Hakuna shida hapa (no problem here)! That is, my shamba seems to have been unaffected by my month’s absence, but the political stalemate is still the talk of the country. The violence has stopped for the most part (and it was never in OUR area of Kenya) but both candidates are claiming to have won the election and refuse to talk to each other. VSO calls this atmosphere an “uneasy calm” and they’ve decided to assess each placement on a case-by-case basis. Sorry, western Kenya volunteers! Tala’s safe for now, and we finally got the “OK” to head back on January 19th. This was good news because we were getting sick of being on house arrest in a crappy hotel in Nairobi with all the other volunteers.
As it was nearly dark when Sara and I arrived in Tala, we immediately set out to make sure everything was in order. A quick inspection of my shamba (farm) showed that not only were my veggies alive, they were taller and leafier than when I left them last month! Sara, almost before dropping her luggage, dove for the broom and started sweeping the thirty days of dust and dead bug buildup. The dust is nasty enough after a night’s sleep let alone a month of absence! After taking care of important housework in the last few minutes of natural light we visited the Sisters to catch up on all the Tala gossip since we’d been gone.
Everyone was talking about how Alan is going to teach two classes this semester. Whisper whisper… teee heee heee… that’s some good gossip! But wait, I don’t think it’s gossip if it’s true! I immediately started to draft notes for Unix 1 and Unix 2, and come Monday I would have been ready to start with the obligatory “What is Unix?” Monday passed and no returning students had picked those classes, so the administration gave me Introduction to Programming and Algorithms. It’s now Tuesday and I still don’t know WHEN I’m teaching, which is fine with me, just so long as the notes I prepared today won’t be for nothing!
Ahhhh, adventures in Kenya! So everything is fine… remember “uneasy calm.” Here are some pictures for all you guys and girls to check out while you’re waiting for Sara and I to post more about our holidays.
View the entire photo album by clicking here.
Hey Alan… that’s too bad about your class! You can teach me Unix when you get back. I hope you guys stay safe and can start working again soon.
Hey Allan and sara
Am glad you guys are safe and still enjoying your stay despite of everything. Thanks guys for being too cool and staying
Good to hear you guys are doin alright out there. I know VSO pulls out all the stops to keep volunteers safe, so you are in the best of hands. I’ve been talking regularly with the Kenyan expats here about the situation and getting a much different view of all the underlining subtleties and personal experiences, than is presented in the ” western media”. Hope to hear more from you, as well.
We’re regularly scraping the -30s C (? F) out here, but it’s still pretty exciting and pretty easy to handle. Lots of time indoors with my guitar and notebook! Other good news is that I’ve extended until June and have lots of interesting work lined up.
Taker’easy dudes! JHales
Dude, you’re going to teach Unix…that is so cool. let’s hack!!!
Hi Alan and Sara,
You guys are fine; I’m glad you are back in Tala and getting down to some work. Thanks for putting yourselves in most of your pictures; I like that much better than just the scenery and buildings without people. Beautiful sunsets and beaches in your photos.
Andy and I are fine; I broke my foot in December carelessly taking a very broad, high, side-step over a grandson and his PS2. Andy just finished a month of intercession teaching and is writing big time on his blog.
Hey, Alan, our printer isn’t working; could you tell me how to….just kidding, but Muggins and I have fond memories of your computer rescues.
Take care,
Claudia H.