August 26, 2015 - Don't forget the parents!

Trying to get back into blogging after a pretty decent absence, I think I've got you all caught up on the kids.  But what about Kristoffer and me?  With Aya starting to sleep better at night (except for last night of course), giving us one long stretch even if she wakes up waaaaayyyyy too early for the day, we are starting to come out of the fog of sleep deprivation.

Kristoffer is always quite busy at the World Bank; luckily his work is very interesting and he seems to enjoy (most of) it. It's only three weeks into the school year and I've already been substitute teaching a few days a week.  It's great for me to try to fit in some classes between playing with Aya and carpool drives to and from different schools.  We are still waiting to find out about a possible relocation to America in the near future.  After our long holiday away, life in Dar seems pretty sweet these days so we don't feel quite as desperate to leave Dar as we were feeling (again, when we sleep deprived) in the spring and in June.  It's amazing what some home leave can do for the expat spirit.  Having said that, we are quite sure that we don't want to live here indefinitely, and so we are patiently waiting to hear what the World Bank tells us and to figure out a plan from that point on. 

On our minds lately is the upcoming Tanzanian election, scheduled for the 25th of October.  Campaign season officially began on Sunday.  This election seems different than other recent Tanzanian elections because there have been politicians from the ruling political party who have controversially defected to other political parties.  Even though it is a multi-party system here with different parties forming coalitions, it seems very much that people are focused on the individual candidates.  Policy platforms or political ideologies do not really seem to be at play - there might not be so many differences between the candidates.  But the main guy who is running against the ruling party was actually a member of that party for DECADES and only defected when he was not chosen to be their presidential candidate.  And he took some other people with him to the other side and is now running against his former peer. 

So, while the election is expected to be free and fair and without unrest in its aftermath, our experience in Kenya seems to have left us with a bit of PTSD related to African elections.  We definitely seem to be feeling more nervous than everyone else around us.  We are considering taking a trip at the time of the election (although the school break happens two weeks BEFORE the election - so annoying!) or at least hunkering down at home for a few days when it happens.  When we moved to Kenya in 2007, we assured our family and friends that we were moving to one of the safest democracies in Africa! Less than 3 weeks later, we were in the midst of a very different story unfolding and it had a pretty big impact on us.  Of course we hope it will be different here and all will be calm, but we aren't counting the proverbial chickens before they hatch, if you know what I mean.

Kristoffer and I have made some new friends recently - or at least we've become better friends with people we've known here for awhile - and we're having a lot of fun hanging out with them. So that is also nice and refreshing change here, even in this season of us feeling like we're still waiting to figure out what happens next.

LMW

March 4, 2013 - Big Day part 1 (Kenya's Election)

When Kristoffer and I moved to Kenya in 2007, we were pretty naive.  Or really naive.  Or maybe even incredibly naive.   We convinced our families that we were moving to one of the most peaceful democracies in Africa and boarded an airplane with 6 suitcases and 2 backpacks.  Little did we know that a few weeks later the country would plummet into a crisis that it is still reeling from even now.  I can still hear my mother on the other end of the phone when we finally got through to tell her we were OK saying, "We're watching CNN.  They are killing each other with machetes!"  I  blogged often about my understanding and perception of the events of early 2008 here...but now I find it really embarrassing to read those blog posts!  I have learned and experienced so much since then.

So here we are now...and Kenyans are going back to the polls.  There are many good articles out there about what it's like for Kenya right now and you can easily find them on your own (just really try to avoid CNN if you can...honestly).  I admit that I am a little bit obsessed with this election, considering that we don't live there anymore.  I am reading everything I can.  Talking to whoever I can about it.  I woke up with butterflies in my stomach knowing that some Kenyans had already been at the polls for hours waiting for their turn to vote.  Rose is here with us in Tanzania and is worried about her family.  She told us that they didn't move to hiding because there would be no TV and they want to be able to watch the footage and results.  Let's hope that was not a mistake.  We usually do not pay to have cable TV but did so last week so that she, and we, could all watch coverage on the Kenyan news.

I guess I still feel connected to that time and place...having seen the best and worst of Kenya in the 4 years that we lived there.  I am not worried about violence today.  I am not worried about violence tomorrow.  I am a little worried about violence towards the end of the week...but more so about violence following the almost-inevitable run off between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga.  One candidate needs 50 percent of the vote in order to win the election, but with 8 candidates and about 90 percent of the country evenly divided between those two politicians...it just looks like the current, extreme tension could end up following a similar path to last time.  It is so much more complicated than I realized 5 years ago, so my knowledge and understanding have changed quite a bit.  But my hopes for the country have not.

I hope that all Kenyans are able to vote without being intimidated or fearing retribution against their families.  I hope that the political and yes, even tribal, leaders in Kenya encourage their people to be peaceful, to be humaniarian, to be democratic.  I hope that nobody has been procuring arms or planning attacks "just in case."  I hope that the election is fair...and that the winner is not just the best of all cheaters. I hope that Kenyans can show the world their better side...embrace their unity along with their diversity.  Kenya has  been its own worst enemy, but I hope today it is its own best friend.  

All eyes on Kenya.  

Amani.

LMW

November 6, 2012 - Election Blog Redux

It is election day in America today so I wanted to blog about voting.  I don't have any experience in Tanzania, but of course the experience we had with the Kenyan election in December 2007 will be with me forever (you'll recall that close to 2,000 people were murdered and 500,000 people were displaced from their homes in violence that erupted throughout the country following a corrupt election).  So I will repost some of what I wrote in January 2008...because the importance of voting...the importance of exercising the right and responsibility and freedom to vote is on my mind.

The full blog is here.  But the highlight about democracy is below:

Finally, a word on democracy. In Kenya, 40% of the population lives in extreme poverty and while they may not have food or water or shelter, they believed they had a vote. They didn't take it for granted and they cast it towards a leader they thought would improve their lives. When you take that away from people, when you tell them that their vote didn't matter, they are left with nothing. That is why young men in the slums are chanting "No Raila, No Peace!" and claiming that they are willing to die for this cause. Odinga may also be a corrupt politician and might have done nothing to help these people, but it is not a question of who is a better person or would be a better president. If the election was rigged, as it appears to have been, then Kenyans were robbed of their voice, their vote, and their hope. We hope to see the leaders do something to heal this country now. There are other countries with election drama right now besides Kenya, namely Georgia and Pakistan. I know Denmark's election has passed but my personal hope is that at home in America , when people are voting in upcoming primaries and in the 2008 election, they look around at what people in these other countries are fighting for and do not take their freedoms for granted.

Happy Election Day, to my fellow Americans.  I hope you enjoy your voting experience, knowing that you will not be persecuted in any way...your family will not be threatened or intimidated or harmed...your church will not be burned...and your vote will be counted.  It might not be a perfect system, I know, but millions of people the world over are envious of it.  

God Bless America...get out the vote!

LMW

January 7, 2011 - Politics on the Brain

Kristoffer and I have been talking a lot about Kenyan politics lately, both to each other and with some US visitors we've had. I have to admit that the tone of our conversations has not been so positive. We are frustrated with Kenya. As Kristoffer says, "You think that nothing else will surprise you, and the government goes and does something that completely blows you away."

