Of course I forgot a few last time I blogged and in fact since then, he has added a few more!
Daa - Ta/Thank you. He's been saying this for ages now and likes to play a game of handing you things and you saying ta.
Kekkek – crocodile, while in IKEA looking at their soft toys
Ha’ – hat. It’s unusually cold in England and we’re all wearing woolly hats. Daddy has also bought some camouflage earmuffs which he seems to love, as opposed to the hat which he constantly removes.
Ye/Yeah/Eh – yes! Getting the hang of yes and no and as of the last few days Alfie has been practising saying yes for food and suggestions as to activities. Still a bit random. No seems mostly for things that are forbidden and occasionally things he doesn’t like, such as mummy telling him to come down the stairs on his own instead of carrying him. No is accompanied by shaking of the head and yes seems to go with a sort of exaggerated nodding.
Ey – egg, your favourite breakfast food of all time. You also connect these to chickens and baby chickens thanks to the Farmer George book.
Daddy – you are definitely saying it but tantalisingly, only once. You do say it to mean daddy though and it seems like you are trying to attract his attention. We’ll regret teaching you this very soon I suspect.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Alfie Update - First Words
So our son is talking. And talking and talking and talking. At least, in a language he and we understand, if no-one else. He has been burbling away a good long while, and the other day marched up to a lady in front of a notice board and said something very decisive along the lines of ‘yakkadakkadakadak’. She laughed out loud and said to me ‘he sounded exactly like he was telling me which tree we ought to look for’ (we were at Westonbirt Arboretum). Anyway, in no particular order, his current (and first?) words are: • Bye Bye (with waving, often as soon as anyone leaves the room or when he decides to walk out of a shop) • Nanight (ditto) • Banzai! (Hands in air) • Yeah! (Usually clapping then hands in air, like mummy does) • Moo, Baa, Cockadoodledoo, Bok Bok (chicken), Neigh, Miaouw, Woof Woof (sounds like ooh ooh), Ee-Aww (donkey), Fsshh (fish), Eeeeee (Elephant), Rah (Lion/Tiger), Sssss (snake), Pig noise (like snoring) • Up! (usually to Incey Wincey – up came the sun etc) • Cheers! (a sort of Thhh sound which makes sense) • MorMor (mohmoh) • Nannie (Nannnn) • Nana (Banana, often with monkey picture in book) • Nononononono (accompanied by shaking of the head, often while looking forlornly at the TV remote) • Noi Noi (oranges, or more correctly, clementines) • Brrrrmm (cars) • Nee naw (fire engines and such, obv) • Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee increasing in volume (Hand me that now you moronic parent!) What astonishes me with the animal sounds is that you now only have to say the proper word, i.e. cow, dog, cat, pig etc and he will tell you the sounds they make. But more extraordinary than that, he is able to recognise the most obscure and surreal rendering of each animal, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a photo, cartoon, toy, ornament or the real thing, he still knows what it is. And some of them cartoons and toys can be very weird, not to mention the fact that dogs in particular come in all shapes and sizes. That, I think, is very clever; the joining up of the word, the sound and the picture/representation. Some things, like deer, can variously be neighs or moos which I think is fair enough. Today for the first time we have also heard a definite ‘no’ though it sounded more like a ‘ne’ but was in answer to whether he wanted some food or other so made sense to us. He has also said Daisy (Aunty Susan’s dog), Katie (cousin) and Granddad. At least, we recognise the vowel sounds but it’s debatable whether anyone else would. He has also definitely said Daddy a few times but rarely repeats it so you feel like you may have heard it wrong. But then again… And then there are the words you understand but can’t yet verbalise. These are too numerous to mention but some current favourites are clock (incl watches), book, nose, teeth, ears, mouth, toes – this includes on animals as well as family, real and in pictures, dummy, shoes, hat, chair, phone, TV, bird, ring, ball, bath, sleep and more! In other words, we have a real little chatterbox on our hands and wonderful and magical it is too, especially as you can see his world expand exponentially as his comprehension and verbalisation increase, almost day by day. Lovely!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
We're off to Myanmar! (Burma)
We’re off to Burma (Myanmar)! Pete has got a great job with an NGO out there and I’m already mentioning no names so that this blog doesn’t become contentious before we’ve even begun…
Life is in limbo at the moment. We are camping out at mum’s in Bristol, having packed, shipped and rented the house in London. Pete’s start date (and visa) is suitably vague, hampered only slightly by the recent elections on 7th November and the rumoured freeing of Ang San Sui Kei any day now. We were on standby to fly out on the 18th November as late as yesterday but have now heard it’s likely to be the 25th at the earliest. It’s a bit stressful. Although we have the house to ourselves at the moment as mum and Tony are away so we should be relaxing and enjoying ourselves without any responsibilities, temporarily!
I am VERY excited about Burma. Not a part of the world I know much about, the nearest I’ve been is 4 days in Kuala Lumpur on the way to New Zealand in 1993. But as soon as Pete said it was a possibility I got a good feeling. I mean, Rudyard Kipling and the Road to Mandalay, it sounds soooooooo romantic! We hear it is very safe out there and expats and foreigners are barely affected by the military regime. That said I am doing some research which is harrowing to say the least. And I don’t want to say too much because I have no idea how contentious that may be, or dangerous. More for any Burmese that may work for us that us I suspect. In the meanwhile I will be as circumspect as I can.
We will be living in Yangon, probably in a 3 bed house with garden and a pool in a complex with another 3 houses all with families. I can’t wait to see the famous Schwedagon Paya which is a temple in the centre of Yangon, covered in over 60 tonnes of gold leaf. It takes weeks to get around apparently! And I am fascinated by Buddhism so looking forward to learning more about that and hopefully taking some meditation classes. We will have a maid, as we did in Nairobi, and hopefully someone to take care of Alfie part time. I hope to be able to work to contribute to our coffers; ideally we’ll be debt free by the time we leave in two year’s time. Admin work and English tutoring is widely available so I’m told.
The culture is so alien to me but also fascinating, particularly the mix of religions (incl Catholicism and animism) and the exotic tribes such as the Padaung or ‘giraffe-necked’ women, the ones with all the rings around their neck, remember them? I’m also dying to see the huge varieties of flowers and foliage and try the food; curries here we come. The climate concerns me slightly, only because 40 degrees and high humidity sounds a bit exhausting and I’ve no idea how I’ll cope with 5 months of Monsoon weather…
I’m super excited about being able to get back on my bike, however. Before we left London I bought a bike seat and helmet for Alfie and I envisage both swimming and cycling becoming part of our daily life.
It looks like we’ll be arriving before Christmas though no doubt our Christmas decorations won’t turn up until January, but hopefully it means there will be plenty of social activities among the expats and of course we’ll be able to throw a party or two of our own.
You are all invited!!
Life is in limbo at the moment. We are camping out at mum’s in Bristol, having packed, shipped and rented the house in London. Pete’s start date (and visa) is suitably vague, hampered only slightly by the recent elections on 7th November and the rumoured freeing of Ang San Sui Kei any day now. We were on standby to fly out on the 18th November as late as yesterday but have now heard it’s likely to be the 25th at the earliest. It’s a bit stressful. Although we have the house to ourselves at the moment as mum and Tony are away so we should be relaxing and enjoying ourselves without any responsibilities, temporarily!
I am VERY excited about Burma. Not a part of the world I know much about, the nearest I’ve been is 4 days in Kuala Lumpur on the way to New Zealand in 1993. But as soon as Pete said it was a possibility I got a good feeling. I mean, Rudyard Kipling and the Road to Mandalay, it sounds soooooooo romantic! We hear it is very safe out there and expats and foreigners are barely affected by the military regime. That said I am doing some research which is harrowing to say the least. And I don’t want to say too much because I have no idea how contentious that may be, or dangerous. More for any Burmese that may work for us that us I suspect. In the meanwhile I will be as circumspect as I can.
We will be living in Yangon, probably in a 3 bed house with garden and a pool in a complex with another 3 houses all with families. I can’t wait to see the famous Schwedagon Paya which is a temple in the centre of Yangon, covered in over 60 tonnes of gold leaf. It takes weeks to get around apparently! And I am fascinated by Buddhism so looking forward to learning more about that and hopefully taking some meditation classes. We will have a maid, as we did in Nairobi, and hopefully someone to take care of Alfie part time. I hope to be able to work to contribute to our coffers; ideally we’ll be debt free by the time we leave in two year’s time. Admin work and English tutoring is widely available so I’m told.
The culture is so alien to me but also fascinating, particularly the mix of religions (incl Catholicism and animism) and the exotic tribes such as the Padaung or ‘giraffe-necked’ women, the ones with all the rings around their neck, remember them? I’m also dying to see the huge varieties of flowers and foliage and try the food; curries here we come. The climate concerns me slightly, only because 40 degrees and high humidity sounds a bit exhausting and I’ve no idea how I’ll cope with 5 months of Monsoon weather…
I’m super excited about being able to get back on my bike, however. Before we left London I bought a bike seat and helmet for Alfie and I envisage both swimming and cycling becoming part of our daily life.
It looks like we’ll be arriving before Christmas though no doubt our Christmas decorations won’t turn up until January, but hopefully it means there will be plenty of social activities among the expats and of course we’ll be able to throw a party or two of our own.
You are all invited!!
Friday, October 8, 2010
There's a Hole in my Baby!
A couple of weeks ago Daddy was out on the town with Alfie when he decided (Daddy that is, not Alfie) to come off the tube at Kings X forwards, which we all know is breaking the cardinal rule of Tube Travel With Buggy. So the wheels got trapped in the gap which must be minded, and baby, buggy, Daddy and all somersaulted inelegantly on to the concrete platform. Much blood ensued and they were whisked to First Aid by helpful staff. I was informed of this by phone (He's alright, we've had an accident, he's alright etc) which was fine until I heard the dreaded words "we're just waiting for the ambulance" at which I promptly burst into tears. So I hotfooted it over to A&E at UCH (very nice children's A&E there should you ever need it, the toys even have batteries in!) and that's how we spent Thursday evening. Alfie was by then in fine fettle, charming all and sundry and desperate to get behind the curtains where all the exciting stuff was happening. He has a wound above his eye, right in his eyebrow, which will no doubt leave a scar and become family legend in time. However, as they took the plaster off to glue it together I fell apart because there is a BIG HOLE IN MY BEAUTIFUL BABY!!
What with that and falling down the stairs and generally being magnetically attracted to sharp corners and hard surfaces, his face is now like a colour swatch for paint samples of mostly purple, black and yellow. He's been wearing his Irish rugby top pretty much since, as it has the most open neckline least likely to catch the steristrips, so he does in fact look like a mini Rugby player too. And to add insult to injury, he has a cold, is teething and we are embarking on a comprehensive course of vaccinations. He is mummy's brave little soldier, that's what he is.
I have to say it’s healing magnificently, even though I wasn’t that impressed with the glueing at the time. Amazing aren’t they? Although I looked at him over dinner the other day and realised that my perfect boy has a scar for life, which made me unbelievably sad. The first of many no doubt, God Bless him.
