Friday, October 23rd, 2009: Last day at the Farm

In the morning we went to the nursery-preschool to see the small ones, it is right next to Tabatha's farm.  They are already learning at this age.  They sit at long desks on long benches.  The teacher was teaching them english words like chair, book etc.  We came in and did a small craft project with the children.  Old Cd's decorated with stickers then a piece of yarn so they could hang it around their necks!  Denise read them a story and they laughed at the pictures of the fruit and veggies with faces on them.  We also put up some posters etc that Denise had brought.  As the teacher explained things the children, in unison, "mmmed" after each statement.  Saying "mmm"  is very common for Kenyan's to say.  It is their way of acknowledging what a person is saying.  Kind of like us saying sure or ok when someone is talking, or we nod our heads to let them know we are listening.  But to see the 3 and 4 year olds doing it, like little adults, was hilarious. 

We left the kids to return to the town with Paul and Tabatha to see the tailor for Mary's apprenticeship.  We came up with an agreement.  1 year of training for $14,000 ksh.  So Denise paid $5,000 ksh now, with $5,000 ksh in January and $4,000 ksh in March.  She will start monday.  The money will help the owner buy material and thread for Mary to practice on.  In less than a year she should be employable.  I played lawyer in the van and drew up the agreement. Thank goodness for that realtor's course I took!  Though I am sure in Kenyan courts it wouldn't hold up!  But we wanted the tailor and Mary to know, we are serious about her finding an employable skill.

We also saw the carpenters working on Catherine's new bed and table.  They were finishing them up for delivery today. They were looking really good.

We stopped by Catherine's on the way home to deliver some men's ties and other goodies.  Peter can give them to some of the men at the church who need them.  We also showed her how to paint, as we had brought the left over can of white from the orphanage.  We hoped it would brighten up the sitting area a bit.  Hillie had given her a beautiful piece of lace to hang up around the top portion of the room which is common in Kenya too.

The cow shed was being constructed too, which is really good news.  It will be simple but will allow them to milk the cow once they get one.  This is something we still need to raise money for, but I am sure it will happen, as they are a very deserving family.

Denise got a picture of me by a Kenyan cow on the walk home, he moo'd like he had laryngitis.  Pretty funny.  They tie their cows up to the grass on the front of their property sometimes with a ring thru their nose, and only a  3 foot  tether.  Kind of like what we do with our dogs.  They do this with the sheep as well.

The nursery kids were out again on our way back to the farm.  They waved at us as we passed by.

We got back to the farm, packed up and had a nice late lunch before heading out for Nairobi.  Lentils, spinach, rice, chipatis and fresh pineapple.

We headed east to Nairobi and met Paul's wife at a gas station, he wanted to see her quickly as he would be gone with us for another 4 days.  We picked up some items quickly at the Nakamart. Groceries for our hotel tonight in Nairobi.

We got to the hotel and each got a room, basic but fairly clean and the door locks.  Couldn't get any hot water so took a cold shower.  Then headed out for dinner.  Hillie stayed behind as she was sick.  Met Dwiga, Cago at the nyama choma restaurant/bar.  Very good meal.  They wash your hands at the table, Kenyan style, and the nyama choma (grilled meat) tasted so good with kenyan salsa and coarse salt, especially because we got to eat with our hands and wash it down with cold Tuskers.  We called it a night early because we knew tomorrow would come early and we had a long drive to Mombassa.