Health Update...

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the kind words and prayers. I had a lot of time to rest this weekend which was really good and I also stayed home from school today. I really didn't want to stay home all day and tried to go in at lunch time but my Principal called and told me that he had all my classes covered so that I was not allowed to come in. It was good to just rest but I definitely got bored. I do not like sitting at home alone doing nothing. I feel much better tonight. I feel like maybe I am getting stronger. I know I know Mom don't push it too much now that I am feeling better! :) Thanks again!

Sankofa...Amani Ya Juu Fashion Show

Remember my friends I talked about in my last update letter. Well, as part of their job they have been organizing a fashion show to introduce a new line of clothing that the women are designing...it was a huge project that they have been working on for about a year. It was so great to see it all come together. I definitely had to rest all day to have enough energy to make the evening but I was so glad that I was able to go! Thanks again for all your prayers!

All dressed up and ready for the fashion show!!!

This was my favorite model. She was just so excited for this opportunity!

Some of the models-this is a mix of professional Kenyan models and women from Amani Ya Juu

Me and the roomies all dressed up. My mom made my dress! :)

This is the group of friends that I spent most of my time with outside of teaching. Most of them work for various NGOs within Nairobi, Sudan, and Rwanda.

Typhoid

I must say that I never expected to write a post labeled TYPHOID. I feel like it is one of those things that you only hear about when you have to go and get your vaccinations before you go to some foreign country. Well, at least that was the last time I heard about it.
I went to the Dr. on Tuesday because I had been feeling poorly for about 1 1/2 weeks and decided it was not going to just go away. I figured I probably had some little critter living inside of me and that i would just have to take some three day dosage of something and get rid of it. So, I did some tests and they all came back negative. The Dr. said that she wanted to do further tests to check for ulcers and typhoid. TYPHOID I thought...no way! I almost didn't even do the blood test to check because I didn't think it was an option. So, I went back to school and told all the teachers I figured I had an ulcer caused by a bacteria-I even emailed my family and told them. Then I went back to the Dr. yesterday and she told me that I had definitely tested positive for Typhoid. I was definitely a bit stunned. I had to have her explain everything to me twice because I was like WAIT....WHAT?!? She probably thought I was so clueless or something. She wrote me a prescription and dazed I walked out. I walked down stairs to my friend Amy who had gone with me and told her and her mouth just dropped...she was as confused as I was. We went to the chemist who of course tried to rip us off-initially charging me about $70 and I got the medicine for $8-what a punk! So now I am taking the medicine and hoping that it will kick in soon. I definitely still feel poorly but still able to function. Please just pray that this weekend will be restful and the medicine will do its job SOON! Thanks so much!

Kitengela Glass Factory

On Sunday after church I went with some of my friends to visit a glass blowing factory. It was so crazy to watch them work. Such a complicated process, but totally worth it at the end. Their stuff was so amazing! It was so cool to watch it star as this small ball of glass and then....

turn into this awesome glass tray!

So many cool vases, I wanted them all!

More cool stuff that they can make

These are the girls that I went with. We just crossed the little narrow bridge behind us. I was scared to death. Not that, that surprises anways!

AFRICA

Random car that we took a funny picture in.

Seriously some amazing glass stuff! It was such a random but cool place to visit. The whole time I kept thinking how it should be on the travel channel or something like that.

Paradise Lost

Crazy times in Kenya...

One of the most random weekends ever in Nairobi...but I got to ride on a camel. It was such a great and relaxing long weekend, as we had Friday off of school. I will add more pictures soon!

Just for you Trish...pictures of "life"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAYLAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAYLAN....BIG 25!!!

I LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!!!

The Car...

Day and I being ADD in the car as we were stuck in traffic on the way to the internet place.

Still waiting...

So, I was trying to think of something I could add to update my blog and I realized I haven't put on a picture of my car. Last year I shared a car with three other teachers and this year I share this one with Daylan. It is nice just sharing it between the two of us. It is small but that just means it is easier to dodge pot holes, busses, bikes, and whatever else comes our way!

My Pre Algebra Class...

Welcome to my crazy math class. I have 17 7th graders for my Pre-Algebra class.

Home work board...just because...

Passing back homework at the beginning of class.

Hard at work (they knew I was taking pictures...they are good at pretending!)

Teaching about patterns in math

Partner working...good job girls!

And there you have it. The other side of my job. Where I actually get to be in the classroom and use all that valuable information I learned in college about classroom management and things like that! I do love teaching this math class so much. It is a lot easier for me the second year around and they are a great bunch of kids!

Making dinner with Mom's help...

I got a package in the mail from my mom this week. Inside was a packaged mix for making beef and broccoli stir fry. Daylan and I felt domestic and decided to make it for dinner last night. We even sat down at the table so we had to take pictures. It was my first time making rice-and I didn't burn it and it wasn't too crunchy either!

Ready to eat!

YUM YUM YUM

no broccoli but the other vegetables were good

Daylan enjoying our delicious meal!

My Basketball Teams' First Game

Yea- coach! Don't ask what I was saying, because I probably didn't even know what I was saying at the time. GOOD JOB GIRLS! PLAY HARD! :)

See that good defense PAPA! Offense wins games but defense wins championships! :)

My team, notice how dirty my pants are at the bottom-HA! Life in Kenya!

YEA WE WON!!!

MADNESS...NO OTHER WORD DESCRIBES THIS

Pouring rain makes it hard to see the people and pot holes-and whatever else is in the way.

Driving in Kenya has proved to have its own set of difficulties. In my last prayer update I asked for prayer as I learn to drive our (Daylan and My) manual car. Well, I want to thank you so much! I have been driving a little bit at a time and today I drove all by myself. I know that may not seem like a big feat-but believe me it is! Maybe some of these pictures will help to make it make more sense....

This is where the madness begins. The gray car on the right was towing the car behind it through this busy intersection during high traffic time.
They were fine, until the rope broke
leaving the broken down car in the middle of the intersection.

The broken down car tried to reconnect the rope but it kept breaking.
So the gray car kept going.

Of course no one wanted to wait. So they all just went through and around the car.
This is supposed to be two lanes of traffic.
And the best part is that we are in one of the lanes.

Dirty bus with lots of diesel..YUCK!

More pictures

On the edge of the mountain side.
The ride up on the bus was really long. So, we decided to ride in the back of a truck down the mountain. This was during the hail storm. It was CRAZY-but brought back PNG memories.

Walking through the plains looking for the giraffe-so sad we didn't see them.

More retreat pictures

Just so cool...(yep, this is basically my back yard)

Heather and I at the top of the mountain before the hail really started coming down.

Beautiful sunset

Staff Retreat

This weekend we had our staff retreat at Lukenya Getaway. It was fun to get out of the city with all the staff. It is always good to get to know each other better, outside of the school/teacher context. We had fun playing volleyball until the ball landed in the acacia tree and a thorn popped it, we had fun chasing the animals until we got attacked my ticks and African biting ants, and we were really enjoying the beautiful view from a nearby mountain that we drove up until it started to hail. All in all-it was still a good and restful weekend!

Not much else to say except...THIS IS AFRICA!

Just hanging out by the pool before dinner.

More picture to come soon.....

Daylan, Heather and I