What with that and falling down the stairs and generally being magnetically attracted to sharp corners and hard surfaces, his face is now like a colour swatch for paint samples of mostly purple, black and yellow. He's been wearing his Irish rugby top pretty much since, as it has the most open neckline least likely to catch the steristrips, so he does in fact look like a mini Rugby player too. And to add insult to injury, he has a cold, is teething and we are embarking on a comprehensive course of vaccinations. He is mummy's brave little soldier, that's what he is.
I have to say it’s healing magnificently, even though I wasn’t that impressed with the glueing at the time. Amazing aren’t they? Although I looked at him over dinner the other day and realised that my perfect boy has a scar for life, which made me unbelievably sad. The first of many no doubt, God Bless him.
Nairobi Railway Museum
I felt I didn’t do this place justice last time I mentioned it, in passing so to speak. So a quick entry all about the wonderful Nairobi Railway Museum. It’s tucked away behind the station proper and a university, down a dusty road so long you think you’ve gone wrong. But finally you get there, after an askari has taken your car reg down, and find it is housed in the old railway station house which is just a perfect size to wheel a baby around. There are two fantastically enthusiastic young men on the door who took our 200Ksh (about £1.30) and immediately proffered a box of what I thought was some old teeth at first. Yuck! But it turns out they were lion’s claws, and not just any old lions, oh no! But the Man Eating Lions of Tsavo! Oh Yes!
More of them later. The museum celebrates and tells the tale of the history of railways in Kenya, most specifically the Kerala – Mombasa line which was built by them mad Victorians. And it really was an awesome undertaking, stretching from Uganda through Kenya all the way to the coast. It has all sorts of artefacts, including the chairs the Queen and King sat on in the 1950’s and presumably preserved ever since. Plus lots of mechanical toys like ticket machines and lamps and signal boxes which were super ace for Alfie to play with. And some amazing photos of course, my favourite being of the special attachment they built to go on the front of an engine, a sort of bench affair thing, with 3 white hunters in full safari attire sitting on it, commissioned I think for some Prince of Wales to sit on and admire the scenery as they sped (slowly) through the Masai Mara and other game hunting hot spots. What a way to travel!
But by far the most fabulous thing is the goods yard outside, where they have a dozen or so engines plus assorted carriages and Pullmans all in varying states of restoration. And you have free rein to climb in and out and all around these wonderful beasts. Did I mention they are all STEAM engines? A true train spotters paradise. And of course Alfie and I did our best though carrying a baby up and down those steep, narrow ladders wasn’t ideal. (We did stop under a shady tree for a snack though which to him was just as much fun).
And of course there is the carriage from which an English captain was dragged by those Man Eating Lions of Tsavo. During the building of the tracks (in Tsavo, now a national park) lots of the poor Indian workers kept disappearing and rumours of lions were dismissed by the English managers. Until the English managers started to become Simba’s favourite snack too, of course. Much was made of it and rewards promised so this daring Captain set himself up to shoot the lioness(ess) with his rifle. Only he fell asleep and promptly karked it. Anyhow, very unusual for lions to attack men so they must have been hungry. I can’t help thinking of it like tinned food for them; lots of meat inside some metal tins and of course once they got a taste, who can blame them for continuing? I think the whole thing was made into a film or two, starring Clint Eastwood or someone. So quite a story and we saw the claws and the carriage and everything!
And the last thing to mention was the phenomenal singing coming from an evangelical church next door. Really quite haunting and fantastic voices, so much so I was convinced it was a recording at first. It went on all afternoon and was lovely. Much to recommend this place for a visit!
More of them later. The museum celebrates and tells the tale of the history of railways in Kenya, most specifically the Kerala – Mombasa line which was built by them mad Victorians. And it really was an awesome undertaking, stretching from Uganda through Kenya all the way to the coast. It has all sorts of artefacts, including the chairs the Queen and King sat on in the 1950’s and presumably preserved ever since. Plus lots of mechanical toys like ticket machines and lamps and signal boxes which were super ace for Alfie to play with. And some amazing photos of course, my favourite being of the special attachment they built to go on the front of an engine, a sort of bench affair thing, with 3 white hunters in full safari attire sitting on it, commissioned I think for some Prince of Wales to sit on and admire the scenery as they sped (slowly) through the Masai Mara and other game hunting hot spots. What a way to travel!
But by far the most fabulous thing is the goods yard outside, where they have a dozen or so engines plus assorted carriages and Pullmans all in varying states of restoration. And you have free rein to climb in and out and all around these wonderful beasts. Did I mention they are all STEAM engines? A true train spotters paradise. And of course Alfie and I did our best though carrying a baby up and down those steep, narrow ladders wasn’t ideal. (We did stop under a shady tree for a snack though which to him was just as much fun).
And of course there is the carriage from which an English captain was dragged by those Man Eating Lions of Tsavo. During the building of the tracks (in Tsavo, now a national park) lots of the poor Indian workers kept disappearing and rumours of lions were dismissed by the English managers. Until the English managers started to become Simba’s favourite snack too, of course. Much was made of it and rewards promised so this daring Captain set himself up to shoot the lioness(ess) with his rifle. Only he fell asleep and promptly karked it. Anyhow, very unusual for lions to attack men so they must have been hungry. I can’t help thinking of it like tinned food for them; lots of meat inside some metal tins and of course once they got a taste, who can blame them for continuing? I think the whole thing was made into a film or two, starring Clint Eastwood or someone. So quite a story and we saw the claws and the carriage and everything!
And the last thing to mention was the phenomenal singing coming from an evangelical church next door. Really quite haunting and fantastic voices, so much so I was convinced it was a recording at first. It went on all afternoon and was lovely. Much to recommend this place for a visit!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Alfie Update II
I marvel at our boy every day. It seems he has a spurt of development now and again and in the last 4 days he has come along leaps and bounds. He now walks with confidence. He just decided one day last week that he was confident enough to take off without a ‘parachute’ (mummy or daddy’s arms) and spent an entire afternoon walking on his own between Pamela and the askari. It involved lots of encouragement of course and he even joined in the clapping! First time he has clapped himself!
So now he just gets up and walks at every opportunity, except when he’s tired of course, when only carrying him will do. He also copies everything. He picked up a water bottle the other day and swigged it determinedly (with the top on) and now will bring it to me to take the top off so he can have a drink, though he mostly spills it down himself as he clamps the top to his mouth and puffs his cheeks out. He also picks up the phone (or the mouse) and holds it to his ear, kind of backwards, and ‘talks’ into it. Hilarious! The other day I poked at his toy caterpillar with my foot and he spent 10 minutes trying to push it around with his foot.
He LOVES singing and dancing, joining in both with gusto, particularly if it is on TV. He ‘sings’ back to you when you sing him a song and jiggles when he perceives you are dancing (Pamela does a lot of both with him). He is very vocal, saying ‘da’ to mummy’s ‘ta’ and learning to take things in turn when I say ‘mummy do it’ or ‘Alfie do it’. He also gets very cross when things are taken off him or hidden; he KNOWS they should be there. He plays endless games which he invents himself, particularly liking emptying things (mummy’s basket) and putting things back – he took all the nappy bags out and carefully placed them back in, for example. He also loves cars; real as well as toys. He took a toy car from one of the neighbouring boys the other day and pushed it along the ground. I asked Simon if he had showed him to do that but he said no, he had done it all himself as soon as he gave him the car.
He is also very cuddly, clinging tight to mummy when strangers approach or when he is tired. He will also, at a push, give mummy a kiss when asked (opened mouthed of course).
He adores the sling and the car seat, playing for a long time with both, and will ‘read’ his books on his own when he feels like it. He still loves his baths but will stand up to be picked out when he is ready. He also adores toothbrushes though is not so keen on his upper teeth being brushed as the gums are still sore from his 5th and 6th teeth coming through.
Tonight he got terribly upset when Daddy shaved his beard off, he was inconsolable. Otherwise Daddy is a huge source of amusement, they spend hours making faces at each other and he beams whenever Daddy is in the room. They look more and more alike every day. ‘A duplicate’ as someone said.
All in all he is hours of entertainment every day and willing to try most things if mummy and daddy are doing it; in fact he can get quite cross if not allowed to drink out of every bottle and glass that they have. He is fantastically interested in anything mechanical; taps, locks, handles, keys, padlocks, windows, doors, belts, buckles, shoes etc. And still loves watching animals of all kinds.
Apart from a few wakeful nights (teeth, diahorrea) and early mornings he sleeps like a log and is equally happy at home as he is having days out. In fact he is such a delight to take out we have no qualms about taking him anywhere, knowing he enjoys people as well as places so much. He loves rough and tumble of any sort and when we put him on a trampoline recently he screamed with delight. In short, we spend all day marvelling at our boy and laughing along with him. Alfie is Ace!!!
So now he just gets up and walks at every opportunity, except when he’s tired of course, when only carrying him will do. He also copies everything. He picked up a water bottle the other day and swigged it determinedly (with the top on) and now will bring it to me to take the top off so he can have a drink, though he mostly spills it down himself as he clamps the top to his mouth and puffs his cheeks out. He also picks up the phone (or the mouse) and holds it to his ear, kind of backwards, and ‘talks’ into it. Hilarious! The other day I poked at his toy caterpillar with my foot and he spent 10 minutes trying to push it around with his foot.
He LOVES singing and dancing, joining in both with gusto, particularly if it is on TV. He ‘sings’ back to you when you sing him a song and jiggles when he perceives you are dancing (Pamela does a lot of both with him). He is very vocal, saying ‘da’ to mummy’s ‘ta’ and learning to take things in turn when I say ‘mummy do it’ or ‘Alfie do it’. He also gets very cross when things are taken off him or hidden; he KNOWS they should be there. He plays endless games which he invents himself, particularly liking emptying things (mummy’s basket) and putting things back – he took all the nappy bags out and carefully placed them back in, for example. He also loves cars; real as well as toys. He took a toy car from one of the neighbouring boys the other day and pushed it along the ground. I asked Simon if he had showed him to do that but he said no, he had done it all himself as soon as he gave him the car.
He is also very cuddly, clinging tight to mummy when strangers approach or when he is tired. He will also, at a push, give mummy a kiss when asked (opened mouthed of course).
He adores the sling and the car seat, playing for a long time with both, and will ‘read’ his books on his own when he feels like it. He still loves his baths but will stand up to be picked out when he is ready. He also adores toothbrushes though is not so keen on his upper teeth being brushed as the gums are still sore from his 5th and 6th teeth coming through.
Tonight he got terribly upset when Daddy shaved his beard off, he was inconsolable. Otherwise Daddy is a huge source of amusement, they spend hours making faces at each other and he beams whenever Daddy is in the room. They look more and more alike every day. ‘A duplicate’ as someone said.