So I've already written about the six high-profile Kenyans that the International Criminal Court's prosecutor, Louis Morena-Ocampo, named as being behind the violence that occurred after the December 2007 election. Ocampo will now try to prove to the ICC judges that he has enough evidence to prosecute these people for crimes against humanity (only one of whom was a bit of a surprise to anyone over here); it is understood that many other high-profile people were involved but Ocampo only named those who he believes he can successfully prosecute with evidence.

The next step after that was that ALL BUT ONE Member of Parliament (MP) voted to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute, which would effectively withdraw them from the ICC and repeal the International Crimes Act. It wouldn't change the current investigation, but it would mean that the ICC could not prosecute Kenyans in the future. In voting this way the MPs basically told the world that they believe Kenyans should receive impunity and in the future should not be held accountable for their actions [as an aside, Kenyans argue that the US is not part of the ICC either which most people around the world think is insane and horrific. The US should not be used an example in this situation, there is no good reason at all why the US is not part of the ICC except that the US thinks they can and should do everything according to their own rules.]. The irony here is that before Ocampo named his list, the ICC gave Kenya MONTHS AND MONTHS to establish their own local tribunal to try those suspected of fueling and financing the post-election violence. Nobody wanted to do it, everyone opposed it and said "Bring on the Hague!" Now that the Hague has come a-knockin', the government is looking to run and hide. Ocampo has been accused of being biased against Africans and worse, but the reality is that the Kenyan government realizes that they are in dangerous territory and they don't like it. By voting to withdraw from the ICC - which, by the way, needs the president's approval before becoming a reality and thankfully he hasn't given it...yet - the MPs gave the appearance of their own guilt in what happened or what could happen in the future. Nobody seems innocent from committing crimes or corruption in this country.

Today's headline in the Kenyan paper we read says, "Kibaki, Raila plot way out for Ocampo 6", and goes on to explain how the President and Prime Minister are looking for ways to reclaim the option of trying the six suspects here in Kenya at a local tribunal instead of letting them be sent to the Hague. They are publicly looking for a way out! Does anyone else think that sounds really, really guilty of them?! So once again, Kenya surprises us. This is a country with incredible resources and potential and money and international hope/support. And yet, she remains her own worst enemy.

If the President agrees with the MPs to withdraw from the Rome Statute, then things around here should change a lot. We don't believe that the United Nations can continue to have 2 large headquarters here (UNEP and UNHabitat) and to be the 3rd largest UN compound in the world. It could very well be a game-changer in regards to the international community here. (Except China won't go anywhere because they don't care about crimes against humanity - their financial support and the incredible infrastructure they are building here secures their position in the region with access to our resources - and, surprise surprise, makes them oh so very close to all that oil in Sudan. But that is a blog for another day I guess.).

So, alas, I sigh. The government of Kenya is not heading in the direction that we hoped it would be heading in right now. We know the country is better than the image it is showing the world - we know that regular Kenyan people deserve more from their leaders - and we sincerely hope it changes face soon.

LMW

December 16, 2010 - He Named Names*

Yesterday, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague announced the names of six Kenyans who he is seeking to indict for committing crimes against humanity in the violent aftermath of the December 2007 national elections. He claims that they not only instigated the violence, but in some cases had been planning for it for up to a year before the election took place; this violence left approximately 1,500 people dead and over 1/2 million people homeless (some of whom are STILL homeless). In a country where the elite are known to get away with just about anything, this is a big step towards ending the impunity they are used to. The Hague judges will now have to review the prosecutor's evidence to determine if he has a case; he also mentioned that there were many others involved in orchestrating the violence but there was not enough evidence to charge them at this time.

Of the six names, only one was a surprise to anyone. In regards to the other five, I haven't spoken to any Kenyan who didn't already think they were "thugs" or "crooks" of the worst kind, and in almost all of their cases they are in the middle of investigations for other crimes (such as fraud). So while it wasn't HUGE news, it was a HUGE day for Kenya...and when we woke up this morning there were no reports of any reactive violence happening in the predicted "hot spots" following the announcement. Maybe that is also a sign that Kenya is slowly but surely growing up.

The NY Times article about yesterday's announcement can be found here.

LMW

*note: blog title references the Seinfeld episode "The Race" from Season 6, when Elaine is dating a communist.

December 10, 2010 - D-Day's coming to Kenya

I was going to write some commentary about the political situation in Kenya right now, but another Nairobi blogger did such a good job that I'll just direct you to read what she wrote here:

http://africaexpatwivesclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/off-with-their-heads-i-mean-off-to.html

I'll save my brilliant insight (cough, cough) for what happens after the 15th. Things could get interesting around here...just in time for Christmas! Reminds me of when we arrived 3 years ago!

LMW

August 5, 2010 - Hongera*, Kenya!

Pick an article, any article, and read all about Kenya's FAIR and PEACEFUL election yesterday with the excellent result of a new constitution being approved by 67% of the country's voters:

The Daily Nation
BBC News
Jyllands-Posten
The NY Times
The Washington Post
The Boston Globe

I was so happy this afternoon that I actually cried! The new constitution will bring many things to the country, the least of which is HOPE for more equity and equality in their future.
LMW

*hongera = congratulations in Kiswahili

July 29, 2010 - Referendum Ready

In 24 hours we are departing for holiday in Denmark. Kristoffer will be staying for 2 weeks while Grace and I are staying for 6 weeks (he is coming back towards the end for a few more days and to travel back to Nairobi with us). Grace will get a lot of attention and have a lot of fun with Farmor and Hans for most of the trip, while I will hopefully get a lot of rest. And boy do I need it! In addition to being 13+ weeks pregnant and supposedly on "bed rest" for another 3-4 weeks, I have also had bronchitis for the last few weeks which has turned into a painful lung infection. I went to the emergency room last night, realizing that I needed some medical attention before we travel, and told the doctor that I thought I had cracked a rib. It was that painful and I didn't know what else it could be (also I have been vomiting and coughing so much it actually seemed a likely diagnosis). He said, "But you aren't a doctor, are you?" Good point, guy. Turns out that a lung infection can cause pain similar to that of a cracked rib! He didn't seem that concerned about my pain but was concerned about getting rid of the infection; so I am as drugged up as I am allowed to be given Rocky's residence on the inside and hope to be feeling better before our departure tomorrow morning. There is a big part of me that feels like all of my troubles will disappear once I am in Denmark! Let's get there!

