tinkle arr

Toby's been talking for ages now, so I thought I'd post a few of his 21-month-old phrases:

Tinkle arr up a ky how I wa what you are – he mostly ‘knows’ the whole song

Down-down-down-PLOP – from the book ‘Are you my mother?’

e-i-e-i-ohhhh – old macdonald

word that always makes me laugh: aaaaa-nuna-one? – presenting another foot to be socked, hand to be washed, asking for another bite, anything!

Toby idunno – usual answer to questions

want Toby cookie Mum– or anything! He’s up to 3- or 4-word sentences now

Thank you mum – very polite

Sorry...sorry – said very convincingly, with a pat on the head and a kiss, when anyone is mildly hurt or when he does something wrong. Hard to stay mad at.

Baba go dwivin’ – he loves going in the car

I ya you mum (I love you)

Pee potty! – when he needs to go, and usually makes it! Only 2-3 accidents a day now, and wakes up dry!

Greetings/responses:
what is your name? Toby Khisa
how are you? Fine. habari yako? Zuri. sasa? Fit. mambo? Poa.
how old are you? four (he lies)
bye bye, good night, nighty-night, 'morrow (as in see you tomorrow), you too (response to 'sweet dreams')

Toby is such a joy - active & bright, sweet & cuddly, rarely cranky, and very social. He can usually count up to 5 on his own in both English & Swahili (though we haven't really started him on Swahili other than a handful of words). He picks up on everything we say, and constantly amazes us all!

all ok in Nairobi

Though there is chaos in various parts of the country, we are all fine in Nairobi, and also our family in Kitale. Koffi Annan is here now and hopefully those negotiations will bear fruit. There is not much difference to our lives, though the area in which we travel is constrained, and the shilling is losing value daily. Not SO bad for me since I get/got paid in USD - more shillings for me! But some prices have correspondingly gone up, notably fuel. Up to 90 Ksh/l, which is about CAD$1.30/l. And since the USD is also falling, it really sucks to send my USD back to my Canadian bank account and get LESS Canadian dollars!

Speaking of our home in Kitale, we found out the other day that a eucalyptus tree was felled in the wrong direction - and crashed into our house! These are at least 20m tall, so I think our little mudhouse is fairly squashed. But the perpetrators are going to repair everything, so I expect it should be ok.

I will likely be going to Yei next week sometime to do some IT training for the SPLM - they haven't confirmed the dates, but it will be my first post-job NPA contract! As well I have been pursuing various options in Kenya, Rwanda, and Sudan. We'll see what pans out, but it's looking good!

We will hopefully submit the Canada application next week - we just have to get a bunch of photos and book a full day for the official medical examinations. Most everything else is collected, though I do need to get a couple of documents from Kitale. Not sure how to do that since it isn't really safe to travel on the highway through Naivasha/Nakuru/Eldoret - which is the only way to Kitale! I may submit the pplication with a letter stating why we couldn't get those items yet, and forward later in the process. It'll take 8-9 months minimum for them to process us anyways....!

I've been meaning to post a Toby update, so I'll do that next.

arrived in nairobi!

The road was so good & safe, it was anticlimactic! We left at 9am, and arrived at 6pm - absolutely no problems whatsoever. I will post a few photos of some of the senseless destruction, but generally everything road-related was cleared by the time we went through. We joined a couple of bus convoys but police were no longer escorting regular cars - we stopped and checked in Eldoret and they said the road was clear, and that we could proceed safely. They did have helicopters monitoring the highway, however.

It's good to be back!!

still in kitale

We have heard that fuel is now trickling into Kitale gas stations, so we are planning our next move. We will likely get gas tomorrow (Sunday), and, depending on the safety on the roads, we may travel to Nairobi on Tue or Wed. Many renegade road blocks on the main highway have been removed, and we can go by military escort convoy from Kitale to Eldoret, Eldoret to Nakuru, and probably Nakuru to Naivasha or Nairobi. We have heard troubling reports about the stretch closest to Nairobi, where they are allegedly only letting Kikuyus and Mzungus (whites) pass through. Though I 'pass,' Anthony & the kids do not....

