Wanderlust- Adventures with Tracy and Zavion

My son, the wordsmith

2012-03-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

First of all - a bonus to Zavion's 25 things. Number 26 is his great imagination. I can't believe I forgot about it on my list. He is constantly making up scenarios to act out, characters for us to be, etc. We are animals, we are superheroes, we are battling, we are element benders, we have different forms, etc. It's so fun! His cousins share the same trait so when they are together, the imaginative play really picks up!!

Anyway, the other day, Z and I were looking for shells on the beach. He was saying, 'wow, Mom, this one is so beautiful. And this one is gorgeous. Stunning! Amazing! And this one is sooo pretty.' It was like a page out of a thesaurus. I guess those hours spent playing the synonym game has paid off. (Yes, I know - I'm a total nerd.) That, and the fact that if he ever encounters a word he doesn't know (books, conversations, movies, etc.) he asks for the meaning and we try to use the new words as much as possible.

I decided to keep track of the words/phrases he asked about for one day.... 'Mommy, what does _____ mean?' Here's a sampling of what may go in the blank:

Disastrous, extrapolate, move it or lose it, pre-pubescent, outcast, oblivian, obliterate, audacity, meet me in Valhalla (?), nostalgic, Augustine, ignorant...

Sometimes, it's quite funny. Like when he yells across a room full of people, "Mom, what exactly is a doofus?"

He doesn't always re-use the words perfectly, though - which can also be quite humorous. The other day, he tried to say I was exhasperating him, but he said exagerrating instead. He also used illuminate for frustrate - as in, 'Mom, I can't figure out this level in Angry Birds - it's really illuminating me!'

I sometimes say, 'you scared the bejeezus out of me!' Bejeezus being a nonsense word and having nothing to do with Christ and not meant to be offensive. However, in his hands... he told someone the other day, 'Man, you just scared me to jesus!' And 'the bee has jelly on his booty - I just laughed the jeezus right out of my guts!'

More examples of recent thoughts, questions and phrasing:

"Mom, in my imagination of a million years, I never thought I'd find these much shells."

"I'm skinny and your skinny and Miles and Katy are skinny, but that lady is round like a gronkle. And David? He's shaped kind of like a triangle."

"Mom, a little help here!"

"Mom, what is going on with you today? You're really freaking me out right now."

"There's a germ hanging out in my throat and he's making it hard for me to swallow."

"What in god's mean babies is up with that kid?" (A play on god's green earth...)

"Sleep in a toilet? Oh, the inhumanity!"

"Mom, will you die before me?" "But not before I'm a man, right?"

"I wish you were a little younger so you won't die so soon."

"I kind of figured that my mom would have brown skin like me, but you don't..."

"Those bathing suits don't even cover their butts at all! Are they going to get arrested, Mom? I think they'll be arrested."

"I want to live in Zanzibar so I can snorkel all day and have a pet monkey. And my cousins should live here, too. You don't need a job, just get some money out of the money store (ATM.) OK, you can just get a job here, then. You can be a boat driver, Bradley can sell pineapples and David can paint tattoos. When I'm 11, I'll get a job, too."

"I miss my cousins google, infiniti, thousand much!"

"That is the most horrible smell of my whole life!"

"I'm really sorry you got sunburned, Mom. Do you wish you had brown skin like me so you could be protected?"

"Mom, that man has bigger boobies than you!" (not saying much, I know...) "A man with boobies? I never heard of such a thing in a thousand years!"

"If I never went pee, would my bladder blow up like a balloon?"

"Who would win in a fight - a lion or a bear?" (and many similar questions - reminds me of little David!)

To a crowd - "Hey everybody, look what I'm going to do to my mom!"

There are so many more - but I'll spare you. I just wanted to get something down for my own recollection. ("Mom, what does recollection mean?")

Of birthdays past...

2012-02-29T10:18:00.000-08:00

OK, it had to be done. I finally have a decent internet connection and Zavion turned five just a couple of days ago, so here's to his birthday!! And those of the past...

I don't have any pictures from his actual birthDAY - but here is the first look I got of him - at six weeks old. I fell in love immediately, of course :)

First birthday. And first taste of cake. He's a fan!

Second birthday. He likes ice cream, too!

Three! And still a sloppy eater

Turning four. I can't believe I don't have a messy face picture from his 4th birthday, but this picture clearly shows his obsession from last year!

A couple of days ago - turning FIVE!!! And, yes, he can still make a mess with the best of them! Note the dry mango juice all over his cheek.

I'm still having a hard time believing that my little baby is FIVE - that just seems so old! At the moment, he is running around in his Superman pajamas in the open-air, sand-floored restaurant with a little French boy. Waves crashing in the background. A warm, sea breeze... this one will be hard to beat next year! (Although he's bummed that there aren't any cousins or friends here to enjoy it with him.)

We'll be home in less than a month!

The year of the leaping cetacean

2012-02-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

In the last 11 months, we have been very fortunate in the whale/dolphin sightings AND I've been lucky enough to catch them airborn on a few occasions - even with a small, hand-me-down camera. Since two of the experiences happened before I started this blog, I'll share the photos now... along with one I took on Monday. Yes, we are very lucky!!

March, 2011 -- Baby Humpback in Hawai'i (I missed the much closer breach by his mama.)

July, 2011 -- Orca at Orcas Island

February, 2012 -- Dolphin in Zanzibar (That's Laura from Germany enjoying the view from below.)

Ode to Zavion on his fifth birthday

2012-02-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of those '25 things' lists on Facebook - here is 25 things about Zavion as he turns 5...

(Zavion today in Zanzibar - giving his 'biggest smile')

1. He is hilarious. It's like living with my very own comedian. He loves to use big words (and not always correctly,) likes to make up his own jokes and has a clever, sarcastic, mature-for-his-age sense of humor. Simply put, he cracks me up.

2. He is a master negotiator. To him, everything is negotiable. Usually, these are done cutely and inocuously, but sometimes we can engage in quite a stubborn battle of wills... Again, he's very clever. And did I mention stubborn?

3. He is extremely knowledgeable for his age - be it animals, geography, science, the body, etc. He asks a LOT of questions and actually listens to the answers. He is also always trying to figure stuff out and is very fond of experiments. We can be walking along outside and he'll say, 'Mom, I have a hypothesis...'. And he's not just happy with WHY things are, but wants to know HOW things work. He loves math, puzzles and problem solving. He will probably be an engineer/inventor some day.

4. He's not as into doing creative work. He gets bored after only a few minutes drawing or coloring. He'd rather build things out of the crayons or put them into patterns. Because of this, his fine motor skills could use some work.

5. He's competitive and doesn't like losing. (insert pouty face here.)

6. He is easily distracted and has a hard time holding still. Unless he's watching something...

7. He has become a picky eater of late and doesn't seem interested in eating dinner any more. This has been the subject of our biggest battles recently. And the source of much of the afore-mentioned negotiating.

8. He is ambidextrous.
9. He's super sweet and loves to cuddle/snuggle- but this is mostly reserved for mommy. When he's tired/scared, etc., he will rest his head or hand on my trachea because he 'likes to feel the vibration.' He's definitely still a Mama's boy and it sometimes takes him a while to warm up to new adults. But not to kids.

10. His cousins are his best friends. He was lucky enough to live with three of them for stints this year. He is definitely missing them all on his birthday...

11. He talks in his sleep. I can tell when he's dreaming and what he's dreaming about. Last night, it was something about being on Pangea and feeling the crack of the continents breaking apart... Lots of times, it's about someone stealing his food or toys.

12. He's very active and trending towards athletic, but, due to his long, skinny limbs, he's still a bit awkward in the coordination department. He likes to try all sports, but isn't obsessing over any particular one, yet. He does fancy himself quite the karate expert, though. He gets upset when he's not as good as other kids in sports.

13. His favorite dance move is the booty spank. He will perform this move any time, any place.

14. Like boys the world over- he thinks that fart, poop and butt jokes are the funniest things ever.

15. His favorite bands are The Beatles and They Might Be Giants. His favorite instrument is the drums.

16. His current obsessions are The Last Airbender, Ben Ten, super heroes and Tuff Puppy. (Thomas is SO last year.)

17. He loves to collect things. Everytime we are out and about, he collects rocks, sticks, feathers.... and I am always ending up with these things in my pockets, backpack, etc. He has had to leave behind several collections on this trip. Just today, on a 2 hour excursion around Stone Town, he found and brought 'home' a golfball sized mini-melon, a string, a walking stick, a triangle shaped piece of styrofoam that he named Rubbish Talion Brigham, a hollowed out coconut shell (Rubbish's house,) an arrow-shaped rock, a sword-shaped stick, etc. You get the picture...

18. He's a great traveller and an awesome companion. He's been to about 25 countries already, and likes learning about them. He's amazingly adaptable and has been a star (most of the time) on our seven month adventure.

19. He loves animals. Domestic and wild. And he wants a pet.

20. He loves being outdoors - be it the mountains or the beach. He's a pretty decent hiker.

21. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he says a scuba diver, veterinarian or race car driver.

22. Despite the fact that he is Gap-model gorgeous, he doesn't like to be called pretty. He's not a girl, after all. He prefers cute, handsome, or cool.

23. He is still learning how to share.

24. He doesn't like loud noises, though is certainly capable of making them.

25. He is, without question, the light of my life and the best thing that has ever happened to me. I couldn't imagine life without him.

Happy birthday, sweet boy!!

Freeze Frame

2012-02-24T10:48:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I just want to freeze frame certain moments.

Dusty roads... everybody walking, goods balanced on their heads, in no hurry... sun slanting through like some divine signature.... livestock and donkeys taking over the path... chickens skirting this way and that... fresh produce being sold from roadside stalls...

But just freeze framing a photo is not enough. To get a real sense of this place, you need the smells of open cooking fires, the sounds of farm animals and kids yelling 'Mzungu, mzungu - how are you?', the lingering taste and remnants of fresh mangoes between the teeth, the feel of the warm wind, the layer of dirt over the body ...

I love it here. Africa has such a sense of place. You have to experience it to understand it. Time goes by at a different pace. Priorities are shifted. The warmth of the people matches that of the climate. Stress and anxiety melt away. ...

But, I digress... now, back to our regularly scheduled program (aka travelogue -- )

Since the last entry, we re-visited Sister Freda's compound for a day, finished up our time at Common Ground and spent 8 days with the Namunyak Maasai program in the Transmara region of southwestern Kenya.
When we got back to Sister Freda's, Zavion immediately went to visit all of his old animal friends (the puppies had grown so much!) and all of the kids/orphans immediately swarmed us again. It was good to see them all. I have learned more and more about their stories and what amazing little people they are. I am thinking of setting up a sponsorship site for a couple of them so they can attend boarding school at Pathfinder Academy and make a future for themselves. I will probably start with Morgan. Let me know if anyone is interested in getting involved. Thanks.

Last week, we finished up our time at Common Ground/Pathfinder. I taught some more classes - girls only this time on the topics of HIV/AIDS, sexuality and gender issues. The girls were great and even sang a couple of songs to me at the end of the lesson. Very sweet. I met with the gal in charge of the Common Ground Widow's project and learned a lot about their micro-loan program, co-op farms and store, re-education program, etc. All very inspiring.

Zavion and I got to make a couple of the water filters that I mentioned in the last post. Z loved it and wanted details of every step in the process. I think I have a future engineer or scientist on my hands. He's always wanting to do experiments, create inventions and get the details on how everything works... Just last night he said, out of the blue, 'Mom, just HOW does the moon make high tide and low tide?' I feel another experiment coming on...

Last Wednesday, after an incredible, educational, enjoyable ten days, it was time to leave Common Ground and our new friends and head to our next destination (The Namunyak Masai Project.) Up before the sun (but not before the roosters) at 5 am. As much as I hate the actual getting out of bed part, I really enjoy early mornings once I'm up. And, on this particular morning, Zavion concurred. 'Mom, I like getting up when it's still night!' As I was getting our stuff together, he kept running outside to play, chase the chickens and to give me the latest report on the color of the sky. 'It's dark purple. Now it's dark blue. Now lighter blue with a little bit of pink and a nice, crescent moon.' We hit the road around 6:15 (in a crapheap of a car - I will no longer be complaining about my old car when I get home) and I enjoyed watching Africa wake up. All manner of people and animals walking along the roadways against a papaya colored sky. Morning clouds clinging like cotton swabs to the hills or rising like smoke out of the fields. Busy markets just getting started... The drive went through lovely scenery (though the roads left much to be desired at times) - from patchwork farmland to verdent slopes of the tea plantations to the drier, rolling, acacia dotted hills skirting the savannah of the Transmara region and our final destination. The last 10 miles or so along a bone-crushing, kidney bruising, tummy turning 'road' to the home/compound of Emmanuel and Lillian Tasur - our latest hosts.

The drive was so worth it. Emmanuel's place is on a hill with views to die for - overlooking sprawling farmland, forests, savannah and more hills- and situated perfectly for maximum sunset appreciation and amazing star gazing. The large family compound (his father has four wives and over 40 children and the sons from Emmanuel's mother all have homes on this property) includes buildings, crops, donkeys, cows, chickens, goats, dogs, cats, etc. Per usual, Zavi has befriended the dogs, plays with them constantly and has named them (Jumpy, Fetchy and Mama Dog.) Emmanuel has four kids - three of them are away at boarding school, but one adorable two year old (Larusi) lives with him and his oldest, Victor (15), came to visit for a few days. Zavi adored Victor and followed him around, but had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Larusi (who followed HIM around!) We stayed in a small, round, thatch-roof hut with a bunkbed, a chair, a roomate (Katie - another volunteer) and one lightbulb (which was more than I was expecting.) There is no running water, a seperate building for cooking and, of course, the long-drop ablution block. When I joked to Zavion that that's where we'd be sleeping, he exclaimed, giggling 'sleep in the toilets? Oh, the inhumanity!' (slaps forehead.) Bathing was also done in the toilet block - with a bucket of warm water and a cup. The water was actually the color of weak tea - you had to convince yourself that you'd be cleaner after the bath then before... Zavion has actually really taken a liking to bucket showers. I can not say the same for his appreciation of long drop toilets, however. He was a bit uninspired at first and usually just went outside, but he started to get the hang of it and, by the end of the week, he was claiming to have 'perfect poop aim!'

All in all, we loved it there - so peaceful, so beautiful, so simple. And Emmanuel and Lillian were such wonderful, generous hosts. It was hard leaving... But, I'm getting ahead of myself...

We spent the first afternoon walking around the acres and acres of the place, playing on the rocks, meeting dirty-faced children, collecting sticks and rocks and enjoying the surroundings. The sounds here are of the animals - a car only comes by very seldomly. The place is lovely, open, vast... Z said, 'now this place REALLY looks like Africa!'

The worst thing about the place was the flies. They were relentless - constantly swarming us. Zavi went on several killing sprees with the fly-swatter - although nothing seemed to slow them down. According to Z, there are three things that we are allowed to kill - Mosquitos (because they suck our blood,) ants with red faces (because they bite) and flies (because they're just so annoying and they like poop.) Oh, and recently he added that poachers are allowed to be killed by policemen because they are such bad people.

Our work here has been centered around Emmanuel's school - which he started (with the help of Village Volunteers) about three years ago. It's a boarding school for grades nursery through standard 8 and it's very successful. This region is almost exclusively Masai - a tribe that has been greatly marginalized here in Kenya. Roads, schools, etc. have lagged behind because there has been no support for the Masai from any of the governments since independence. Emmanuel has started many programs to help with the advancement of his people and the school is his current pride and joy. With good reason - they just scored the highest on this year's tests out of the 90 schools in the region! While Katie, a therapist, was seeing students in one-on-one counseling sessions, I was teaching classes to the 6,7 and 8 graders. Again, I was impressed with their knowledge, obedience and participation. It was a lot of fun :) (My favorite question from a student, 'Is it true that in America, you can make babies in a test tube?' Oh, and this one; 'Is it good to have a boyfriend?')

I had planned for Zavion to attend class with the nursery or pre-unit classes, but he was very overwhelmed by all of the attention and crowding from the kids and wanted, instead, to hang out with me or in the office. All the kids knew his name by the end of the first day and were constantly following him and calling to him. The one day that he sat in the classroom doing work, he was convinced that the kids were laughing at his writing skills. They WERE crowded around him, watching and laughing, but I don't think they were laughing AT him or his writing. He's pretty sensitive about that, though, and didn't take it well. He did venture out to play with the kids during some breaks - chasing them and laughing and making THEM laugh. On a day that Katie and I were doing activities with the young ones, he eventually joined in, too, and even, reluctantly, had a lot of fun. We did scavenger hunts, the hokey-pokey, head and shoulders, duck-duck-goose (he taught that one,) ball games and photo shoots. His jealousy reared it's head, though, as he was heard telling the kids - 'No, that's MY mommy, stop holding her hand! She's MY mommy!'

