Baby Steps

         We've been here in Nairobi for seven months now.   I've made a few new friends and have reconnected with old friends (people who lived in our area in the States who moved to Kenya before we did).  Our family has developed routines, we have activities we do weekly that have made life feel more normal again.  We've found a church that the entire family looks forward to going to on Sundays.  We finally feel settled.  

Saturday morning soccer, one of our routines.

        One thing that I hadn't been doing that I did daily in the States is driving.  There are several reasons why I chose not to drive here in Nairobi.  The most obvious is that we drive on opposite sides of the rode.  While my husband could arrive at the airport and hop in a vehicle and drive within an hour of arriving, I could not.  I wanted to give my brain sufficient time to adjust to the switch, so that I was not constantly questioning whether I was on the correct side of the rode.  Next, the roads in Nairobi can be quite intimidating.  Many roads are very narrow barely able to fit two cars through at once, let alone people who are walking (there are few sidewalks).  There are also tons of unmarked speed bumps as well as potholes.  Lastly, no one seems to follow any road rules.  Stop signs are ignored and there are very few traffic lights.  I am so used to driving in the United States where road rules are followed (most of the time), that I couldn't imagine myself driving in Nairobi.


         So, what changed you might ask.  Well, I have a friend who is also a homeschooling mom, with whom I've started exercising in the mornings.  We don't live too far from one another so some days we jog together, meeting somewhere in between our homes.  On other days, she brings her children to my house, and while the kids get some physical activity, we exercise together.  And on other days, I drive to her house and we exercise there.  Like I mentioned, she doesn't live too far, so this is definitely a baby step, but it is huge for me, as I never imagined I'd drive in Nairobi at all.  With this milestone reached,  my next goal is to drive to church on Sunday.  I'll definitely keep you all posted.

On route  (no, this is not a one way street)

        In other news, we've welcomed a new member to our family.  And like us, she is part foreigner and part local.    We adopted a puppy!  She is part Japanese Spitz and part unknown type of Terrier breed.  She is playful, energetic, and loves to be around people.  She has really brought additional joy to our home.  When we first got her, we wrongly determined her to be a boy and we called her Buddy.  But on her second day with us, we took her to the vet and learned that our he, was in fact, a she.  As a family we researched appropriate dog names and voted to decide.  Given her color and the fact that she is part Japanese Spitz, we named her Kaya-Yuki which means "pure snow" in Japanese.

The children with Kaya-Yuki

     
         In school, we have started doing nature studies once per week.  We simply go outdoors on a nature walk.  If we find something interesting we explore it further.  We snap a photo, draw a picture, and google.  Each child has a nature journal.  In it they record the date, time, and location.  They draw a picture of what we are focusing on, then they write down some interesting facts.  It will be a good record to see how their perspectives, penmanship, and artwork changes over the months and perhaps years.

        Yesterday we went out to focus on a pretty flower that's growing in our compound.  While there, we happened to see a bee enjoying the flowers as well.  Being flexible as we are, we shifted our focus to learn more about this bee that was hovering about the flower.  We learned that there are over 20,000 types of bees.  The particular bee was a honey bee.  So we learned the three castes of the honey bee, their functions and how they differ morphologically to serve these functions.  We learned how and why the bees develop into into each of the three types.   I was surprised how much we learned in an hours time.  The children couldn't wait to share what they'd learned with dad.  Well, that's all I have to update for now.  Until next time, enjoy life's safari !!!