More interesting news is that Kenya is headed for a very big day. On August 4th Kenyans will go to the polls for the first time since the 2007 election to vote on a new Constitution for the nation. The draft of the new Constitution was approved by Parliament a few months ago and the country will vote in just a few more days. This is a big deal for many reasons:

1. There has not been a national election since the violence that plagued early 2008; Kenyans seem resolute to exercise their right to vote but everyone is treading carefully and hoping (praying, really) that, regardless of the outcome, violence will not ensue and that corruption will not prevent a fair election from taking place.
2. The new document limits the power of all three branches of government in a way that the country hasn't seen before; for example, for the first time the President shall not also be a Member of Parliament from a certain district of the country. Ideally, these new measures will curtail corruption.
3. A significantly controversial clause in the document states that abortion is illegal (as it has always been here) except in cases where a medical professional believes the mother's life is at risk. The church, a powerful institution, believes this will open the door for future laws to be created to allow for abortion to be carried out liberally and they have campaigned actively against the new document (with financing from right-wing American conservatives, we believe) throughout the country, specifically in poor areas where people are not educated and rely on their religious leaders for political guidance.
4. The new constitution also limits the amount of land that can be privately owned, gives power to a land commission to levy taxes on land and even correct historical land injustices, and even gives equal land rights to women (shock! horror!). This is another controversial part of the constitution but one that every outsider agrees is CRUCIAL for the country's future.
5. Finally, there is a little bit of controvery regarding the part of the constitution that exempts the Muslim population of the country from the Bill of Rights and acknowledges their own courts, called Kadhi. This seems to be less controversial than the other two big issues, but has still been discussed a lot in the media.
6. The original and current constitution was essentially written in the UK by Brits in the early 60s, so the proposed document would now be much more empowering for Kenyans to live by today.

Politics in Kenya doesn't get more interesting than this. Last night when I was sitting in the emergency room (for 4 hours...) watching the local news, I learned that over 50,000 Kenyans are going to be criminally charged with registering to vote multiple times. Their names were even published in a public "list of shame"; Go Kenya! That is amazing! Otherwise, 12.5 million Kenyans have registered to vote on Wednesday, which has been declared a public holiday to ensure that Kenyans can safely get to and from their polling stations.

It is expected that the new constitution will be adopted, but it is also anticipated that in pockets of the country (likely the Rift Valley and urban slums) there could also be reactive violence or proactive measures of intimidation. Of course we (we = all expats, probably, but definitely me and Kristoffer) hope that Kenya votes for the new Constitution because it would be very good for the country to do so, even if it might not be 100% perfect by every interest-group's standards. But, we hope even more that that Kenyans are able to participate in an open and fair election without fear of persecution for their choice or their ethnic background. We hope the country can prove to the world that they have learned, changed, grown in the last couple of years.

When Wednesday comes around, I anticipate that the Welsiens will be enjoying a certain lovely garden in Varde, Denmark with some certain loved ones, but you can be sure that our thoughts will be with Kenya as we all eagerly await the outcome of the referendum.

LMW

August 25, 2009 - Kenya's National Census II

Since it is almost 7:30 in the morning and we still have power, I will take this opportunity to share a few more funny parts of the census last night that I forgot to write about in my haste to blog so quickly.

First, there was a book that the census guy used to look up the correct codes for the various answers we might have given him. It was completely understandable to me when he had to look up the code for Danish and American when he asked our nationalities. What surprised me was when Ida confirmed that she was Kenyan he still had to look up the code for that!! I mean, most of the people he is surveying will be Kenyan so wouldn't he know that code by heart?!

Next, the census guy must have been given instructions to ask each question about every person in the household, which certainly makes sense for all the adults! But when he kept me asking me every question about Grace, it was all I could do not to start cracking jokes. And let me tell you, he took his job his very seriously and I do not imagine that we had the same sense of humor. But come on! After asking for her birth date (February 26, 2009) and her birth place (Nairobi), he asked me what date did Grace first enter the country. He also asked me what language does she speak (is there a code for speaking "baby"?) and what is the highest level of education she has obtained (ummm...she can sit up on her own...is that a level of education?). Even I could understand that Ida kept telling him in Swahili: she is just a baby!

Finally, I confirmed that my highest level of education is a Master's degree. Then he asked me what work I do currently. The conversation when something like this...

Me: I am currently unemployed.

Him: Well, when you did work what did you do?

Me: I was an educator.

Him: looks in his book for the right code.

Him: How many hours do you work every week?

Me: I am currently unemployed.

Him: But what kind of private work do you do? How many hours?

Me: None. I do not have a job except that I am a mother. I take care of my baby, all day everyday.

Him: now furiously flips through the book because he doesn't know how to code someone who has a master's degree but is unemployed; there was no code for "stay at home mom".

Ten hours later, I am still laughing about and pondering the whole thing. I intend to have a conversation about the experience with Ida this morning to find out if it was an interesting experience for her too or if it was just the norm.

Today has been declared a public holiday so that people will be home and the census can be properly conducted. The UN doesn't take the holiday so Kristoffer is already at work...bummer! Ida and Charles both opted to take a Friday off for a long weekend instead of getting today off. Christian arrived from Copenhagen safely and I will take him on a tour of the UN today.

LMW

August 24, 2009 - Kenya's National Census

I thought about naming this blog: Most Kenyan Experience to Date...but then I thought that might be a slight exaggeration, although not by much.

Tonight through Wednesday the Government of Kenya is conducting its national census by going door-to-door to every household in the country. Remember when I wrote yesterday that sometimes it is easy to forget that you are in Kenya? Well let me clarify that by saying this: participating in the national census is the most sure-fire way to remember where you are.

Kristoffer had gone to the airport earlier tonight to pick up his friend Christian who will be visiting for the next month, and so Grace and I home were home alone, with Ida in her quarters too. I thought about not answering the door when they came a-knockin', because there are security concerns about people posing as census officials to rob others, etc. But then I saw who it was exactly that came to call: 2 armed militia, 2 regular security guards, our caretaker (who I don't trust, but definitely know), and 2 government guys actually doing data entry for the census. So instead of letting them into my house with my sleeping baby, we all sat outside on the couch on our front patio or stood in our driveway for the 30-minute intake. And how was this data collected? With one really large notebook (granted, pre-printed with questions and columns for coding), 1 pencil, 1 eraser, and 1 book with all of the necessary codes. Our census guy was very nice (only one guy spoke, the other guy was there for "quality control" I think), especially given how tedious his work is. The census is estimated to take 30 minutes per household, which I can confirm almost to the minute. I swear I am not making this up!

So I answered questions about Kristoffer, Grace and me, and Ida answered questions about herself. At one point one of the militia - a female, which is rare! - demanded that Ida bring her a glass of water. It was really strange. And either the census guy must be told to conduct the census in English since that is the official language of the country (Swahili is the national language) OR he was doing so because I am not Kenyan, but the guy kept asking questions in English. Maybe Ida didn't want me to know what her answers were because she kept answering in Swahili and asking him questions in Swahili, and the guy kept responding in English. He seemed a bit irritated that she wasn't speaking English too. I also found it interesting that he knew some of her answers to the questions before she even told him: based on her last name he told her what tribe she was and where she was born!

As I said, 30 minutes later they leave and I am furiously writing this blog before I forget all the details and because, of course, we will not have any electricity tomorrow. I can't believe this was a truly, truly Kenyan experience and Kristoffer missed the whole thing! Sheesh!

LMW

August 12, 2009 - Dear Government of Kenya...

I have a bone to pick with you.

Yesterday we realized that our gas cylinder (or canister?) that we use for cooking on our gas stove was empty. So I sent my driver to exchange it and buy a full one. We have done this before - it takes approximately 5 minutes and is no big deal. Until yesterday.