He had a plan for going back the next day. He didn't want to garner quite so much attention so he told me he wanted to disguise himself. 'All I need, Mom, is a cane or a walker and I can pretend that I am an old man. If I walk around like this (hunched over with cane) and say things like, 'hey sonny,' in an old man voice, they'll never know I'm your son, Zavion.' While a seemingly foolproof plan, I'm afraid to say that they saw right through it and he was as mobbed as ever.

One thing I have really enjoyed here is all of the walking that we've done. There is a large hill behind the house and one afternoon, Katie, Zavion and I joined Lillian and some friends for a trek up the hill. I was pretty sure I'd end up carrying Z for part of the time, but he made it the whole way himself - at a really good pace - and even encouraged the rest of us. 'Come on guys, good job, don't give up- You can do it!' The views from the top were amazing - 'I can see the whole country from up here!' And we could even see the school - about 5 km away across the valley (on another lovely hill.) Zavion started yelling, 'Hey, guys, it's Zavion and his mom - can you hear me over there?' Z and I then ran back down the entire hill - throwing and following/chasing rocks the whole way. He calls it 'rock-hiking.'

Inspired by Zavion's success on the climb, I decided that we should walk home from the school on a couple of occassions (once with Katie and once on our own.) It's about 5 km, but mostly downhill. At times we walked briskly to beat the impending rain storm (yes, the rainy season has arrived with refreshing afternoon storms) and other times we took our time to find cool rocks or letter-shaped sticks to add to Z's ever-expanding, but oft left-behind, 'collection.' It's a beautiful walk and the trail is shared with kids, donkeys, cows, chickens and goats. The donkeys are definitely the beasts of burden here and are usually loaded down with heavy gear. At the school, for example, there is no water (the tank dries out in the dry season,) so several times a day, the donkeys are weighted down with 3-6 large water jugs and taken down to the river for collection. I was really proud of how well Zavion fared on our walks. Even though it was a long way and quite hot, he never asked to be carried or got whiney about it. It was a really nice, shared time.

Afternoons and evenings were spent enjoying the outdoors at Emmanuel's. We played Star Wars, birdbat, volleyball, soccer, Frisbee, sword fighting, dog wrestling, cat wrangling, etc. One day, we fought an epic battle against some evil plastic bag monsters, 'Mom, you take care of the side-kicks while I hold off the king. Now, you need to be steady and elusive. Don't let your anger get to the bag - keep it inside yourself. Steady and elusive...' Another evening, Z led Katie and I in some boomerang training (with a fabric Frisbee.) We had to approach The Master Z while he sat in a lotus position, touch our hands together and ask for his tutelage. He taught us throws such as the high glider, low glider, grimey slimey, slash crash, slash hit, freaky eaky, and many more.... After dark, we'd enjoy star-gazing (no lights around and a new moon so the stars were incredible) and then play cards or read books inside. Z is learning (and understands!) a lot of card games, so it's really fun to play with him. He just needs to be better at losing...

I am really going to miss the feeling of freedom, safety and community that we have enjoyed at the volunteer sites. I have so much to say about Village Volunteers and the good work that is being done - I think I will make a seperate post in a few days, once I get my thoughts sorted. There is so much I want to continue to do from home (fund-raising, awareness campaigns, etc.) and I will be prioritizing those. One of the great things about the VV volunteers is that so many of them have continued to be involved from their homes- fundraising, starting their own non-profits, etc. It really is an organization putting the 'Pay it Forward' adage to work. Suffice it to say, we have had an amazing time here and I would highly recommend VV to anyone who wants a meaningful volunteer experience in Africa!! I also had some great conversations with Emmanuel about the plight of the Masai people and what is being done about it. I have had some of my original ideas (about stereotypes, colonization, etc.) challenged and have been given a lot to think about. Future blog posts, I'm sure...

Another thing we got to do while at Emmanuel's is go for a one day safari in the Maasai Mara. I've always really enjoyed safaris there. Unfortunately, it's the wrong time of year for the wildebeest migration (they are in the Serengeti now) and the concentration of game is much lower than when I've been in July/August. We still had a great time, though, and saw a lot of animals - the giraffe sightings were especially good! We saw a group of four lions, still stained with blood, leaving a feast. We saw elephants, buffalo, antelope galore, zebra, hippos, crocs, etc. We really wanted to see cheetahs, leopards and/or hyenas since we missed those at Kruger, and as (bad) luck would have it, we just narrowly missed out on two of those. We approached a big group of Landrovers (tell-tale sign that there is something interesting to see) only to be told that we JUST MISSED a cheetah bring down an impala, get chased by a hyena and eventually lose her kill to it. The hyena had just dragged the impala out of sight and the cheetah lay down for a rest behind a bush - also out of sight. We waited there for awhile, but, alas, neither made another appearance. Bummer!!! Still a great day out, though.

Of course, our time at Namunyak had to end. And, after only a week, we definitely weren't ready. Leaving the peaceful, wild Transmara region for the busy, loud, polluted, heavily-trafficked metropolis of Nairobi was a bit of a shock to the system. But, it had to be done. We arrived in Nairobi yesterday and will leave early tomorrow morning. Today, we were tourists and, along with Katie, we visited the elephant orphan project (can I just say that there isn't much that is cuter than a 3 month old baby elephant,) and another animal orphanage, went shopping for souvenirs and spent the afternoon in the pool at the Hilton. Seattlelites and family that joined us here in '05 - you were missed!!

Tomorrow is Zavion's fifth birthday - which seems unfathomable. How can he be 5 already???? Anyway, what better way to celebrate than a trip to Zanzibar?? We are heading there in the morning... hope it's as magical as I remember it!! (I found such a good deal on a flight home - thanks, Emirates! - that I was able to justify flying to Zanzi.) After nine days on the island, we'll head to Ethiopia for a couple of weeks before flying home. Should all be great!!

I should mention that it's 10 at night and I haven't started packing (I unpacked everything to do laundry and re-arrange everything) yet for our 6 am flight...gonna be a long night ahead, me thinks. So, I guess I'd better go.

I'll do a Zavi-turning-five post soon :):):) And some pictures soon, too, I hope.

Of Chickens and chapatis (and one seriously wacky bull)

2012-02-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

Jambo!

Last weekend we ended our time at Sister Freda's. We had an all around great experience there and it was sad to leave (Zavion mostly missing Luke McNaughty Maker.) Before leaving, we had a fun evening with all the kids - Zavion leading them in an impromptu dance party that included much hip wiggling and booty shaking. And me without my camera. I'm hardly EVER without my camera! Sister Freda, the ever gracious hostess, showered us with hugs and gifts (maasai blankets, bracelets, beads) before we left. I never wrote enough about Sister Freda herself and all of her efforts to help the surrounding poor community (campaigns for mosquito nets, etc.) Perhaps I will write a little more whenever I get around to posting those pictures. As usual, goodbyes are always a little sad... 'Mom, why do we always leave? When are we going to stay in one place?' But leave, we did...

Next Stop - Common Ground for Africa. Not far from Sister Freda's place, but very different. It is owned and run by Joshua Machinga who never seems to rest and has his hands in so many successful projects, I have no idea how he does it. Common Ground was the very first program to partner with Village Volunteers and Joshua's hilarious, cheeky seven year old daughter, Shana, is named after VV's founder and director (and a personal friend :)) CG is a huge compound including all sorts of projects - a bio-intensive farm, a ceramic water filter project, the Pathfinder Academy (boarding and day school for grades Pre-K through eight) and more. He is currently planning the building of a new high school which he hopes to open next January. (You can sponsor a child's tuition by going to www.sponsorshipkenya.org , by the way.) I was looking forward to doing some farming, but, alas, not much is growing this late in the dry season. I do plan to try my hand at making a filter before I leave, though. The filter project is really cool - affordable ceramic filters that clean all parasites out of the water, are locally made/sold and diminish the need for bottled or treated water. I'm a fan.:) So is Zavion - he's fascinated by the construction and the science behind the filters.

We are staying in another simple room ('with a BLUE mosquito net, mommy - how cool is that?') in a shared house (kind of like a dormitory.) Apparently, mirrors are not standard in this part of Kenya and I have now not looked into one for over two weeks. Nor have I had a decent shower. Oh well, without a mirror, at least I can convince myself that I look great, despite the unkempt, stringy hair plastered to my face, the constant layer of dust over my entire body, the puffy, insomniatic eyes thanks, in no small part, to that bloody loud, but seemingy invisible, mosquito that buzzes around the room all night with the sole purpose of keeping me awake, and the delightful smell of bug spray mixed with sweat... Miss me now?

We have, once again, met a great group of people. The place is full of animals and full of kids. Though Zavion is still occassionally swarmed by the kids, ("Uh, Mom, a little help here!) they are less pushy and give him more space than at Sister Freda's - he seems to be having a blast with them. Joshua is the patriarch and living also on the compound are his family (6 kids,) some other local families and two other American volunteers who have been here for awhile. Zavion has definitely taken a liking to this place - the dogs (who he has christened Mook McNaughty Maker, Zook McNaughty Maker and Joe,) the sheep, the chickens, the aforementioned kids (including two of the cutest 2-year olds I've ever met - Emmanuel and Iman) and 'the girls' - Lindsey and Krystina - the other volunteers. They're 20s and beautiful - just the way he likes them :) (they're also really cool.) Joshua also happens to have the best cook in Kenya and I can now add expanding belly to my long list of attributes ;). So much for the level of fitness I achieved in Zimbabwe... Zavion's current favorite dinner is chapati (YUM!), wrapped up around beans and rice and eaten like a burrito. That, and all of the fresh fruit.

Afternoons and evenings are our favorite time around the compound - when things start to cool off and the end of the day breezes through on the everchanging moods and colors of daylight, dusk, sunset, twilight and moonrise. This is the time of toddler chases (Zavion being the target of the giggly, two year old set,) chicken tormenting (chickens have the run of the place and have even been found on our beds,) monster truck races, ballgames (seven-up, soccer and basketball,) moonshadow dancing and battling, karate lessons (Z is teaching us and fancies himself an expert despite the fact that he has never had a lesson,) dance parties, dirt pile sliding, card games, Legos, Madlibs & other word games, reading, and good food & conversation shared by all at the communal dinner table. The fact that the electricity has been intermittant at best doesn't deter this crowd! Nights are often capped by a little stargazing - here where the northern and southern hemisphere skys meet, the stars are quite amazing - especially now that the moon is waning. Zavion is usually first to spot Venus.

The nearby small, yet bustling, village of Kiminini is about a 20 minute walk along a dirt road and we make the trek into town most days. Usually buying some fresh mangoes or pineapple on the way and sometimes taking a pikipiki (bike taxi) back 'home' if Z is tired. He loves wandering through the town, captivated by the frenzied market, the donkey carts, the men welding with blowtorches and the women sewing with old manual sewing machines 'Mom, can we get one of those when we get home?' Usually several local kids fall in line with us. The surroundings are lovely - multi-colored rolling hills dotted with farmland and Mt Elgon standing sentinel beyond. It must be even prettier during the wet season. The riverbeds are pretty much dry right now and I haven't seen a raindrop (or barely even a cloud,) since I've been in Kenya.

L and K are very involved with some women's groups, so I went with them to some small villages where people live in one room, mud homes and the kids are so unacustomed to mzungus that they hide in the banana trees. The girls are helping the local women with small business ventures such as crepe making and selling. Margaret, one such woman, is the kind that you fall in love with on sight. She enters the room singing and dancing, a smile never leaves her face and her eyes shine brightly through tough, wrinkled, septegenarian skin. She has been living on about $1 per day which she earns from cleaning and babysitting for long shifts. The hope is that she can make more while working fewer hours selling crepes (they're delicious, by the way.) We sat and cooked crepes with her for a couple of hours - warmed by Margaret's constant smile and under the watchful eyes of several kiddos who joined us and even became our eager taste-testers. Lindsey has been with this project for years now (even did her Master's thesis here) and is working with many such women.

My main 'job' here has been teaching a daily class on health and nutrition to the grade 7s and 8s at the Pathfinder Academy. Armed with nothing but a small piece of chalk, I have to admit that I was initially nervous about teaching 12 and 13 year olds - I'm used to a more, uh, mature, audience. The kids were great, though - very well behaved, funny and responsive. The pedagogy of the whole system here is quite different from home - here it is mostly straight lecture and rote recall. True, the kids are very knowledgeable and obedient, but I wonder how many of the kids who are more creative, kinesthetic learners have been lost. And how much creativity and critical thinking have been stifled. It's a system-wide philosophy and there are many standardized tests that ensure schools are falling in line, so even if there are teachers and administrators who favor a more varied approach to teaching/learning, there isn't much room for change. That said, we had a lot of fun - the kids seemed to really enjoy having a guest lecturer, asked some great questions (and some pretty funny ones,) participated when asked and laughed when appropriate. It's interesting talking about health issues across cultures. For example, none of them have ever heard of depression or anxiety disorders and couldn't even fathom such a thing (the same reaction I had when describing eating disorders last week.)

Zavion has been attending school here in the mornings - with the pre-unit class. He was pretty resistant the first day - 'But, Mom, I don't want to go. There's some white blood cells that are busy fighting germs and they're too busy for me to go class.' 'Well, your brain needs to tell them that it's classtime.' 'All right, now most of them are ok with it, but there is still one white blood cell that does NOT want to go - I think we should listen to him.' He eventually, though reluctantly, entered the classroom. The kids sang a loud welcome song to him and he responded by putting his hands over his ears and hiding behind my skirt. The classroom is a step up from the feeding program at Sister Freda's - they even have a blackboard - but pretty bare by American pre-school standards. The kids sit at shared desks, do work in their notebooks, repeat what the teacher says and are perfectly behaved. Most of them, that is. There IS that crazy-haired, tall kid in American clothes that tends to leave class early most days.... ('How was class, Zavion?' 'Uh, not so good.' 'why not?' 'The teacher just kept telling us what to do.' 'Well, that's what teachers are supposed to do!' 'Well, I got a little bored.') Each day, though, he stayed longer than the day before, filled up his notebook with letters, numbers, words and pictures and progressively enjoyed it more and more- even walking in and plopping down at his desk without me escorting him. I'm hoping he'll be happy to go back on Monday and Tuesday. One thing is for sure - I appreciate how adaptable he is - imagine going to a new school every week or so - in situations where there is no way you will blend in - and remaining positive and happy. He's definitely earning his birthday trip to Zanzibar later this month...

Let's see, what else? The resident ladies have tought us the PROPER way to handwash our clothes (my attempt wasn't cutting it...) and, because the water pressure in the showers here amounts to little more than a trickle, they threw Zavion into a basin and hand-washed him, too. You can only imagine how dirty he gets here - playing in the dirt all day!

Yesterday we decided to take a Saturday trip to the local nature conservancy with Lindsey and Krystina. We took a shared car and then a tuktuk to get there - Zavion loving the different modes of transportation. The conservancy itself is also known as the 'freak farm' because of it's odd arrangement of deformed animals. I wasn't planning on devoting much writing to a simple daytrip, but this place is so, ummmm, unique, that it demands at least a couple of paragraphs. The weirdness of the place starts long before you even leave the parking lot. A hodge-podge of buildings resembling a Flinstones episode on acid - brandishing anti-globalwarming slogans and bizarre diaramas depicting the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine...) To demonstrate just a modicum of the bizarre - a quote from a sign on one of the buildings reads, 'Urinating the fear of the knife.' ???

After paying (too much,) we officially entered the park - the grounds of which would make a perfect set for a Friday the 13th-type horror film, a David Lynch movie or an episode of Scooby Doo. Much of the park feels totally abandoned. Trails to nowhere. Empty, overgrown, half-finished but never used animal enclosures. A series of rickety bridges and old treehouses that are 'to be used solely for meditation or a tete a tete,' but that have mostly fallen into states of extreme disrepair. A completely dried up riverbed and 'wetlands' area. A dilapidated sign haphazardly directing us to 'Obama Falls.' A lonely baboon reaching for us longingly from his inadequate cage...

Zavion loved every minute of exploring this weird place - running ahead 'looking for clues,' having us read every sign to him (ie. Nature Walking is Good For Family Bonding; Forests are the Lungs of the Earth; Bend Your Skull, etc.), negotiating the jumble of bridges and vertiginous ladders and laughing it up with me and the girls. 'Hey, this place looks like Africa!' Suffice it to say, he had a blast :)

After winding around a bit on the trails, we finally made it to the affectionately nicknamed 'field of freaks'- with such residents as 2, 3 and 5 legged sheep, cats & dogs, dwarf cows, tail-less donkeys, hermaphrodite livestock, cows with unusually large (and uncomfortable looking) horns, sheep with 'distended and enlarged vulvae,' and our buddy - the four-horned, three-eyed, sideways mouthed bull - the picture of whom graced my Facebook page yesterday and generated several interesting comments from the lot of you. Zavion named the bull Kooky McSpooky, but later changed it to Kooky McNice.We had a picnic of sorts in the gazebo in the rundown playground, played on the should-be-condemned equipment, attempted to pet the donkeys and played roles in Z's imaginary world (he was the brave knight, I was the queen, Krystina the princess and Lindsey the servent.) Alas, it was eventually time to leave this land of the strange...

