The Journey Begins

Velvet Monkey

Greetings from Kenya...I think I've figured out how get this blog up and going...Maybe studying Kiswahili is shaking loose some brain cells....

I spent a wonderful first three weeks here sharing some of my favorite people and places with Ryan...

We spent time in the DeepSea slum with the children in the pre-school and those who come six days a week to the feeding program...for many it's their only meal for the day.

We laughed as we bounce along some of the worst and longest roads we had ever been on and cried as pick jiggers out of children's feet...first you wash feet with laundry detergent then scrape open scab encrusted toes with a sewing needle and pull the jiggers out(think maggots) soak the feet in Lysol and dry with hydrogen peroxide and coat with a salve...hands down one of the most heartbreaking things I done in 40 years of nursing ...the kids never even flinch....so proud of Ryan for participating in the day!!

A couple of great days on safari and then all to quickly he was off to the states and I was on a six hour matatu(14 passenger van) ride headed home to Eldoret and the beginning of this amazing journey.

Third from the left is the girls tutor and my Kiswahili teacher the rest are my soon to be roommates ...the finishing touches are being put on my new bedroom furniture, a instant hot water heater is being added to the shower (my one claim to being a princess) And my new role of house mum begins....can't wait...they are warm and friendly and are as excited as I am...very little English spoken so we should be able to help each other with the language studies...

So for now my days are spent in class getting to know the girls, helping with their lessons and adding to my Kiswahili vocabulary 

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