You see, there is a "regulator" that we fasten to the top of the cylinder to turn the gas on/off and adjust its pressure, and apparently you, dear government, mandated that a brand new type of regulator be used for a brand new type of cylinder. The old cylinders have been taken off the market and the old regulators no longer work. Sigh. So what do I have to do? I have to spend almost $20 on a new regulator - and you will not allow for any exchange or discount when old regulators are turned in.

Why did you do this? Well, the only reason I can think of is to make money of off your poor and starving citizens (ok, and all of your not-poor-or-starving expats in residence too). And what will you use this money for? One can only guess it will go into the pockets of your Members of Parliament (MPs) - you know, the ones who don't pay taxes on their fancy houses, cars, vacations, and entertainment spending. You aren't sure which MPs I am talking about? Well, they are probably the same ones who helped create the food shortage in this country and who are trying to get out of any kind of trial (here or in the Hague) for their crimes in funding and organizing the post-election violence. I know you know who I am talking about here.

So yes, thank you, wise government, for robbing me of my 1000 Kenyan shillings for a regulator that has very little pressure and, therefore, doesn't allow for my stove to work properly and leaves my house smelling of gas. You know, because that is really healthy for my 5-month old daughter to inhale.

Sincerely,

LMW

May 19, 2009 - Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Grace seems to be going through her 3-month growth spurt the last two days.  Let's hope it doesn't last too much longer because she is not sleeping much, she is eating constantly, and she is otherwise not the happiest camper.  It would not be that bad if Kristoffer was around to help, but he isn't and so I am going it alone.  I learned this morning that there is a reason Kristoffer cuts Grace's finger nails: I am really bad at it!  She scratched herself badly last night so I sucked it up to do it myself this morning, and now she has jagged and crooked fingernails all over the place.  I was too afraid of cutting her fingers!

Anyway, aside from the little one growing as she should, things here are fine.  Last week I had a show-down of sorts with Ida, our housekeeper.  We haven't been too happy with her work or her attitude and we were seriously thinking of letting her go.  Instead, I decided to be brutally honest with her, lay it all on the table, and see what happens.  I figured that if things didn't get better then we would be no worse off and, after all, we have made an investment of time and money in her so far.  The conversation we had was 40 minutes long: note that my neighbor says she has never spoken to any of her staff for 40 minutes total, let alone all at once!  I told Ida why I was unhappy and what she needed to do to keep her job.  She told me that she was afraid of me and that I was much nicer before I had Grace.  I can only interpret this to mean that I used to talk to her more before I had Grace and now she feels left out (especially since I am not using her as a nanny).  I basically told her she needed to work harder and that if she didn't get unafraid of me ASAP, she would lose her job.  Obviously the conversation included a lot more, but that is the gist of it.  And since then she has been much better - not lurking around like she thinks I'm going to lash out at her, and definitely doing much more work than she was before.  I also had to tell her that we won't be giving her any more loans after she asked for another one last week.  We are paying off our own debt and shelling out loans to every Kenyan who asks (our guards, our property caretaker, Kristoffer's colleagues, our driver Charles, Ida, etc.) increases the interest we are paying on our own debt!  She did not take kindly to this news at all and argued for the loans for quite a while - obviously she assumed that every time she asked for money we would oblige.  I told her that if she was looking for that quality in an employer than she should start looking for another job.  After that she stopped complaining.  So it is a bit difficult because we pay her and Charles well, they have great vacation, easy work hours, and we think we are kind to them.  But then when I tell her to stop asking for money I come across like a "rich bitch" (pardon my language) so I feel like we can't win.    

In other news, here is an interesting article in today's Washington Post about political tensions in Kenya these days: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051802985.html

It is, unfortunately, increasingly likely that the country will see more violence, as the situation remains tenuous at best.  I have two hopes about this: if there is more violence, I hope it is not worse than last time; and, if there is more violence, I hope it happens in the 5 weeks we are on vacation and not while we are here.  Even though our immediate surroundings will not be affected and as expats we are safe from tribal issues, it is generally stressful and exhausting to be living in a country going through such turmoil and I certainly do not wish Grace to be exposed to it.

I guess that's all for this morning.  While Grace is sleeping (more deeply than she did at all last night, by the way) I should take advantage of a quiet opportunity to eat breakfast and take a shower!

LMW

April 23, 2009 - As I was Saying...

On the heels of my last blog, this is a NY Times article about the Mungiki violence that occurred the other day in Central Kenya. It is a pretty interesting article and, from my understanding of the Mungiki, fairly accurate. What I wrote that sparked the violence the other day - police having killed some Mungiki - was completely false, however (although some police did kill some Mungiki). The violence the other day seemed to be sparked by a community refusing to be victims to the Mungiki anymore and taking the law into their own hands.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/world/africa/22kenya.html?emc=eta1

LMW

April 21, 2009 - Not About Grace

This blog will not be about Grace! I figure, people were reading our blog before I was pregnant because they were interested in Kenya and so every now and then I should get back to writing about Kenya! Here is a bit of what's going on around us while we live in Grace-land:

Politically, I think Kenya is in a bit of a mess right now. There is a lot of tension and collision between the two ruling parties of the coalition government, which means that stability is quite tenuous and could potentially break down with just a very small straw on the camel's back, so to speak. Parliament is long overdue to begin holding a local tribunal to try those political and business leaders accused of financing/supporting/inciting the violence that took place last year after the presidential election. They are way past their deadline which means that the trial should go to the Hague, and yet for some reason they have been given more than one second chance to get their act together. Personally I think that the ship should have sailed awhile ago and the ICC should just get involved...especially given that the coalition is so fragile and there is evidence from around the country that groups of young men have continued to stockpile weapons since the last violence took place in order to be ready for new violence if the coalition breaks down. Isn't that a scary thought!?!

Not necessarily related to post-election issues, there is a sect in Kenya called "Mungiki". They are from one tribe (the largest tribe in Kenya, Kikuyu) and there are considered to be the Kenyan mafia. Some people claim they are a religious group as well - I'm not sure of that because they commit many, many criminal and violent acts. A few of the Mungiki were recently killed by the police (police never try to arrest criminals, they always shoot to kill) , and last night there was a violent outbreak in the central part of the country (north of Nairobi, where the president is from actually) between the citizens in one town and the Mungiki, which left 24 people dead. Sigh.

The country continues to face rising food prices, drought in many parts of the country (and where there is not actual drought there is a definite lack of rain which has spoiled most of the harvest), and major educational gaps due to teacher shortages. In other words...in recent months I have not seen any major improvements in Kenya. There are still several corruption scandals which are also affecting the effectiveness of the ruling government, as well as turnover in cabinet positions. And I assume you've heard of Somali pirates?! Well...these darn pirates are really screwing with East African countries - including their own! - because the ships they have been capturing are often bringing necessary food aid to this part of the world. What a mess!

Of course, we did have a Kenyan woman win the Boston marathon yesterday, right?! And in our neighborhood we have seen improvements in roads being paved (albeit paved so horribly that after a few days they are pretty crappy again!). At least our weather is good!

I didn't realize how depressing this post would be until I started writing it - Kenya needs some good news I think! Kenyans are still clinging to the developing-legacy of President Barack Obama and in a time when their own country might not provide them with a lot, at least he gives them hope.

