Introductions...

Last Friday we adopted a 7-year-old dog named Sushi, and she has been settling nicely into life with the Lavenders. She is very smart and adaptable and pretty darn cute, too. Only the cats are dubious about Sushi's presence in the house, and there is still much spitting and hissing when Sushi strays into the cats' personal bubble zone (which has grown to at least 10 feet when she is around!).

Also, on Sunday, September 18th, we attended the annual Storymoja literary festival here in Nairobi. The big highlight of the day was hearing Ben Okri speak, and then chatting for a few minutes with him while we had some books signed. Okri is the author of numerous books including The Famished Road (which won the Booker Prize in 1991).

Exploring the bustling Kamba market...

After delivering books to Starehe Boy's School in the Eastleigh district of Nairobi, we stopped to poke around at the large Kamba market nearby. This is a real working market when you can see many artisans and employees at work making beaded sandals, woven baskets and decorative gourds. This market has a very different atmosphere than the more commercial Maasai Markets at the big malls in the city. We originally stopped to buy some woven shopping bags but, of course, ended up buying a few more items. While shopping, we saw a car arrive that was full of live chickens. It didn't seem to be a typical delivery vehicle!

Books from Korea to Starehe...

On Saturday morning (Sept.17), we drove over to the Starehe Boys' School and delivered boxes of science videos and bibles from TCIS. What a blessing it was to feel connected to our community of friends and colleagues back in Korea, and to see the excitement of the science teacher at Starehe as she surveyed the collection of videos she will now be able to use. Thanks, TCIS! :)

Birds and more birds...

We have been enjoying the many different types of birds that visit our new garden, and our favourites so far as the little colourful sunbirds that enjoy the flowers right next to the house. The males are a brilliant blue, purple and yellow and one, in particular, is fascinated with our television room. He actually flew right into the house on Wednesday and explored a bit. We are really hoping that Ginger and Pepper don't take too much of a keen interest in our new feathered friends. Also, at school, there is a pair of spotted Eagle Owls roosting in a tree, keeping a close eye on their owlet who is sheltered in a nearby tree. Some middle school students have created an owl viewing platform outside of their classroom. Hands-on education like that is pretty wonderful.

Our New Nairobi Home...

This August we moved from our urban apartment to a lovely house in a quiet neighbourhood called Loresho. We have a wonderful yard, gardens and patio, and the house has a fireplace and a separate TV room for teenage gatherings. It's fantastic! Best of all - it's very, very quiet. Hannah says it's so quiet that her ears sometimes ring. We figure that's just about perfect.