All in all he is hours of entertainment every day and willing to try most things if mummy and daddy are doing it; in fact he can get quite cross if not allowed to drink out of every bottle and glass that they have. He is fantastically interested in anything mechanical; taps, locks, handles, keys, padlocks, windows, doors, belts, buckles, shoes etc. And still loves watching animals of all kinds.
Apart from a few wakeful nights (teeth, diahorrea) and early mornings he sleeps like a log and is equally happy at home as he is having days out. In fact he is such a delight to take out we have no qualms about taking him anywhere, knowing he enjoys people as well as places so much. He loves rough and tumble of any sort and when we put him on a trampoline recently he screamed with delight. In short, we spend all day marvelling at our boy and laughing along with him. Alfie is Ace!!!
Coming Home
So our flight is booked for Sunday 12th September. It’s a night flight with BA so we’ll be arriving home early Monday, the day before Alfie’s birthday.
I’m looking forward to it but I also have mixed feelings. Now it’s imminent, I’m actually sad our adventure here is coming to a close. I find it hard to imagine being back at no 19 where I can simply walk out the door and stroll around safely. Not have to make sure all the windows and doors are closed so that the monkeys can’t get in (to be fair, we don’t worry about monkeys in Nairobi, only when we are elsewhere but it quickly becomes a habit). Of course making sure everything is triple locked is a way of life here. I do wonder what would happen if there was a fire when there are grilles on all the windows and doors, the main ones of which are latched with a padlock for extra protection. Doesn’t bear thinking about. I shan’t miss the traffic. Or the random public holidays; on Friday they “promulgated the constitution” here and invited all of Africa’s great and good to come and take part. So of course they closed all the main roads in the city from Wednesday onwards for rehearsals. Eh? I mean can you imagine closing Trafalgar Square for 3 days with only a few hours notice? Random, as is so much else here in Kenya.
I will definitely miss Pamela as will Alfie, heaps and heaps. How to explain to a one year old when people simply appear and disappear out of his life? And the fact that we can eat out and eat well as often as we like. (Not sure I mentioned this but fillet steak is the cheapest cut here and even the most unassuming cafes make delicious bread and fantastic salads.)
I’m slightly dreading being back and having to keep house and look after Alfie without help. It does make such a difference being able to sit down and write this at leisure, for example. Though I feel I would have achieved a lot more if the bloody internet connection wasn’t so appalling. That drives me mad, as does the traffic. But the people are lovely, friendly, helpful and interested. And so fabulous with Alfie; he beams with delight when he sees the askari for example, who spends patient hours helping him to walk around the car park and even, oh treats of treats, lets him play with the padlocks and bolts on the gate now and again. (Another obsession of Alfie’s at the moment).
I think what I love about Kenya is the obvious mix of ‘primitive’ and ‘civilisation’. It’s everywhere you look and most poignantly displayed on the roads. Miles of pockmarked tarmac with gleaming 4x4’s and heaps of people patiently walking to work alongside it. Black tarmac, red, red soil and silver bright Pajero’s. Speeding muzungu (white person) or mehindi (Indians) and poor, disabled, blind, begging blacks. Or the stereotypical Kenyan out for a quick buck, selling anything from the paper to their grandmother. All available and visible on the streets every day, every hour.
And there is such an air of possibility here. I guess a little like a newly minted nation, which in some ways Kenya is. That indefinable something that gives you confidence that you can achieve what you want, because anything is possible. And they do say; if you can’t buy it you can have it made. Which is also true.
And I do feel that 2 months is a funny time to be away. Too long for an extended holiday yet not long enough to invest in people, places and things. Kind of in limbo. But it’s given me a good insight into what life could be like living abroad and I must say I like it. I don’t think it would suit everyone but I’m a ‘joiner’; happy to join groups doing anything from childcare to adult learning, dancing to gossip and determined to make myself useful. My voluntary work has opened my eyes to all sorts of insights for example, more of which in another blog entry.
So every day I find something to miss, and something to be glad to be rid of! I can’t wait to come home and tell you all about it in person and only hope I can remember it all. Best of all, Alfie seems to have had a ball and has met such a variety of people and had such adventures; we’ve really come together as a family and he is developing at a rapid pace. Of course this would have happened at home as well, but it does feel special being able to introduce him to animals that, for example, we sing about and play with and watch on TV every day. (Has anyone else noticed how many elephants and giraffe and lions are part of children’s rhymes and stories?)
So our adventure is coming to an end for now. But at least we know we can do it and despite an initial settling in period (inevitably) the opportunity to live in another country is fantastically exciting and full of excitement and fun. What’s not to like?
I’m looking forward to it but I also have mixed feelings. Now it’s imminent, I’m actually sad our adventure here is coming to a close. I find it hard to imagine being back at no 19 where I can simply walk out the door and stroll around safely. Not have to make sure all the windows and doors are closed so that the monkeys can’t get in (to be fair, we don’t worry about monkeys in Nairobi, only when we are elsewhere but it quickly becomes a habit). Of course making sure everything is triple locked is a way of life here. I do wonder what would happen if there was a fire when there are grilles on all the windows and doors, the main ones of which are latched with a padlock for extra protection. Doesn’t bear thinking about. I shan’t miss the traffic. Or the random public holidays; on Friday they “promulgated the constitution” here and invited all of Africa’s great and good to come and take part. So of course they closed all the main roads in the city from Wednesday onwards for rehearsals. Eh? I mean can you imagine closing Trafalgar Square for 3 days with only a few hours notice? Random, as is so much else here in Kenya.
I will definitely miss Pamela as will Alfie, heaps and heaps. How to explain to a one year old when people simply appear and disappear out of his life? And the fact that we can eat out and eat well as often as we like. (Not sure I mentioned this but fillet steak is the cheapest cut here and even the most unassuming cafes make delicious bread and fantastic salads.)
I’m slightly dreading being back and having to keep house and look after Alfie without help. It does make such a difference being able to sit down and write this at leisure, for example. Though I feel I would have achieved a lot more if the bloody internet connection wasn’t so appalling. That drives me mad, as does the traffic. But the people are lovely, friendly, helpful and interested. And so fabulous with Alfie; he beams with delight when he sees the askari for example, who spends patient hours helping him to walk around the car park and even, oh treats of treats, lets him play with the padlocks and bolts on the gate now and again. (Another obsession of Alfie’s at the moment).
I think what I love about Kenya is the obvious mix of ‘primitive’ and ‘civilisation’. It’s everywhere you look and most poignantly displayed on the roads. Miles of pockmarked tarmac with gleaming 4x4’s and heaps of people patiently walking to work alongside it. Black tarmac, red, red soil and silver bright Pajero’s. Speeding muzungu (white person) or mehindi (Indians) and poor, disabled, blind, begging blacks. Or the stereotypical Kenyan out for a quick buck, selling anything from the paper to their grandmother. All available and visible on the streets every day, every hour.
And there is such an air of possibility here. I guess a little like a newly minted nation, which in some ways Kenya is. That indefinable something that gives you confidence that you can achieve what you want, because anything is possible. And they do say; if you can’t buy it you can have it made. Which is also true.
And I do feel that 2 months is a funny time to be away. Too long for an extended holiday yet not long enough to invest in people, places and things. Kind of in limbo. But it’s given me a good insight into what life could be like living abroad and I must say I like it. I don’t think it would suit everyone but I’m a ‘joiner’; happy to join groups doing anything from childcare to adult learning, dancing to gossip and determined to make myself useful. My voluntary work has opened my eyes to all sorts of insights for example, more of which in another blog entry.
So every day I find something to miss, and something to be glad to be rid of! I can’t wait to come home and tell you all about it in person and only hope I can remember it all. Best of all, Alfie seems to have had a ball and has met such a variety of people and had such adventures; we’ve really come together as a family and he is developing at a rapid pace. Of course this would have happened at home as well, but it does feel special being able to introduce him to animals that, for example, we sing about and play with and watch on TV every day. (Has anyone else noticed how many elephants and giraffe and lions are part of children’s rhymes and stories?)
So our adventure is coming to an end for now. But at least we know we can do it and despite an initial settling in period (inevitably) the opportunity to live in another country is fantastically exciting and full of excitement and fun. What’s not to like?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
A couple of weekends ago we spent the night at Kitingela Glass and what a place! Back in the 60’s, Nani and her husband Eric came from Germany to start an artists commune about an hour outside Nairobi and wonderful and mad it is too. It has grown organically over the years so that the accommodation blends with the countryside – it sits on the edge of a beautiful gorge on the edge of Nairobi National Park – and workshops, hobbit-like dwellings, stables, shops and even a hot furnace have sprung up as if from the ground itself. And everywhere, but everywhere is inlaid with the most beautiful broken tiles and mosaics, including the dragon that sails majestically across the infinity pool. Being glass people, they are not restricted like us mortals to square windows oh no. The guesthouse, much like anywhere else, is a mushroom of concrete very reminiscent of the Barbapappa house, if you recall that children’s programme? With stained glass windows and inlaid floors, lovely glass shades and glass bead curtains; they make everything from vases, mobiles, lamps and sculptures to mosaics, mirrors, furniture and beads. The khazi sits in a bubble looking out over the gorge with a lovely round window so you could sit there and look out all day if you wanted. In fact we took our G&T’s on the (inlaid) terrace, marvelling at the tree hyraxes which surrounded us. They’re like massive guinea pig/rats that live in trees and are normally hard to see as they are very shy. They also make most incredible, horrible noise at night, even worse than our urban foxes. We also saw some giraffe across the way and a family of baboons crossing the gorge. Plus a majestic male ostrich which turned out to be part of the menagerie.
And what a menagerie! Nani has geese, duck, rabbit and many, many dogs wandering around freely. Then there’s a donkey, the aforementioned ostrich and a few black pigs. Plus the most amazing aviary. I mean, it really was astonishing, hundreds upon hundreds of birds living in these carved iron cages/sculptures above the main living quarters. We had a fantastic lunch with the family and all those birds, including parrots, lovebirds, bee-eaters, starlings and a very rare and very sharp Egyptian Vulture. I kept well away from his beak I can tell you. But most animals that wandered, fluttered or flew up got something from the table. Lovely and mad.
Naturally we spent the morning wending our way through the workshops and ‘factory’, watching artisans at work making and mending and creating. Nani’s son Anselm built a furnace and is the author of the ‘hot glass’ range which includes most domestic items such as glassware, jugs and bowls, which you may have seen a very small sample of at our house and which can be seen in every single restaurant in Kenya I think. It’s all 100% recycled, including the engine oil which fires the furnace (which never goes out). And all, as I say, growing out of the side of this gorge, filled with hibiscus and bougainvillea, huddling under trees and joined up with a snaking path of inlaid bits of broken glass. Very romantic and arty and surreal. Alfie loved it!
http://www.kitengela-glass.com/
Eventually we had to say our goodbyes and made our way on to the road marked ‘very bad’ on the map, thinking that without rain it couldn’t be that bad. And it wasn’t (sorry to spoil the story) but it did take us a pretty while to reach the Acacia Lodge on the Athi River where we were spending Saturday night. It’s set in a small private game reserve with no natural predators (no lions and such) so plenty of herd beasts of all varieties and especially birds. Alfie and I took our sundowners in the garden and were keenly followed by a flock of splendid starlings (which are sooooo splendid, especially their bright blue backs) who seemed rather partial to bits of mini Baby Bel cheese.