In our own household, things have been a bit interesting lately. We are having some challenges in managing our staff - Ida, our housekeeper, and Charles, our driver. The major problem seems to be that they both want money from us. When we first hired them, we learned from others that we were paying them on the lower end of what most people pay their staff, and so we gave them a substantial raise after one month because we liked their work and we didn't want them to look for other jobs. But because we did that (and apparently we went a little bit overboard on the raise) and were probably too nice and friendly, they now seem to think that we have a money tree growing in our backyard.

Ida wants more money for her son to go to school and has also recently seemed to be very sad, often giving me a bit of an attitude. So we had a meeting with her last week to talk about her performance, her hours (because she complained about them), and how she is feeling about the job. The meeting went really well and she said that her sadness was related to her personal life not to her job (we didn't pry into that because we are trying to establish more of a professional distance) and she said she was happy with everything (why wouldn't she be - she has five week of paid vacation coming up!), except she said "I don't feel that I get to hold Grace enough." Well! I reminded her that we told her that she was being hired to be our housekeeper and cook, and maybe to babysit sometimes but not to be a nanny for Grace. I am not working right now so that I can spend all of my time caring for Grace! Kristoffer reminded her that in our countries, it is generally considered to be a gift for a mother to be able to spend all of her time with her baby (which is not the case in Kenya). She didn't seem that happy about it, but we have always been honest with her. I wouldn't be surprised if she was looking for another job as a nanny, but I doubt she will find people who will pay her as well with as much vacation and cooking classes! We did give her a loan to help her son take computer classes - since the college thing didn't work out - and she is paying that off in the next two months.

As for Charles, he is constantly telling Kristoffer, "I need X amount of money for my wife to finish going to school to get her teaching certificate..." or "I need x amount of money to finish building my new house..." This is his subtle way of asking because he is hoping that Kristoffer will say, "Oh! Here's the money!" Finally, yesterday he specifically asked Kristoffer for a loan and when Kristoffer asked why he thought we should give him the loan he said, "Because I have never asked you for a loan before!" As if that is a reason! He has only worked for us for 4 months! We think that is pretty gutsy of both Ida and Charles to ask for loans, because most people have told us that their staff haven't asked for money until they worked for them for a long time. Anyway, I am sure Ida told Charles that we gave her a loan for her son's education so he thought he could get one too. So, Kristoffer told Charles that we would give him the loan this time but that he shouldn't ask us for another loan and we will tell Ida the same thing this week - no more loans!

Particularly because we feel they both have pretty easy jobs - neither of them works that hard (that is the Kenyan way after all) and we know we pay them better than anyone we know pays their staff - it is frustrating to always have these awkward financial interactions with them. We have definitely learned a lot should we employ staff in the future (either here or in another country) about what to do and what NOT to do from the very beginning. I think when my parents were here, it was interesting fir them to observe all of this too.

Hmmm...I guess that's all that is going on here right now. Blogs about Grace are much more fun and positive I think. Wouldn't you agree?

LMW

February 23, 2009 - Aid to Africa take 2

So after I wrote my previous blog this morning, Kristoffer and I talked about the article. He is pretty strongly opposed to the opinions expressed by Dambisa Moyo, the author of the book "Dead Aid", particularly to her argument about China. He asks the question about what kind of infrastructure would exist in Africa at all without foreign aid. He is totally right there and, again, I do not entirely agree with her. But I do think that she has a point and think that the truth lies somewhere inbetween her extreme opinion and his. It is obviously a complicated issue with a complicated history, but I like that it is being openly addressed in mainstream media at the very least.

Actually, the part of the Times piece that I liked the most, which I forgot to even write about because I got so caught up in Ida and Brian's saga, is the part about micro-financing or micro-lending.

She mentioned the website www.kiva.org, which is a fantastic way to give loans to small business owners in Africa. Kristoffer has been lending to several women in Kenya through a generous Christmas gift from my parents for the last two years. When they pay back the loan he gave them, he asks my parents to reinvest the money in someone else. We believe strongly that this is one non-corrupt way that Western money can really help and empower people in developing countries and we would encourage others - if they feel they want to give towards development in some way - to go through this or a similar website.

OK, I'll be done for today now.
LMW

February 23, 2009 - Aid to Africa

There is a very interesting article in the NY Times; thanks to my friend Amy for sending it to me because I hadn't seen it on my own.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/magazine/22wwln-q4-t.html?_r=1

It is actually an interview with a global economist, Dambisa Moyo, who is Zambian and has written a book "Dead Aid" criticizing foreign aid to Africa because of the dependence and corruption it creates, along with alienating African citizens. The article in the Times is definitely worth a read - especially to determine if you want to read her book - and I have to admit since living in Africa I can clearly see the point she makes. I am not yet sure if I agree with it completely, but certainly to some degree I can see how she is right.

As a microcosm of the same issue she is discussing, Kristoffer and I are dealing with a situation with our housekeeper, Ida. Ida has three children, the oldest of which is a son, Brian, who just finished high school. He is waiting for his final exam scores and really wants to go to college because his whole life she has told him that they only want to get their family out of poverty is through education. Originally, their plans were for him to go to school in Kampala, Uganda because it is less expensive than going to school in Kenya. Brian is apparently a very good rugby player and, through some friends, talked to the rugby coach at a very good private university here in Nairobi last week. The coach told him that they want Brian to play at their school and he would get an athletic scholarship. Brian and Ida both assumed that meant it was a done deal and celebrated immediately; Brian now refuses to even entertain going to Uganda. Unfortunately, neither of them knew how much the school costs - it is very expensive by Kenyan standards - and the administration and the coach are telling them different numbers regarding what Brian's scholarship would be so the celebration has turned into sadness between them. The bottom line appears to be that Ida cannot afford him to send him to this school, even with the scholarship.

So where do we fit in? Well, we are pretty sure that Ida and Brian would like us to offer to pay for his education. It is not uncommon here for expats to pay school fees for their staff members' children to go to primary and secondary school and we know that Ida's two previous American employers paid public school fees for her other two children and private school fees for Brian (even public education here in Kenya is anything but free). Ida hasn't actually asked us for the money but we know she would happily accept if we offered, and after meeting Brian last week I could tell that he hopes we will pay based on what he said and the way he said it; from his perspective, his mother's employers have always paid for his education so why wouldn't we do it now?

My feelings on this are mixed. If Ida needed $100- or some other small amount - to make up the difference between what she could pay and what the school wants, we could give her or a loan or work something out. But to just give her a few thousand dollars a year is another thing. I had Brian come to the house last week to talk to him about the program he wants to study, what information he still needs to get from the school, and how to look for scholarships. Banks won't give educational loans in Kenya so Ida can't take a loan to pay for school. Brian had no idea how rigorous the school was and the program he wants to study for hospitality and tourism (a good degree to get in this country!) is really well-structured, including four years of a foreign language. He was instantly asking if he could get the degree in two years instead of four, which he can't, and if there were other programs that were easier. My impression is that Brian is really only interested in playing rugby, has very average grades (Cs) and is not necessarily ready to work really hard for the degree. I don't think he had any idea of what the academic life at the school would be and, in my best role as guidance counselor (a role I have played before for sure), I gave him a pretty stern lecture about being committed to the degree, what it could help provide for his family once he gets it, and how he has to get involved looking for scholarships if he wants to make it happen.

