "tourists" prices (5-10 times what you should pay)! Trevor got a lion carving about 6" across that the man wanted 6500 shilling for to begin with (about $75). He talked him down to 500 shillings ($6)!
Can you tell that Sallie likes Zebras!
Trevor is willing to part with some of these when we get home for the right price!
The projects for the hospital are moving forward (at a slow pace but forward none the less!):
The CT scan room remodel design has finally been agreed upon. It was actually the design for the new pathology upstairs from the new CT scan room that has taken a while. But, people are in agreement and we can now move to working drawings. This is the one where we will raise the roof above pathology to make them a new space and move the CT scan unit into the space that they currently occupy. We should be able to clear out the upper space this week. It is really a mess up there, as people have been using it to store stuff for many years (including some really old chemicals).
The New Mother Child Health (MCH) building is in the working drawing development stage. We have also started excavating the ground over there to see what we have to move. There is the main supply water header as well as septic pipes and electric lines! Just a few things!
We think we have chosen an Architect for the new Bethany Kids Children's Center. The formal announcement will go out this week. At that point, we can move on to revisions of the drawings and then working drawings and then the contractor bidding process.
We have started pumping the septic tanks around the hospital. There are 6 of them plus another large liquid tank. It will take the man (John) about 45 loads in his large truck to get it all pumped. Now that is a lot of stuff!
I am starting a project to look for a sponsor (for schooling) for Yvonne. She is a 5 year old orphan that is being cared for by her grandmother. I have checked out the school and will send an email later with all the details.
We can't believe we have been here for 2 months already. The time has really flown by. Next week, we are going to head to Mombassa for a few days. It will be nice to get away for a bit. There are many challenges with living here, but it is also comfortable. Sallie even said the other day that it doesn't feel like we are living in Africa! The thing she likes the least is being the only Mzungu (white person) around. She has started saying, "Mzungu, Mzungu" when she sees one in town (meaning Nairobi). Now she knows what it feels like to be an African American living in Michigan!
One last note: We received our first package yesterday (thanks Marsha!). Chocolate chips are like gold here! It arrived within 2 weeks and got here safely. Op check sat!
One last note: We received our first package yesterday (thanks Marsha!). Chocolate chips are like gold here! It arrived within 2 weeks and got here safely. Op check sat!
Take Care,
In His Hands,
Jullie T.
Jullie T.
No comments:
Post a Comment