Jambo Dear Friends, This was my last day in Nairobi.  Verna Stanton asked what I would like to do and I said why don't we go to lunch. Well she did one better, this is Ranger Park where we did have lunch in a beautiful setting in the jungle and watched below as the wart hogs wandered about and a monkey swung by.  Then we took a Safari Walk and saw many animals. This was a pygmy rhino which are very endangered. Below this baboon was walking next to me as were several others walking down the side walk. They seem to have the run of the park.

A guard kind of started walking with us and talking to us and asked if we saw the Ostrich and we replied no. So he said stay here and came back with a branch from a tree and out of no where this huge Ostrich appears and runs up to the fence where we were standing and devoured the leaves on the branch. Which we found out are sweet. The Ostrich could easily reach over the fence as we could also very open.

This is a albino Zebra there were 3 and one was a baby. They are pretty much extinct except for the few in the park and of course who knows there may be more in the wild.

 So the guard said have you seen a lion since you have been here and of course I said no. So he said follow  me and took us down a path then stopped us so other people were out of sight . Then said quickly everyone down this path. Then a few hundred yards of muddy path there they were all asleep

 3 females and one male. They started to wake up rolling over one another and stretching and yawning. Then finally looked over at us and yawned some more. They were not impressed. Then a handler whistled and they all got up stretched some more and started to go to dinner, I imagine. Yes, there was a fence in between us or we would have been dinner.

This Cheetah was beautiful and big. The strange thing about this was there is a big raven about 10ft. deep and about 8ft. across with a electric fence at the bottom. I could not see any reason that Cheetah could not jump that raven easily, unless Cheetahs can't jump?? When he ran it was like a rocket had taken off, what a beautiful site.                                                                                          

My next blog will be of my projects

at ANU and probably my last till the next time, which I am planning.

Kwahari,
Sharon

Jambo My Friends,

Before I get into the pictures I have for you today, I want to tell you I will be home on May 5th not because I want to but because Delta will not extend my ticket as it is peak season  here. My work here has escalated into more than I ever dreamed and the VC would have liked me to stay until July but it is not to be.

So my blog will not end when I get home, as I will have pictures to show you of the projects that I have finished. There are 4 finished and one in the process but it will not be started or completed before I leave. I will have a colored photo that I will be able to share with you. I have been working with a graphic designer named Michael and we have come up with some wonderful before and after photos. So stay tuned!!!

Today I want to show you the Giraffe Park:

Home now BB on property.

My name is Kelly and I am 11 years old.

I am afraid I don't have a lot of info as it was hard to hear and understand what the gal was saying but here goes. The park was left in a will from a woman that owned the property and I believe she asked it be used for a animal park. The home is now a  Bed & Breakfast and the cost is about $800.00 a week to stay there, it looks so peaceful and can you imagine going out on the lawn and a giraffe walking up to you.

 So they have been using it to raise and breed giraffes. At the present time there are seven and all are females. The male died in December from stomach problems and is buried on the land. There is a baby and they are waiting until she is 3 before they can trade it for a male to continue the breeding.

Look at the tongue !

 

Look at the eye. Food in my hand.

They are so beautiful and graceful but they do want food and that is all that is important to them. Kelly has the habit if you don't give her food she will lower her neck and then swing it at you because you don't have food.

They can live to 30 years old in the Park but in the wild they only live to about 16 years old.
Their diet is of a pellet that is made of wheat, rice, corn & molasses.
There tongues are I would say about a foot long. If you hold the food between your teeth they will take it out of your mouth. No I didn't!

Here comes Lyn !

Getting Closer !

My name is Lynn and I am 16 years old.

I never found out how tall the two girls were but where I am standing feeding Kelly is a two story building so they are really tall. The most beautiful eyes and eyelashes and eyeliner ( well it looks like eyeliner) . They seem so gentle but I am not sure they are, seeing the way Kelly was when there was no more food. Lyn does not do that.


I will close for now and will hopefully write sooner than the last time.

Kwahari friends till the next time.

Sharon

Matt & Maddy

Kittengela Glass

 Jambo Everyone,
This is a very strange site, your script goes where it wants as well as the pictures.

Today I am taking you to Kittengela Glass factory, we spent an hour and a half and I could have stayed another 2 hours. This was fasinating.

How these men stand the heat is beyond me, I was standing right on the edge of the entrance and the heat was intense. Each piece is hand made and no two alike. What you think is going to be a vase or bowl ends up to be a plate or platter.

The House for the Kilns

 Kittengela has been there 30 years and they ship all over the world and have visitors from all over the world also. The kilns are fed with used oil and have been going for 25 years and are never let to cool. It is owned by a husband & wife from Germany.