After the park, we wandered through Kitale (all hot and tired,) had a late lunch, internetted and headed back to Common Ground (via matatu, shared car and pikipiki) for another enjoyable evening at 'home.' Sundays are usually pretty quiet and we've been relaxing much of today. Headed into town for a bit, had some lunch, played some games... After sending this out, I'll take Z on a tour of the filter project and perhaps we'll both make one. We have two more days here and then we'll leave for another project (in the Maasai region) on Wednesday. I will probably teach again tomorrow and Tuesday and maybe we'll start prepping the garden for growing season. I will also, hopefully, take one more trip with Lindsey to a women's program.

There is much to do here, but you really need to spend more time than we did to get the most out of it. The girls are building a website to find sponsors for the high school students, helping design the high school itself, running a basketball 'league,' participating in the women's groups, etc. We've been brainstorming ideas for fundraisers including a Kenyan cookbook (inspired by the aforementioned wonder-cook, I'm sure,) 'selling' named bricks, commemorative trees and classrooms at the new school, etc. There would also be more manual labor to do during planting or harvest seasons. At least I got to do some teaching and, of course, continue to learn and see a lot. I think Zavion has enjoyed his time here, as well. Thank you, Joshua and Village Volunteers for another great experience!

After a week + on our next volunteer project (where we definitely won't have electricity or water,) we'll do a one day game drive in the Masai Mara, followed by a week in Zanzibar and a few weeks in Ethiopia. We'll be home in late March (a mere six weeks away...)

I will leave you with a couple of Zavion anecdotes before I go:
A couple of days ago, he had a slightly sore tummy (though he's remained remarkably healthy.) "Mom, my intestines kind of hurt a little. The esophagus slide and stomach pool are still open, but the intestine roller coaster is definitely closed for the day. There are some white blood cells in there that have closed it down until I feel better."
In school, the kids were asked to draw their houses. He did. They were then asked to draw their church. Zavi was confused and mentioned not having a church (or not knowing what a church was, I'm not sure which,) so the teacher asked him to draw any building that is important to him. So, what does my little guy draw? Wait for it.... wait for it... he drew the REI store in Seattle. Go, Z!

Until next time... (with photos, I hope...)
　

Learning a lot...

2012-02-05T00:38:00.000-08:00

(Again, no pix - sorry. I'll try to make this brief, but you all know that brevity is not my strong point - especially with no way to cheat by posting pictures. But enjoy the narrative - it's been a great week!)

Wow. The past week has really been something... where to start? Where I last left off, I guess... which was Sunday. On the way home from town, we stuffed ourselves into another matatu and then did the last leg by bicycle taxi (piki piki.) Zavion absolutely LOVED it - he sat between me and the 'driver,' putting his arms up as if he were on a roller coaster and yelling 'wheeeee!' He kept telling the driver (pedaler?) 'You're the fastest bike rider on the planet. You're very strong. This is the funnest ever!' This elicited happy chuckles from our driver. It's good to keep your bicycle pedaler happy :)

Life around the compound continues to go well and we are pretty comfortable here. Zavion can't get enough of all of the animals and especially loves the new kittens (now three weeks old) and the one week old puppies. He visits them daily. The puppies are still off limits as far as holding, but he picks up the kittens and pets them regularly. He's named a couple... let's see, there's Cutie the Kitten, Milky the white puppy and Blackie the black puppy. I've forgotten the others. There is also a 3 month old puppy that has pretty much moved in with us - sleeping on our porch and greeting us as soon as we get up each morning. Zavion spends a lot of time playing with him. His name is Luke, but Z has nicknamed him Luke McNaughtymaker, which is an appropriate moniker for such a cheeky pup. I'm pretty sure he will be the most missed when we leave tomorrow.

We have a lot of fun with the other kiddos, too (I think I mentioned them each individually in the previous post.) As soon as they see us in the morning, they come running- shouting 'Zavia! Zavia!' Sometimes, though, Z gets a little overwhelmed and we have to take a break. The kids are constantly in his face, prodding and poking, and also climbing all over his mommy for attention. They can be a little rough in their enthusiasm sometimes and Zavion, though taking it pretty well, can get understandably annoyed at times. He also gets a little frustrated at not being able to really communicate - they just don't appreciate his stories and his jokes the way he thinks they should. He's learned a few phrases of kiswahili, though, so he gives it an effort. The gentlest kids have become our favorites to hang around with - the little girls Jacqueline and Saida (yes, I said HE when I talked about Saida last time, but she is, in fact, a girl) and the boy, Morgan, who Zavi speaks of most fondly. In fact, he wanted a 'playdate' with just Morgan the other day - to show him some of his toys, give him a hand-me-down shirt, etc., but it was impossible to seperate one kiddo out from the rest as they travel in a pack. Alas, we have to take them as a whole group - all exuberant energy and unending excitement at our presence. A Z quote, "Mommy, maybe they are a little rough because they don't have mommies to teach them how to be gentle. If they had mommies, they might know how to control their roughness better."

Still, he has lots of fun with them. We bought them a soccer ball, so that is a constant source of amusement. They enjoy throwing things in the old well, chasing all of the animals, doing gumnastics, singing songs and chanting chants (the other day, Z started a chant - 'Chuba chuba chuba chuba, booo booo booo' which they now break into on a regular basis. No, I have no idea what it means.) My daily workouts consist of giving airplane spins, piggy back rides, tickle wars and upside-down carries to 12 30-50 pound kids. Usually 2 or 3 times each. There is just no way to pick up or play with one kid without then repeating it with each one. Phew. My back is paying for it :) Zavion loves giving out things to everyone - the ball, some sweeties, some pens... and he makes sure that each kid gets his/her share and isn't crowded out by the others. I wasn't planning on giving the kids any candy (you know, no dental care or anything,) but I keep using the term 'sweetie' when greeting them (as a term of endearment,) forgetting that sweetie actually means candy. They get so excited and shout, 'yes, sweetie? for me? candy?' They were unnecessarily teased so many times, that I finally broke down and got some for them.

The other day, the kids had to wrangle in a couple of run away baby cows. OK, so the cows ran away BECAUSE the kids were chasing them, but it was up to the kids to bring them back in nonetheless. Watching the effort (let by Zavion and Gail,) had me laughing so hard, I was practically crying. Kids and cows all over the place. Traipsing through fields and often around in circles. Kids shouting in various languages; cows meandering. Alas, they were eventually successful and the cows were returned, but not before putting on quite an entertaining show.

OK, back to our week. On Monday and Tuesday, I went to the district hospital in the mornings and Zavion went to class on the compound. About 120 kids, aged 3-5, travel by foot (some up to 2 hours) each week day for a feeding program/ preschool. They are fed breakfast and lunch (for some, the only meals they will eat) and given about 3-4 hours of lessons. Zavi sat in with the pre-K class and Teacher David. The class has about 40 kids in a room the size of a tiny bedroom. They sit about five to a bench. There is no electricity - an open, paneless window lets in the light; lessons are drawn on burlap sacks that are hung from the walls. Each kid gets one pencil and a couple of scraps of paper. The playground consists of a dusty 'yard' with a makeshift climbing structure and some hanging chains that some of the kids swing from. Compare this to Zavi's fancy classroom and playground at the International School in Harare - it's about as opposite as you can get. Still, it's a great opportunity for these kids who couldn't otherwise afford to go to school (or even eat regularly.) The school is free for them - completely funded by donations. The kids are learning a lot, and are so well-behaved. Zavi joined them enthusiastically the first couple of days and it was so cute dropping him off. 'Bye, Mom, don't worry, I'll be fine!' Of course, he kind of stands out in class - with his lack of uniform, lighter skin, longer hair and taller stature. But he did greet them in Kiswahili - Jambo! Habari? Mazuri!
My mornings at the district hospital were educational experiences, too. This isn't the small, private hospital on the grounds of our compound, but the huge regional hospital that is filled beyond capacity. I have visited other hospitals in Africa, India, etc., so knew what to expect, but it is still shocking comparing a 'third world' hospital to what we have at home. It is unbelievably overcrowded, underfunded, sparsely equipped and with an overpowering smell that can't even be described in words. No cameras are allowed in the hostpital, of course, but I won't soon forget some things that I saw. It's hard to find the adequete words to describe the sight of a 600 gram (about 1.3 pounds) baby. Or a little boy with a face burned beyond recognition and no lower lip trying to smile. Or an oozing machete wound. Or a case of genital warts so bad, it's unrecognizable. Or a group of children that now live full-time at the hospital because they were abandoned by their parents there. Or beds and beds filled with malnourished, wasting babies. The hospital has 300 beds, but there are over 600 patients staying there - meaning there are 2 and even sometimes 3 people per bed. Each ward has about 40 beds, as well as people sleeping on the floors. It's dirty by Western standards and, as previously mentioned, horrible smells permeate the air. The monkeys that hang around outside have to be kept at bay and the doctors, nurses and staff make due with minimal equipment. Considering what they have to work with, the patients get remarkable care and the doctors and nurses really know their stuff. I got to tour the facility with one of the nutritionists and I learned a lot about the treatment for kwashiorkor and marasmus (the major malnutrition diseases,) how to make the mixtures, feed the babies, etc. It's one thing to teach about malnutrition in the classroom like I do in Seattle, it's another thing to research about it like I did in Zimbabwe, but another thing entirely to see it first hand... Unfortunately, Kenyans not only suffer from malnutrition, but obesity issues as well. Being fat is considered a show of wealth and is the most desirable body type. SO, where people on the lower economic scale suffer hugely from malnourishment, those at the more affluent end suffer from OVER nutrition issues like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension (much like we see in the states.)

I also got a chance to guest lecture to the girls at the high school at Sister Freda's compound, which was really interesting. They wanted me to talk about health and when I asked the girls to define 'health,' they all said FAT! Fat equals health. We talked a lot about body image types and the difference between African and American ideals. We discussed the health issues related to not having enough body fat and those related to having too much. They were shocked when I told them about eating disorders that are prevalent in America - they had never heard of such things. More interesting discussion ensued regarding nutrition, puberty, self-esteem, etc. They were really open to participating and I think the talk was enjoyed by all.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the talk I gave to the nursing students that same evening. I was asked to speak about nutrition, but you could tell that none of the students actually wanted to be there. It was eight at night and they had been working at the hospital since 6 am. Though I tried to engage them, most were falling asleep or texting and I felt like a comedian in a room where nobody laughed (cue sound of crickets chirping here.) There were a couple of students who asked a couple of questions regarding nutrition therapy, but otherwise, it was pretty much a waste of time for all. Oh well :(

On Wednesday and Thursday, I got to travel to some tiny villages and work in the outreach clinics with the doctors and nurses from Sister Freda's hospital. There are so many impoverished places around and they do a few of these clinics per month. For most in the villages, it is their only chance to see a medical professional (the clinics are free for them) and they only get the chance every other month or so. There was also a group of volunteers here on a mission from California, so we had a lot of workers. Though our motivations for being here are quite different and there were a few conversations I had to walk away from, I met some really nice people from that group. Some of them were first time visitors to Africa so I enjoyed hearing their take on things as I'm quite jaded. Seeing this place through unjaded eyes (the excitement of the screaming kids, the wonderment of the nature, the surprise at the poverty) is always a good reminder. Zavion couldn't join us, so he stayed back at the compound, went to class in the mornings and played with the kids and animals in the afternoon. I was nervous leaving him alone, but he was fine. He's showing a new level of independence and everyone really watches out for eachother. Here, they live the adage of 'It Takes a Village!"

The clinics were remarkable learning experiences. On Wednesday, we headed to a makeshift town called Bosnia. It's mostly a resettlement camp for people escaping the tribal skirmishes in the border region. There is another one close by called Kosovo. Bosnia is comprised of small huts nicely situated amongst the trees. There is no electricity and one pump for water. We were instantly mobbed upon arrival and, before we knew it, we all had babies to hold and kids to play with. The clinic lasts for several hours and we were kept busy, busy, busy. Jobs included counting and dispensing medicines, removing jiggers from kids' feet, helping in the injection room, controlling the crowd, helping in the eye clinic (one of the California visitors is an eye doctor and brings his own equipment and tons of donated glasses,) etc. The hardest parts were the crying children (one little boy had over 30 jiggers dug out of his foot,) the wounds that were beyond healing and all the people who had to be turned away at the end of the day. It wouldn't matter how long we were there, we'd still never see everybody. The best parts were the people who were genuinely helped - walking out with new immunizations, loads of medicines or brand new eye glasses, being able to see clearly for the first time. All in all, it was a great, though exhausting, day, but I couldn't wait to get back to see how Z had fared. I had been gone nine hours!

Zavi was fine. He went to school in the morning, then came back to our room and played Legos. He had lunch with the other kids and played with the kittens. He even found the one TV on the entire compound and was watching Tom and Jerry when I found him. He's nothing if not resourceful. I asked him how his day was and he said, 'fine, but it was weird without you.' 'How was school?' 'ok, but the kids were freaking me out a little. They kept poking at me and stuff.' 'What did you do about it?' "I told the teacher and he hit them on the head with sticks until they stopped. Later, I was a little bored so I left early.' Hmmmmm... He was very interested in hearing about my day, though, and asked me to tell him everything I saw/did at the clinic (and at the hospital earlier in the week.)

Another clinic on Thursday. Even further away. Zavion was still in bed when I left with instructions to get dressed and head to school when the alarm went off. One lady on the compound, Emily, was to escort him to class. He seemed a little sad when I left. We drove to the top of Mt Elgon - a beautiful, though kidney jarring and stomach turning- ride. The village was even smaller then before and the area is pretty sparsely populated - people walked for miles to get to the clinic. It was s
　
I stayed at the compound on Friday - no outreach clinic - so I was able to hang Zavi. The California group came here and Zavion helped give them the tour (was most enthusiastic about the kittens and puppies, of course.) There are a couple of cute, teenage girls in the gourp and Z made an immediate beeline for them. 'Hey - do you want to come to my room and play with my snake?' He was very talkative/ flitatious with them- showing them his toys (and my underpants.) If this is a taste of his teenage years- god help me. We played with the kids some more and then I worked in the eye clinic for a couple of hours while Zavi fended for himself. I did have his eyes checked (they're perfect, whereas mine have slipped a little since my surgery (as I thought) so I now have glasses for driving, movies, etc.)

Saturday was another outreach clinic. This one was even further away. Zavion hung out with Emily - helped her wash the clothes, etc. and Luke McNaughtymaker all day. Meanwhile, we drove way out to the Uganda border north of Kitale. Up the mountains and then back down to the scrubby, sparse, dry and hot home of the Pokot tribe. I couldn't get the Talking Heads' 'Road to Nowhere' out of my head. Where did all these people even come from? They must have walked all morning! The Pokot tribe is dirt poor and pretty isolated from the rest of Kenya. They speak no Swahili, still dress mostly in traditional clothing and are a hardened, proud tribe. The ground here is not conducive to farming, so they are herders - the men being mostly nomadic in order to find the best grass for their goats and sheep - sometimes crossing into Uganda. They were amazing people - colorful, friendly and tough as nails. Caloused feet and hands, lots of beautiful, bright eyed babies tied to the backs of their mothers or older siblings. And totally self sufficient - no cash economy whatsoever. We did the same stuff as before, but each day was a totally unique experience. This one even included spontaneous singing by all at the end. I really wish I could upload the pictures!! I'm glad my time at Sister Freda's overlapped with the outreach group as these clinics have been amazing experiences. I'm also so happy Z was ok with me leaving (and thanks to Emily for keeping an eye on him.)

I was so ready to see him by the end of the day, though, and when I got to the room, he showed me the shrine/present he had built for me out of cookies, flower petals and mangos. 'I made this especially for you, mom!' There was evidence of a nutella splurge on his face, clothes, sink, the wall... but, mostly, he did great. 'Mommy, I missed you, let's snuggle for a little bit.' Last night, after my bucket shower to get the dusty grime off that was covering my body, we headed outside for a walk in moon shadow, some Luke chasing and some toad hunting.

Today is a down day. Taking it easy before heading to another village/project tomorrow. Wonder what it will be like... I've really enjoyed my experiences here and I think Zavi is getting something out of it, too. We are having great conversations, he's found a new independence, etc. He does show his soft, American upbringing side from time to time, though - screaming bloody murder when I remove a splinter from his foot (you should have seen how stoic these kids were when we were digging into their feet for jiggers...) complaining about a 45 minute walk in the sun (The kids here walk everywhere - up to 2 hours to school, etc.) I need to balance my reactions, though. I want him to appreciate what he has, learn to live simply, and reach out to others who have less, but I don't want to have him racked with guilt. He is still so young. This is a lots to wrap his little head around. I have to say, though, that he's doing great and he really is an amazing little person.

