Jen in Kenya

My Class

2008-10-26T04:26:00.001-07:00

My 3rd Grade Class

(19 students)

Fun at Recess

Mombasa

2008-10-26T04:14:00.000-07:00

We had a 3 day weekend to celebrate Kenyatta Day. Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya. Now they have a public holiday in his honor.

8 teachers, including myself took an 8 hour bus ride to Mombasa and stayed for 2 days and 1 night before taking the 8 hour overnight bus ride back to Nairobi.

Kenya is on the coast of the Indian Ocean.

The long bus ride was definitely worth the relaxing time that we had at the beach!!

Nakuru

2008-10-26T04:10:00.000-07:00

New School Year

2008-09-13T02:37:00.000-07:00

Uganda Trip

2008-06-11T20:55:00.001-07:00

Hell's Gate

2008-06-11T20:48:00.001-07:00

Project Fame

2008-06-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

I went to see Kenya’s version of American Idol in person! They had narrowed it down to just 9 talented singers. I was 3 rows from the stage, so I was on T.V. in Kenya!

Ngong Hills

2008-06-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

To relieve stress at the end of school year, I was able to get out of the city and hike the Ngong Hills (Ngong = Knuckles in Swahili) I found a chameleon there :)

More Mombasa!

2008-04-02T06:56:00.001-07:00

My roommate, Becca, and I returned to Mombasa during our Easter Break for three days to relax and enjoy the beach. We still had a few adventures though!

Weekend Getaway to Mombasa

2008-03-14T06:51:00.001-07:00

What a fun but busy weekend!

Friday 8pm: board the bus to Mombasa
Saturday 5am: arrive in Mombasa

Sunday 9pm: board the bus to Nairobi
Monday 5am: arrive in Nairobi
Monday 7:30 am: arrive at school

Enjoy the slide show!

The Banana

2008-02-11T07:09:00.001-08:00

We went to an Amusement Park to "Do the the Banana."

This where you buy tickets.

This is the banana. It is a manually pumped ride that goes around in a cirlce SEVERAL times.

We were all excited in the beginning....

But afterward didn't feel so well!

Students vs Teachers Kickball

2007-12-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

It was a tie game but we had a lot of fun!

My Class

2007-11-24T08:22:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of my class. I haven't taken one for a while. They are great kids. I love them more everyday!

I'm Truly Kenyan Now!

2007-11-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

I can now make Ugali, a thick mush made of cornmeal! Both Amy and I had to work together to get it to the right consistancy. Ugali is a staple food in Kenya. I am starting to really like it.

Kijabe and Orphange

2007-11-24T08:12:00.001-08:00

Fun with my Housemates

2007-10-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

Becca and I at Paradise Lost.

Katie, Becca and I on a row boat at Paradise Lost.

(Katie doesn't live with us. She is a close friend that we met at church)

Julie and I on a camel at Paradise Lost. Julie is the newest addition to our house. She will be staying with us until December. Julie is student teaching Kindergarten at our school.

Getting down is an adventure!

Becca, Amy, Sammy, and I.

We try to be normal in public, but at home you never know what we will do next!

Kenya is Crazy!

2007-10-05T08:06:00.001-07:00

This is Sammy, my roommate Amy's boyfriend. Amy made one of her precious boxes of Macaroni and Cheese that she brought from America. When she tried to share it with Sammy, he had to "Kenyanize" it before he could eat it.

This was the result...macaroni and cheese with ketchup, pepper and lots of salt.

I just laughed. It looks gross to me, but he thinks that pasta from a box is gross.

This is called a Baobab Fruit. It comes from a baobab tree. One my students brought it into class and we had one of the grounds keepers chop it open with a machete. This is a picture of half of the fruit. Inside is white, chalky pieces of fruit. If I had to describe what it tastes like, I would say that it tastes like sour chalk! This is the first fruit I have ever had with no juice.

3rd Grade

2007-10-05T08:03:00.001-07:00

My third grade class is full of personality! Out of 24 kids, 21 wanted to act in the skits we did for elementary chapel. They can be a hand full, but also a lot of fun.

Triple Trouble

Back in Kenya

2007-09-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

My new housemates are great! Here is a picture of Me, Amy, Becca, and Beth.
Beth is actually moving out tomorrow :( She has been looking for a place to stay but her plans fell through so she lived with us for a month. We were very happy to have her and will definitely miss her. Hopefully soon we will find a new housemate to help with bills :)

Working in the Bakery

2007-06-18T20:32:00.001-07:00

3rd Grade Fun

2007-06-02T08:08:00.001-07:00

Spring Break in Lamu

2007-04-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

Lamu is an island off the coast of Kenya in the Indian Ocean. What a beautiful, but very hot experience! I went with two other girls who also live in Nairobi. We enjoyed going to the beach, going snorkeling, and just seeing the culture of this old Arab coastal town.

New Fruit

2007-04-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is a "Thorny Melon." I saw one for the first time at a market that I go to regularly.

It looked like fun, so I decided to take the chance and buy it, although it was quite expensive for Kenya fruit...50 shillings...about 70 cents.

I cut it open and wanted to share it with you. I can't describe the taste. It is unlike anything I have had before, however, the texture is similar to a passion fruit.

Rwanda Night

2007-03-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

We went to Rwanda Night, an event to gather Rwandans in Nairobi. It was so cool to see their cultural dances, songs, food, and clothes. They are amazing at playing the drums.

Dagaretti Childrens' Home Field Trip

2007-03-17T08:42:00.001-07:00

The second field trip was to Dagaretti Children's Home where we put on a short performance of some skits and songs. Then, we played with kids and did crafts with them. It was nice to see my students helping other kids in need.students helping other kids in need.