We had an awesome dinner there, which frankly didn’t augur well at first as I thought it was a bit of a boring Sunday dinner coming up (the manager is an English lady). But the roast pork and crackling was the best I have ever tasted and the roast beef so sublime I am still thinking about it. We found out later that the butcher marinates it in pawpaw to get it so tender. Yum! And the evening ended sitting around a camp fire discussing what we might see the next day. Which were the usual suspects; gazelles, lots of giraffe, some zebra and wildebeest. With the lack of predators we were able to get out of the car and wander around, though the place is infested with a particular type of tick which looked like a spider and was a bit unpleasant; miraculously Alfie managed to get away without a single bite. And he LOVES going in the sling, even though he’s just about grown out of it, because being up as high as Daddy and going on adventures such as rope bridges, is clearly oodles of fun.
So that was our lovely weekend away. Our next adventure is the Mara for four days in our last week, at the Kechwa Tembo lodge. If we’re really lucky we may see the stragglers from the great migration though July and August are optimal for this in the Mara. It doesn’t look like we’ll make Mombasa this time which is such a shame as I’m told it’s an absolute must. Ah well, we’ll just have to come back!
And what a menagerie! Nani has geese, duck, rabbit and many, many dogs wandering around freely. Then there’s a donkey, the aforementioned ostrich and a few black pigs. Plus the most amazing aviary. I mean, it really was astonishing, hundreds upon hundreds of birds living in these carved iron cages/sculptures above the main living quarters. We had a fantastic lunch with the family and all those birds, including parrots, lovebirds, bee-eaters, starlings and a very rare and very sharp Egyptian Vulture. I kept well away from his beak I can tell you. But most animals that wandered, fluttered or flew up got something from the table. Lovely and mad.
Naturally we spent the morning wending our way through the workshops and ‘factory’, watching artisans at work making and mending and creating. Nani’s son Anselm built a furnace and is the author of the ‘hot glass’ range which includes most domestic items such as glassware, jugs and bowls, which you may have seen a very small sample of at our house and which can be seen in every single restaurant in Kenya I think. It’s all 100% recycled, including the engine oil which fires the furnace (which never goes out). And all, as I say, growing out of the side of this gorge, filled with hibiscus and bougainvillea, huddling under trees and joined up with a snaking path of inlaid bits of broken glass. Very romantic and arty and surreal. Alfie loved it!
http://www.kitengela-glass.com/
Eventually we had to say our goodbyes and made our way on to the road marked ‘very bad’ on the map, thinking that without rain it couldn’t be that bad. And it wasn’t (sorry to spoil the story) but it did take us a pretty while to reach the Acacia Lodge on the Athi River where we were spending Saturday night. It’s set in a small private game reserve with no natural predators (no lions and such) so plenty of herd beasts of all varieties and especially birds. Alfie and I took our sundowners in the garden and were keenly followed by a flock of splendid starlings (which are sooooo splendid, especially their bright blue backs) who seemed rather partial to bits of mini Baby Bel cheese.
We had an awesome dinner there, which frankly didn’t augur well at first as I thought it was a bit of a boring Sunday dinner coming up (the manager is an English lady). But the roast pork and crackling was the best I have ever tasted and the roast beef so sublime I am still thinking about it. We found out later that the butcher marinates it in pawpaw to get it so tender. Yum! And the evening ended sitting around a camp fire discussing what we might see the next day. Which were the usual suspects; gazelles, lots of giraffe, some zebra and wildebeest. With the lack of predators we were able to get out of the car and wander around, though the place is infested with a particular type of tick which looked like a spider and was a bit unpleasant; miraculously Alfie managed to get away without a single bite. And he LOVES going in the sling, even though he’s just about grown out of it, because being up as high as Daddy and going on adventures such as rope bridges, is clearly oodles of fun.
So that was our lovely weekend away. Our next adventure is the Mara for four days in our last week, at the Kechwa Tembo lodge. If we’re really lucky we may see the stragglers from the great migration though July and August are optimal for this in the Mara. It doesn’t look like we’ll make Mombasa this time which is such a shame as I’m told it’s an absolute must. Ah well, we’ll just have to come back!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Me and the Catholics
So yesterday I found myself doing something I have only done a very few times in my life, and not just once either but twice in one day! What was it? Saying grace before a meal, in this case both lunch and dinner.
Religion is very important in Kenya and there are many faiths and denominations vying for business, so to speak. On the plus side it’s a great way to organise people and gives them a sense of belonging and community. It also provides some fantastic music and some of the singing I have heard on my travels is beautiful. On the downside there is all the usual stuff; abuse of power, children, vulnerable people and corruption. Bit like a government, eh?
Anyway anyway, the voluntary work I am doing is supported by the Catholic Church and even if it wasn’t I dare say the children would be taken to church on a Sunday anyway. So housemother asked one of them to say grace before lunch yesterday and I duly mumbled an ‘Amen’ along with the kids. I mean, I’m not religious per se, but I AM grateful for the food provided so at least that bit is true. Then in the evening we had invited our friend Jo to see the elephants being put to bed and as she was staying with her friend Doug, he invited us to dinner afterwards, at his guesthouse. At his Catholic Guesthouse. Where priests passing through Nairobi can come and get a bed and a meal. Not fancy but not shabby neither, it’s on the same road as the Vatican Embassy so fairly private. And they also have some sort of educational institution and not one but two chapels (greedy!). Anyway anyway, there were 5 or 6 old men (Catholic priests) who were in for dinner, all American and all delighted to meet Alfie of course. The meal was great and very tasty despite its boarding school appearance, and alcohol was served, though sparingly. The boarding school appearance was helped by the meal whizzing along, to such an extent I was still helping myself to salad while the old gent next to me was tucking into his chocolate cake. Ah well, they have a lot of reading and praying to do before bed, don’t they?
So that was lovely and my second grace of the day; in fact they did one after the meal too but I was busy with Alfie on the other side of the room by that time (and I’m fairly sure everyone had finished by then…) so I didn’t hear what they said that time either.
And I got to thinking. It strikes me that there is something slightly out of kilter with all these religious organisations out here, ‘doing good’ for the people. Many and varied as they are (lots of Americans) and not forgetting the great missionary traditions of the African continent, of course they do do a lot of good and help a lot of very needy people. But isn’t the Catholic Church, for example, one of the richest organisations in the world? I mean, couldn’t they just sell even a quarter of the Vatican treasures and REALLY make a difference, once and for all? Isn’t it a bit odd that these rich and prosperous organisations are happy to pepper the land with their do-gooding flock but are not so quick to put their hands in their pockets? Their considerably well-lined and, in many cases, well-pilfered-in-the-first-place pockets.
I don’t know. Just a thought.
Religion is very important in Kenya and there are many faiths and denominations vying for business, so to speak. On the plus side it’s a great way to organise people and gives them a sense of belonging and community. It also provides some fantastic music and some of the singing I have heard on my travels is beautiful. On the downside there is all the usual stuff; abuse of power, children, vulnerable people and corruption. Bit like a government, eh?
Anyway anyway, the voluntary work I am doing is supported by the Catholic Church and even if it wasn’t I dare say the children would be taken to church on a Sunday anyway. So housemother asked one of them to say grace before lunch yesterday and I duly mumbled an ‘Amen’ along with the kids. I mean, I’m not religious per se, but I AM grateful for the food provided so at least that bit is true. Then in the evening we had invited our friend Jo to see the elephants being put to bed and as she was staying with her friend Doug, he invited us to dinner afterwards, at his guesthouse. At his Catholic Guesthouse. Where priests passing through Nairobi can come and get a bed and a meal. Not fancy but not shabby neither, it’s on the same road as the Vatican Embassy so fairly private. And they also have some sort of educational institution and not one but two chapels (greedy!). Anyway anyway, there were 5 or 6 old men (Catholic priests) who were in for dinner, all American and all delighted to meet Alfie of course. The meal was great and very tasty despite its boarding school appearance, and alcohol was served, though sparingly. The boarding school appearance was helped by the meal whizzing along, to such an extent I was still helping myself to salad while the old gent next to me was tucking into his chocolate cake. Ah well, they have a lot of reading and praying to do before bed, don’t they?
So that was lovely and my second grace of the day; in fact they did one after the meal too but I was busy with Alfie on the other side of the room by that time (and I’m fairly sure everyone had finished by then…) so I didn’t hear what they said that time either.
And I got to thinking. It strikes me that there is something slightly out of kilter with all these religious organisations out here, ‘doing good’ for the people. Many and varied as they are (lots of Americans) and not forgetting the great missionary traditions of the African continent, of course they do do a lot of good and help a lot of very needy people. But isn’t the Catholic Church, for example, one of the richest organisations in the world? I mean, couldn’t they just sell even a quarter of the Vatican treasures and REALLY make a difference, once and for all? Isn’t it a bit odd that these rich and prosperous organisations are happy to pepper the land with their do-gooding flock but are not so quick to put their hands in their pockets? Their considerably well-lined and, in many cases, well-pilfered-in-the-first-place pockets.
I don’t know. Just a thought.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sister Mary
Or the Mother of Mukomo as she is also known. Mukomo is a slum of about 400 000 people out towards the airport and Sister Mary Killeen has been working there since 1976. I spent this morning with her and she kindly took some time to drive me around and show me the main 3 projects she is working on at the moment. The first was a rehabilitation centre for streetchildren, which takes in up to 70 boys from the age of 9 to 17. (It’s boys only because there was a girls only facility but that has since closed down). They stay only a year, during which they have lessons, activities and counselling, with the hope that they will return to their families and schools after that. They cannot take orphans at the moment, that throws up a new and different set of problems in itself. But the kids have somewhere safe to sleep, catch up on their education including maths, english, swahili and art - the art and design teacher showed me around and his classroom was lovely, with some fantastic work on the wall. They also have a carpentry workshop and volunteers who come in to play music and sports with them. They do a phenomenal job with very little resources. In case you have conjured up a brightly lit, well ventilated and painted facility such as we may have back in the UK, let me adjust that picture for you. It's concrete bunkers with corrugated iron roofing, sagging bunk beds four to a space (no rooms as such, no doors and no other furniture, not even drawers or tables and certainly no carpets or rugs) and although they have had some computers donated, they don't yet have electricity in that building. The yard outside is a football pitch of dust on which not only the streetkids play but also 1300 or so primary school kids which adjoin the compound.