Well, I'd better go.
till busy, but less chaotic. We did more of same - counting medicines, washing feet, holding babies, giving shots... At the end of the day, Sister Freda was checking out a very sick child and told the mother that if she didn't get her to the hospital TODAY - the child would likely die. She said she didn't have the 1000 shillings (about $12) to be admitted to the hospital. You have never seen a group of teary-eyed Americans reach into their pockets so fast. Needless to say, she got the money and took the baby to the hospital. I have no idea, though, if the baby lived or died. Through these outreach experiences, I am learning a lot about rural medicine- giving me lots of fodder for discussion in my global health and nutrition classes. I know I'm leaving out a lot of details and need to catch up in my journal and take some time to internalize everything...

When I got back home (10 hours later) - Zavi was fine. He was in our room and said, 'Mom, I missed you google, infiniti time, but I still had fun!' So grown up. Although, he decided NOT to go to class - 'I didn't feel like getting freaked out by the kids again.' He played in the room, with the dogs and with Emily. He did make it out to play with the kids for a little while. The room was full of evidence of experiments and inventions he is working on - sticks hanging from various places around the room, a tower made of cookies, new Lego arrangements, etc. He had also walked next door to the small hospital to ask the nurses about his huge sneeze ('Mom, it was the biggest sneeze I've ever had and a bunch of yucky spit came out of my mouth, I had to ask the nurse about it!') He also asked them how to get past level 32 on Cover Orange (a game on his iTouch.) He seemed somewhat distraught that nobody knew what in the world he was talking about. 'Mommy, they didn't understand what I wanted. I was NOT happy as a lark.'. Since he had skipped school, we spent the evening working on his writing and drawing. He now uses both hands interchangably - left hand while writing on left side of the paper, and right on right. There really isn't much difference in comfort or outcome - maybe he is truly ambidextrous.

Kenya - part one

2012-01-31T01:31:00.000-08:00

Hello again - I know this is right on the heels of the SA write-up, but getting to an internet cafe is difficult, so I wrote these on my computer and brought my memory stick with me :)

Please see the previous post regarding pictures (or lack thereof.) I will definitely post some as soon as I can - especially of the kids. In the meantime, please enjoy the narratives. There's something to be said about creating your own visuals as you read, anyway...

WOW. I've only been on site for a few days and I already have so much to say! Last Monday afternoon, we flew into Nairobi from Johannesburg - I was so excited to be heading back to Kenya. I haven't been here since '05!! As many of you know, I have a real affinity for Africa (especially East Africa) and part of me feels as though I'm coming home every time I visit. There's something about this place - a certain allure that calls to me and continuously captivates me and I couldn't be happier about being here! I'm also thrilled to be sharing this adventure with Zavion and I really hope that, even at a young age of 4 (almost 5, he'd have me remind you,) he will get something special out of this place. As always, Africa has me waxing philosophical. On previous trips I've written a lot about my thoughts on value systems, colonization, globalization, etc. but I'll spare you here. Most of you have probably read it before if you've followed (or participated in) my previous trips. For now, I'll just give you details about this particular trip. I have signed Zavion and I up for four weeks of volunteer work through Village Volunteers (an NGO out of Seattle that I am on the board of) in three different villages. I couldn't be more excited to see these programs in action, participate in the projects and to give Zavion a taste of village life. It should be amazing for us both! See villagevolunteers.org for more detail (we are participating in the Sister Freda, Common Ground and Namanyuk programs.

But first... During our initial few days in Nairobi, we stayed with a friend of mine (Kiersten) at her (very nice) hotel. She was in Nairobi for work and it was great that we could overlap for a few days. We did dinners and had great conversations; Zavi showed off for her and we all had a great time. I took some time to catch up on laundry and shopping, while Zavion enjoyed the rooftop pool and overpriced french fries and frozen yogurt. It was great to hang out with you, K, and thanks again for everything!

And now for something completely different...

On Friday, we headed for a village near Kitale in northern Kenya to start our volunteer work. We took an arduous, eight hour busride and I was pleased with how well Zavion did - he even slept for a couple of hours. And while he was sleeping in various (often uncomfortable looking) positions across my lap, I watched Africa go by... When you think (or dream) of Africa, this is usually the Africa that comes to mind- along the great crack of the Rift Valley of Kenya. Past extinct volcanoes, plains dotted with acacia trees, dry hills topped with candleabras... green orchards, fertile farmland and pine forests... through the green and brown hills of the highlands, with views of majestic Mount Kenya... past busy, dusty, lively villages with vast markets, and people carrying all manner of things on top of their heads or strapped across their foreheads... maize, fruit, nuts, veggies, eggs and all sorts of goods being offered through the bus windows every time we stopped... Dusty streets leading away from the main road - donkey carts and bicycle or motorcycle 'taxis' being the main modes of transportation... Goats, chickens, sheep, cows and the afore-mentioned donkeys taking over even the main road. We spotted gazelles, baboons and zebra grazing along side, also. I never get tired of this place. (At one point, I mentioned to Zavion that we were crossing over the equater and he was disappointed that he didn't see a huge black line or a giant crack. Just a boring old sign!)

We arrived in Kitale and took two more rides to our home for the next ten days - Sister Freda's medical center and school. It's so much more than that, though. It's a sort of small village/compound with a life of it's own. In addition to the small hospital, the girls' high school and the new nursing school (all dreamed up and started by Sister Freda herself - and funded completely by donations and the money from returned volunteers,) there is a farm, a home for orphans and a child feeding program. I'll write more about each of these as I learn more through the volunteer projects. During our time here, I'll be working with the kids in the feeding program, traveling to the villages with the outreach clinicians (doing exams, distributing medications, counseling, etc.,) doing what I can at the hospital (including helping out an eye doctor heading to town to give eye exams and free glasses,) and giving guest lectures on nutrition, physiology and health/hygiene at the nursing school and highschool. Zavion will attend the pre-school at the feeding program, learn some Kiswahili, teach some English and play with all of the kiddos. They are already completely enamored of (and a little confused by) him. He LOOKS African, but doesn't speak the language... his mom is a mzungu... he's really big for his age... he has really cool hair... he's funny...

We have both been captivated by this village - and after just a few days here so far. It's a virtual managerie filled with cows, sheep, goats, chickens with chicks, a show-off turkey, pigs, guinea fowl, super-friendly dogs and cats, some two week old kittens, some three day old puppies, and some chase-worthy geese. It's also home to a bunch of really friendly people - we have felt exremely welcomed and everyone is so joyful and generous. I've been given tours of both schools and the hospital and have met much of the staff. I'm really looking forward to working with them all and learning more about the programs. We stay in a simple hut - a bed with mosquito net, shelves, a single lightbulb on the ceiling and a bathroom with a flush toilet (I wasn't expecting that!) Theoretically, we have electricity and running water, though they have both been out more often than not. We keep our headlamp on call and have had to get creative with bathing. We eat most of our meals on our porch - mostly fruit and some sort of starch with a salty, meat-based sauce- always accompanied by at least 2-3 begging, licking pups. There is one other volunteer here - an Aussie named Lauren who is in nursing school herself and travels to the district hospital with the local students every day. Man, does she have some stories to tell from that experience...

As for Zavion, he has plenty of kids to play with and much to learn/experience. There are ten orphans who call the farm home, several other children of staff members who come and go and about 100 more kids who show up each day (except Sunday) to the feeding program/pre-school. So far, we have gotten to know the resident orphans the best. They live together in a one bedroom house with a couple of staff members. Those of school age attend local schools during the week and the littler ones attend the pre-school with the kids in the feeding program (as Zavion will next week.) They are all super friendly, incredibly dirty and in thread-bare clothes. And they all have harrowing stories of their own -

There is Esther, 8, the most communicative of the bunch who was abandoned here at the hospital when she was about 8 months old.

Moses, 5, who never lets go of my hand and has the most heart-warming smile and eyes - was found in a dumpster when he was about a week old and brought here.

Another Moses, age unknown (5 or 6 probably) who lives at the hospital because he is HIV positive and has a bad habit of biting the other kids. He was also abandoned here. And he's such a sweetheart!

Quiet, shy Saida, 6, was brought from the slums at age two, after losing his parents to alcoholism. He's the most gentle of the bunch and the first to lend a helping hand if another child falls or loses a toy. He always want to hold Zavion's hand.

Friendly, rambunctious Johnny, the most recent addition to the village, was orphaned just months ago (most probably due to AIDS.) He can't keep his hands off of Zavion's hair.

Morgan, also 5, is mischeivous and curious (I think he and Zavion are going to be fast friends) and was abandoned here when he was just 9 months old. I have already seen he and Z running down the lane holding hands and hiding from/scaring the other kids. Hi-larious!

Dori is eleven, the oldest and wisest of the orphans, and was dropped off in the middle of the night when she was about three.

Joyce is nine, has lived here since she was four and has a smile a mile wide.

Eliaht's mother is still alive, but she lives on the streets in the slums and can't take care of him any more. He has small scars on his face and a seemingly permanent area of dried snot on his upper lip. And he's as sweet as can be.

Derek, now 8 or 9, was brought in as a baby after suffering a brain injury and was left behind.

And then there is Jacqueline. Sweet, quiet, cross-eyed, dirty-faced Jacqueline, who is 8 years old, but (and I'm not exaggerating here) HALF the size of Zavion. She was brought here, severely malnourished and failing to thrive, at age four, and has lived here since. And has stolen my heart.

Also, there is Gail. She is not an orphan, but the daughter of the lady that helps take care of them all. She is bi-racial and everyone thinks she and Zavion look just alike. She speaks a little English and was there with her parents when Z and I got picked up in Kitale, so he probably knows her best.

Friday afternoon, Z was a little shy around the kids (other than Gail, who he was friendly with right away.) After all, we had just arrived and they kept crowding around us, poking at him and climbing all over his mother. But on Saturday, he really warmed up to them all and we had such an enjoyable day. We spent most of the day with these kids. We brought out the markers and paper and they all drew pictures, and then proceeded to draw all over themselves, their clothes, the rocks, the tractors, etc. (at least they are WASHABLE markers.) Kids will be kids all over the place :) We played some ball with Z's rubber/plastic bouncy ball, but it got destroyed when it was run over by a tractor. We were picking up the little, clear plasticky pieces when I noticed a couple of the kids eating them. NOOOOOOOO!!! We took walks (the kids fighting over who got to hold my and Zavion's hands,) did some English/Kiswahili lessons, etc. They chased the geese, the turkey and the calfs (calves?)- imitating Zavion and yelling 'attack!'; they had water fights and running races. They laughed. A lot. And I am so proud of Zavion - he is taking all of the prodding and the poking by the kids in stride and seems to relish being the center of attention. So far, they just LOVE him - despite the fact that they understand very little of what he says. He is really trying to communicate, though, and, despite being a little frustrated, is doing pretty well at it. He was getting tired of all of the hair grabbing, though, (they love playing with his hair -) and has already learned the Kiswahili word for 'stop it!' (At one point, when he was surrounded by the 50+ kids of the feeding program, he threw his hands in the air and jokingly yelled, 'all right, all right, I surrender!') He told stories and sang songs for a captivated audience (although his choice of songs - "Hard Days Night" and "Sgt Pepper"- left the kids a little non-plussed.) He handed out flash cards to them and shared his trucks. When I mentioned that we are going to town tomorrow for some shopping, he said, 'let's buy toys for all those kids!' We'll see how the rest of the week pans out, but so far, so good. (He also asked if any of them are going to be his new brother or sister... but alas, I have no adoption news to report...)

While I was meeting with Sister Freda and getting the grand tour (more about her in a later post,) Z disappeared off with the kids for extended periods. I know he's fine and being taken care of and, I'm sure, is enjoying the independence that he (and all the kids) have here. The scariest moment for me, though, was when he showed up with a mouthful of water. Not the bottled or filtered water that I've instructed him to drink, but surface water that the other kids were drinking. I made him spit it out and had to explain that, because our bodies are used to different germs than the kids here, we have to drink special water. I just hope he doesn't get sick...

You can imagine the conversations that Zavi and I are having at night about our experiences here - about orphans, about HIS adoption story, about poverty, etc... It's really interesting having mature and thoughtful talks with my boy - he's really growing up! I hope to come back and do something like this again when he's 10 or so... Maybe every 3-5 years (?) I'm sure visiting his old orphanage in Ethiopia next month will be another conversation starter...

It's hot and dusty here this time of year with an intense sun (being less than a degree from the equator AND at altitude, you can imagine...) With our daily ritual of sunscreen application in the morning and bug spray in the evening, we are covered in a light layer of dusty grime. Without running water, we've gotten a little worse for the wear (but there is no mirror in our hut, so at least I can tell myself that I don't look that bad...) We finally boiled some water over the fire the other night and had sponge baths/bucket shower. Which was a step up from the wet wipe / purell bath of the day before :) At least the altitude means that it mercifully cools off at night :)

It's Sunday now, and after playing with the kids some more this morning before they left for church, and filling up on a rice, chipati and fresh fruit lunch, Z and I headed into town. Just getting here was a bit of an adventure. One option is to take the motorcycle taxis, but with the lack of helmets and the stories I've heard of the horrible road accidents involving said cycles (the number one cause of emergency room visits here,) there was no way I was going to put my son on one. So, we walked about 45 minutes down the road - flanked by curious locals and with a minor bit of complaining from a certain 4 year old (yes, it IS hot) and then squeezed ourselves into a matatu filled to beyond capacity. There were 26 people in what amounts to an 8 passenger mini-van. I was balancing on a 2 X 4 with Zavion squished on my lap. Everytime the matatu came to a stop, I had to seriously brace with my legs. Z just looked around wide-eyed, taking it all in. We wandered through the busy market to town, did a little shopping (bought pens, pencils and a soccer ball for the kids) and tried to find an open internet cafe.

(OK - so all of that, except the last paragraph, was written Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we couldn't find an open internet cafe, so I couldn't sent this out until now.)

It is now Tuesday morning and I'm taking a break from work at the district hostpital and found a coffee shop with internet. I already have so much more to say about the last two days (experiences at the hospital, more time with the kids, Zavion's experience at the school...) but I don't have time to write it all up now (and actually need a little time to take it all in and decide what I want to say.) I just finished feeding a 600 gram preemie who, literally, can fit in your hand... And encouraging burned and injured kids in the ward where they sleep three to a bed. Trust me, I will have a lot to say...

Anyway, I have to get back, but I'll keep up in my journal and try to post something again soon (ish.) Suffice it to say that we are having an enlightening, eye-opening, all around incredible (though not easy) time!

South Africa in a nutshell

2012-01-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to say too much about our time in South Africa because I already have SO MUCH to say about Kenya, but I wanted to get something out...

I am currently in an internet cafe (no internet in the village) and it's not letting me post pictures, so the next few posts will be write-ups/narratives. Which is actually good, because I've been slacking on my writing. Including pictures allows me to be lazy with descriptions - now you'll have to rely on your own mental images. As soon as I am able, I will catch up on photos and do some picture- heavy posts (or links.) But I digress...

After Zim, we spent a week in Cape Town - for fun. It's the first time I've been there as a tourist rather than doing some kind of work (teaching in the townships in 2000, working on a Fulbright project in 2005.) CT is a spectacular city with much to do and is very kid friendly. We stayed near the beach in Muizenberg and spent days frolicking in the ocean (though the water wasn't warm enough to linger in and it was a bit too windy...), taking walks along the coast, playing on the waterslides and tidal pools, trying our hands at mini-golf (Z's new obsession,) etc. We also took the train into town and went up Table Mountain, did a hop-on, hop-off bus tour, hung out at Camp's Bay (site of tear-inducing freezing waters and the kiddy romance highlighted in the previous post), went to the waterfront (seal watching, ferris wheel riding, harbor touring on Tommy the Tugboat, visiting the aquarium,) took a canal tour in an open boat christened 'The Weedman.' and took a tour to Cape Point / Cape of Good Hope and Boulder's Beach to see the penguins. Yes, we were definitely tourists.

CT was as lovely and scenic as I remember and remains, in my and many others' opinion, one of the world's most picturesque cities. Aslo, it seemed amazingly affordable after Zimbabwe. We stayed at a funky guest house run by the affable and eccentric Dion and met several other travellers of interest. One night, I was out on the porch conversing with the other adults while Zavi watched Ben Ten (his other new obsession) in the TV room. He must have gotten bored, because by the time we joined him in the lounge, he had managed to find himself some toilet paper and teepee the whole room. I guess he's ready for high school pranks already...

Other highlights of CT included seeing some old friends - including Erin, a friend I met 11 years ago in Senegal (and hadn't seen since,) and Andre and Tammy - friends from Highline. So good to see them all. Tammy was nice enough to take Zavion and I to a township with a local friend of hers. I had really wanted Z to experience going to a township, but I wasn't sure how to go about arranging it. When Tammy offered, we were happy to take her up on it. THANKS!! The experience definitely affected Zavion and he has asked questions about it since. 'Mom, why do so many people live in such tiny houses'? 'How can people be so happy when they don't have a TV'? Etc. While our time in CT was mainly recreational, I'd have felt I was doing him a disservice NOT to expose him to the townships and the 'other side' of Cape Town (though one look at his face after surfacing from catching a great bodysurfing wave, or after scoring a hole in five at putt-putt made me realize he didn't feel the least bit slighted.) Though I didn't really go into the details of Apartheid (how much can a not yet 5 year old who has his own racial identification issues to deal with take?), there are some messages that I want him to get from our time in Africa. (Our time so far in Kenya is certainly helping in these regards.) I wrote a lot about the history and details of Apartheid (and my thoughts on it) during the Fulbright trip in '05, so I won't bother you with that now (notes available upon request :) ) (Wow- how many times can I use parentheses in one paragraph?)

