All Creatures Great and Small

God may have created them all, but I do not have to like the ones I've met in Kenya. In some categories, i.e., flying insects, we're making headway--but I am getting ahead of myself....

A female mosquito carries malaria; malaria is a disease I really do not want to get. So I left the US with a year's supply of Malarone, the better malaria drug, taken daily.The caveat was I had to have my liver and kidney functions checked 3 months after starting Malarone. I was at the Norfolk Hotel and the house doctor obliged, bringing a lab tech. The good news is my functions are fine; the doctor's news was scathing. He in effect told me I was poisoning myself and doctors in the US prescribe Malarone much too freely...omg, that gave me a start and also a finish to taking the malaria meds. So I am now unprotected from getting malaria. The Nairobi doctor (my new best friend) did give me a pill to keep on hand in case I get malaria, so I do feel I am ready, just in case malaria strikes.

Yes, the flying insects in our living room are on the decline. In the first term, we would interrupt our Gin game many nights, each armed with a slipper; we swatted at the flying beasts (like over sized wasps, but not bees) and nearly did each other damage. I was responsible for cleaning up the carcasses. But someone told us we should keep our heavy curtains closed at night, emitting no light. Alas, it works....our Gin game has only been interrupted once in the last 3 weeks (see P.S. for update on Gin game).

The real creature low point was the rat. One Tuesday night at 10pm, Shanon yelled: "Come here, I see a mouse....No IT'S A RAT!" With that advance story, you can imagine my lack of enthusiasm to get up and see if I could see a rat. There was tension in the air. We did not see the rat again that night. We did not sleep well. I really did not want to get up in the morning. I banged my way into the kitchen; I observed that the gap under the back door (filled with newspaper and cardboard) had been chewed away from the inside. I could only hope that the rat had found his way out. We found rat evidence and we were especially skittish for a few days. But the rat seems to be on the run--I live with the fear he will return. Rat disposal will certainly not be my strong suit.

I also saw a green snake while walking to school the week before and was non-plussed. I simply veered around the snake and kept walking. I was amazingly brave, I figured; the snake was not on the move, so I talked myself into believing it might be dead. Otherwise it should have gotten out of my way. And not living with that creature in my home makes a big difference.

Maybe our encounter with creatures has peaked. I am more careful, more attentive, and still bang my way into the kitchen each morning. Please God, keep the creatures in their own backyards!

P.S. Gin Rummy
Since January, we have played Gin many times a week, in the evening. On February 28, I was 1945 points behind. On May 12 I was 355 points down....I was on my way to a comeback. But alas, on May 21 I find myself 1740 points down--FYI, the score is 42,025 to 40,285. The year is not over yet....

School's Out!

It is the end of our 5 week sojourn across half the world,and it was a ‘trip’ in the truest sense of the word. Living out of a suitcase is not my idea of fun, but the fun we were having along the way made it all OK. And I will continue to chip away at my 50 lbs of laundry as I get back into the swing of teaching….

The trip to the USA was a bonus and so worth the thrill of seeing all the kids, holding new Teddy, and seeing Meghan in her new self, something only a child can re-create in 3 months. We visited both Cairo and Nairobi as starting places for our travels in each country, and I did not much care about either city: crowded, dusty, paralyzing traffic. But good hotels in both cities made each stop an oasis in the midst of urban chaos. The Uniworld riverboat on the Nile was a huge surprise: huge cabins with fabulous baths. The visit to pleasant Luxor offered many temples and tombs that really gave us the Egyptian flavor. On to both Aswan dams and lots of current history were a good contrast to tombs and temples which were all before Christ by some measure. Finishing in Abu Simbel nearly finished us off, as it was 108 degrees. I applauded the planning of the Egypt trip as we were up very early and home to our ship before it got too hot. We had the benefit of a great guide and only 8 very simpatico people in our group. The spewing volcano left one of the couples in Cairo for an additional 9 days before they could return to London…we were off to Nairobi as planned.

It was a nostalgic trip as we stayed at the Norfolk Hotel, Nairobi, where my parents always enjoyed staying, though I had never been. It is still wonderful. Our safari guide and Micato Safaris made sure that we were greeted at 4am at the Nairobi airport and whisked off to our hotel and in bed by 5am…..that is service in a city like Nairobi. We flew between a tent camp in Amboseli, Tortilis; a lodge in Laikipia, Loisaba; and a tent camp in Maasai Mara, Fairmont Mara Tent Camp. Game drives, walks in the wild (I doubted my sanity but with an armed man and a tracker we made it), service that never quit, fine food, and good weather made the time in Kenya quite extraordinary. Our guide was not only knowledgeable but charming and a joy to travel with. Returning to rural Kenya was an adjustment, as we stopped in the nearest big city, Kisumu, before coming back to Kakamega. We ‘did’ the town by introducing Dick to the box store Nakumatt, the best hotel in town, the Golf Hotel, and seeing my abode and roommate Shanon. Dick came to school 2 days before he left from Kisumu for the USA…..we both will be taking the vapors for the week. It was the way to spend the school holiday and see lots of Africa…..ask Dick for his impressions as well!