Week Whisked By

It is Friday morning in paradise and we are preparing to go on a very short jaunt to the Masai Mara this weekend.  Such a trip really deserves a few days, considering it is a four hour drive just to the game reserve, but given Daniel’s work schedule, we’re only going for an overnight taste of the Mara.  It is currently the wildebeest migration and so we’re hoping to see wildebeests by the hundreds.   The tour operator says:

“Right now the Mara is swarming with animals, everywhere you look you will see something. You can expect to see the lions of the Mara, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles, antelopes, topi (not sure what that one is), giraffes, elephants, ostrich, zebra, warthogs, elands, buffalo, etc. and if we get real lucky we may spot the leopard on Sunday morning.”

Let’s hope J is psyched rather than terrified. 

Also, we are celebrating a very productive week.  Tasks that can be ticked off our to do list include:

- We set up my desktop computer (with the minor hiccup of blowing out the power supply on the first time and having to replace it) and I’m a super happy camper writing away.  IMHO, it was definitely worth the headache of schlepping it on the plane.  (For the record, I’m not sure DW agrees.)

- We bought a cobalt blue RAV 4.  DW worked very hard to make sure we didn’t pay too high a muzungu (white person) upcharge.  And it has some minor dings, but we’re so happy to have the flexibility to go out at night with walking not really an option after the sun goes down.  Last night, we took it for a spin to a friend’s house for dinner.  What a treat.  At the moment, only DW is driving.  With the wild matatu (public transport minibuses) drivers and the switch to the other side of the street, I’m just not there yet.

- Lydiah joined our lives.  Having a nanny means that I can get back to work in a serious way and it doesn’t hurt that she also mops, dusts, and does laundry.  She sings beautiful kiswahili songs to J, while he tries to sing along.  She pushes him on the bicycle that he desperately wants to ride.  I hope that he is enriched by all the people who nurture him along the way.

-DW set up an M-PESA account.  In Kenya, one of the chief ways that money is moved around is through a debit account that is administered through the phone company.  You can often pay a person, a store, a seller on the street, all through M-PESA on your cell phone.  DW claims that the reason we don’t have this system in the U.S. is because of the credit card lobby.  It is certainly very convenient.

TIA?  Plenty to celebrate.