Forming the bottom of the bowl or as it turns out to be a plate

 Everything has glass in it as you see the walls, sidewalks, doors, floors, benches, you name it and you will see glass imbedded in it. The glass ware and vases are very heavy and they say you can drop one and it won't break. I didn't try it. They also make jewelry , yes I bought a pair of earring!

The finished product of the above .

They also have cool huts that are for vendors and evidently they rent the huts to them and sell there products for them. All of the workers stay right there and there is a house that they all live in. 

A wall of one of the buildings, it is all glass inlayed.

A whole floor of glass.

 I have many more pictures but can't possibly put them on here.

I will probably never go back to Kittengela as my back has still not recovered and my liver still hasn't found out where it belongs, from the drive there which is approximately 4 miles. I felt like an eternity and took us 20 min. to reach Kittengela. What I finally got a picture of because I wasn't holding on for dear life was the best part of the road. At certain points there  really is no road and the holes are about 2 - 4 feet deep and out of them are boulders that jar your teeth. I don't know why the bottom of the car wasn't ripped out I could here the muffler and tail pipe rattling and banging.

It was all worth it because it was truly something you will never see in US. Even in Italy is was not this beautiful with all the surroundings. Oh yes, also on the way we saw about 8 zebra and a baby, that really made it worthwhile, unfortunately couldn't get a picture.


                                                           Have a Blessed Easter,
                                           
                                                                  Kwaheri
             

 

The Road

Animals in Nairobi Kenya

Jambo Everyone,

Well as you see my writing goes where it wants to go as well as the pictures.

Today I bring you greetings from the Animal World of Nairobi.

The top left picture is my favorite monkey unfortunately I still have not found out what kind of monkey he is. He stands about
 2 1/2' tall with a tail at least that long. He is a visitor to a tree outside my flat.

Next to him are a family of baboons that were along the road going into Nairobi. Unfortunately I did not get the baby riding on the mothers back.

Next is the rhino and he along with the elephants you see are part of the Elephant Orphanage which I visited Sat. First, the rhino they found him abandoned hiding in a clump of trees. First they thought he had damage to his eyes as he could not see, then after getting in an eye specialist they found out he was blind from birth and probably deserted by the family. He will stay at the nursery for the rest of his life. 

Next are the baby elephants, they range from 3 months to 27 months at this time. Most are the results of poachers. When they are found they are extremely traumatized from the loss of there mother and family. So the men you see in the pictures become there mother. They feed them on demand when they are hungry they water them and they sleep with them in little houses just made for them to sleep in. The men have bunks that are built in the room. They change off so they do not become attached to one specific man. They are just like babies if left alone they will cry uncontrollably and must be comforted. They self wean themselves by the age of 2-3 years and start eating greens, bark etc. The keeper are not allowed to feed them any human food and the elephants normally know what to eat. They drink baby formula up until then as they can't give them cows milk it would kill them.
It costs $900.00 a month to take care of one baby elephant.

I have many pictures of the babies, the top one is them all trying to get in the water hole, but at first they don't know what to do, then one of the men start splashing them with water then they roll in the dirt and get nice and muddy then all try to get in this one very small water hole. It is funny to watch as they are just like children and the men have to discipline them just as mothers would if they are not acting accordingly. They said one of them was a wild child and can't seem to understand rules, so she has not moved on to the Rehab Center. The Rehab Center is where they get them ready to be returned to the wild. This time gets them to not be as dependent on humans and to fend for food for themselves and to protect themselves. Then they will be transported to an area where there is a herd and hopefully they will join in and survive.

Nairobi National Park is and don't quote me about 25 miles long and I am not sure how many acres. It is completely fenced with electric wire so animals can not get out. The Park is right on the edge of downtown Nairobi. They do have an occasional escaped cheetah or lion. The university is on Masai land purchase from the Masai Indians. There are zebra, gazelles, and cats that still roam the area outside the Park and we are very isolated out here with only Rongia which is about 12 miles from us and then a Masai village which are about 6 stores about 8 miles away.

Well I think perhaps I have too much in this blog today but there is always so much to say.

Until the next time,

Kwahari

Mix and Match Day

 Jambo Everyone,
Well, sorry I haven't written in a while but have been extremly busy.
This last week was culture week and the students really had fun. I think I have too many pictures. Anyway, It started with uniform day and mix & match day then on to Fri. with the grand finale of African Day and I got to sit in the VIP box with the VC. Yes, the dress has buns and bread sewn on to it. There were many of paper & garbage bag outfits. Then of course the gowns which were beautiful. They are very talented. In the evening we had a black tie dinner and the announcement of the winners. It was a gala affair and they asked me to give the award to the runner ups which are pictured here. I couldn't see to get off the stage as there were so many flash bulbs going off plus it was so dark.