I really enjoyed having some one on one Zavion and Mommy time again - it had been awhile! And, while I know he missed his cousins, we still have so much fun together and it was wonderful. He continues to be an amazing traveller.

Our next adventure was a week traveling into Kruger and the Blyde RIver Canyon with Todd, Tanya and Olivia (friends from Seattle.) After an uneventful flight from CT to Johannesburg, we met up with them at the airport and stuffed ourselves and our bags into a rental car. Todd and I were to be the drivers while Zavion and Olivia provided the comic relief. Olivia is seven and adorable and Zavion was in heaven hanging out with her (yes, I believe he has a crush!) We all had a great time together - thanks for letting us come along, T and T!!

We drove into the mountains for our first night together. And it rained all night. We skipped going to the canyon the next morning because it was still pouring and, instead, headed straight to Kruger- spotting a few animals through the deluge on the way. And it rained all night again. The next day, after sharing our breakfast with some cheeky vervet monkeys and while it was still raining continuously, we drove further into the park and tried to spot some game. We did see some zebras and elephants (and, of course, the ubiquitous impala,) but mostly, we saw rain. And puddles. We tried leaving the paved roads, but turned around after encountering rushing water on our first dirt road adventure. (Turns out that turning around was the best decision we could have made!) We drove through more incessant rain and negotiated more puddles and potholes and mentioned several times how high the water was getting in the rivers and how close the water was to the road/bridges. We made it to our next camp just in time. Less than an hour after we arrived, we were told that the water had, in fact, taken over the bridges and all roads were closed. Several people were trapped at our camp while their stuff was still at other camps (they had just come out for a day of game-driving,) others never made it to camp or into the park at all and others were caught out between bridges and had to be airlifted out! We were actually quite lucky. We checked into our hut and were given the evacuation details should the water rise much more (several huts WERE evacuated.) And it rained all night again. We didn't make it out the next day, either... though we were able to game drive for a few miles in either direction on the paved road. We did have some good animal sightings and marvelled at the swollen river and where the roads going over the river were supposed to be (they were currently UNDER the river or washed away completely.)

It finally stopped raining that afternoon and, gasp, we even saw some stars!! By the next day, we could travel north as one of the bridges re-opened (though it was nerve-wracking crossing the damaged bridge - with washed out portions and guardrails bent like spaghetti.) One of the picnic stops had been underwater just the day before and was full of debris (and more cheeky monkeys) and the waterline in the bathrooms was up to my armpit! It doesn't bode well when you find the toilet seat buried in mud OUTSIDE of the bathrooms... We slowly learned the details of the floods - 600 mm of water fell in 48 hours (for comparison, the region averages 300mm of rain ANNUALLY!) There were several washed out roads, many deaths in the area and untold numbers of people who lost their homes. All in all, we were really lucky.

Zavion and Olivia were troopers throughout, played and played, got along great and were really amazing! Even though the game viewing wasn't as good as usual due to the floods and limited road openings, we all enjoyed the animals that we did see (zebra, giraffe, antelopes of all sorts, elephants, rhinos, hippos, crocs, lizards, baboons, vervet monkeys, jackals, buffalo, genet, etc.) and everyone's favorite was the lions - lazing around a wildebeest carcass after filling themselves on the kill. Alas, no cheetah, leopard or hyena sightings, but we were still happy :):)

We drove out of the park that evening (the first day that it was even possible) and stayed at a rest camp near Hoodspruit. Just getting to the camp was an adventure- the road had been badly damaged and negotiating our 2WD minivan was challenging (good job, Todd!) Andre, the camp's owner, was happy to see people as they had been without visitors (or electricity) for days. He showed us how far the water had come up and which cabins were damaged and had to be emptied out. We stayed in a ronduval that had escaped any damage and the kiddos had a great time playing with the resident pups. The sun was out and we had a nice walk around the grounds. We made it to Blyde RIver Canyon the next day, after checking out some destroyed bridges and more flood damage. Man, mother nature is impressive! The canyon was beautiful, though the river was brown rather than it's usual emerald green. We had a nice picnic, hiked around a bit, etc. We stayed in a funky backpackers' place that evening, the kids played in the pool and I tried to salvage my sneakers that stunk to high heaven after walking through flood waters (I failed - the sneakers have since been disposed of.)

Todd and Tanya had to change plans as they were originally going to head into Mozambique for some beach time. Well, Mozambique was affected by the same floods that hit Kruger and going there was no longer an option. So, they drove back to Johannesburg with us and flew down to Durban to enjoy the beach there. Z and I stayed one night in a hotel near the airport in Jo'burg and then flew to Kenya the next morning. That was Monday, 1/23. We are now in Kenya - volunteering in a small village - and I'll be writing about that soon....

Phew. Ok, so that wasn't as brief as I'd hoped and I apologize again for the lack of pictures. I'll get to those as soon as I can, I promise... there are some great animal shots, scenery photos, pix of the kiddos and the flood damage.

Summer Lovin' (four year old style)

2012-01-26T04:34:00.000-08:00

Starring - Zavion and Jamila. Location - Camps Bay Beach, Capetown, South Africa.

Scene one: He tries to impress her by sprinting by. She is suitably intrigued...

The boy's got good taste - she's a beauty!

Scene two - she entices him into a game of paddle ball. They are pretty bad, but it doesn't matter. The romance grows...

Scene Three - maybe she'll be impressed by the monster trucks! (she wasn't)

Scene four - the requisite frolic on the beach scene

:):) All that's missing is the ride off into the sunset...

As we left Camp's Bay, Zavion told me that Jamila is his best friend in Cape Town. And then asked if she could be his new sister. Sweet :)

Final days in Zim

2012-01-26T04:23:00.000-08:00

A few highlights from our final two weeks in Harare. Dad and Anne stayed until Jan. 1 and we had fun going to Imire, Domboshawa and the Lion and Cheetah park. David and Katy went to Cape Town for a few days, while I stayed with the kiddos in Harare. It went really well and we all had a good time :)

IMIRE - an animal sanctuary about 2 hours from Harare. We enjoyed a game drive (cut short by a thunderstorm,) lunch, feeding of various animals, a walking safari, amazing star gazing (I love the southern hemisphere sky) and a great overnight at the volunteers' cabin. Dad and Anne also enjoyed an elephant ride - a first for both of them. Some highlights:

Playin' some soccer while waiting for the game drive

Yes, there in a cage... but still impressive and even slightly unnerving.

hyena

beauties

The rhinos are especially protected here - due to increased poaching activities in the area. At Imire, the rhinos have armed protection 24/7 and their horns are trimmed so they don't attract the poachers. (Rhino horns bring in a LOT of money as they are believed (falsely) to have medicinal properties in Chinese medicine.)

What are YOU lookin' at?

Storm is brewing...

Eliza and Zavion waiting out the rainstorm

This elephant thinks she is a buffalo and is the leader of the herd. She has even killed buffalos that have tried to fight her dominance.

She loves being fed, though!

This is where we stayed the night. Charming and rustic. Perfect for our group.

And a chance to feed the rhinos, too!

What better way for a couple of little boys to while away the hours than playing a game of darts. Safe, yes?

Off on a walking safari

Yes, the baby elephant has ahold of my arm and is pulling me towards her. Not surprisingly, she is exceedingly strong!

Cheeky

Dad and Anne travelling in style!

DOMBOSHAWA - We visited this place back in September, but went again with Dad and Anne. It's such a lovely (and picturesque) place!

picnic time!

Bat cave!

Alas, it appears that my pictures from the lion and cheetah park haven't been uploaded yet, so I won't include them here.

We have been away from Zim for three weeks now. We miss everyone there, but are having an excellent journey. So far, we've touristed around Cape Town, escaped deadly floods in Kruger and had a couple of relaxing days with my friend in Nairobi. Tomorrow, we head for the villages of northern Kenya for a month of volunteering - should be awesome. Then.... maybe a beach break before heading to Ethiopia. But, we'll see.... Stay tuned... (probably won't be able to do regular updates from the villages as we won't have internet access - or even electricity - but I'll try to make it to an internet cafe every week or so...)

Take care everybody!

Christmas morn...

2012-01-13T06:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, that last post didn't take TOO long, so I'll attempt a Christmas post before this internet cafe closes (or before Zavion drags me outside for another round of mini-golf.)

Christmas was great. We had great, sunny weather and family to celebrate with. In addition to David, Katy, Miles, Eliza (and Mambo,) Dad and Anne came to town (and with them came two suitcases of Christmas presents - thanks again!) The kids were suitably giddy the night before - wondering if they've been good enough for Santa to visit. They put out fruit and milk for the jolly fat man and carrots and apples for his flying steeds. They anxiously and excitedly went to bed at a decent hour. The adults, of course, stayed up much later doing last minute wrapping and Santa-ing.

Surprisingly, we did NOT get awakened by kiddos at 5:30 am. As a matter of fact, they slept in later than usual and we lined up in the hallway at the very civilized hour of 8:00. Because of Zavion's towering frame, we lined them up by height rather than by age. They paraded into the living room and were ecstatic to see that Santa had visited- Eliza screaming, 'We've been good, we've been good - he came!!' They were all in good spirits all morning and were gracious at every present- be it a snack bar, a purse or a lego-guy. It really was a great day!!! Some highlights:

Bed-headed kids waiting patiently for Daddy Jack to finish shaving so they can go see their loot!

He came, he came!!!

Reading Santa's note

Yay! A new Lego toy!!

Sharing the love.

We gave this painting to David for his office - Eliza and Zavion made it in art class!

Enjoying the morning :)

Eliza modeling her new dress and matching cell phone; Zavion enjoying his head-sized Christmas morning chocolate-chip pancake. (Yes, he ate the whole thing AND had more!)

For New Year's Eve, we had a dance party and stayed up until 10:00 (party animals that we are.) The kids boogied to The Beatles, Adele, Ce Lo Green, Franti, REM and The Ramones (among others.) We played Limbo, shook our booties and sang at the top of our lungs. I explained New Year's resolutions to them (kind of) and asked what good changes they wanted to make for the year. Zavion said, 'I want to make a lot of money so I can travel to every country and give everybody some money. Oh, and I want to give toys to all the children.' He has a way of saying the right things - we'll see if he can put this to practice while we're volunteering in small Kenyan villages next month :):)

Anyway, I know I'm still behind on this blog-thing and I'll try to catch up in the next couple of weeks (does anyone really ever catch up on these things?) But right now, I have a smiley 4 5/6 year old that has been patiently waiting for a trip to putt-putt, followed by a frolic on the beach. I can't really say no to that, now can I?

Meanwhile, back in Harare...

2012-01-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

OK, so I'm not in Harare anymore. I had these grand illusions that I would catch up on all my blogs before leaving there. But it was not to be... We are in Cape Town now in a guest house with no internet and this cafe is excrutiatingly slow. So, I'm afraid Christmas posts and our trips to Imire, Domboshawa and the Lion and Cheetah park will have to wait (maybe from Nairobi in a couple of weeks?) Sorry, grandparents!!

But, I will quickly post a few pictures from before we left Harare.

While I went to Vic Falls with Dad and Anne, Zavion got to stay with David's family. It was the longest we've been apart from each other and, as you can see from the photos below, he had a terrible time and just sat around crying and bemoaning my absence. Yea, right!

Several times since we left Zim, Zavion has said that he misses it - he misses Miles, Eliza, David, Katy and Mambo. (But not Cindy the tortoise- apparently, according to him, 'Cindy is no big deal.') Just yesterday, he had a faraway look in his eyes and when I asked him about it, he said, 'I'm just really missing Mambo right now.' He also talks in his sleep and early this morning, he was going on about David protecting Mambo from him, Eliza and Miles.

In honor of his cousins (human and cat,) here are a few more pix from our last few days in Harare! Thanks so much for everything David, Katy and family- we miss you and we really appreciate all that you did for us!!!!!

What four straight days of rain does to the yard...

But we don't mind the rain at all!!

Our last day in town - enjoying the sunshine and two of my favorite little people :)

Vic Falls - the Sequel

2012-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

But first - a little prelude... check out this cutie!!

A couple of weeks ago, we found this bushbaby in the front yard! We all heard a strange barking in the night and, lo and behold, it was coming from this tiny, adorable primate. Pretty rare sighting so close to the city! Cool!

The next day, Dad and Anne arrived for a two week visit. One of their dreams while visiting Zimbabwe was to see Victoria Falls and they wanted a guide. Being the selfless, giving person that I am, I offered to accompany them (never mind that Vic Falls is one of my favorite places...) Zavion stayed back in Harare with David and Katy (it was our longest time apart to date) and, I'm happy to say, we both survived the seperation.

Our Vic Falls itinerary was similar to (though shorter than) our October visit, including Chobe in Botswana. Here are a few highlights:

A little more water than last time... the rainy season has begun!

From the helicopter ride - thanks, Dad!

Anne on the sunset cruise. No dramatic adventure this time around, just a nice, relaxing evening on the Zambezi.

This guy was feeling pretty relaxed!

Gotta love the African sunsets!

The next day, we headed to Chobe. Another great day of game sighting!

Banded mongoose

Vervet monkey family

This hippo is marking his territory (spraying his poop around by spinning his tail) Ah, nature.

One of the great things about it being the wet season was how green everything was. So you can imagine my dissapointment when I realized I had inadvertently switched my camera to black and white. Let's just call it artsy and avant garde...

The elephants are pretty cool, though - even in monochrome!

Dad and Anne (Anne said this was one of the best days of her life!)

Got some color back for the game drive. That's Dad's hat in the front seat. Perfect seat for catching flying dung beetles with one's face and neck, apparently :)

Sable herd

Where there are vultures, there is usually a kill. These lovelies were checking out a recently downed baby buffalo. But they weren't quite ready to pounce because...

...This guy was keeping watch!! Pretty cool.

aaaahhhh

It was definitely newborn season. These baby impala were taking a little rest while the adults stood guard all around them.

warthog family

This poor buffalo was sporting a recently bitten off tail and a large bitemark on his shoulder. Perhaps this was related to the afore-mentioned lion attack...

Just such an incredible place!

Oh, and it was definitely dung beetle season. These guys roll up animal dung into perfect balls and lay their eggs inside. When the babies are born, they eat their way out of the poop. Yummy!

Check 'em out. Apparently recently laid buffalo scat is the bomb!

That night, we dined at The Boma. Touristy and a little cheesy, but a good time was had. My friend, Brent, joined us for a night of eating, tattooing, dancing and drumming.

Brent and I - we've known each other for over 16 years!

Ain't they cute?

The buffet included crocodile, warthog (everyone's favorite,) impala, eland, guinea fowl, etc.

The night ends with everybody drumming - very fun!

All in all, another successful trip to Vic Falls. And, thanks once again goes to Brent for setting everything up!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2011-12-18T07:04:00.000-08:00

....wait a minute, it's sunny and warm with an explosion of spring flowers - is it really Christmas time?

Zavi is a little confused and thinks it should snow. Cue the geography lesson complete with globe and hemisphere description ... True, the last couple of years, we've been in FL and NC for the holidays which aren't exactly wnter wonderlands themselves, but last year (and probably the only one he remembers,) we did have a blizzard in Wilson, NC and lots of snow to play in on Christmas day!!

But, I'm pretty sure he can handle the change...

We've been doing our best to get into the holiday spirit around here...

Zavi and Eliza spent an afternoon making Christmas cards for all the kids and teachers in their class. They did an awesome job - drawing something personal for each kid and doing all of the writing of names themselves. It was quite an endeavor - I was impressed with their staying power!!

working hard... note the tongues

Last weekend we decorated our Zimbabwean Christmas tree.

Interesting tree, isn't it?

Defnitely decorated by kiddos

Working on the little baobobs

Miles giving his dad a nice card that he made

The next day, we made cookies at Vaughn's house. Again, I was impressed with how long it kept the kids' interest. Pretty colorful, too.

Well said, David!

They tasted as good as they looked!

'The Grinch' and 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' rounded out a fun weekend...

THIS weekend David and Katy (and me by association) were invited to an ugly sweater Christmas party. Now, given the climate here this time of year, you can imagine the impossibility of finding Christmas sweaters (and we looked!) SO, we improvised...

Festive enough? People weren't quite sure what to make of David, however...

My favorite picture from the night.

Tomorrow, Daddy Jack and Anne arrive for a whole new adventure!! Happy holidays!!