Then we went to a home for temporarily parentless children; somewhere they can stay while their mother, usually, goes into hospital for example. If the children are left on their own in the slums they will be raped and abused and it’s not always possible to find relatives to care for them, especially if there is 4 or more kids to look after. So they can come to Justynes house; she’s the sister who set it up having worked with Sister Mary for a few years. She’s no longer as sister though, as she left the convent and promptly met and married a Kenyan and is currently on maternity leave having had her baby in July. She’s rented a 3 bed property on the edge of the slum and has 13 children there at the moment, ranging from 3 years old to around 14 I think. The three year old was severely malnourished when he arrived with his 3 siblings and in just 2 weeks they have all filled out and are thriving. He could barely walk and was more like a 18month old but has improved immeasurably in the time he has been there. In fact I thought he was just a little older than Alfie when I met him. And there he was, happily playing with a pencil. They have not a single toy in the house and only 2 children’s books as far as I could see. But they were all very well behaved, doing their lessons round a big table in the living room. And they do have a little yard outside to play in, which is more than most.
And finally we visited a temporary site where older girls from the region are catching up on their studies, with help from volunteers. Sister Mary gave one of them a grilling, asking sternly if she was ‘getting into the habit of going around’ meaning hanging out with men and not turning up for her study periods. I turned out she was behaving and had been coming regularly, according to Glory, the supervisor. Phew!
Sister Mary is fantastic and not just because of the work she does or because she took an entire morning to show me around when she is incredibly busy and I can only be of help for a few weeks. But also because in the best Irish tradition she is a great talker. She not only told some hair-raising stories but we discussed child abuse at length; the fact that it is so endemic and accepted plus her own personal theory that women are just as involved as men. She has even studied the history of sexual abuse! A really fascinating woman.
So I’m going to be working at Justyne’s place for the next few weeks, helping out in the mornings with lessons and playing. I can’t wait to meet the kids properly and I will, naturally, tell you all about it!
Then we went to a home for temporarily parentless children; somewhere they can stay while their mother, usually, goes into hospital for example. If the children are left on their own in the slums they will be raped and abused and it’s not always possible to find relatives to care for them, especially if there is 4 or more kids to look after. So they can come to Justynes house; she’s the sister who set it up having worked with Sister Mary for a few years. She’s no longer as sister though, as she left the convent and promptly met and married a Kenyan and is currently on maternity leave having had her baby in July. She’s rented a 3 bed property on the edge of the slum and has 13 children there at the moment, ranging from 3 years old to around 14 I think. The three year old was severely malnourished when he arrived with his 3 siblings and in just 2 weeks they have all filled out and are thriving. He could barely walk and was more like a 18month old but has improved immeasurably in the time he has been there. In fact I thought he was just a little older than Alfie when I met him. And there he was, happily playing with a pencil. They have not a single toy in the house and only 2 children’s books as far as I could see. But they were all very well behaved, doing their lessons round a big table in the living room. And they do have a little yard outside to play in, which is more than most.
And finally we visited a temporary site where older girls from the region are catching up on their studies, with help from volunteers. Sister Mary gave one of them a grilling, asking sternly if she was ‘getting into the habit of going around’ meaning hanging out with men and not turning up for her study periods. I turned out she was behaving and had been coming regularly, according to Glory, the supervisor. Phew!
Sister Mary is fantastic and not just because of the work she does or because she took an entire morning to show me around when she is incredibly busy and I can only be of help for a few weeks. But also because in the best Irish tradition she is a great talker. She not only told some hair-raising stories but we discussed child abuse at length; the fact that it is so endemic and accepted plus her own personal theory that women are just as involved as men. She has even studied the history of sexual abuse! A really fascinating woman.
So I’m going to be working at Justyne’s place for the next few weeks, helping out in the mornings with lessons and playing. I can’t wait to meet the kids properly and I will, naturally, tell you all about it!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Alfie Update - First Steps!
Alfie took his first steps yesterday!!!!! At 11 months almost exactly. Just casually strolled over to Daddy, taking 3 steady steps without fanfare. Mummy and Daddy (the only witnesses, but the ones that count) got so excited and whooped and cheered and clapped so loudly he burst into tears. Which may not be exactly the right sort of encouragement he needed.... Still, we are VERY proud. He's been standing confidently for about a week now, often with something in each hand; toothbrushes, toys, bread and cheese for example.
He also has his first curl! I was so emotional I nearly cried. Then I thought about cutting it off. Then I came to my senses. He is pretty much still bald with a faint covering of (strawberry in some lights) blonde but with some extra at the back, where the curl is. His 2 top teeth are ENORMOUS with a huge gap inbetween too. I am sure it will even out as they grow. Though gappy front choppers run on my side of the family; mine were carefully joined up with years of hideous orthodontistry. (I felt a twinge of teenage regret when I saw Madonna's.) Anyway, as I say I'm sure it will grow out. He likes to grind his top and bottom teeth together which is er, gross and endearing at the same time. His appetite fluctuates and is becoming more like a toddler's. He LOVES Mini Baby Bel cheeses to the point that I have to ration them daily. They were originally a ruse to get him round the supermarket but I fear I have created a (cheese) monster. Bread is also a winner and pretty much everything else is a bit hit and miss; sometimes sausages are favourite, sometimes yoghurt. He's also tasted cake, biscuits, chocolate, juice, crisps and popcorn in the last month. I blame the mother and baby group I go to on Monday mornings; the kids are mostly 2 year olds and if I try to keep Alfie distracted from the goodies he simply hoovers the crumbs off the floor, poor mite.
I'm also amazed at his understanding and reasoning. He knows what to do when I talk about brushing our teeth (goes to get the toothbrushes) and going out (goes to get his shoes) and helps to put his car seat belts on. He will also give me his drinking cup so that I can fold the spout out for him and will bring me a toy he wants me to play with - the bubble blower is a winner every time, and it only cost me 50p! We also take things in turn, saying 'Mummy do it' and 'Alfie do it', with his music toys in particular. He LOVES drumming! We bought him a little wooden drum as well as the plastic one and he likes to have both drums in front of him, banging one with each hand, entirely his own invention. He's suddenly much bolder, happily going into the bedrooms we don't use and playing in the showers - that we don't use. He'll also look for Pamela and can do a superfast crawl if he thinks she's in the utility room beyond the kitchen. Conversely, he's also quite mumsy, not so happy to go to just anyone anymore and keeps his eyes locked on mummy when picked up by others. He will beam at random people depending on how the mood takes him however, and gets very excited when spotting someone familiar, such as our askari (who is brilliant with him, like many men of all ages over here).
He makes the funniest faces now. The other day he was doing this weird blinking thing, like he was trying out new ways to blink, scrunching his eyes up and then looking very reflective as if to say, hmm, that's what that feels like. His vocab changes all the time, mammamamamam is definitely for mummy, often used if he's fallen over or feeling tired and cuddly. He will also do a dadadadadad for daddy. Yesterday it was all about the tongue, he seemed to be trying out what sounds he could make with his tongue out and sometimes you would swear he says a proper word like 'Pamela' or something. He'll also attempt to join in singing which is so adorable.
Today we had a busy day; we swam for almost an hour and he was happy as anything, particularly when Daddy threw him high up in the air and splashed down. Going underwater doesn't faze him in the slightest, still waiting for that protest to kick in as I'm in no doubt it will eventually. We then had a long lunch with a family friend of Pete's and he was so happy sitting in his highchair at the end of the table, eating 'bitings' (appetisers like bread, cheese and ham) and singing away. When he got fed up with sitting he crawled around on the floor keeping himself occupied for ages by climbing up a large plant pot and saying hello to the next table (he's still champion at staring). And after that we went to see a couple of more friends at a local shopping centre and though he was pretty hanging by this time was still in a super mood, laughing and insisting on drinking out of a glass or a bottle like Daddy, even eating a slice of lime - he loves anything sharp and tart, crazy baby.
Tomorrow we're off to Lake Naivasha for lunch and a spot of hippo spotting by boat. It is so much fun taking him places as he just loves going on adventures with Mummy and Daddy. We've had some sleepless evenings recently, due to another couple of teeth just coming through, but for the last two nights he has slept through to 7am, hurrah!
He also has his first curl! I was so emotional I nearly cried. Then I thought about cutting it off. Then I came to my senses. He is pretty much still bald with a faint covering of (strawberry in some lights) blonde but with some extra at the back, where the curl is. His 2 top teeth are ENORMOUS with a huge gap inbetween too. I am sure it will even out as they grow. Though gappy front choppers run on my side of the family; mine were carefully joined up with years of hideous orthodontistry. (I felt a twinge of teenage regret when I saw Madonna's.) Anyway, as I say I'm sure it will grow out. He likes to grind his top and bottom teeth together which is er, gross and endearing at the same time. His appetite fluctuates and is becoming more like a toddler's. He LOVES Mini Baby Bel cheeses to the point that I have to ration them daily. They were originally a ruse to get him round the supermarket but I fear I have created a (cheese) monster. Bread is also a winner and pretty much everything else is a bit hit and miss; sometimes sausages are favourite, sometimes yoghurt. He's also tasted cake, biscuits, chocolate, juice, crisps and popcorn in the last month. I blame the mother and baby group I go to on Monday mornings; the kids are mostly 2 year olds and if I try to keep Alfie distracted from the goodies he simply hoovers the crumbs off the floor, poor mite.
I'm also amazed at his understanding and reasoning. He knows what to do when I talk about brushing our teeth (goes to get the toothbrushes) and going out (goes to get his shoes) and helps to put his car seat belts on. He will also give me his drinking cup so that I can fold the spout out for him and will bring me a toy he wants me to play with - the bubble blower is a winner every time, and it only cost me 50p! We also take things in turn, saying 'Mummy do it' and 'Alfie do it', with his music toys in particular. He LOVES drumming! We bought him a little wooden drum as well as the plastic one and he likes to have both drums in front of him, banging one with each hand, entirely his own invention. He's suddenly much bolder, happily going into the bedrooms we don't use and playing in the showers - that we don't use. He'll also look for Pamela and can do a superfast crawl if he thinks she's in the utility room beyond the kitchen. Conversely, he's also quite mumsy, not so happy to go to just anyone anymore and keeps his eyes locked on mummy when picked up by others. He will beam at random people depending on how the mood takes him however, and gets very excited when spotting someone familiar, such as our askari (who is brilliant with him, like many men of all ages over here).
He makes the funniest faces now. The other day he was doing this weird blinking thing, like he was trying out new ways to blink, scrunching his eyes up and then looking very reflective as if to say, hmm, that's what that feels like. His vocab changes all the time, mammamamamam is definitely for mummy, often used if he's fallen over or feeling tired and cuddly. He will also do a dadadadadad for daddy. Yesterday it was all about the tongue, he seemed to be trying out what sounds he could make with his tongue out and sometimes you would swear he says a proper word like 'Pamela' or something. He'll also attempt to join in singing which is so adorable.
