The Last Hurrah

Today was the last day of the term, 2010. My three students finished yesterday, but Bery and Paul came to school today to join the festivities. There was a carnival air on campus.

Two hundred parents came to a meeting where there was much to be gleaned from the past year. The year's progress and improvements were highlighted, the aspirations for Term 2011 outlined, and new members of the School Management Committee were featured. Then came the 2010 freshly-coined slogan: Kenyan-American Education at Kakamega Township! Between Shanon's new uniforms for all of Class 2 and the improved library, Township is jazzed to start a new term, proud and just a little American.

The library project turned out very well. With over $3600, the library doubled its shelf space, and all the windows got new glass. The Army helped to oversee the purchase of more than 850 books. When asked to speak to the Library Project, I corrected the Headmaster: I did not purchase the improvements, but it was the generosity of 31 families in the US. Texts in all subjects for every level (even Nursery) are available in the library. We added lots of story books (as Kenyans call pleasure reading books) for all readers to promote a reading culture. I encouraged the parents to follow up with their children about visiting and learning in the library next year. The entire school community is over the moon about the possibilities...maybe that is what I came here to help them see: the possibilities.

Because of you, my friends, I felt like a heroine today. It may have been my idea, but it was worth nothing without your generous outpouring of support that turned into a real library. I have a wonderful letter of thanks from the Headmaster to share with you when I get home.......

Pictured: Major Wakesa and David from the Salvation Army, Bery and me

The Cows Are Coming Home....

...and so am I! This cow at my front door reminded me of coming home, and I am hoping to go first class, scenic route just like the cow.

I leave Kakamega on Wednesday December 1st on the 6:20pm flight to Kisumu. The Army will provide me with a car and driver to take me the 50 km/30 miles to the airport; it will only take 1 1/2 hours. The pothole situation extends from Kakamega to Kisumu, with no filler in sight. The Prime Minister is from Kisumu, but the word on the street is he never has to drive anywhere, so he pays no attention to the road crisis. It is a 45 minute flight to Nairobi where I will spend 4 3/4 hours...my last chance to top off my quest for lavish gifts from Kenya.

My next flight is to London and I will be armed with Tylenol PM as it is an 8 hour flight. Because I may be a bit over-wrought, I will need the PM Tylenol. The home stretch, London to LAX, allows me 5 1/2 hours in London, with a few Great British pounds, just in case. My Go-To Tyler is massaging an upgrade on the American Airlines leg from London Heathrow, and I am confident he will work his magic. I will leave London at 11:45am on Thursday December 2nd, pulling into LAX at 2:25pm.

To say I am excited to be coming home is an understatement, but I am finishing off the purchase of the books for the library, kissing my kids on both cheeks, closing the house, giving my clothes away, trying to chip away at my Gin Rummy deficit (Shanon: 102,760/Roxanne: 100,085), and saying good-bye to my Kenyan pals....

California, here I come
Right back where I started from....

Night Security Doesn't Do Plumbing

On Monday night I decided to tackle the abundance of spiders that lived in the bathroom, next to the toilet tank. With a mop in hand, I quite offhandedly swiped at a bunch of webs and, oh dear, the hose that connects the water supply to the tank broke loose. Water from the loose end of the hose started squirting all over the bathroom. While trying to direct the hose to the toilet bowl, I told Shanon we had trouble. There was no turn-off valve by the toilet; she grabbed a flashlight and found no valve outside.

Shanon called Moses, our Go-To Guy, and found he had been gone all day and had not returned home yet. His wife Lucy advised Shanon to get the Security Guard. The guard came in to survey our watery mess and promptly dislodged the hose from the wall, causing water to shoot horizontally across the room. The only way to channel it was to put the hose back over the hole and hold it, very much like putting your finger in a dike. We took turns pressing the hose to the wall and pointing the water toward the toilet bowl.

About 15 minutes later, we heard a knock and Moses wandered in. It was the best news possible as neither of us had any idea what our next move would be (like when we went to bed). Moses explained that the water for the john is gravity fed and cannot be turned off. He then went outside, got a stick, and whittled it to a point. He put the pointed stick in the hole in the wall and the water was off.

We bailed the bathroom; I am happy to report that using a dustpan is a great way to get lots of water off the floor. We filled the tank to flush only as needed, and Moses came by Tuesday with a new hose. The spiders are still lurking as they were not on the floor, where the flood waters accumulated. I vow to be more careful....