Another cool critter at school...

A few weeks ago, as we were setting up for parent/teacher conferences, Brian found this incredible moth in the gymnasium. It's wing was quite tattered but otherwise the moth seemed to be able to move about, and Brian relocated it under a big bush outside. The pink and yellow combination on the wings was so beautiful.

Witnessing Obama's win at the American embassy...

On election day, Brian and Cora (and a handful of additional ISK students) were invited to join folks at the American embassy to watch the election results pour in. At 4 a.m., my two intrepid political scientists ventured forth to pick up a few more kids and drive to the ambassador's residence. Our ISK group was quite diverse (American, Canadian, Greek, Israeli, South African) and the experience of being at the embassy during such a charged political event was powerful. Cora even ended up colouring in states on a big US map on behalf of the Democrats (Canadian interloper!). The ambassador ended the event with a speech about peace in the midst of political differences (very poignant for the Kenyan students in attendance). Wow - what an opportunity!

ISK's international flavour...

On Wednesday, ISK hosted its annual International Day. We are always amazed at the diversity at our school, and this year the Parade of Nations was fantastic. Of course, the Taste of Nations afterwards is always the biggest hit (we went straight for the South Korean table and loaded up on kim chi, kim bab and jap chae... oh, how we miss Korean food!).    :)

Birds!

Last week, our wonderful and adorable cats were not so adorable and wonderful. After dark, they somehow found 2 young mouse birds to terrorize, and we were able to save one. This little guy was happy to sit in Cora's hand for some time and, when he got restless, was able to fly up and over our hedge to safety. I love my cats, but...

On a happier note, we now have two chickens at our house! Margaret, our phenomenal housekeeper, brought a friend for Mrs. Cluckers. She is a beautiful village chicken that we're calling Miss Cluckers (or Mrs. and Miss for short). She's gorgeous and has also started laying eggs. Maybe goats and cows are next?

South Africa Part 3

One of the major highlights of our trip to South Africa was wildlife. Rock hyrax, gorgeous pigeons and many other birds, African penguins (from the only breeding colony on the continent!), Southern Right whales and great white sharks. Wow! What a display of nature's beauty and God's creativity.

South Africa Part 2

After four days in Johannesburg, we flew to beautiful Capetown and enjoyed so many sites and experiences. We went up the Table Mountain cable car (saving the hike for next time), enjoyed the view of Table Mountain from our condo across the bay, walked on the beach, enjoyed vineyards in Stellenbosch and Franschoek, drove to the Cape of Good Hope and then to Hermanus to see the whales and dive with great white sharks (post 3)! What a fabulous trip.

South Africa Part 1

During our fall break, we traveled to South Africa. We spent the first four days in Johannesburg and we visited the Apartheid Museum (powerful!) and the Cradle of Mankind sites of Maropeng and the Stirkfontein Caves. This was all very interesting and we learned so much; then, when Brian and I went off to the teachers' conference for a few days, Cora hung out at Lourie Lodge and enjoyed some downtime (and some IB work time).   :)