Today we had a busy day; we swam for almost an hour and he was happy as anything, particularly when Daddy threw him high up in the air and splashed down. Going underwater doesn't faze him in the slightest, still waiting for that protest to kick in as I'm in no doubt it will eventually. We then had a long lunch with a family friend of Pete's and he was so happy sitting in his highchair at the end of the table, eating 'bitings' (appetisers like bread, cheese and ham) and singing away. When he got fed up with sitting he crawled around on the floor keeping himself occupied for ages by climbing up a large plant pot and saying hello to the next table (he's still champion at staring). And after that we went to see a couple of more friends at a local shopping centre and though he was pretty hanging by this time was still in a super mood, laughing and insisting on drinking out of a glass or a bottle like Daddy, even eating a slice of lime - he loves anything sharp and tart, crazy baby.
Tomorrow we're off to Lake Naivasha for lunch and a spot of hippo spotting by boat. It is so much fun taking him places as he just loves going on adventures with Mummy and Daddy. We've had some sleepless evenings recently, due to another couple of teeth just coming through, but for the last two nights he has slept through to 7am, hurrah!
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Car in Front Really is a Toyota
Which is their current advertising slogan. Except over here it is 100% true. I have never seen such a prevalence of one make of car. There must be some shenanigans going on here, no-one can sell that many cars to that many people when there is a globally competitive market. But with a few exceptions (Nissan, Mercedes, Land Rover) the car in front really is a Toyota. Every time.
Technology is slowing the world down...
as my mate Conal always says. And for me at the moment it's certainly true. Having spent an entire day trying to upload some photos and a video to one of my blog posts, I decided that next time I would simply put it all on Flickr and add the relevant link. Except... my photos were too big and my vids were in the wrong format. All perfectly fixable of course, but when you're dealing with a sporadic connection, never mind a random speed (despite paying for an upgrade we rarely get the promised 1mb) plus environmental factors such as a demanding soon-to-be-toddler (Pamela is indeed a miracle but needs to be allowed to clean now and again too) and the fact that everything just seems to take twice as long over here, including a basic supermarket shop, I have now decided to forego pics and vids with this blog for the time being. I will upload stuff to Flickr and I will let you have the link. One day I may even come back and add in all the photos I thought of but hey, in the meanwhile just the writing will have to do.
Karibo!
Karibo!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Referendum
They are voting in a referendum here tomorrow and it has been declared a public holiday (no Pamela, how will we manage?)
There are some quite fundamental changes proposed, including land reforms and women's right to abortion so it's a big deal. The president is, naturally, behind the 'Yes' campaign and they have been working vigorously. A usual trick is to book up all possible venues for rallies in the run up to the vote so that the opposition can't gather. Neat! We passed one of their rallies in the local Uhuru Park on Sunday in fact; lots and lots of mostly men and a cavalcade of vehicles all flying their flags and tooting their horns. The pres has also declared that if the 'Yes' vote wins (and of course it will, it can't not!) Thursday will also be a public holiday. And the word on the street, well, Pete's office anyway, is that the rest of the week will in fact be a public holiday in order to keep people off the street and hopefully discourage any violence of the sort they had last election.
Anyway, you can find out more about it here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/16/kenya-terrorism-referendum
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-10849982
PS Mum don't worry, we'll likely be staying in as everything will be closed in any case!
There are some quite fundamental changes proposed, including land reforms and women's right to abortion so it's a big deal. The president is, naturally, behind the 'Yes' campaign and they have been working vigorously. A usual trick is to book up all possible venues for rallies in the run up to the vote so that the opposition can't gather. Neat! We passed one of their rallies in the local Uhuru Park on Sunday in fact; lots and lots of mostly men and a cavalcade of vehicles all flying their flags and tooting their horns. The pres has also declared that if the 'Yes' vote wins (and of course it will, it can't not!) Thursday will also be a public holiday. And the word on the street, well, Pete's office anyway, is that the rest of the week will in fact be a public holiday in order to keep people off the street and hopefully discourage any violence of the sort they had last election.
Anyway, you can find out more about it here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/16/kenya-terrorism-referendum
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-10849982
PS Mum don't worry, we'll likely be staying in as everything will be closed in any case!
Toto Safari
So last weekend we went to Amboseli National Park and stayed at the Serena Lodge for the first safari of our stay. Amboseli is south of Nairobi and fairly accessible in that it only takes a few hours to get there and you don't necessarily need a 4x4.
The drive there was hilarious; what passes for highways round here are pretty laughable, or they would be if they weren't so scary. The joke goes that some president or other managed to get money for a 3 lane motorway but only 1 lane ended up in Nairobi and the other 2 are in a Swiss bank account. Again, laughable AND scary.
So yours truly got the delightful task of driving first and it took us TWO HOURS to get out of town and travel 50km! Traffic really is worse than London. And the roads have no markings or signs pretty much, sometimes they're 2-way and sometimes 1-way, full of trucks and 4x4's all overtaking madly and then there's the potholes and police checkpoints and roadside market stalls selling nothing but onions and oranges for miles, it seems. Very colourful and exotic all round.
Which is nothing compared to Amboseli. We made it eventually (it really was a hairy journey, not least because we had to get to the gates before dark and made it by a whisker) and whilst Pete sorted out our passes Alfie and I got accosted by some Maasai ladies who were selling their finery, which of course was like passing silver in front of a magpie. Alfie immediately came alive, beaming at the toothy ladies and grabbing their necklaces much to their delight. Thankfully we managed to get away with only a small beaded bracelet for him which he loved for all of a minute before pulling it off. Driving from the gate to the lodge took about an hour and much of it dark but we managed to see a lovely family of giraffe, several wildebeest, an oryx, some zebra and gazelles on the way. Not a bad start!
The following morning we were up at 5.45am and even had to wake Alfie, who thought this was all a great adventure. After grabbing coffee for the adults and a bottle for him we set off in the rapidly emerging light. Amboseli is lovely, quite flat with wide expanses of savannah and few trees, which means it's easier to spot the wildlife. Also a fair number of swamps which means the animals will eventually come to drink at some point during the day. So I saw my first hippo! And cried, of course. I always cry when I see a new species, so that's nothing to worry about. As I was training my bins on the lovely big hippo Pete counted another 5 next to it in the water; though you could only see their eyes and ears, so cute! While we might refer to 'the tip of the iceberg', in Africa one refers to 'the tip of the hippo'. Think I may steal that one!
But that wasn't all that magical morning, for around the corner we spotted another vehicle on a small bridge and wondered what it may be looking at. As we got nearer we saw him; a beautiful young male lion right by the front tyres. He was looking expectactly into the swamp below and as we waited with baited breath, we saw a female emerge. Yep, they were engaging in that age old ritual of courting, though the female was avoiding his attentions at all costs, hence hiding in the swamp. It was just amazing. The male passed by us close enough to touch and circled the car a couple of times. When he was a little farther away Alfie leant out of the open window and gurgled with delight. (As he got closer I made Pete close the window even though the lion could not have taken less notice of us). At one point the other vehicle left and it was just us and the lions. Truly magical. Eventually the female loped off , still in the swamp which must have been really uncomfortable for her, and the male ran up and down on the road, not wanting to jump in and get his paws wet. Wuss!
The drive there was hilarious; what passes for highways round here are pretty laughable, or they would be if they weren't so scary. The joke goes that some president or other managed to get money for a 3 lane motorway but only 1 lane ended up in Nairobi and the other 2 are in a Swiss bank account. Again, laughable AND scary.
So yours truly got the delightful task of driving first and it took us TWO HOURS to get out of town and travel 50km! Traffic really is worse than London. And the roads have no markings or signs pretty much, sometimes they're 2-way and sometimes 1-way, full of trucks and 4x4's all overtaking madly and then there's the potholes and police checkpoints and roadside market stalls selling nothing but onions and oranges for miles, it seems. Very colourful and exotic all round.
Which is nothing compared to Amboseli. We made it eventually (it really was a hairy journey, not least because we had to get to the gates before dark and made it by a whisker) and whilst Pete sorted out our passes Alfie and I got accosted by some Maasai ladies who were selling their finery, which of course was like passing silver in front of a magpie. Alfie immediately came alive, beaming at the toothy ladies and grabbing their necklaces much to their delight. Thankfully we managed to get away with only a small beaded bracelet for him which he loved for all of a minute before pulling it off. Driving from the gate to the lodge took about an hour and much of it dark but we managed to see a lovely family of giraffe, several wildebeest, an oryx, some zebra and gazelles on the way. Not a bad start!
The following morning we were up at 5.45am and even had to wake Alfie, who thought this was all a great adventure. After grabbing coffee for the adults and a bottle for him we set off in the rapidly emerging light. Amboseli is lovely, quite flat with wide expanses of savannah and few trees, which means it's easier to spot the wildlife. Also a fair number of swamps which means the animals will eventually come to drink at some point during the day. So I saw my first hippo! And cried, of course. I always cry when I see a new species, so that's nothing to worry about. As I was training my bins on the lovely big hippo Pete counted another 5 next to it in the water; though you could only see their eyes and ears, so cute! While we might refer to 'the tip of the iceberg', in Africa one refers to 'the tip of the hippo'. Think I may steal that one!
But that wasn't all that magical morning, for around the corner we spotted another vehicle on a small bridge and wondered what it may be looking at. As we got nearer we saw him; a beautiful young male lion right by the front tyres. He was looking expectactly into the swamp below and as we waited with baited breath, we saw a female emerge. Yep, they were engaging in that age old ritual of courting, though the female was avoiding his attentions at all costs, hence hiding in the swamp. It was just amazing. The male passed by us close enough to touch and circled the car a couple of times. When he was a little farther away Alfie leant out of the open window and gurgled with delight. (As he got closer I made Pete close the window even though the lion could not have taken less notice of us). At one point the other vehicle left and it was just us and the lions. Truly magical. Eventually the female loped off , still in the swamp which must have been really uncomfortable for her, and the male ran up and down on the road, not wanting to jump in and get his paws wet. Wuss!
Then back to the lodge for a mega brekkie, including a glass of sparkling wine, why not? Alfie loved his pile of eggs, sausages and croissants (current fave food) and then we let him loose on the terrace surrounding the lodge and overlooking the bush, while we finished our coffees. He had such fun chasing leaves and eating ants (not really Nannie, honest) and climbing steps and charming the Maasai warriors that we called it his Toto (baby) Safari. Probably as much fun as watching the miaow's and the neigh's out in the bush! The staff thought it hilarious and from then on, whenever they saw us, they pointed and said 'Toto Safari' in a very loud voice.
That afternoon we went on another lovely drive and I got VERY excited when we happened upon a family of elephants by the side of the road; mummy, 2 juveniles and a little baby having a mudbath. How amazing? But that was only an appetiser, because half an hour later we landed in the middle of a MASSIVE herd; at least 80 elephants all around us!!!!!! So magic again.
We did see other animals, of course, a sedate family of giraffe; a bachelor herd of impala and plenty of birds; egrets, ibis, spoonbills, eagle (1), bee-eaters, ducks, flamingoes and pelicans. But it was all about the lions and the elephants that day.