One of the doctors at Anthony's office (he works for a British medical NGO, MERLIN), has arranged a charter flight to pick people up in Kitale, Eldoret, and Naivasha. We were offered space - but only for Anthony, Toby, and myself - meaning we would have to leave Leah, Kevin, and the car in the village. As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to split the family up - who knows when it would be safe to travel (by bus) up to Kitale, then back with the kids to Nairobi. So I voted to wait until we get fuel and confirmation on the safety of the roads, and we go together.

Thankfully, neither one of us is expected to report to work until the situation is safe, so we can wait it out in safety here. As before, I'm in the Kitale Club, sneaking another blissful shower and charging my gear. Since our car has no fuel, we took a crappy bike and walked/doubled about 6-7 km to the nearest place that we could catch a vehicle to Kitale... now it's almost dark, and we have the return journey to face!

My phone may not be on all the time to conserve battery, but we are all ok & safe in the village!

update on kenya situation

Hi all, thanks everyone for the messages, texts & calls - we are ok!! I decided to post a blog entry, which will also update on Facebook, because I have very limited access to power/internet right now. We've been outside of Kitale - about 8 hours by road from Nairobi - since Dec 22. The election was held on Dec 27, but results were not released until Dec 30. I was (previously) a supporter of Mwai Kibaki, the incumbent, based on his decent track record and no-nonsense work ethic. However, I was shocked - along with millions of Kenyans - to see the lead suddenly turn from Raila-Raila-Raila-Raila during the counting period to, all of a sudden - oops, Kibaki won! Now the country is in chaos, as you've been seeing on the news. I won't go into all of it, except to say how we are affected...

We are staying at Anthony's home village, Lol-Keringet, which is about 4km from the main (paved) road and then we hop a couple of fences surrounding a forest to get to his place. We either drive the car way around this forest, though fields and people's yards, or leave it at a neighbour's place and walk in. Right now, the whole town of Kitale has no fuel - gas stations are closed, and most of the shops that open at all close around 3pm. Some phone lines are cut,
including the one for my ATM. I shopped today with the credit card, which thankfully worked, stocking up on essentials since we might not be able to drive to Kitale town again until they have fuel. Our office was supposed to open today, but as of now, it will be Monday at the earliest. All the Kenyans (and almost-Kenyans) are in their village homes, and since the roads are barricaded and generally unsafe, we are all stuck. Without fuel!

I have seen huge fires burning on Mount Elgon, and heard rumors of houses closer to home being burnt. The main issue is tribal - the opposition, Raila Odinga, a Luo, has the support of most of the tribes, but the incumbent (and now sworn-in for a second term) is from the majority tribe, the Kikuyu. So if you are from a tribe that is likely to have voted for the Kikuyu - such as a Kikuyu yourself - you are a target. Anthony is from the second largest tribe, the Luhya, who are known to be fairly neutral (thankfully!), and, in this area, the Kalenjins (part of the opposition) are few in comparison.

Therefore, we are not really in any danger... just a lot of inconvenience! There is apparently a curfew from 6pm, and very few cars or public transportation on the roads at any time. We hear the occasional drunken shouts & even someone getting beaten up in "our" forest. Otherwise, we're not moving at night - not even to a New Year's Eve party at a neighbours on the other side of the woods!

Since we had planned to only stay for a few days in Lol-Keringet, our supplies, clothes, diapers, and batteries are running out. But we have been saved from total mud hut life by having access to the Kitale Club - much more exclusive than our club in Nairobi, but luckily they accept our membership card! I snuck into the ladies golf club locker room & had my first hot-clean-running-water shower today in 12 days! This was our first time out in about 3-4 days, so now I
have everything charged up as well. But... it's getting dark, so we better get home. Since our car is on E, we will wait until we have news that the town has fuel until we come out again. But my phone should be on, and I get my khisa.com mail on it (hopefully the battery will last!).