I think when he left our house he probably didn't like me too much, but I didn't think it would do him any favors to just tell him what he wanted to hear. I realize that this connects to the book the economist wrote, because Brian is used to getting a handout (I think - even if his mother really appreciates the assistance she has received, I am not sure that he does) and therefore has no idea what is really involved in "working hard for the money". He is justified, of course, in being unhappy with his poverty, but he has been enabled to not realize what it takes to get out of that poverty without the financial help of others. While Kristoffer and I are not able to afford paying for his college education anyway (certainly not while paying off our own educational debt and saving for our own baby's education), I am not sure that we would just give him the money even if we could. I offered him help writing applications for scholarships, I gave him a list of steps to take and questions to get answered, and I gave Ida the afternoon on Thursday to go with Brian to the school to meet with the coach and the administration and figure out the best package they can give him if they really want him to play there. My fear, however, is that Ida will kill herself to pay for this school and Brian will not make the most of the academic opportunity he has. I suppose that is a very negative attitude though, and I really hope I am misjudging the situation.

So we will see what happens. It is a tricky position to be in because, probably from their perspective, we could easily give them the money, but I am not convinced that that would be the right way for Brian to make his way in the world. Until it is all sorted out, Ida is a bit sad because her son blames her for not being able to afford this school and, because she didn't go to college and he thinks she is "old" (Ida is about 38 or 39, mind you,) he won't listen to a thing she says. I mean, he is a typical teenager and she is a typical mother with few economic resources who works very hard to put food on the table for her children. It is a difficult, but typical, situation for sure.

LMW

February 12, 2009 - Refugees in Kenya

Among the challenges Kenya faces politically and economically, an ongoing issue that the country has been dealing with for quite awhile is the humanitarian issue of hosting refugees from other war-torn African countries, namely Sudan and Somalia.

"Dadaab" is referred to as one camp, but is actually three refugee camps in the northeastern part of Kenya on the border of Somalia, created in 1991 to assist refugees fleeing Somalia. The camp was designed to host 90,000 refugees and currently has almost 250,000. Estimates are that in the last several months, 10,000 refugees from Somalia have been coming into the country every month, which is really not sustainable. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is an agency that oversees the camp with assistance from NGOs like CARE and other UN agencies like UNICEF (for nutrition, water and sanitation, and child protection services mostly) and WFP (for food provision). UNHCR has recently promised to expand Dadaab's facilities because they are completely overburdened and in some cases are not safe or sanitary. Local drought and flooding conditions make life harder in Dadaab as well, in addition to violence that spreads from Somalia into that part of Kenya. Facilities for the local community, such as schools and hospitals, are also overburdened because of the refugees and so UNHCR will be investing in improving those facilities as well. In addition, at least 50,000 refugees will be transported to the other major refugee camp in Kenya, Kakuma.

Kakuma is the refugee camp in the northwestern part of Kenya that has housed 70,000 predominantly Sudanese refugees since 1992 (notably, "the Lost Boys of Sudan" were hosted at this camp until they were resettled to the United States). Kakuma is known to have "good" education services and is it has also been noted that the people who live in the camp are less poor than the Kenyans who live in the area surrounding the camp. Interestingly, Sudanese refugees are being repatriated to Sudan more readily than Somalian refugees, who really can't go back to Somalia due to the ongoing violence. Because of this, refugees from Dadaab will be moved to Kakuma and, eventually, it is anticipated that both camps will host more Somalians than refugees from any other African countries (there are pockets of refugees from Ethiopia, Burundi, Uganda, etc.).

Given UNHCR's commitment to improve conditions in Dadaab, I thought it was an interesting time to share this information on life in Kenya. At the end of March, Kristoffer will be monitoring schools for WFP up near Kakuma and hopes to get a look at the camp; he has already been to Dadaab once before. It is so interesting to me that even though I think Kenya is all screwed up in so many ways (corruption, etc.), it is still a "model" country compared to places like Sudan and Somalia and refugees would rather live a permanently tough life in a camp in Kenya (many of them have been here for more than a decade!) than stay in their unstable homelands.

LMW

February 2, 2009 - Kenya's Cans of Worms

Well it has been an eventful few days over here. First of all, the good news is that I don't have a urinary tract infection and that my recent general feeling of yuckiness is just very normal end-of-pregnancy stuff. Simba is in good shape and, despite how I sometimes feel these days, so am I!

We received a new American visitor on Friday night, Jeanne, who ended up getting in one day late and without her baggage. But she was in very good spirits to start a 7-week tour of Africa and Saturday had a great day hanging out with us and our Danish guests too. Yesterday, Kristoffer, the guys, and Jeanne went to Hell's Gate National Park to climb around the gorges and, even though it is not difficult hiking or climbing and even though Jeanne has experience climbing, something went wrong and she dislocated her shoulder. OUCH to say the very least! It is an excruciatingly painful experience to dislocate one's shoulder (from what we could all tell), although luckily her shoulder seemed to pop back in on its own without any outside medical intervention. Kristoffer and the guys took her to a small, local hospital in Naivasha but unfortunately they couldn't really provide her proper care or treatment (no working xray and the doctor didn't even have a pair of scissors to cut medical tape with! He actually asked Kristoffer to assist with his Swiss Army knife!). She had to bear the bad roads all the way back to our very good hospital in Nairobi where she was rushed to the head of the emergency room line (most likely because she was white, in all honesty) and received xrays, saw doctors, and most importantly got drugs. Her cousin arrived late last night, as they are starting their safari in Tanzania tomorrow, and so we hope it is a comfort for her to have some family around to help take care of her as they begin their adventure. She is supposed to be climbing Kilimanjaro next week and hopes her pain is under control by then; at least she will have porters to carry everything for her. The world's highest bungee jump, which she has scheduled for the end of her trip in South Africa, may just have to be postponed for another trip. Such drama! Jeanne is keeping her own blog at http://solosafarisabbatical.blogspot.com if you care to check in on her adventures. In the meantime, our Danish guys left to climb Mt. Kenya this morning and will be back with us for Thursday night and Friday. Hotel Welsien has certainly been booked!

As Jeanne's shoulder was popping in and out, there was a second major fire yesterday afternoon - in the town of Molo in the Rift Valley. This time, an oil tanker had overturned on the highway and many, many Kenyans began coming from all over to collect oil in jerry cans as it leaked out of the truck. These looters became aggressive as the police were trying to keep them away; allegedly, one looter who was angry at being pushed away by the police struck a match and threw it into the gasoline, causing the truck to explode. The death toll is currently at about 113 people with an additional 200 people seriously injured or burned (and it is expected that the death toll will increase). There are complaints in the media today that in the case of this fire and the fire at the Nakumatt in Nairobi last week, the emergency response from local agencies was too slow. These two incidents have really exposed some serious flaws in the infrastructure of this country for sure.