Show Stoppin' Cuteness

2011-12-17T01:37:00.000-08:00

Last week, Zavion and Eliza's class put on a play for all the parents. Oh. My. God. How cute! This was Zavion's performing debut and couldn't help myself from welling up with tears. Looking around, I wasn't the only parent getting misty eyed!! Here are some highlights:

Zavion the frog making his entrance. Note the cool frog's head he is wearing. In just a moment, he pulls the headpiece back, so his head is sticking straight out of the frog's mouth - with eyes and nostrils lolling about on the back of his neck. Oh well. He is still sporting quite the costume.

Eliza the bee making her entrance.

Here they are!!

Zavion saying his line, "Did you know that all that living things grow?"

Eliza's line, "My teacher says she is not an octopus- she only has two hands! After which, she ad-libbed, "Hey, I made a joke!"

"Can you hop like a frog? Ribbet Ribbet"

Have I mentioned how cute these little buggers are?

After the show, David took us all out for a celebratory lunch/milkshake. Eliza wanted to wear her whole costume and Zavion...? He just wanted to wear his tights.

Window shopping.

Never mind that his Thomas underpants were on full display through the tights. Didn't bother him a bit. (I'll probably have to remove this picture eventually when he is old enough to be embarrassed...)

Zavi also got his school pictures taken. I ordered some, but have no idea if they'll come in before we leave. In the meantime, here's the proofs. I especially like the one of the three of them!

Yesterday was their last day of school. There was an assembly and the school sang 'Happy Trails' to all those kids leaving - including little Z. It was special and there I was all misty-eyed again. Have I mentioned how much we've enjoyed this school? Zavi had a great term, made some wonderful friends and learned a lot. For the first time, he really enjoys sitting and coloring/drawing/writing and has a new level of confidence in these activities. It was also wonderful for he and Eliza to be classmates (he and Bassie were classmates in the spring, so it's really been the year of cousins!) Miss Carmen and the EC2 class - he/we will miss you!

Beatlemania!

2011-12-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

It's true...

...The Beatles are timeless! Here, the 4, 5 and 7 year old set are obsessed. Every day, they request "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," "Hard Days Night," "Yellow Submarine," "Octopus' Garden" and "All My Lovin'." They happily perform their song/dance numbers to these songs for company. We have been watching the old videos/movies on Youtube. And in their imaginative play, they are often the characters - Miles is Sgt Pepper, Zavion is Mr. Kite and Eliza is Mrs. Henderson. (Apparently, I get the coveted role of 'Henry the Horse Dancing the Waltz!') They have recently been trying to escape the Blue Meanies.

They even know the Fab Four by name and which of them are alive and dead.

At least they are learning the important things in life... :)

Letters to Santa...

2011-12-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

The other day, I asked the kids to write letters to Santa. Or, in their case, to draw letters to Santa with pictures of what they might want for Christmas.

Concentrating...

Zavion = To Santa, Stuffed snake, off-limits Legos, Gogos and monster truck

Eliza = To Santa, Rainbow princess dress with matching crown, stuffed kitty and doll

(Not pictured is Miles' artwork - snakes, Bionicles, large toy Hulks)

So, yea, Eliza is all rainbows and princesses and Miles and Zavion are all snakes, trucks and super heroes. This gender role stuff is for real. I never sat down with Zavion and said, 'you're a boy, you should like trucks, weapons and super-heroes.' It just happens. Seriously. I'm sure David and Katy didn't push princesses on Eliza, either. There's definitely something inate there. And then society (and consumerism) works its own formula to send girls one way and boys another. Oh well, at least Zavion admits to liking pink these days.

Good thing Santa, (aka Daddy Jack -my father) is making a special trip to Harare this year, so the kids can get what they've asked for. Check out this pile of Amazon ~~crap~~ stuff that has arrived at his house to be brought to Africa. (photo courtesy of Daddy Jack.)

It all started with a simple request; 'Dad, do you mind if we order a couple of things to your house and have you bring them to Africa?' I believe we call this the mushroom effect. Knowing Amazon, though, it's mostly carboard and air, and once it's been unpacked, it'll look a lot less daunting. I told Dad to think of it as a real life version of Tetris. THANKS AGAIN, DAD (AND ANNE!)

So, all of this ordering and gift requesting has got me thinking. Just last week, I was with the kids at the children's home and brought them small stockings and gifts. Just some school supplies (colored pencils, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners,) and a couple of small toys. Nothing fancy at all. And they were as excited and gracious as can be. It was all toothy grins and hugs and high fives. The excitement over the pencils and glue was genuine and overwhelming. they even took the time to write their names on everything. It was so refreshing how happy they were over such simple gifts. And, yet, here I am ordering my own son (and neice and nephew) the latest toys from America. Not sure how these guys would react if their stockings only contained school supplies... So, how to find that balance? Getting them some of what they want without giving into the gross commercialism of America? How to make sure they appreciate the little things in life, too? It's a tricky balance to try and achieve. I could write all day, but you get the idea of what's been on my mind...

I'll be taking Zavion and Eliza to meet the kids at the home during the holidays, which I'm hoping will be an interesting, educational endeavor. Zavion, who at 4 1/2 is taller than half of the 6-12 year olds that I've been working with. No doubt malnutrition and stunting are in effect... Can't wait for them to meet, though.

OK, before I go - here are a few pictures from Zavion and Eliza's art show last week. They have just completed an 8 week art class and were very proud of their work. The stuff was really good! They even got awards/certificates :)

Children's artwork

Zavion showing off some of his work (the giraffe in the lower left corner, the stripes next to him and the colorful fingerpainting on the top row.)

One of the group projects- I love the colors!

I can't believe it's almost Christmas - what with the warm weather and the tank tops and the playing in the pool today...

Hope you are all ready to enjoy the holidays :)

Thanksgiving - Zimbabwe style

2011-12-04T04:14:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and found lots of things to be thankful for! Here in Zim, we had a great weekend - the International school even had Thursday and Friday off in honor of the holiday. We hadn't been out of town for awhile, so we opted for a weekend trip to the Eastern Highlands.

But first, let's not forget that yummy meal!! We decided to do the big Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday evening so we wouldn't have to lug everything along with us to cook in the mountains (though the leftovers came in very handy!) We celebrated with fellow Americans Sheryl and Vaughn and Vaughn's dad, Michael (Kenyan - enjoying his first Thanksgiving dinner) at their house.

David demonstrating his turkey carving technique (note the kids' facial expression)

That's better. Yummy - what a great meal!!

The candle was passed to each person to say something they're thankful for. Zavion got to go first since he's the youngest. He did a great job and said this; 'I am thankful that I have lots of toys and can give my extra toys to kids that don't have enough.' He was a bit confused as to the timing of the holiday, however, as Thanksgiving, according to him, 'is supposed to be cold and rainy/snowy, not sunny and hot!' It does take some getting used to... but I think we can manage :):)

And then, we were off. We left Thursday morning for the mountains. Unfortunately, Eliza had been recently sick and her tummy wasn't feeling well on the drive. Katy sat with her for awhile and had me drive. Five minutes into my drive and I get pulled over by the police. Apparently, I was speeding (the verdict is still out on that one) and had to pay the (whopping) $15 fine. Oh well...

Here is where we stayed - the lovely Springhide House- a private, self-catering house near Troutbeck in the Nyanga National Park. Lovely.

The House

The view!

Our bedroom

Playing in the huge garden

There were plenty of beds for everyone, but the big boys wanted to sleep in the tent in the house. Here, they are all enjoying some tent time!

The weekend was wet, cool and cozy. And we were without electricity for most of the weekend. I never would have thought, after just days earlier sweating in the heatwave that had settled itself over Harare for the past month, that we would be happily cosied up next to a fire. And I loved it. I'm finding that years in Seattle has turned me in to a kind of cool weather gal. And I love being in the mountains. You see, to me, the mountains are my church - they feed my soul and it makes me happy to be among them. And though I love Harare - the climate, the friends, the work - I've been aching to be in some more varied topography. So an escape to the mountains for the weekend was perfect!

And the fact that it was cool, misty and rainy may have turned others away, but it was perfect for me. Yea, so we didn't get some of those splendid views that you get on more sunny days, but the mountains, to me, have so much more character when they're shrouded in clouds dancing through - in and out- affording occasional glimpses of the hills beyond.

We were even treated to a magnificent thunder and lightning storm on our night of arrival and, as usual, Mother Nature, in all her glory and power, never ceases to amaze me. This storm was incredible - some of the loudest, longest thunder I can remember and lightning that was so close you could feel it. I wondered at one point, immediately following a simultaneous lightning and thunder strike that reverberated in my ribs, of the flammability of a thatch roof. In my semi-conscious state, and deciding that thatch was decidedly flammable, I started devising our escape plan... :)

During one of the dry moments, I took a solo hike up the hill next to the house. Beautiful views looking down-

Evening view - just before the big storm blew in.

On Friday, there was a dry-ish spell. David went golfing, Vaughn & Miles stayed around the house with Sheryl & Michael and Katy & I took Zavion & Eliza to Troutbeck for some horseback riding!

Waiting for the horses - Z and E chasing butterflies

Having fun around Troutbeck Lake

Modeling their fashionable helmets

Zavion atop his trusty steed

We had assumed that the kiddos would either be on horses with us or with a guide. BUT, they got to ride their own horses - led by the guide on his horse. The kids didn't miss a beat and were so brave!! They chatted happily the whole time - making up stories about their horses (Mist and Surprise who are, according to E and Z, in love with eachother.) At one point, they tried to demonstrate their bravery by not holding on and putting their arms in the air - a practice we nervous mommies quickly discouraged!! They had a great time, though :):)

See that tiny, red dot down on the green? That's David. The kids were so excited that he got to see them on the horses!

Saturday consisted of a nice hike and scavenger hunt from the house. We found all sorts of creatures - frogs, dung beetles, caterpillars, chungalolos, etc. The kids also found everything on the scavenger hunt list except a black mamba and a human skull (David's contributions to the list...)

Setting off on the scavenger hunt/hike

Looking for the elusive human skull...

View shots

Checking out the local wildlife

The rest of the afternoon consisted of playing with the baby chicks and exploring the foggy abyss...

On the way home, we stopped for a break at Nyongombe Falls (under a blue sky!) and enjoyed lovely views of some of the rock outcroppings that Zim is famous for.

See David?

Another great weekend in Zim:)

Lately...

2011-12-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

Almost another month has gone by and, again, I've been slacking in my blogging. Here's what life has been like this past month...

Working hard ~ 4+ days a week with Zvitambo, 1+ day per week at the children's home and periodic meetings with CARE. One day, I'm reading/developing interventions to decrease chicken feces ingestion by babies; another day I'm learning about local sex traditions (includng labia elongation;) another day I'm building a tool to estimate medical doses in the field; another day I'm teaching long division to 8 year old orphans. I'm learning loads about enteropothy, stunting, gender roles, etc. It's been awesome. I'll be putting together longer narratives about the work for my college... if anybody is interested...

The kids at the Children's Home are awesome - they always greet me with huge smiles and hugs. I will miss them! Here we are: (they told me that, with the hat on, I really DO look like a jolly fat man. Hmmmm...)

I walk between 1 and 2 hours each day to/from my various projects. Which has been great for the soul. And the waistline. And gives me lots of time to enjoy my music :) Though, the random music selection can completely set my pace ... A day of Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and Sawdoctors will get me to my destination a full five minutes earlier than a day of Jack Johnson and Snow Patrol...

The kiddos are doing great. Zavion has settled into school really nicely. Yesterday, we got their report cards (the most detailed I've ever seen) and he is doing really well. His teacher describes him as sweet, easygoing, bright, eager to learn, active, imaginative, fascinating and a joy to talk with. Proud mommy moment :):) Next week, they will be putting on a play - I can't wait. I'm going to miss that school - and am spoiled now for any future schools...

A quick rundown of the past month (Thanksgiving and our trip to the Eastern Highlands will be in the next post.)

AROUND TOWN. The jacarandas have lost their purple blossoms, but now the flamboyants are giving us a show of spectacular red!!

A BOY OBSSESSED. Since Zavi inherited this Spiderman costume, he wears it everywhere!!

Playing with Eliza

Tennis Lessons!!

Dinner (As David pointed out, one of his super powers is NOT proper fork technique :))

PARTY!! - These kids have way more active social lives than their parents - they were invited to 3 birthday parties in a week! Here are some pix from a fun party at The Farm.

Feeding the bunnies

Face painting (spider man, of course)

Does anyone else find it odd that there is a noose at the playground?

FUNDRAISER for the children's home. A Sunday morning art sale/ pancake breakfast. I got to help out and the whole family came!

You can dress him up.... but...

Aaahh

The fundraiser was a great day for Miles -- he got to play with the marimba band AND he won first prize in the raffle (the latest Coldplay CD - signed by the entire band!) All in all, the day was successful. Several thousand dollars raised for the children and a fun morning out.

AHOY MATIES! Zavi and Eliza are going to pirate class once a week. Here, Z models the pirate gear he has made - complete with eyepatch, beard and parrot!

Much more to say, but I'll get this out now so I can go to bed :):) More soon!!

Busy, busy!

2011-11-06T05:15:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been back from Vic Falls for over 2 weeks now, and things have really picked up. I am staying really busy with my volunteer work, the kids are back into the swing of school and, all in all, things continue to go quite well. Below is a VERY basic rundown of some of the projects that I am volunteering with - if you don't have much interest in the work bit, and would rather see pictures from Halloween and school parties, just scroll down. But for those of you interested in the nitty-gritty, I'll outline the projects below - in a very simplified, hopefully brief, manner. Suffice it to say, I'm staying busy, learning a lot and am finding the work interesting (so far!)

-- Zvitambo research project - I am working (volunteering) with a research team (headed by Johns Hopkins University) looking at the relationship that Environmental Enteropathy has on stunting and anemia in babies under 2. Basically, the study is comparing various nutrition interventions as well as WASH (sanitation) interventions on decreasing or eliminating stunting and anemia in babies (both are HUGE problems here in Zimbabwe - up to 35% of babies in the region suffer from severe stunting!) I am learning SO MUCH about mother/child nutrition in the developing world (not to mention the research process itself) and can't wait to implement some of what I am learning into my curriculum. I have also been given a lot of reading to do on past studies (mostly regarding HIV/AIDS, nutrition, breastfeeding, etc.) which I am also finding fascinating. The study is just getting off the ground and it's really interesting to see the work at this stage (I'm also having to re-learn 'research speak.')

--CARE gender assessment. I am also volunteering with the NGO, CARE, as they assess gender issues in rural Zimbabwe. Most notably, they are looking at adolescent girls and their attitudes/choices around sexual behavior as well as female heads of households (up to 80% of households in certain rural areas are headed by women and they contain, on average, 2.6 dependents IN ADDITION to their own children.) They are trying to gather statistics and are interviewing girls/women about current gender attitudes- especially around gender equality, empowerment and sexual decisions. (One sad side note - the HIV rate, which had been on the decline in recent years, increased almost 2% in 2010!) Again, I'm finding the work incredibly interesting and eye opening.

--Emerald Hills Children's Home. I mentioned this home in a previous post. I continue to guest teach about once a week and am going to help out at a couple of upcoming fundraisers. The kids are great - they always welcome me with big hugs and high fives. They are eager to learn, rambunctious and sweet. I don't know their personal stories, but all of the kids are from broken homes, some have lost one or both parents, most have been badly abused and several are HIV+. The state welfare system has placed them here. The resilience of these children, despite their harrowing stories, is very inspirational.

Between these three projects, I've got something to do every day and will be kept busy for sure. There are a couple of clinics that I'd like to visit, as well, when I have the time...

NOTE - if you have skipped ahead, the kiddo part of the post starts now...

UN DAY-

A week ago Friday was UN day at the school. The student body represents over 70 countries and this was a chance to highlight the diversity of the school. There was a presentation including songs, dancing and a flag ceremony, followed by a huge picnic and food fair - with eats from all of the represented countries. The U.S. booth contained wings, hotdogs, burgers, chips, etc... no wonder we lead the world in obesity :) I got most of my yummies from the Asian tables - sushi, satay, noodles, curries.... YUM! For their part, the kids were told to dress in the colors/style of their country. Here is our brood representing America -

shi

Many of the kids were dressed so nicely in their sarongs and robes and kangas. And the Americans? Mostly in shorts and slogan laden T-shirts. Ah, the culture that is America..

A few uther scenes from UN day:

Zavi and Eliza watching the presentation

Grade 2 song ('Peace and Love')- the photo is dark, but if you look carefully, you can see Miles in the lower, left side

picnic time

Zavion rocking out! (to the international sounds of MC Hammer, Justin Beiber and Katy Perry- yuck.)

People milling about. I should mention that Katy, as president of the PTO, worked hard to help put this on - good job!!

HALLOWEEN!!

