Wow and more wow is all we can say

Sunday was off early to Mass at Nyumbani, the Kenya 2007 Group did not have an opportunity to see the grounds of the orphanage because of the rains we experienced last year.  What an amazing place and hard reality.  Out of 106 children, 105 are healthy and one is dying.  Sammy has 24 hour care and is really not well.  Your heart just sinks when you know that this terminal outcome is soon and that you can do nothing to help.  Can you only imagine how those at Nyumbani feel???? This is their life's work.  Sr. Mary Owen's was gracious to introduce us at Mass and the mass was very children centric.  The Italian Priest that held mass, was very wonderful with the children and it was great to see them so engaged.  They acted, the sang, the danced, and at the end of it all, they looked really loved and they are.  After that we met a woman from Williams, who has been working to adopt a child from Nyumbani for 2 years and has succeeded and will be returning home to Massachusetts with Bernard in a week.  She is the 1st person to adopt an HIV+ child from Kenya.  She has been on leave in Kenya for 2 years and it is becoming a reality for her.

After this lunch, Again at Nairobi Java, they just love us.  I write Love notes to them in each comment card and they all appear concerned and then ask Margaret what I wrote- We also heard from Ken Okoth, a friend from Georgetown and a Kenyan who comes and lives with his famaily in Kibera in the summer and during the academic year teaches at Potomac School and as an Adjunct in SFS.  We will dine with him on Tuesday.

Franco, our newest Best Friend and driver, took us on a city tour and a visit to the Nairobi National Museum.  It was great and Sunday is the best day to do this since there is no traffic down town.  What a great city with such interesting class dynamics and economics and the roads are at least nice in down town Nairobi.  

We ended up back at Nairobi Java for dinner.  That was yet again another great meal.  We will be able to recite the menu by the end of this trip.  

Today, Monday was a day of interesting situations.  We went to school as we planned and confirmed to teach at 10am to realize that we would not be teaching until 2pm.  As Phil said, what ever you planned for, be sure it will be different.  

Kibera seemed a little easier to me this time.  At least I knew what to expect.  I think for Margaret, it is equally hard and then once you get in the middle of it, it is still as hard as the 1st time.  Hard to know that these beautiful people live in such sqauler.  The students seems excited.  Form 1 (9th graders) are not as engaged as Form 2 (10th graders).  The Form 2 class, some remember us.  We are teaching them in a style that is very different.  We are engaging them and asking for response and they are not used to that.  They actually get lecture teaching.

Margaret and I are great teaching pairs, we pick up where they other leaves off.  After 2 classes of 35, we just looked at each other and felt tired!

Tomorrow we start Studio and Class instruction.  This is exciting.  

Prior to class, we went to the Text Book Centre were all go for supplies and it feels good to be contributing to the economy here.  We got most all that we need.  We also ate at Dorman's, Kenya's Starbucks.  Kenya coffee (great) and good food. Variety is necessary.

After teaching, back to Nakumatt Junction for more stuff, Kazuri beads from the shop, more supplies and more tea.  The tea is also great.  We then went to get the laptop and are back at Nairobi Java for Dinner and Update....We will eventually eat at Savelburg--For those of you that have been on this trip, the food is like Pedro Arrupe, enough said.  

We also will be dining with Father Superior of East Africa, Valerian Shirima this coming Saturday and we will be dining with Sr. Mary Owens of Nyumbani on Monday of next week.  We can tell this will be a great experience for us because thus far it has been wonderful.

Charles and Margaret