We were so exhausted that we fell into our beds after out traditional African 'nyama choma' (grilled meat) and were up once again at dawn the next day for another drive. This time not quite so spectactular, we'd probably used up most of our credits on the first day, but lovely nonetheless. Alfie was fabulous throughout, even though we spent a lot of time in the car. Although within the park he climbed all over us of course, there being no restrictions except a max of 40kph. And he LOVED helping mummy and daddy to drive, something to do with his obsession with the car keys I think... All in all he did very well in coping with it all, and had some spectacular naps which is always a good sign. Though in fairness, he may well have been equally fascinated by a herd of donkeys or the flock of pigeons in Walthamstow town square. Ah well, we all had a superfabulous time and can't wait to do it again!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Shakira Shakira
It's taken a while to get round to more writing, mostly because I've been recovering from a hellish bout of homesickness which lasted all weekend.
There I was, enjoying a £5 manicure and wondering where to take Alfie that afternoon (he was at home with Pamela, hark at me!) when out of the blue I was blindsided by a suckerpunch of proper homesickness. The feeling was so intense it threw me totally and the ripples of it lingered on for so long I felt quite depressed and even at one point like I was in grief. I wondered if it was because of my age/hormones (yawn) or because it's been a while since I travelled anywhere and then it struck me; it's been so long since I had a home to be homesick from! Which immediately made me feel much better.
That said, it wasn't all gloom and doom by any means. We had a super Saturday, lunching at The Talisman in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi named after Karen Blixen and full of artists and white Kenyans. The Talisman felt very old colonial though I can't put my finger on why. Perhaps it's the natives who loo
k very much like they've sat out in the sun with one too many gin and tonics and have that slightly louche and dangerous look about them, like they have rifles at their feet and could easily pick off an animal or two between puffs of their cigarettes.But the really enthralling and fantastic thing was the giraffes and elephants. The giraffe centre has ingeniously built a tower round which tourists can crowd with handful
s of giraffe nuts which the animals gratefully eat. Some will even let you pet them and don't seem to mind the squeals of delighted children at all. Some are only children themselves and don't quite reach up to the balcony in which case you feed them through the wire instead. I managed to take my eye off Alfie long enough to fiddle with my camera which enraged the grumpy old lady (giraffe) next to me to such an extent she proper headbutted me, much to everyone's amusement.Then we went on to the David Sheldrick Foundation http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/ to adopt our baby girl Shakira. Her real name is Shukuru and she was born in September 2009, just like Alfie. She is a baby elephant who was orphaned when she fell down a manhole in the Tsavo National Park. A herdsman found her and managed to stop the rest of the village eating her and contacted the Foundation instead. They do a truly remarkable job in fostering orphan elephants and rhinos and encourage adoption of all their little ones. The main bonus being that, as fosterparents, we can go and see the babies being put to bed around 5pm every night. They come RUNNING back from their walks in Nairobi National Park, anticipating the 2 bottles of milk which they gulp down in a matter of seconds, before retiring to their mattresses in their stable. Each has a keeper who stays with them 24/7 and sleep on a raised platform in the stables, even having their meals in there. The young ones particularly need feeding every 3 hours (sma formula, in case you were wondering) but they do rotate the keepers so they don't get too attached to one human, which would be damaging in the long term. Interestingly, the blankets are supplied by the British Army and British Airways, amongst others!
It's a really wonderful place and not too busy in the evenings, so you get plenty of time to get up close to the elephants who love to sniff you with their little trunks and e
ven suck on your fingers. Alfie did get a little worried by the trunk (they're remarkably hairy) and had a small cry but quickly recovered. In fairness he loved watching the warthogs and birds just as much I think. And Maalim the baby rhino is hilarious as he's very attached to his mattress, to the point of even taking it out for walks with him, though apparently he's stopped that now he's a bit older. He looked VERY cute asleep underneath it though.I was so entranced by the experience that I completely forgot to take any pictures or videos (doh!) so you can have a look at Shakira here instead: http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=226
Isn't she adorable?
So we're settling in slowly but surely. Pete has been away a bit, working up country on a Kenya Project for STC. He comes home with horror stories of endemic abuse and children being married off at 14 and 15, but I know he spares me the really bad stuff. He's back now for a good long while and we're spending this weekend in Amboseli National Park, about 4 hours south of Nairobi. More elephant spotting, hurrah!
Alfie Update: This morning he spotted Pamela and immediately went to the shoe rack by the door and picked his shoes up (because they often go for a walk in the yard outside and she always puts his shoes on first). Cute! In the last week he has started picking his feet up when we're taking his trousers off. He also looks for and picks up his 2 rubber ducks when I start to sing the duck song at bath time. He indicates that he doesn't want something by sweeping his hands in front of him in a gesture that says 'Enough!' quite clearly and this can apply to food, someone wanting to pick him up or getting dressed/having his nappy changed. Sadly also mummy's boobs as he has now given up the final breastfeed of his own accord. He still loves games of any kind, especially chase and peekaboo (mummy gets a lot of excercise crawling round the apartment and hiding behind our 3 sofas) and also loves playing by himself with much focus and concentration. Books are a favourite, specially the hide-behind-the-flap kind which he is intent on destroying (we get through a lot of sellotape). And yesterday he picked up his hairbrush and tried to brush his own hair for the first time! There still isn't much of it though...
This week: Vicky and Alfie went swimming in the heated pool at the Norfolk Hotel http://www.fairmont.com/norfolkhotel where everyone was most surprised and interested to see a baby swimming, and spent a morning at the rather fantastic Nairobi Railway Museum http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail/Kenya/nrm.html which has loads of real locos in the yard to climb around. Alfie may appreciate this a little more once he gets older of course.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Nairobi First Impressions
We’ve been here a whole week already and it some ways we have settled right in. And in some ways there are an awful lot of things to get used to…
(Note for grandparents and others short of time, you may wish to scroll down to the Alfie Update at this point.)
So much to tell! Where to start? Well, on the way into Nairobi from the airport we were greeted by flocks of ibis overhead and trees full of marabou storks. There is also a preponderance of red kites in the city, a couple of which fly over our apartments every day, looking very large and majestic. But while the wildlife is many and varied, the mass of people is wild. They swarm across the highways, perilously close to the cars, to get across 3 lanes of traffic as they walk to work. The traffic and the driving is mental, busy and free for all with no discernible speed limits or indeed rules of the road. There may be traffic lights and roundabouts but there may also be traffic police so sometimes you can ignore them (the lights, not the police!) Rush hour is almost as bad as London and the state of the roads is mostly appalling with potholes everywhere and no pavements but plenty of people by the side of the road, either walking, catching ‘matatus’ (local minibuses) or selling their wares as you sit in your inevitable traffic jam. And you can buy ANYTHING from your car as the vendors stroll up and down showing off auto spares, newspapers, grilled corn, puppies, maps, paintings, jewellery, a pair of lovebirds in a cage and posters of the periodic table and so on. Lovely and mad at the same time. The beggars fill me with dread however, as it is usually young boys either on their own or with crippled relatives. The first time I cried helplessly as we drove past and yet only today I turned away and waved one of them off my car quite callously. Horrendous.
Driving is a must however and thankfully we have been given a battered old Nissan Sunny to play with. I had a quick driving test with Gerry from Save the Children and once I’d managed to get out of the car park (ooops) I seemed to be OK. Driving in these conditions is actually quite fun!
We live on Riverside Drive, sandwiched between the Netherlands Embassy on one side and the Chilean Embassy on the other. Our apartment is HUGE; 4 beds and 3 baths with an extra office (massive) and ‘servants quarters’ (another bedroom and bathroom) on the other side of the utility room. We don’t have an outside area as such though plenty of people hang about in our mostly empty car park. They take security VERY seriously around here. We have a 12’ wall around us strung with 7 lines of razor wire and an electric fence atop that. Plus 24 hour ‘askari’ (guards) who have the unenviable task of opening and closing the gate every 5 minutes for residents and visitors, with a neat sideline in helping carry the shopping and washing the cars now and again. Pete gave me a quick lesson in how not to get carjacked (keep all doors closed always and be ultra aware of anyone trying to box you in or tailgate you outside the apartment), which was possibly not what I wanted to hear on my first day. Anyway, considering the traffic jams they’d be well lucky to catch you alone I say but then I haven’t ventured too far yet as I’m still getting used to the layout, so to speak.
There is a ‘city’ part of Nairobi, or downtown as they call it here, but it’s pretty ropey and due to lots of open violence a decade ago has declined considerably. Mostly we ‘muzungu’ (white person; ‘wazungu’ is the plural) go from shopping centre to shopping centre as these are many and varied and have parking and plenty of guards (and more people to help with the shopping; in the greengrocers you can either shop yourself or let a man run around the shop for you. Genius when you have a baby in tow!) They are also the only places you can push a buggy around because as well as no pavements and heavy/fast traffic, the roads only ever peter out into ditches, dirt and storm drains. The shops can be very swanky indeed; lots of Spanish and Turkish clothing imports (eh?) and a very odd Woolworths selling winter clothes around £40 a pop which seems very expensive, but also lovely local crafts such as beads, glassware, leather goods and baskets, which are really good quality. We also visited a material shop selling kangas, kikois (various sarong types) and bright African print shirts and skirts, some of it very cheaply. And there is lots of masai work (beading) on everything from belts to bags and shoes. There is so much I want to bring home! That I haven’t yet bought any masai sandals is quite a testament to my willpower I feel. There are also loads of great and reasonable places to eat and as £20 a head is considered a very pricey meal indeed (only charged by the poshest places which we haven’t yet visited) we often eat out. A couple of places also have lush gardens for Alfie to run around; one up the road even has a little playground which is possibly the only one in town, so I really have become a lady who lunches!
There is a real international flavour here, with a plethora of schools and kindergartens for various nationalities; Swedish, Dutch, German for example and bizarrely both a Braeside and a Braeburn College for the Scots/British. And loads of Montessori schools. Whilst the Kenyan calendar has a long summer break around Christmas , many people still keep to the English system so some of the activities I have found (yoga, Baby Singalong) have finished. Boo. I’m also determined to find a swimming pool though it may have to be the outdoor one at the legendary Norfolk Hotel, where you would drink your G&T on the balcony whilst shooting the passing game, back in the day (as late as the 1960’s apparently). It’s terribly upmarket so I don’t mind if I do! Swim, that is, not shoot animals.
A quick word about the weather (you know you want to). Kenyans think it is very cold as it is winter and wrap themselves and their babies up in fleeces etc. It is in fact about 20+ degrees during the day, sometimes it can be a chilly-ish 18 or so but hardly winter as we know it. That said, many days are grey and cloudy and it’s occasionally breezy (Nairobi is very hilly) but when the sun comes out it is scorchio. So when we eat out, we eat outside, see?
