Strong and Fat

Oh my......this trip is already an adventure :). Firstly, I am traveling with my Faj, my little sister Sarah (the wildest and free-est of all the sisters), and her two good friends. The three of them haven't traveled much yet, so seeing them experience it for the first time is like watching a baby realizing they have hands. Pure delight.

The adventuring began in Amsterdam, where we had a 12-hour layover. Just enought time to explore the city with 45 minutes of sleep under our belts (how can you sleep on a plane when there is so much to do, like eat snacks and watch movies?!). Of course we climbed the I AMsterdam sign, wandered the canal streets, and sampled treats of a bitterballen nature. We may also have reenacted the wizard chess scene of Harry Potter at a park, narrowly missed a few bike-pedestrian collisions, and unintentionally left the guide (me) at a bus stop. It was all great fun.

On the flight to Nairobi I was given the greatest gift of all......3 seats to myself. Best sleep of my life. It gave my immune system a little time to pull itself together, since it dependably poops out on me right before every big trips like this. We arrived in Nairobi healthy and fresh as daisies, and ready to get to work. The ambulance that picked us up from the airport was literally packed to top with our 15 gigantic bags of mostly maxi pads. It was a quite tight sqeeze on the way to Maseno, but since you've gotta brace your knees against something on that ride, I prefer a bag of pads over a metal bar.

Truly the greatest joy of the trip so far has been introducing my watoto (children) to Sarah, and having Dad see them again after 5 yrs. As the ambulance lumbered into the yard, I had to look twice to make sure the kid running up to us was Zedekia. The shape of his face has changed since his little mouth isn't full of rotten teeth anymore. He's gained weight, he's significantly taller, and much to my relief, his adult teeth are already almost all the way in. He is talking a little and laughing a lot. He can run and climb the hill. I am beyond delighted. They are all taller and healthier, or as they say here, they are all strong and fat. (Fat means well-fed and well taken care of, so its not actually an outrageously offensive comment here-as it would be at home, although I find the term much less endearing when it is applied to me personally :).

(Naomi, Griffin, and Zedekia couldn't wait to get their hands on Sarah's long hair).

It took the kids about, oh.....30 seconds to warm up to this group. I think Sarah was running around with 2 children on her back within the first afternoon, and Caroline and Anthony had a child hanging on each arm as they toured the grounds. We know when school is out because there is suddenly 3-4 little heads peeking over our window sill, beckoning us to come "play chase" or jump rope. They've all been working and playing very hard. I don't know who was more worn out the last few days, my children or my college students :)

I will soon have some more pics of our progress on beautifying the children's home, but until then, enjoy a few more of our travel pics. More updates to come soon.

Jessie

 

 

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