I’m the proud father to budding sprouts of beans and corn! I figured I should put some pictures online so you guys can see the progress of the farm, so here you go..
The first picture is me standing between the two raised beds (the right bed is smaller and entirely dedicated to growing yellow corn), and the second picture shows my rows of spinach, cilantro, skuma, bell pepper, onion, lettuce, and beans.
I can hardly wait until it’s time to harvest!
This weekend was awesome! The rain and the mud were pretty lame, but a few of our friends came from Nairobi to visit us. I suppose I should get used to the weather because one of the rainy seasons is coming
soon — maybe I’ll even buy some “gum boots.” This wet dirt road leads from the college to the highway, which runs through Tala and eventually to Kangundo a few kilometers down the road. As we were waiting for a matatu (like a taxi) by the highway I stopped to take a picture with this cow. Yeah, I know I’m not very close to him, but he had big horns and I’ve seen too many videos of stupid tourists getting eaten by lions and stomped by elephants. No thank you! We spent Saturday in a Nairobi suburb where one student wanted us to meet her family, see her neighborhood, and eat some African food.
Things are picking up here in Kenya! As you can see from the photo we had a glorious Thanksgiving feast (scrambled eggs, vegetables, hash browns, and hot chocolate). The power was out all day until just about after our feast was winding down. Luckily we have a gas stove and several rechargeable lanterns. Therefore I submit that Thanksgiving be held in Kenya next year as well… come on over!
In other news Sara and I have made many friends in the staff and students at the college. Lately we’ve been socializing with the staff at tea and lunch breaks, and hanging out with the girls in the evenings and at the market. It’s strange because they’re about our age (around 20, give or take a year) but because I’m staff and hold somewhat of an authority over them it might not be good to spend TOO much time with them or get too close. In any case, they’ve been helpful in navigating the market and learning some of the Kiswahili slang and some basic words in other languages (there are some forty two ethnicities in Kenya). One night the girls bought some extra vegetables and made a dish especially for Sara and I. It was full of cilantro (which I love!) and delicious. The picture of me with the huge lump of white stuff is from that night as well… it’s ugali (a staple here, made from corn and used kinda like naan, chapati, or a tortilla for scooping other food up).