As if that wasn't enough, an article in the NY Times on Saturday has opened up a post-election violence can of worms once again. I will summarize, but should you want more specifics and details (because it is a really juicy article) you should read it in full at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/world/africa/31kenya.html

Basically, the International Republican Institute (aka I.R.I., an American NGO that my sister Christine happened to work for for many years in the past) was a primary organization conducting exit polls for the US government after Kenya's presidential elections in December 2007 (just after we got here...remember that fun time?). The article implies that the results of IRI's exit polls favored Raila Odinga, the opposition leader and Kenya's current Prime Minister, but the institute has never released its results. The article also implies that the US Ambassador and the US State Department put pressure on IRI to not release the results fearing that it would cause more trauma given that Mwai Kibaki was announced to be the winner. The article is pretty critical of the US Ambassador and the State Department, insinuating that it was in their best interests to support the incumbent President and not to release the results in order to promote stability in the country (as opposed to promoting democracy globally). Of course IRI claimed at the time, and until recently, that they didn't release their results because they did not have confidence in their accuracy...but there was also a gag order on the guy in charge of the project and he couldn't talk about it for at least 6 months. Essentially, the article hints that had IRI and the US government released and supported the results of their poll (which was heavily monitored, evaluated, and may be the most legitimate polling conducted) the violence could have been lessened and a peace agreement could have been reached earlier with fewer lives lost. Seriously...this is a BIG deal and an insider told us that today at the US Embassy there was likely a lot of damage control going on. We wonder what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has to say about all of this and if there will be any fall-out.

The final political news here is that at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, Prime Minister Raila Odinga indicated that despite missing the the end-January deadline to establish a local tribunal court for the alleged post-election violence organizers, the country has made significant progress to that end and would still be able to avoid having the ICC conduct the trial at the Hague. Maybe he will rethink or has rethought his position after reading the above mentioned article?

We continue to live here and learn here and to really like it here, despite the latest cans of worms that have been opened!

LMW

January 29, 2009 - Local News Updates

Even though I am baby-obsessed these days and, therefore, my blogs are all about getting ready for Simba, I do acknowledge that there has been some really interesting news in Kenya lately that I'd like to share. Here are what I would classify as today's top 4 news stories (or at least the four stories that I talk to our driver, Charles, about the most when we are in the car):

1. Teacher's strike: Public school teachers in Kenya have up until now made very little money (I believe around $130 (US) per month), particularly compared to other employees of the government. It is important to remember that in many schools in the country there are up to or more than 60 students in a classroom with a lack of textbooks and teaching materials and other poor conditions, so it is not like these teachers have an easy job. Occasionally they threaten to go on strike, or actually do, but very little seems to ever improve between the government and the teacher's union. Starting last week, the teachers went on strike again - or at least many of them did...in some parts of the country the strike never actually materialized - and today the government and the teacher's union came to an agreement that teachers will accept. While I don't know the actual time frame, teachers' salaries will be increased in three phases with the first and second phases seeing increases of 40% and the third phase increasing by 20%. It is good for the country to get its education system back on track (or at least not shut down), because of course students are hurt the most by teacher strikes in any country, and I hope that this is a sign of progress with the government showing more respect to the teachers it employs.

2. Big Fire Downtown: In the city center yesterday afternoon, a fire started in one of the large Nakumatt grocery stores (which I have written about before, but this one is not one that we ever go to). Apparently the whole street had experienced a power outage and the store was operating on its generator. When the regular power was restored and the generator turned off for the regular electricity, there was some kind of explosion that ignited the fire, which spread quickly. Initially, it was believed that only 4 people were injured and nobody was killed, but 24 hours later there were 34 people still reported missing from that store and it is likely that they didn't make it out. Hundreds of people were evacuated and traffic is STILL (literally) backed up on the highway because they had to close a major road. One of the flaws of the city's government that is highlighted here is their lack of preparedness to handle such a serious fire: the fire department could not maintain the fire on its own and relied on the help of several private security companies as well as the military to get it under control. Currently in Kenya, Members of Parliament do not pay taxes on all of their non-salary allowances (homes, cars, entertainment, etc.) which amounts to a LOT of money and which I find to be a horrible crime. I loved reading in the paper today several letters that noted if MPs were paying taxes on all of their income then maybe the city could afford a larger, more effective and efficient fire brigade Oh yeah.

3. Local Tribunal Court: Towards the end of last year, an independent commission that studied the events of post-election violence handed over to the panel of prominent African leaders (headed by Kofi Annan) a list of suspected Kenyan leaders - specifically six high-level government Ministers and five Members of Parliament - who were involved in planning or financing the violence that took place. Kenya has been sentenced to conduct its own local tribunal to determine the guilt or innocence of these 11 politicians so that they can be held responsible if they were involved. If they don't legally establish this tribunal by next week I believe (or maybe it is tomorrow?!?!), then the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague (the Netherlands) will hold its own tribunal and Kenya's "dirty laundry", so to speak, will be aired for the whole world to see and judge. There is increasing pressure from several prominent politicians that Kenya needs to hurry up and establish the local tribunal to save the country this public embarrassment, particularly because a Kenyan judge was recently appointed over 19 candidates to sit on the ICC at the Hague. Hopefully the country will amend its laws so that the tribunal can be set up before the deadline. It will help the country heal, I believe, to get this over and not drag it on for years.

4. Maize Scandal: Basically, the country is experiencing an extreme food shortage right now, so much so that the week we came back to Kenya the President declared a state of emergency because 10 million people were/are at risk of starvation. Much of this is because of drought and failed rains, some of this is because of the shortage of crops that were planted last year due to the post-election violence, and some of this is because of allegedly corrupt policies and practices between some government officials and local maize millers and farmers. It is an extremely complicated issue and I am not the authority on it by any means (Kristoffer has much more inside knowledge given his work with the WFP) but what I do find VERY interesting is that one of the MPs who is believed to be involved in this maize corruption scandal is the Minister of Agriculture, who is also suspected to be one of the names on the secret list of politicians accused of being involved in planning or financing last year's post-election violence (see #3 above). I have written this before: we are not fans of his. It will be very interesting to see what happens here.

So you see, the news in Kenya does not entirely (or even partially) revolve around Simba's impending birth. Clearly his or her entrance into the world will be the biggest news story of our year, but the rest of the country might find that some of these other stories take precedent.

LMW

January 12, 2009 - A Full Recap of our Holiday Trip

Today is my first day home alone in Nairobi as Kristoffer has gone back to work and I am left to nest and rest after five weeks of jam-packed holiday fun. At 32 weeks and 2 days pregnant, I look something like this (photo taken yesterday):



Here is a super long blog with more details on what we've been up to...feel free to skim it or skip it altogether. The bottom line is that we had a great trip and are happy to be back in Nairobi to wait for Simba's big entrance into the world.

Three Weeks in the United States

Kristoffer was very happy that shortly after we arrived in Boston, it was already snowing! And it snowed several times, which was really fun for him to play outside with Michael, Sean, Molly, Matthew and Nathan, but definitely threw a wrench in several of our plans to visit with family and friends. While in the US, we took the US's economic situation into our own hands and spent our well-saved dollars on a few big ticket items that we want to have for a long time, such as a new camera (perfect for photographing Simba) and a new laptop. We also stocked up on basic items, like clothes and shoes, that we find WAY too expensive to purchase in Nairobi. Lastly, we baby-shopped, baby-shopped, and then baby-shopped some more!