Halloween isn't really celebrated the way we do it outside of the U.S. If we tried going door to door trick or treating around here, people would think we were crazy. Luckily, though, there is a large American expat community here and there was a big Halloween party at the Marines'. We all got dressed up, loaded up on candy at the trunk or treat, got scared in the haunted house and enjoyed a nice night out :) We brought along Shepard and Panache for their first taste of Halloween :):) The pictures are mostly too dark, but here are a few -

Zavion as Anakin Skywalker (but he preferred to pretend he was Luke because 'Luke never turns bad.'

Zavion Skywalker, Princess Eliza, Shepard Iron Man and Panache Wizard

Tracy 80s rocker and Katy geisha girl

Joined by Vampire Miles and Ghost Vaughn

Trunk or treat!

A little nervous in the haunted house. At one point, someone pretended to chop my head off with a pretend cleaver. After we came out, Z said, 'Mommy, I don't ever want you to get your head cut off again!'

FUN IN THE POOL

We recently had a heat wave here - the highest temps since the 1960s (mid 90s and not humid, so really not that bad, but hot enough to enjoy some pool time!)

The kids love being thrown by Daddy/Uncle David

Wheeee!

Giddy up!

And the biggest news of the week (for this Mommy, anyway)? Little Zavion is now swimming without floaties!! Underwater, arms moving and feet kicking and everything - all the way across the pool. Proud Mama moment :):) Here he is...

:):)

Warming up after pool time.

Lots of other stuff going on - Zavion and Eliza are going to pirate camp one day a week and ooey gooey science another. The kids love feeding the chickens and collecting eggs (as well as saving a baby bird and keeping the chickens safe from Mambo,) playing tennis, swimming, playing make-believe, etc. The adults have been working, playing ultimate, tennis, doing lots of walking, and refereeing cousin battles. I'll leave you for now... with these photos of one of our nighttime dance parties :)

Until next time....

Victoria Falls!

2011-10-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

The kids had a few days off school for 'spring break,' so Katy and I decided to head out on an adventure with them. David had to work, so we'd be leaving him behind. At first, we were planning a grand road trip - including days at Matopos, Hwange and Vic Falls. It's about 2-3 days driving each way. Well, my dear sweet, ~~paranoid~~ concerned brother didn't like the idea of the womenfolk (and childfolk) embarking on this journey alone. In a mini-van. With no 4WD. So, we decided to fly and just concentrate on Victoria Falls. We could make the trip a little shorter and David wouldn't have to miss his kids so much (and Katy and I wouldn't have to miss any ultimate frsbee games. Priorities, I tell ya!)

Now, as you might imagine, flying on Air Zimbabwe is a challenge of it's own... the airline was actually shut down for several months and has only recently started flying again. It's reputation is less than stellar for reliability, safety and overall quality. As a matter of fact, some days the planes don't fly at all. And for no apparent reason. It's the only choice between Harare and Vic Falls, though, so we risked it... Good fortune was on our side and our flights actually ran on time (very unusual) and we survived. But they were some of the steepest, bumpiest descents/landings I have ever experienced. At one point, both Katy and I were holding on to our children for dear life...

But I digress... let's talk about the fun we had in Vic Falls!!! This was Katy's second trip to the falls and my 5th. (Zavion's first.) The falls is listed as one of the seven wonders of the natural world and they do not disappoint. We were taken in by an old friend of my, Brent ('old' as in we've known each other for a long time, not age...) and he and his family totally took care of us. A place to stay, a car to drive, good friends to hang out with and, because he owns one of the adventure companies, he also sorted out all of our excursions and activities. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, BRENT!

The town of Vic Falls is lower and much smaller than Harare. It was HOT- so everyday included pool time, which suited the kids just fine. :) Throughout the little town, you see baboons and vervet monkeys trolling about, warthogs grazing on the side of the road, birds everywhere and the evidence of the elephants that occasionally wander through town. Many of the houses sport large holes in their walls/fences where the elephants have crashed through. And, not being the most courtious of houseguests, they always leave through a different spot - creating TWO giant holes in said wall/fence. It's also not unheard of for lions, giraffes or other wildlife to make an appearance. The river skirts the town, but isn't suitable for plopping in for a swim - what with the crocs and hippos upstream and the class V rapids downstream... it's pretty to look at and great for boating/rafting, though.

We arrived on a Sunday and were going to go on a sunset cruise in Brent's boat. Unfortunately, the water level had dropped significantly since his last outing, and we couldn't get the boat in the water. Not to worry, we enjoyed drinks by the river - kids playing in the playground - and watched a beautiful African sunset...

The next day, we hung out in the town - went to see the falls in the morning before it got too hot. There are several kilometers of walking trails across the gorge from the falls - with several viewpoints and specatacular scenery all around. The falls create their own rainforest, so even though it is the dry season and the land is parched elsewhere, along the gorge, the landscape is lush and verdent. The water level is at its lowest this time of year (in April, there is several times the flow that there is now,) but the falls are still lovely. More of a series of cascades then one huge wall of water. And easier to see this time of year - during heavy flow, you can't really see the falls for all of the spray. And you need serious raingear. We had a lovely walk - enjoying the coolness of the mist, the greenery and the monkeys. Oh yea, and that little trickle of water called Victoria Falls. As usual, I took far too many pictures... here are a few.

First view

park friend

See the dead bushes? That's all that is protecting you (and the kiddos) from plummeting down into the gorge. Keep a close eye on the kids, for sure.

so pretty

Yes, those are people right on the edge of the falls. (this can only be done during the low water season)

This is the part of the falls that really dries up during the dry season. This is one solid sheet of water in April!

Still an impressive amount of water - even in the low season!

An afternoon at the pool at Ilala Lodge and a yummy dinner at the Vic Falls Safari Lodge rounded out an excellent day. And made for some tired kiddos.

How afternoons are supposed to be enjoyed :)

Sunset at the safari lodge. Warthogs and crocs (and later elephants) in the waterhole below.

The next day, we took a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Up early, drive across the border, a boat safari on the river, lunch and pool time at a hotel, game drive in the afternoon and back home (after a VERY long wait at the border getting back into Zim.) All in all, a great day - no big cats, but we saw painted dogs, giraffes, hippos, warthogs, crocs, monitors, buffalo, lots of antelope and a TON of elephants!! We're talking ellies as far as the eyes could see... And the highlight for the kids? A giant crocodile feasting on a dead elephant in the water. Ahh, nature :)

On the boat.

Someone needs to tell this elephant that he's with the wrong species. (Cape Buffalo)

Monitor lizard (AKA legavan)

National Geographic shot

This cheeky elephant was having a blast!

mud bath!

Check out the size of that croc's head! Yummy.

Waiting his turn...

GAME DRIVE...

We were lucky to see these painted dogs - they are quite elusive.

The 'five legged' elephant. This sure brought up some interesting questions from the boys...

This picture is for you, mom. Pretty, isn't it?

Sable - another usually elusive creature :)

A hot drive back to Zimbabwe, an even hotter wait at the border (they had run out of visas and someone had to travel several kilometers to bring new ones back,) and a nice dinner with Brent and his family rounded out another great day.

On day three, Katy and I split up so she could go rafting. I would have loved to go, but there would have been nothing to do with the kids. Since I had already rafted the Zambezi several times and Katy never had, it was a no-brainer for her to go. And she loved it (though was suitably terrified :)) Check out her blog as I'm sure she'll have an update all about it soon :). The kids and I had an adventure of our own - spending the morning at the crocodile farm and the afternoon swimming and lunching at The Kingdom.

Petting the baby croc. When asked if they wanted to hold it, both boys said, 'No way!' But Eliza...

...jumped at the chance and was the bravest by far :)

Not to be outdone by his little sister, Miles stepped up.

Zavion gave it a go, but the little croc snapped at him and Z was over it :)

Yes, that is a pile of crocodiles. A little disturbing... according to Zavion and Eliza (peering over my shoulder as I write this,) their names are Cool, Sprinkles, Handsome, Toilet, Glitter, Hero, Weewee, Oshodaham, Skippipzip, Feloshure, Hedgie and Iyaham.

Feeding time!

Mmmm... those children look delicious!

Though the kids loved the crocodile farm and begged to go back the next day - I found the whole place a little depressing. There were other animals in cages, too, that just looked sad. On the way out, there was a shop selling all manner of crocodile skin merchandise. Eliza was immediately drawn to a hot pink crocodile skin purse that she just HAD to have, but I was able to talk her out of it. That afternoon, we hit the pool at The Kingdom, had some lunch and waited for Katy to return from her river adventure.

The boys relaxing after a hard swim

It may look like the boys are just striking a pose, but look closely....

This butterfly was attracted to the blues in both Zavion's and Miles' swim trunks and spent a good amount of time on each. The kids were thrilled.

The next day (that would be Thursday, for those of you keeping track,) I decided to do the gorge swing for a bit of an adrenalin rush (I had bungee jumped the last time I was here and this was slightly different.) Katy was off and on about whether she'd join me, but in the end, she did and we did it in tandem. FROM THE BROCHURE -

Imagine swinging in a child's swing in the playground...now imagine a giant swing 95m long and 120m high above water...now imagine a 70m free fall before you begin swinging. Stop imagining and come and try it out! Our highwire is suspended across the gorge at a point where the width is 316m and 120m deep. A harness is attached to the jumper and then the jumping ropes, the other end of which is pivoted to the middle of the cable. The jumper leaps off the edge of the gorge, free falling about 70m before going into a 95m long pendulum type swing. What a rush!

We explained to the kids what we were doing and we all went to the gorge together (with Brent - who was kind enough to watch the kiddos and take pictures while K and I plummeted into the canyon below.)

The Batoka Gorge - site of the gorge swing

Katy and the kids checking it out

At this point, Zavion walked up to me and said these words; "Um, Mom, are you SURE you want to do this? You're very brave for trying, but I will be a little scared for you." sweet.

Making a fashion statement in our harnesses.

Making our way to the edge...

The following is the conversation between Katy and Reason (the name of the dude on the platform that hooked us up and sent us flying.)

R- I will count down from 5 and then you will jump.

K- What are we going to jump ON?

R- You will jump OFF this platform and INTO the gorge.

K-No, are we jumping ON one or AFTER one?

R-I will say 54321 and then you will jump.

K- Hear that, Tracy, we are jumping AFTER one!

(Not that it would matter, if one of us jumped, the other was coming along. Nice stalling tactic, though, Katy :))

And we jumped. And it was awesome. Katy pedaled her legs frantically the whole time as if she could outrun the fall. Apparently, the kids were yelling, 'Go, Mommies!' but we couldn't hear them through the wind in our ears and our own ear-piercing screams. My throat was actually sore from the yelling :) We fell too fast and too far for a good picture, but Brent videod it. Basically, it's us screaming and disappearing quickly over the cliff and then reappearing as a tiny dot swinging across the gorge below. I highly recommend it. A great sister-in-law bonding moment :)

Being hauled back up to the platform after the swing. We are giddy.

After another afternoon spent swimming at the Ilala Lodge pool, we met up with Brent and family and tried the sunset cruise again. Turned out to be more of an adventure than any of us bargained for :) The boat was still not in the water and it took about 20 men 45 minutes to dislodge it from the mud and get it floating. We hung out watching the warthogs, playing with a crab and keeping the kids from getting too close to the hippo and croc infested water (while the men were knee deep in it!)

This guy kept us entertained

Along with this guy

Zavion, Katy and Jodi (Brent's daughter) looking on...

Heave ho!

Finally - on the boat :) That's Zavi, Miles and Mitchell (Brent's son.)

It was a lovely evening and from the boat we saw hippos, crocs and elephants. At one point, while trying to get closer to the elephants, the boat got stuck on a sandbar. Brent had to get out to physically move the engine and he was visibly nervous (a couple of years ago, he had been attacked by a croc while skulling on this very river.) He finally got us floating again, but now the engines wouldn't start. Well, we could always just float down river, right? Except... for that tiny waterfall a couple of kilometers down river. Hmmmm.... finally got the boat started again and then there was a question of running out of gas. Well, if we can't float, maybe we could just anchor for the night. Except.... is that a huge electrical storm on the horizon? And we're in a metal boat? With no lights? Ha. Well, needless to say, we made it relatively unscathed - and enjoyed good drinks, snacks and company -along with a beautiful sunset. I love Africa.

Brent, our fearless leader, and Jodi.

Checking out the elephants and the sunset. I believe this is right about the time that we got stuck...

Lovely

It was definitely more exciting than if we had paid $65 per person for the touristy cruises! Oh, and I should mention that I got the crap scared of me by a croc swimming right up to the boat - between the pontoons!

On our final day in town, we were scheduled to take a late morning flight. Well, Brent had a little surprise for us on the way to the airport. He brought us to his elephant rescue center and let us ride on and feed the elephants! It was so cool and such a great way to end our trip. The kids loved it. All of these elephants had been rescued (including one whose trunk was bitten off by something (lion? hyena?) as a baby.)

Miles, the big boy, got to ride alone with the guide. Note that his elephant is the one with the bitten off trunk.

Katy and Eliza

Me and Z

Brent showing us the proper way to feed the elephants.

Zavion gives it a try

"Their little hairs are so prickly!"

Miles

This elephant is copping a feel!

That's better :)

All in all, it was a great trip and fun was had by kids and mommies alike. Thanks again, Brent, for EVERYTHING and it was so good to see you after all these years! If any of you are ever planning a trip to Vic Falls, please look into Brent's company for accomodation, activity planning, etc. http://www.adventurezonevicfalls.com/index.html

Thanks for reading. Until next time...

COUSINS!!

2011-10-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for a special post all about... cousins :)

"A cousin is a ready made friend for life."

"A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

"Cousins are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer."

Zavion is lucky. He has many cousins around his own age and he has had ample opportunities to get to know them well in his 4 years. This post pays homage to his cousins - and best friends. He holds cousins in such high regard, that he wants to refer to all of his good friends as cousins, too. Sebastian, Eliza, Lindsay and Zavi are all within 7 1/2 months of each other in age (Zavi being the youngest) and they are bookended by Miles at the older end and Josh and Ben at the younger. They also have great relationships with their second cousins (all older) - Marlee, Peyton, Bryson, William and River. What a special family :)

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian (aka Bassie) and Zavion have been close since they were very young and definitely consider each other the best of friends. They have always had an amazingly close relationship (even when they were tiny!) and have so much fun together. They are incredibly imaginative and can spend hours acting out scenes, pretending to be animals, super-heroes, Navis, etc. They are clever and funny with sophisticated senses of humor that crack up everyone around them. They have very similar interests and can amuse themselves for hours - even with things that us adults find mundane and tedious. Good thing they have each other :) They have imaginary pets, act out skits, sing songs together, tell private jokes, use 'twin-speak,' etc. They have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time together - road trips out west during the summers, Christmases in Colorado and NC, family reunions, a summer in the Caribbean, and almost four months living together (and going to school together) in Seattle. Zavion asks about Bassie daily and misses him whenever they're not together. I hope that their friendship continues on this path as I feel they are incredibly important in each other's lives. Here are a few (read - a LOT) of my favorite Bassie/Zavi photos over the years....

summer, '07. Zavion 6 mos, Bassie 13 mos. Ain't they cute?

Studmuffins (am I allowed to put this on a blog?)

Wilson, NC - Oct, '07

April, '08; Hendersonville, NC. An early attempt at peek-a-boo. Neither of them quite got it...

SMOOCH!

May, '08 - Wilson

summer, '08 - west coast roadtrip. Hurricane Ridge, WA

Same roadtrip - Oregon coast

Christmas, '08 - Wilson, NC Both obsessed with Thomas trains (but sharing!)

May. '08 - tummy obsession (Washington, DC)

King's Dominion, VA

summer, '09 - roadtrip to the Canadian rockies - Moraine Lake

tummy time - Yoho National Park, BC

August, '09 - family reunion in Beech Mountain, NC

Christmas, '09 - on the cruiseship (to the Bahamas)

Christmas in Wilson - one of my favorite pics!

March, '10 - Panama City Beach, FL

June, '10 - trip to the Caribbean

Martinique

Bassie's fourth birthday in Guadeloupe

July, '10 - another family reunion in Beech Mtn - with their beloved Papa

silly boys

November, '10- Seattle

Thanksgiving silliness

Christmas, '10 - back in Wilson and a snowstorm!

New Year's Eve in Washington, DC

Zzzzzzzzz...

April, '11 - Six Flags in California

The next set of pictures were all taken while Sebastian was living with us in Seattle between April and July, 2011. Zavi and Bassie really bonded during this time - they are like brothers!!

Loin cloths (to look like Navis) Showing their muscles

ELIZA AND MILES

Zavion was lucky enough to meet Eliza and Miles on the same day that he met me. They all came to Addis Ababa to welcome him into the family. I feel that they will always have a special bond :) Though they haven't seen each other as much over the years (other than in large family reunion type settings,) they are really getting to know each other now during our time in Zimbabwe. At first, Zavi gravitated to Miles, but I'm happy to say, he and Eliza have really started playing together a lot, too, and are getting really close. They have found great ways to compromise and accomodate her love of GIRL things with his love of all things BOY - as described in a previous post. They are constantly acting out scenarios - usually involving Zavion, the super-hero/knight/king/airbender rescuing the fair Eliza as princess/maiden/kitten/fairy. It's quite cute. When Miles is involved, things get even crazier - he makes up songs, characters and even more elaborate scenarios for them all to act out. We are really enjoying getting to know these kiddos better and I know that the cousins are forging relationships for life. A 'few' of my favorite pix -

July, '07 - Addis Ababa. Zavion had only known us for a day!