Again, thanks for your thoughts & concerns. I wish everyone a peaceful, happy new year.

Christmas in Kenya

...thought I would answer this to contrast Christmas in Canada with Kenya!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? The easiest - gift bags. Though in Kenya they use plastic bags ;-) I usually give out a few beaded items to most of Anthony's family, no wrapping. We will also get his mother some new clothes and/or fabric and shoes. He already bought her a nice luxurious blanket.

2. Real tree or artificial? In Kenya we use a small floppy cyprus tree that Anthony's brother & I decorate. It really looks like Charlie Brown's tree, but is pretty unique among the mud huts - looks very festive!

3. When do you put up the tree? When we get upcountry - maybe on the 23rd this year.

4. When do you take the tree down? Anthony's brother Joshua will do that after we leave. Not sure how long we'll stay this year, but Anthony is determined to take us to Uganda. We want to avoid Kenya during and after the elections, which will be on Dec 27th. So we'll cross at Mount Elgon, visit relatives there, head down to Kampala via Jinja, and hopefully stay in a lodge/resort for a couple of days.

5. Do you like eggnog? Holy crap yes. I miss it already!!

6. Do you have a nativity scene? We don't really decorate per se, but there are some cute African nativity scenes I brought back for Mum & V!

7. Hardest person to buy for? Always Dad. In fact I have no idea what I'm gonna do for them this year - what will I do???

8. Easiest person to buy for? Kids.

9. Best Christmas gift you ever received? A trip home to Canada - oh wait, that hasn't happened (yet!) hahah

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I've received some pretty tacky stuff over here..... a dolphin scene comes to mind.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? I hand some out over here, and may remember to email them back home ;-)

12. Favourite Christmas movie? I always loved watching the Wizard of Oz at Christmas time. Bought the storybook for the kids the other day.....

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Shopping? Oh yeah, I guess I better do that. No what am I gonna do about Canadian family!!!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Definitely

15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Lime mold! I will really miss it. But I made a full chicken dinner a couple of weeks ago (turkey is hard to come by) so I will be ok eating goat, chapatis, mandazis (no bacon), and rice at Anthony's home.

16. Clear lights or coloured on the tree? No electricity... no lights!

17. Favourite Christmas song? Go tell it on the Mountain

18. Travel or stay home for Christmas? Eight-hours each way over VERY rough roads.... btw, this will be Toby's first trip home since he was 5 months old - when Renee was here Sept 2006! Since Anthony was in unveristy with classes on Friday evenings & Saturdays, we never really had a chance to get there on a weekend, and his leave days were all used for studying... it will be great to be there for a while and get used to it again!!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yup. Which reminds me, I should teach Leah & Gigi that song! Toby's getting E-I-E-I-O and Twinkle Twinkle down, so we'll have to start him on Christmas tunes too!!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I think we use a star.

21 Tinsel or no tinsel? I found some garland in Kitale so that will have to do!

22. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Hmm, I think I give out the gifts on Christmas day. No one else gives gifts except for me. I give toys and kids stuff to Leah & Gigi to give out to their cousins & friends but they are not allowed to keep anything. We buy lots of sweets, lollipops etc for everyone as well. I give Leah & Gigi their Christmas gifts (1 of clothing, book, toy for each) once we are back in Nairobi. Toby still won't really know anything about Xmas so I don't have to worry about him! - though he loves ba-baps! (lollipops)

23. What do you want for Christmas? A job for next year ;-)

24. Turkey or Goose? Goat.

25. Do sugar plums dance in your head? Not on a regular basis!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

singing too

I forgot to mention that not only does Toby sing along with various songs (like Rhianna's umbrella song - "ella ella ella" is Toby's version!), if I'm not mistaken, he also makes up his own! My favourite is the one that goes "baby, mama... baby, mama... baby, mama." All songs are accompanied by one of several dancing styles - baby, mama is usually a swaying dance with lots of smiles!!

who knew that babies do this?? I am constantly surprised by this guy ;-)