Marula Studios Field Trip

2007-03-17T08:34:00.001-07:00

Third Grade went on two field trips in February. First we went to Marula Studios where they teach about wildlife conservation by reusing flip flops that wash up on shore to make new items like keychanes, belts, toys, purses, sandals, and jewelry. It also creates jobs for many people.

Valentines Day

2007-03-10T03:45:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is not as big of a holiday in Kenya as it is in America, but we still celebrated at school. We opened Valentines and then had a cookie decorating contest.

Mount Longoanut with the Girls

2007-02-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

Seven of us climbed Mount Longonaut (including me and 3 roommates), a dormant volcano. It took us about 5 hours to climb to the top and then hike around the rim and then walk back down. It was a lot of fun! This was my second time hiking it...there is an awesome picture on one of my posts below of Mount Longonaut.

I found a nice place to lounge and catch my breath!

Christmas Break

2007-01-05T23:32:00.000-08:00

I have now been able to experience the amazing country that I have been living in. It was hard to get out and see Kenya while I was teaching, but I definitely got my chance over Christmas Break.

We rode a camel and saw a beautiful waterfall at Paradise Lost.

We went on a safari for 3 days and 2 nights. Here's a few pictures. Thanks for the new camera for Christmas, Dad and Missy, the zoom really came in handy! (Yes, these are real pictures)

We visited the giraffe center and fed giraffes.

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We visited the elephant orphanage where they take care of baby elephants who have been abandoned until they are old enough to return to the wild.

We hiked Mount Longanaut. Yes that is a real picture and that is really the mountain we climbed. It is a dormant volcano. You can see the hollow middle.

We went to Nakuru, the town where I went a year and half ago. It was great to see how things were going at Katembwe, the church we helped. I also enjoyed seeing many familiar faces.

We went to a children's orphanage and brought some home-made play dough.

We ate camel, alligator, goat, beef, ostrich, pig, etc. at a restaurant called Carnivore. It was an interesting experience...many of you know how much I like meat.
Aaron is being served alligator in the picture below. We went to a park that has wild monkeys and got to feed them peanuts!

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We went horse back riding through the forest that borders my school.

We went shopping at the market.

Agnes

2006-12-09T05:13:00.000-08:00

I have two students in my class who have disabilities and need additional help in the classroom. The school just hired Agnes in October to help in my classroom. She is a really great person with lots of energy and we have become friends. Agnes really has a heart for people with disabilities and coaches a swim team on the weekends with her brother for people who are physically challenged. The swim team began last year and had it's first event Thanksgiving weekend. It was amazing to see people swim with missing limbs. (Agnes and I are standing behind the swimmers.)

Thanksgiving

2006-12-02T06:28:00.000-08:00

We have a couple families who have a taken us in and really made us feel at home. We had some great food and even got to help put up the Christmas decorations.

Rainy Season

2006-11-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

It is rainy season here. Rather than worms coming out, huge slugs come out!
I almost stepped on this one while I was walking from the office to my classroom at school.

The Girls

2006-10-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

There are 5 of us living together. We all get along quite well. If it weren't for them, the transition would be a lot harder.

Trout Tree

2006-10-30T06:29:00.000-08:00

We ate at a restaurant called Trout Tree. They basically only serve trout...grilled trout, trout soup, trout with pasta, trout pizza, you get the idea. Another unique thing about the restaurant is that it is is up in a tree. It felt like were in a huge treehouse and there were even monkeys climbing around in the tree!

Going up-country (outside of Nairobi)

2006-10-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

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The kids love seeing Mazungus (white people) and would go crazy and chase our car or start jumping around and waving and screaming. It is so cute!

My wonderful 3rd grade class

2006-10-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here are my 17 third graders. They think that they are famous now :)

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2006-09-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

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Here is a video of my 3rd grade chapel on September 22. They did a great job!

Chasing Giraffes

2006-09-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

We went on a staff retreat this weekend and has a blast one of the activities was driving around to find animals at 6am.

We found them and then got out of the bus to chase the giraffes! It was a blast.

We also drove up to the top of a cliff, it was a beautiful view!

2006-09-03T05:54:00.000-07:00

I experienced Ethiopian food for the first time. It was an experience to say the least! Next time I'll be getting the vegetarian tray, not the mystery meat tray :)

To eat this dish you get a huge, spongy, sour tasting, swedish pancake thing. You tear off a piece of the pancake and try to pinch a pile of the mystery meat then get it to your mouth without dropping it all over your lap.

Elephant Orphanage

2006-09-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

We went to an elephant orphanage.
They take in elephants and rhinos
that have been abandoned and raise
them so that they can survive in the
wild. Baby elephants are really cute
and wrinkly!

My Roommates

2006-09-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

This is my bathroom-mate.

This is Kayla. She's the one I share a room with.

Our House

2006-09-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

Our house is in a "compound." It is similar to what we would call a townhouse. There are several identical houses connected to each other. All of the houses make a horseshoe shape. The park our cars in the middle of the horseshoe and then there is a guarded gate at the horseshoe opening. We feel quite safe and were very impressed how nice the house is. Five of us teachers live here. There are 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Kayla and I share the bedroom below which also has an attached bathroom.

This is taken from our living room. I am walking through the doorway that leads to outside.

This shows what the compound looks like, there two rows of connected houses that face each other with a driveway in the middle for parking and for all of the playing children.

This is the living room.

My Class

2006-09-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

This is my 3rd grade class. There are actually 17 students, 2 are not in the picture.

They are a very diverse class and I'm learning a lot about how to teach to students who are at different levels and come from different backgrounds.