Fri. African Day Fashion Show

Creative Catagory

Second Runner Up

Mix and Match Day

The Tall one won Ms Nazarene

 

We had Masai Dancers that were incredible and many musicians singing, dancing and skits. A wonderful week for the students they really worked hard to make it a memorable time. Now they have 3 weeks before finals and are working hard on that.

I love being here at the campus as I am always hearing music and most of the time it is in Swahili  or hymns. My flat is very near the Church so I have a ring side seat.

As I said I have been busy and I got great news yesterday.

They have given me the go ahead on one of my projects which 

is the faculty lounge. I have everything in place and am ready to go. God is good and I am so blessed to be here and to be able to help with the decor. I will post before and after pictures when I am finished.

Well must go now, I have another appointment with a vendor for flooring.

God Bless You All

Sharon

Jambo Everyone,

  Today I will show you my humble abode. It is nice and comfortable, well that is after I cleaned, rearranged, put blankets on the mattress, so I can sleep ( too hard ) and used bug stuff that Mike gave me.My back screen door has no screen so I have a fly swatter that gets used daily and I have the doors open when I am here as it is beautiful.

 Yesterday I went again to Nairobi to shop for furnishings for the faculty lounge and the computer department. For those of you that have never been here, the traffic is horrid, you are in a constant traffic jam. There are no traffic lights or stop signs, so everyone just goes where ever they want. If you get into a grid lock usually a person walking on the side walk comes in and tells everyone how to maneuver to get out of it. I asked why no lights and they said the power fails so much it would mess up the lights and no one would pay attention to them anyway. Oh yes, police, no not so much and usually only walking.  So from 9:00am to 6:30 pm we shopped and I did get a lot of estimates on almost everything I need to submit to the VC. 

 Tomorrow I move furniture in the computer lab and take more measurements. This is a huge undertaking and one I won't finish by the time I leave. As the VC said she wants a plan for the whole university and if I can even when I get back to US still work on it so they can implement a little at a time when they get money to do it. So I may just have to come back in a couple of years.

 Hope I can build up my frequent flier miles.

Something of interest, the VC up until a month ago was the head consultant to the President of Kenya. She is an incredible woman that has fought her way to the top. She is also the first Kenyan woman to hold this high of an office.

  Well must close for now and get dinner and also out of drinking water have to take my jugs and fill up.


Kwahari,
Sharon

Harmon Hall

Jambo Everyone,
Well I did figure out with the help of Matt how to put more than one picture on a page all though this e has a mind of it's own.

The University is in bad shape for only 18 years old. I think much of it is lack of maintenance and poor workman ship.

Wood carved doors on the Hall

I have met with the Vice Chancellor today for the first time and she has given me the go ahead for my first project which is the faculty lounge.

Well  it appears I have not master this yet. Can't keep it in one line. Will call Matt again and have him come over. 

Here is funny story, Sunday I went over to the cafeteria and I was early and no one was their, but the chef said come in. I got my plate and sat at a table. All of a sudden the chef ran out and said shoo, I turned to see a tail going out the door and asked what it was he said a monkey after the garbage can. I continued to eat and something told me turn around and there all 3' of him was with  a tail longer than that. He had a beautiful white and black face, we kept eye  contact for a few seconds and then he ran. I continued to eat and I felt something staring at me and looked down and it was one of the stray cats, so I shared my dinner. Next I will show you my room which is quite nice.

Till Then,

Kwahari

Inside foyer of Harmon hall

Library

African Nazarene University

                                                           


Center of Campus

                                                              
   The center of campus, has walls with names of work & wittiness groups that have
 came and worked at the campus.

I am still learning how to do this blog so be patient, I haven't figured out how to get more than one picture on a page yet.

 

African Nazarene University



Strange Plant

The vegitation is much like ours in Florida, but then you see things like this. Flowers are sold on the street corners and a bunch of roses, not a dozen maybe three dozen are maybe $5.00. It is very dry here. 

Week One

Donna in Her Home

This was the home I stayed in, in Nairobi and  this is Donna who is an inspiring designer and does a really nice job. She is really  the finance person for the compound and she also is property manager for it. 
 For three days we shopped for resources for the university and found a few promising ones. She will be retiring in August and has a lot of mixed feeling about going home, and I can't blame her, this place is nice.

Monday it is off to the university to see what my project has in store for me.

Hi Everyone,
I have made it to Kenya!
What an interseting place, Niarobi is like Tampa but smaller, I think, there are about 3 million people,
shopping malls very busy and crazy drivers with no stop signs or lights. I am staying with Donna for a couple of days then she will take me to the university Mon. The compound here is beautiful and nice homes.

Will post in about a week.

Blessings,
Sharon

Welcome to my new blog,

It is 5 days till take off to Kenya, I will try to post every week if possible.
I hope you will come and join me on my mission.

Blessings,
Sharon