I was so lucky to have been given a lovely baby shower at my mother's house with almost all of my friends and local family attending. They showered me and Simba with so much love, and so many generous gifts, that we ended up being able to bring even more baby stuff back to Nairobi than anticipated (and when I say "we", I mean me and Kristoffer, of course, but also my parents who are coming the week I am due and bringing a big load of baby gear!).

At home in the US, we enjoyed driving on the right side of the road and were amused to be constantly walking into people in stores when we were staying to the left and they were, obviously, staying to the right. Kristoffer loved watching American football...and I was surprised how little American TV I watched! There was just no time!

Our trip to NYC, albeit brief, was really fun. We spent one night in New Jersey with our friends Omar, Domenica, and Luke and two nights with Jean in Manhattan. The visit with my cardiologist went well, although he was actually stuck in surgery and I had to see a different doctor than him. Basically, my pacemaker is working well and operating at 3% of the time, which is 2.5% more than when I wasn't pregnant. This means it is very good that I got a new, fully-working pacemaker, even if the process was slightly dramatic. In NY, we also visited the school I used to work at and had a really fun evening with most of my close friends from working there. It was a great trip! We were even able to have a wonderful breakfast with my roommate from freshman year at Syracuse, Nasheema. On our way back to my parents in Massachusetts, we stopped for a night in Connecticut and had a great visit with Brooke and Dave before Christmas.

As my previous blogged mentioned, Christmas was a great time with my family. In the days leading up to the holiday we were able to visit with some aunts and uncles and cousins in the area, although one large family party was cancelled because of really bad winter weather and we didn't quite get to see everyone we would have seen there. Kristoffer and I were thrilled to have so many great days with all of my siblings who were with us for the holiday.

It was a little bit hard to say goodbye, especially to my siblings, knowing that such a big life event will occur before we see most people again, but at least my parents will be here in just 7 more weeks!

Below is a slide show of some of our moments in the US...unfortunately, we didn't take pictures of everything we did or everyone we saw, but we do have a sampling here:



Two Weeks in Denmark


In Denmark a little bit of jet-lag, as well as the season's cold, grey weather and lack of sunlight, made me a bit more tired than I had been in the US. We spent several great days with each of Kristoffer's parents and had four different occasions to spend time with his brother's family as well. After seeing all of his family at his grandmother's birthday, we were able to also see many of Kristoffer's friends - including all of the guys who were in our wedding. I got to meet some of his friends from college who I had never met before. It was really fun! We spent two days in Copenhagen walking around and around in the freezing cold to see all these different people...not necessarily what I thought I would be doing at this stage of my pregnancy, but it worked out really well.

New Years Eve with Kirsten and Hans was very fun...we ate well, played cards, and watched an incredible fireworks display from the top of a hill behind their house at midnight. Danes are CRAZY about their new year's fireworks! In Denmark we didn't do that much shopping, although Kristoffer was able to find two suits for work (American suits don't fit him so well!), ordered some new glasses, and we even found a cradle to bring home for the baby (which Kristoffer promptly put together the minute we got home). We did do a lot of eating (a theme carried over from the US) and, while in the US we met two new baby boys (children of my friends Joanna and Sarah), we got to meet two new baby girls in Denmark (children of Kristoffer's cousin Klaus and our friends Lars and Barbara). Those experiences definitely made us eager for our own baby's arrival in less than 8 weeks.

In Denmark we also did things like walk on the beach and play in the forest - both very Danish things to do despite the cold weather. We ended our trip at Kirsten's and Hans drove us back to Hamburg this past Friday where we spent a night at the airport's Marriott hotel so that we could be at the airport bright and early for our day of travel.

Again, we don't have too many great pictures of all of the people we saw (we really have to get better at taking pictures now that we have a new great camera!), but here are a few pictures of our visit in Denmark:



Our overall assessment of our trip is that we didn't get to see very many people for a long period of time, but we did get to see a lot of people for a short period of time and that was really nice.

Back in Nairobi

We arrived in Kenya late Saturday night after a long day of travel. I thankfully did not go into labor on the plane (did you read that story recently about the woman flying from Europe to Boston?!) and despite some backaches and general discomfort, it was a good and easy trip. One of the first things we noticed is that some roads have really been improved since we have been gone. We also quickly learned that Kenya hasn't had ANY rain since we left, which means the harvest did not yield a sufficient crop, and the country has declared a state of emergency due to severe food shortages. Of course, it is not only due to the lack of rain. Because of last year's post-election violence (oh my goodness, remember what we were going through at this time last year?!?!) fewer crops were planted and alternately many planted crops were burned. In July, the country had an opportunity to buy a lot of maize from Tanzania to prepare for food shortages at this time, but the Minister of Agriculture insisted that there would not be a food crisis (note: we are not big fans of the Minister of Agriculture). And here we are now with over 10 million Kenyans in danger of starvation. We will be watching to see how the government handles this situation...Kristoffer does not work in emergency operations at WFP but we do know that WFP is being pressured to increase its food assistance.

The weather here is like paradise...very warm/hot and sunny during the day, cooler at night, no humidity. Of course, after the freezing cold of New England and Denmark, this has been a bit of a shock to our systems! Our jet-lag is not so bad right now because Denmark is only 2 hours behind Kenya, but our adjustment to the altitude can definitely be felt. Yesterday I generally felt pretty yucky and so I am taking it very easy. It was a surprise to me, I will admit, how nice it was to walk into my own house and sleep in my own bed the last two nights. We loved our five weeks of vacation and had a wonderful time, but there was certainly an element of exhaustion to all of our travel and now I am grateful not to have to go anywhere...except to the hospital to deliver this baby!

We have touched base with both of our neighbors who we are friends with here - one of them gave us a jump yesterday when our car wouldn't start and the other is extremely grateful that we let him use our house for his family reunion while we were away - and so it feels like we are in a strange way back where we belong. I never thought I would say that a year ago!

General Pregnancy Update

As for my pregnancy...I have increased third trimester symptoms for sure: more leg cramps at night (although I am doing exercises, thanks to Kristoffer's step-sister Marianne, to prevent these and it seems to be working in the last week), increased swelling in my feet, ankles and hands, some braxton hicks (early practice) contractions, lower back discomfort, constantly going to the bathroom, some more nausea similar to my first trimester, and general lethargy as a result of my enormous and ever-growing belly. I am having an ultrasound on Wednesday and will see my doctor on Friday afternoon; we are also waiting to get a schedule of childbirth classes we can take sometime in the next month. I have gained about 25 lbs to date, so my worries from earlier in the pregnancy when I wasn't gaining weight have been allayed.

Finally, our new staff begin working tomorrow (live-in housekeeper/cook and non-live-in driver) which I anticipate being an interesting experience for all of us. I will definitely report back on that in the coming days too. For now, I am ready to get up and stretch and finish unpacking!

LMW