Finally, I know you’re all dying to know about our maid. Pamela is a marvel and is with us every day Mon- Fri from about 8am til 4pm. It really is remarkable how quickly one gets used to not washing up or even clearing the dishes and it is such a treat to open the wardrobe to find all your clothes washed and ironed, not to mention the beds made and everything wiped! (Mums will understand about the wiping especially). I’m slowly getting used to letting her do more and more, such as unpack the shopping and wash the fruit and veg (everything is rinsed with chlorine tablets and we only use the water out of the taps for washing, not drinking or cooking.) Best of all, she is FANTASTIC with Alfie and he adores her, more of which now:-
Alfie Update: Well clearly the best thing about Kenya is Daddy who can induce paroxysms of excitement by just turning up at the door. (Conversely, leaving in the morning brings about a minute or so of crying complaint, which never happens when mummy leaves the house). There was very little hesitation on Alfie’s part and he seems to have taken Daddy’s absence and reappearance in his usual stride. Then there is Pamela of course, who is almost as exciting and infinitely more so than mummy. Such is our lot, sigh. She plays with him and throws him up in the air and is determined he will walk unaided so hothouses him furiously. Today I left them together for the first time while I went to buy more water (so much easier on your own) and I think my absence barely registered, which bodes well for the future.
He continues to develop apace and now crawls up stairs with ease, down one step quite fearlessly, walks holding on to one hand only (barely) and loves to play with the toilets, trying to flush them and pulling the toilet roll out in big heaps. Hilarious. He can also drink through a straw, says oh-oh when pulling something off the sofa, waves bye bye and hello, puts his hand up for a ‘high five’ and points the remote control at the television. Hmm. His appetite faltered soon after we arrived but that could be due to the 2 new teeth he’s just cut. He continues to beam at everyone and doesn’t seem to mind the prodding and poking which seems to be part of the culture. It is lovely how much they like children here and men and women alike with stop and chat to him and play games like peekaboo and high five, even if it’s just for 2 minutes in the lift. They are uniformly surprised at his age however and suitably impressed with his size. As are we all; I’m sure he’s taller than ever. Not quite towering over me yet, but…
He loves the laptop, licking the mouse and tippy tappy typing when allowed near it (not often and rarely intentionally). Keys are the best thing ever, but the car keys are best (?) and he gets quite upset when things are taken away from him. Our new game is chase, when mummy crawls behind him and catches him with kisses and raspberries and this is the funniest thing ever. And a couple of times he has slept from 7pm to 6.30am though often he’s awake around 5am as usual (though it’s still pitch black here then so here’s hoping…)
He loved the elephant and rhino orphanage and we intend to become regular visitors to that as well as the giraffes next door, once mummy has the hang of driving out of the city. There’s also the railway museum and arboretum on our list as well as weekend trips to nature reserves and national parks. Mombasa and the Masai Mara are top of the list!
It’s time I went or I shan’t have enough material for another post. I still haven’t mentioned some of the downsides, such as sporadic water supply (we’d just had the thermostat fixed and at last had hot water when the water simply stopped completely). There are also periodic blackouts and the internet connection is a mare. Ah well, more of this another time!
(Note for grandparents and others short of time, you may wish to scroll down to the Alfie Update at this point.)
So much to tell! Where to start? Well, on the way into Nairobi from the airport we were greeted by flocks of ibis overhead and trees full of marabou storks. There is also a preponderance of red kites in the city, a couple of which fly over our apartments every day, looking very large and majestic. But while the wildlife is many and varied, the mass of people is wild. They swarm across the highways, perilously close to the cars, to get across 3 lanes of traffic as they walk to work. The traffic and the driving is mental, busy and free for all with no discernible speed limits or indeed rules of the road. There may be traffic lights and roundabouts but there may also be traffic police so sometimes you can ignore them (the lights, not the police!) Rush hour is almost as bad as London and the state of the roads is mostly appalling with potholes everywhere and no pavements but plenty of people by the side of the road, either walking, catching ‘matatus’ (local minibuses) or selling their wares as you sit in your inevitable traffic jam. And you can buy ANYTHING from your car as the vendors stroll up and down showing off auto spares, newspapers, grilled corn, puppies, maps, paintings, jewellery, a pair of lovebirds in a cage and posters of the periodic table and so on. Lovely and mad at the same time. The beggars fill me with dread however, as it is usually young boys either on their own or with crippled relatives. The first time I cried helplessly as we drove past and yet only today I turned away and waved one of them off my car quite callously. Horrendous.
Driving is a must however and thankfully we have been given a battered old Nissan Sunny to play with. I had a quick driving test with Gerry from Save the Children and once I’d managed to get out of the car park (ooops) I seemed to be OK. Driving in these conditions is actually quite fun!
We live on Riverside Drive, sandwiched between the Netherlands Embassy on one side and the Chilean Embassy on the other. Our apartment is HUGE; 4 beds and 3 baths with an extra office (massive) and ‘servants quarters’ (another bedroom and bathroom) on the other side of the utility room. We don’t have an outside area as such though plenty of people hang about in our mostly empty car park. They take security VERY seriously around here. We have a 12’ wall around us strung with 7 lines of razor wire and an electric fence atop that. Plus 24 hour ‘askari’ (guards) who have the unenviable task of opening and closing the gate every 5 minutes for residents and visitors, with a neat sideline in helping carry the shopping and washing the cars now and again. Pete gave me a quick lesson in how not to get carjacked (keep all doors closed always and be ultra aware of anyone trying to box you in or tailgate you outside the apartment), which was possibly not what I wanted to hear on my first day. Anyway, considering the traffic jams they’d be well lucky to catch you alone I say but then I haven’t ventured too far yet as I’m still getting used to the layout, so to speak.
There is a ‘city’ part of Nairobi, or downtown as they call it here, but it’s pretty ropey and due to lots of open violence a decade ago has declined considerably. Mostly we ‘muzungu’ (white person; ‘wazungu’ is the plural) go from shopping centre to shopping centre as these are many and varied and have parking and plenty of guards (and more people to help with the shopping; in the greengrocers you can either shop yourself or let a man run around the shop for you. Genius when you have a baby in tow!) They are also the only places you can push a buggy around because as well as no pavements and heavy/fast traffic, the roads only ever peter out into ditches, dirt and storm drains. The shops can be very swanky indeed; lots of Spanish and Turkish clothing imports (eh?) and a very odd Woolworths selling winter clothes around £40 a pop which seems very expensive, but also lovely local crafts such as beads, glassware, leather goods and baskets, which are really good quality. We also visited a material shop selling kangas, kikois (various sarong types) and bright African print shirts and skirts, some of it very cheaply. And there is lots of masai work (beading) on everything from belts to bags and shoes. There is so much I want to bring home! That I haven’t yet bought any masai sandals is quite a testament to my willpower I feel. There are also loads of great and reasonable places to eat and as £20 a head is considered a very pricey meal indeed (only charged by the poshest places which we haven’t yet visited) we often eat out. A couple of places also have lush gardens for Alfie to run around; one up the road even has a little playground which is possibly the only one in town, so I really have become a lady who lunches!
There is a real international flavour here, with a plethora of schools and kindergartens for various nationalities; Swedish, Dutch, German for example and bizarrely both a Braeside and a Braeburn College for the Scots/British. And loads of Montessori schools. Whilst the Kenyan calendar has a long summer break around Christmas , many people still keep to the English system so some of the activities I have found (yoga, Baby Singalong) have finished. Boo. I’m also determined to find a swimming pool though it may have to be the outdoor one at the legendary Norfolk Hotel, where you would drink your G&T on the balcony whilst shooting the passing game, back in the day (as late as the 1960’s apparently). It’s terribly upmarket so I don’t mind if I do! Swim, that is, not shoot animals.
A quick word about the weather (you know you want to). Kenyans think it is very cold as it is winter and wrap themselves and their babies up in fleeces etc. It is in fact about 20+ degrees during the day, sometimes it can be a chilly-ish 18 or so but hardly winter as we know it. That said, many days are grey and cloudy and it’s occasionally breezy (Nairobi is very hilly) but when the sun comes out it is scorchio. So when we eat out, we eat outside, see?
Finally, I know you’re all dying to know about our maid. Pamela is a marvel and is with us every day Mon- Fri from about 8am til 4pm. It really is remarkable how quickly one gets used to not washing up or even clearing the dishes and it is such a treat to open the wardrobe to find all your clothes washed and ironed, not to mention the beds made and everything wiped! (Mums will understand about the wiping especially). I’m slowly getting used to letting her do more and more, such as unpack the shopping and wash the fruit and veg (everything is rinsed with chlorine tablets and we only use the water out of the taps for washing, not drinking or cooking.) Best of all, she is FANTASTIC with Alfie and he adores her, more of which now:-
Alfie Update: Well clearly the best thing about Kenya is Daddy who can induce paroxysms of excitement by just turning up at the door. (Conversely, leaving in the morning brings about a minute or so of crying complaint, which never happens when mummy leaves the house). There was very little hesitation on Alfie’s part and he seems to have taken Daddy’s absence and reappearance in his usual stride. Then there is Pamela of course, who is almost as exciting and infinitely more so than mummy. Such is our lot, sigh. She plays with him and throws him up in the air and is determined he will walk unaided so hothouses him furiously. Today I left them together for the first time while I went to buy more water (so much easier on your own) and I think my absence barely registered, which bodes well for the future.
He continues to develop apace and now crawls up stairs with ease, down one step quite fearlessly, walks holding on to one hand only (barely) and loves to play with the toilets, trying to flush them and pulling the toilet roll out in big heaps. Hilarious. He can also drink through a straw, says oh-oh when pulling something off the sofa, waves bye bye and hello, puts his hand up for a ‘high five’ and points the remote control at the television. Hmm. His appetite faltered soon after we arrived but that could be due to the 2 new teeth he’s just cut. He continues to beam at everyone and doesn’t seem to mind the prodding and poking which seems to be part of the culture. It is lovely how much they like children here and men and women alike with stop and chat to him and play games like peekaboo and high five, even if it’s just for 2 minutes in the lift. They are uniformly surprised at his age however and suitably impressed with his size. As are we all; I’m sure he’s taller than ever. Not quite towering over me yet, but…
He loves the laptop, licking the mouse and tippy tappy typing when allowed near it (not often and rarely intentionally). Keys are the best thing ever, but the car keys are best (?) and he gets quite upset when things are taken away from him. Our new game is chase, when mummy crawls behind him and catches him with kisses and raspberries and this is the funniest thing ever. And a couple of times he has slept from 7pm to 6.30am though often he’s awake around 5am as usual (though it’s still pitch black here then so here’s hoping…)
He loved the elephant and rhino orphanage and we intend to become regular visitors to that as well as the giraffes next door, once mummy has the hang of driving out of the city. There’s also the railway museum and arboretum on our list as well as weekend trips to nature reserves and national parks. Mombasa and the Masai Mara are top of the list!
It’s time I went or I shan’t have enough material for another post. I still haven’t mentioned some of the downsides, such as sporadic water supply (we’d just had the thermostat fixed and at last had hot water when the water simply stopped completely). There are also periodic blackouts and the internet connection is a mare. Ah well, more of this another time!
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