Kids' Point of View
Now that we have actually moved to Kenya, I'm going to tell you what the kids think. It has been a huge change (as we were already expecting it would be) and we are still adjusting to the changes of culture, people, food, and all that sort of stuff. But, we are having a great time here and everyone is really nice. Some of us might say a little too nice, they treat us like royalty and it took a little while for us to get them to let us help with anything.
One of my favorite things here are the boda boda (dirt bike taxis) rides. The first time we rode on one I was pretty nervous. I just remembered all the times I had been told motorcycles were dangerous, even though boda bodas are much safer because they are slower and there isn't as much traffic except in the city. So I wasn't very excited. B and I were on the same boda boda, him in the middle between me and the driver. I told him that I was not about to be pressed up against someone I didn't know. Thankfully that has only happened once. When the boda boda started moving, I was holding onto Brendan so tightly I don't know how he wasn't complaining. Then I realized it wasn't so bad really. The only times I was nervous was when we were over bridges and when we rode through Bungoma, but I was watching the road the whole time to make sure the driver didn't hit anything! Near the end of the ride, B and I were showing off by sticking our hands out acting like we were airplanes and giving Karson high-fives. Mom said we were being foolish so we had to stop doing that.
Speaking of Mom, her first boda boda ride was not so pleasant. She didn't want to go on one in the first place. She had Reed and Ava-Joy riding in front of her and they all almost got hit by a herd of cows. It has become a family joke now. Sometimes we are on boda bodas now and we see a cow on the road we yell at Mom saying, "They're out to get you!"
Karson said his favorite thing about Kenya is probably the animals. So far the only 'exotic animals' we have seen are zebras and gazelles. We saw them on our way from Nairobi to Pastor Kennedy's house. Most of the animals we see here are cows, goats, pigs, and chickens.
The other day, we visited a lady's house where she was raising rabbits. She had little baby bunnies that we held and fell in love with. When we asked her how much they were, she said 100 to 150 shillings. That is $1.00 to $1.50 each! We are planning on buying 5 or 6 of them. Daddy was teasing Mom, who loves bunnies, that he is going to name them Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, and Dessert.
Brendan loves to play soccer with the kids. The kids here really get into "football". B will play with them every single day. He will come in for dinner covered in a layer of dirt from playing. The whole family will play sometimes. It's really fun watching Karson play goalie. It is pretty funny seeing him out there in his big boots saying, in a Kenyan accent, "No goal. Hapana goal." (Hapana means 'no' in Swahili.)
Ava-Joy's favorite thing is playing with the girls. Mom and Dad got a hula-hoop from a store here called Nakumatt (which is pretty much a small Walmart) and the kids here love it. Joy will have the girls wait in a line and they will all show off their hula-hooping skills.
Violet loved seeing the baby goats. When we were in Kaya visiting Mercy School the other day, Mom had mentioned seeing baby goats across the street. We decided to go see them. I thought it was funny that the family didn't mind seeing strangers walking across their yard. The baby goats were very tiny and so cute! We each took turns holding the two babies and kept asking Daddy if he could buy us some. He assured us we can get some after AFM Mercy Children's Home is built!
Aspen recently made a new friend named Pastor Godfrey. Ever since we moved here, Pastor Kennedy has tried to get Aspen to like him by greeting her with hugs and "My friend, my friend.", but she has not been impressed. Then we visited Pastor Godfrey's house and she immediately liked him. He held her once while speaking in front of his congregation and she will greet him before she greets Daddy. It is pretty cute.
Reed agrees with me that the boda boda rides are really fun. He absolutely loves it! He will be riding between me and Ava-Joy and point out all of the cows saying, "Cow! They say moo." then he will fall asleep. It is sometimes difficult to keep him from falling off because he keeps leaning to look around.
As I said before, we are still adjusting but it is pretty easy to love living here! I don't think any of us regret leaving America, even if we miss our friends and family we left behind. From our family to yours, Christmas Njema! (Happy Christmas)