Sept, '08. Zavion and Eliza in Jordan

SMOOCH 2

Dead Sea

Petra

Dana

Christmas, '08 Georgia mountains

summer, '09 - performing in the talent show at the family reunion

summer, '10 - family reunion trip to Tweetsie Railroad!

Summer, '11 in the Pacific Northwest

All the rest of these have been taken during the past month here in Zimbabwe:

LINDSAY (and her little brothers.)

Lindsay is another of Zavion's early best friends. When we all lived in the PNW, we got to spend time with her on a pretty regular basis. They get along great and always look forward to seeing each other. Unfortunately, in the past 15 months, we've only gotten to see them once, but during that visit, Zavi and Lindsay fell right back into their friendship without missing a beat. They are also super cute together and loving with one another. They love to run around uncontrollably, play trains, dance, wrestle, hike and make cookies. We really miss her. Zavion has also been lucky enough to meet Joshy and Ben and I'm sure as they get older, the boys will all be fast friends. We can't wait to see more of them this spring/summer. We WILL make it happen!! Here are a few of my favorite pix of Zavi with the Leininger bunch (especially Lindsay Bear.)

First meeting- Beech Mountain family reunion, summer '07

July, '07. Back in Seattle - Zavion's welcome home party!

First of many trips to Mt Rainier together

Alki Beach

Halloween, '07

January, '08 - Lindsay's first birthday

April '08 - happy in the tulips

SMOOCH 3

Mt Rainier hike/camping trip, Sept., '08

fall, '08 at Alki

winter, '09

spring, '09

summer, '09 (solidarity nose plug)

fall, '09 - Puyallup Fair

December, '09- Christmas cookies

Feb, '10 - first time skiing!

May, '10 - before they moved back to Colorado :(

June, '10 - Butchart Gardens, British Columbia

November, '10 - Garden of the Gods, Colorado

ditto

with Ben and Josh (11/10)

All those kiddos

COMBO PIX OF THE FIRST COUSINS THROUGH THE YEARS

SUMMER/FALL, 2007

Zavi, Eliza, Sebastian - the Brigham triplets

Zavi, Bassie and Lindsay

CHRISTMAS, 2007 (Colorado)

CHRISTMAS, 2008 (NC and Georgia)

SUMMER, '09 (Beech Mtn)

SUMMER, '10 (Beech Mtn)

SUMMER, '11 (Seattle area)

And we're not done yet...

MARLEE, PEYTON, BRYSON, WILLIAM, RIVER - The super-special second cousins!

As if a bunch of fun-loving first cousins wasn't enough, Zavi is fortunate to also have a close relationship with his second cousins - all in NC and all older than him. They have really brought the youngins into their fold and, again, I'm pretty sure they will be friends for life. A few pix of the whole bunch:

FALL, '07

SUMMER, 08

CHRISTMAS, '08

SUMMER, '09

CHRISTMAS, '09

SUMMER, '10

CHRISTMAS, '10

SUMMER, '11

Wow- that may be the longest blog post EVER! Thanks, family - we love you all so much!!

Lake Kariba

2011-10-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

LAKE KARIBA

In all of my visits to Zimbabwe, I've never before been to Lake Kariba and have always wanted to. So, when Katy suggested we do a weekend there, I was thrilled! Kariba is one of the largest manmade lakes in Africa and is best explored by boat. We went during the first weekend in October and, though early signs didn't bode well for a successful trip (the entire wheel falling off of David's car the day before we left; Eliza getting carsick and throwing up no less than four times in David's replacemnt car; our two cars getting seperated and all of us getting lost for a spell,) the weekend turned out great!

We stayed at a lovely place on Spurwing Island - with tents set up right by the water. Lovely sunrise views. Hippos, crocs and monitor lizards as neighbors. The sounds of drums signalling meal time in the open air restaurant. Lots of space for children to run amock. A nice pool for cooling off. It was perfect.

Spurwing Island resort from the water - those are our tents!

Breakfast in the open air restaurant

David and Katy enjoying their porch

The kids watching the hippos

Sunrise from the porch!

sunrise and kiddos

Eliza and Zavi - so cute :)

Inside the tents. Zavion thought sleeping under the mosquito nets was pretty much the coolest thing ever!

Zavion playing the drums while Eliza performs an interpretive dance

splashing around in the pool!

We took safaris via boat and open-sided jeep. Slightly disconcerting being only yards away from giant elephants while completely exposed in the vehicle, but, hey, what are you going to do? Mom and Mike were lucky enough to see lions on their game drive.... Here are some highlights:

FROM THE BOAT:

FROM THE GAME DRIVE:

The very open truck. Not much protection from charging elephants, is it?

Elephants were definitely the main attractions

How YOU doin'?

baboon

Look, ma - ellies!!

bum shot

Eliza and Zavion comparing their hands to a lion print

Look - I'm kissing an elephant!

Exploring this huge termite mound - note suckling elephant in the background

sand angels

dead hippo

real angels :)

Great sunset ending to a great day!

Ok, I'm going to cheat for a minute and post a couple of photos that Mom took of the lions they saw (they went on a game drive the night before we did,) even though we didn't see them. Still pretty cool :)

See ya next time!

First outings in Zim

2011-10-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Zimbabwe!

Now that I have you up to date on day to day life in Harare (see previous post,) I'll start catching you up on our Zimbabwe excursions. We flew into Harare on September 22nd - I can not tell you how good it felt to be landing on African soil again. I LOVE Africa and hadn't been here since 2007 (the longest I had been away from the place since my first trip here in 1995.) Our first 10 days here in Zimbabwe overlapped with my mom and stepdad, so we all did the tourist thing for a bit. And it was great. Thanks so much to Katy and David for taking us all in. Our first weekend in town consisted of the Hoggerty Hill Fair and ultimate frisbee on Saturday, a picnic at Lake Chivero on Sunday, and a morning hike to Domboshawa on Monday.

HOGGERTY HILL FAIR

Definitely inspired by the English contingent - the fair consisted of games, a waterslide and entertainment. It was perfect for the 2-8 year old crowd. Our kiddos all had a good time :)

Zavi and Miles on the waterslide.

Cuddling the boys to warm them up after 100 trips down the slide

Grammy and Eliza 'fishing'

Zavion's favorite game? Shooting things with the paintball gun, of course

Mr. Boom Boom (Harare's resident clown) comforting Zavion after a waterslide arm injury

LAKE CHIVERO

Imagine, if you will, a family picnic in the shrubbery by a lake - being visited by numerous ostriches (and all manner of other birds,) zebra, baboons, a far-off giraffe... and then driving to find a mommy rhino with baby, a herd of wildebeest and a troop of monkeys. Zavion, I don't think we're in America (or Europe) any more. What a great day out :)

Great picnic spot...

...with this as a view!

Zavion on the run (completely oblivious that he's running right into the path of an ostrich!)

David and his telescope - great for birdwatching (Grammy's favorite activity)

So frikkin' cute

wildebeest

monkeys at play

DOMBOSHARA

One of the things Zimbabwe is known for is all of the rock outcroppings and strange rock formations that abound... Domboshara is one such place. We had a great time climbing the huge, granite slab (kids taking turns leading the way,) admiring the millinea old cave drawings, chasing cute lizards, picnicking under the 'balancing' rock and, all in all, enjoying another great day out :)

And they're off!

Mighty hikers

Mom and Mike setting a slightly different (more sane) pace. Note the rock formations behind them.

Ancient rock paintings

Local lizard

Near the top!

I love this - Katy trying to make the kids look while I take the photo

The result

Admiring the view

The kids rushing to the picnic spot - the 'balancing rock'

Perfect spot for some lunch!

Yes, that's nearly 70 year old Grammy sliding down the rockface on her bum. On purpose. Classic.

Chillaxin' What a great first few days in Zim!!

A Day in the life - settling in in Zim!

2011-10-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

We have now been here a month and, I'm happy to say, are settling in nicely. (And, yes, as this is my first Zim post, I am way behind in the blogging...) David, Katy, Miles and Eliza have been most generous to allow us into their home and their lives. They have been incredibly welcoming, warm and inclusive and we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know their life, their schedule, their friends, etc. I feel very lucky that we are able to take this opportunity to settle in for a while. We have taken several weekend and school break
trips -to Lake Chivero, Dombashawa, Lake Kariba and Victoria Falls - all of which will be described in future posts. This post, however, is all about life in Harare- one of the nicest cities in Africa. Situated at an altitude of 5000 ft and a latitude of 17' 50 south, it boasts one of the most pleaseant climates on the planet. We arrived on the first day of spring. The last month of the dry season. It has been fantastic to watch the greening of the grass, the explosion of spring flowers, the busyness of the bees, and to experience a few early season rain/thunder storms. (and I mean storms!!)

HOME
David and Katy have a lovely place - a little oasis in which to while away the days with a pool, tennis court, trampoline, hammock, wendy house, swingset, a huge garden and orchard and lovely flowers all around. Home life here is great. Zave has fallen into great relationships with Miles and Eliza and it's amazing how they can just disappear into the yard for some time without a worry in the world... Here is a glimpse of life at the homestead...

Driveway to the house

Beautiful flowers at the tennis court

Front yard

Fun on the trampoline

Tennis lessons. He loves them!! (I'm taking lessons, too, but it's not worthy of photographing...)

Shepard and Panache join the fun on the trampoline. They are the sons of the housekeeper and gardener and share the yard. It's a lot of fun!

Little poser Eliza. She usually averages about 5 outfits a day :)

Zavion working on a workbook. Note that he using both hands!

Family cat, Mambo. This cat is awesome - he puts up with so much from the kiddos!

Family tortoise, Cindy. She makes her appearance when it suits her.

Zavion and Eliza helping David with Sunday morning pancakes.

Beating the heat in the pool

Ahhh, this is the life

The trampoline doubles as a post-swim warming tray

The yard is also a great place for a party! Eliza turned five this month and we were able to have two parties for her - a family party with Grammy and Grandpa Mike before they left (with scavenger hunt and family presents,) and a friends' party complete with bouncy house/water slide, face painter and fancy cupcakes.

Reading a clue for the scavenger hunt

water gun fight!!

It's my party, and I'll pose if I want to!

wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

Dragon Man

Birthday girl! (and Dragon Man's sidekick, 'Butterfly Rose Princess')

Zavion is having an amazing time with his cousins. At first, he was mostly interested in Miles - the older, wiser, cooler BOY cousin. But, I'm happy to say, he and Eliza now play constantly (and sweetly) and are getting very close. Eliza has said that she wants Z to be her brother and Zavion has said that cousins are even better than best friends (more on all that in another post.) Zavion and Eliza have found a way to incorporate her love for girly things and his love for all things boy... They will play Princess Glittera and her brave, impressive hero. When Z is the mighty airbender, Aang, Eliza will be his air kitten... They developed the aforementioned Dragon Man and his side kick Butterfly Rose Princess... etc. They are unbelievably cute together. < Overheard the other day in the bathtub, > - E - Here, Zavion, you can have this Barbie. Don't worry, this one is a BOY Barbie. Z - What? How can it be a boy? It has make-up and boobies! E- Welll, it's one of those boys who likes to wear make-up. Z - ok, but what about the boobs?? It was a nice try in compromise, anyway. (I'm not going to post a bunch of cousin pics now because there will be plenty in future posts. :)

Here is how the weekdays around here work: up at 6; David drives the kids to school at 7 (sometimes I join him,); I spend the mornings on various projects (often walking) or at the house; Eliza and Zavion get picked up at 11:45 and spend the afternoons playing in the yard (with swimming lessons on Mondays and art class on Tuesdays.) Miles comes home around 3. More playing ensues (often with Shepard and Panache, too) as well as homework (Miles), dinner and reading. All are in bed by 7:30. It's a totally different schedule from ours at home, but it's working! Believe it or not, I may actually be turning in to a morning person!
Saturdays include tennis lessons (all,) relaxation and ultimate games (David, Katy and I.) Sundays are free. (though we have been getting out of town a lot on the weekends, too!)

SCHOOL

One of the things that I was most concerned about during these months abroad was having Z out of school for so long (yes, I know it's only pre-K, but I didn't want such a big gap in his learning/socializing, etc.). While he is quite advanced in his spoken vocabulary, knowledge of stuff, math/analytical/ problem solving skills, etc., he is falling behind in his fine motor/ writing/ drawing skills. He appears to be ambidextrous (see photo above,) but tends to favor his left side. One of his schools in Seattle had all the kids write right-handed, which I believe set him back. And I certainly don't know how to hold a pencil as a lefty- or to
show him how... All this to say, he gets discouraged and frustrated when it comes to writing and drawing and loses interest/ gives up quickly.

But I digress. I wanted to find a way to keep up on his skills in the most productive way possible. I brought several workbooks and we've been working on them pretty regularly, but it wasn't enough and I am
definitely not his ideal teacher. Also, I needed to free up my mornings so I could do the volunteer work I'd come here to do... In Harare, I interviewed a potential tutor and looked at a local preschool. Neither excited me very much. What I really wanted was to get him into the Harare International School (HIS) with Eliza and Miles - I was really impressed with what I had seen. Well, it was a long shot as we were coming mid schoolyear and only staying for a short time, but we were incredibly lucky to get him into the school! He is in Eliza's class and will stay a full term! Happiness all around. :):) Here's a tidbit-

The school grounds

The pre-K classrooms

Zavion in the fallen jacaranda flowers

The resident guinea fowls and peacocks are a nice touch :)

Every couple of weeks, there are fun days at school. Last week, it was water fun day!

The boys vs. girls water fight! Zavion was quite enterprising - being the only one to use two cups!

Take that!

Eliza's revenge!

On another occasion, Miles' 2nd grade class put on a performance. Here is Zavion celebrating with the thespians after the show.

Family picnic at the school for Zimbabwe Day.

So far, he seems to really like it and I'm really pleased with his teachers and the work they do! I have also met many of the other parents (it helps that Katy is president of the PTO:).

A couple of days a week, I go in with David as he drops the kiddos off and then I walk the ~5K to various meetings/jobs (more on that below) and walk back to meet Katy to pick them back up.

The walking in this town is most pleasant- big, wide, vegetated lanes, streetsigns (!), and friendly people that mostly leave you alone after a pleasant 'good morning!' (it's so refeshing not to be constantly bothered and hit up for money- as I've experienced in many a town...)

Typical street that I get to walk down.

The jacarandas are in full bloom. I love it!

WORK

So, once I got Zavion settled into a schedule with his cousins and school, I could concentrate on finding projects to get involved with. Still in the early stages are collaborations with CARE (working on a newly funded child nutrition project) and ZVITAMBO Village Health Workers Project (focusing on improving HIV prevention and care services - mostly with babies.) These projects should pick up significantly this coming week (this past week was a school holiday.) I am also in talks with a connection at USAID- dealing with gender issues. Next week, I'll be meeting again with CARE and ZVITAMBO, touring the Newlands
Clinic (foremost AIDS treatment center in Harare) and touring the largest seed and agriculture facility in the country. I'm looking forward to a busy, educational week.

Currently, though, my most involved project is volunteering at the Emerald Hills Children's Home. This facility is home to about 100 school- aged children- all sent to the home by the state welfare system. Almost all are victims of abandonment, physical and/or sexual abuse, and many of them are HIV+ (a product of the abuse, not MTC transmission.) They live at the home in 30 bed dormitories, attend school nearby, recieve meds, etc. The home is in sort of a catch-22 situation, though, as they can't accept grants because they are funded
by the welfare system, BUT, they are so drastically UNDERfunded that they are struggling to make ends meet. They need more individual donors and successful fundraising to stay afloat. As most of these kids have only one or two threadbare outfits and the toys are all old and in disrepair, I am hoping to arrange a clothing/toy drive thru HIS. Also, we are brainstorming on other fundraising ideas.

Every Monday, I walk to the center and guest teach to a small group of children. They range in age from 6-12 and are new to the center. Most have never been in school before and are getting intense training on
basic skills (English, writing, reading, math) before entering the school system. I work with them on their assignments, practice English, and work on small projects with them. They are a great group and eager to learn and participate - despite the harrowing stories that brought them here... Here they are:

In their classroom

They enjoyed posing for pictures

The boys

If anyone would like more information about the home or how to help, please let me know.

I'll post more about the other projects as I get more involved... But, suffice it to say, I'm very excited and learning a lot!!

I will sign off for now as this post has gotten way too long. For those of you still with me, I thank you - you show real patience and perserverance :) I'll leave you with these two parting shots.

David and his beautiful family - our wonderful hosts! (and, no, the kids don't usually look that somber- it was the end of a long day!

Eliza and Zavi sacked out after a hard day at play