Travelling lighter

The last few months here are flying by and we've still got a few things planned to make the most of it. But alongside the fun, there's a bit of sorting to do too and the packers have been round to measure up. We came with a forty foot shipping container that we packed our London home into. It was nearly full and we added 240kg of luggage that we brought with us on the plane to keep us going for the 3 or so months it took our home to cross the sea. We get even more luggage space going home as I have a work allowance to add to Tim's. But the aim is to make sure we travel lighter, not least because the idea of unpacking everything is grim.

So there are a few things we won't be taking back.

Favourite flip flops - our usual footwear takes a real pounding here and all of us have seem our favourite pairs have been loved to bits. We hope they have been recycled into things like this......

candles - we brought a drawer full of candles with us including a couple of dozen slow burn ones we had at our wedding. They have stood us well through the repeated power cuts, the kids have had fun recycling the wax to make their own candles and the last few will make our garden look pretty through the next few weeks of entertaining as we say our farewells. But the drawer will then be empty and that's one less box to pack.

Kitchen stores - we have slowly been eating through the UK treats we bring back with us and that visitors have donated. There are a few more jellies to make, a handful of chocolate chips and enough lunch box snacks to see us through. The European wine has long gone and we will, like friends before us, hand on any remaining spirits from the back of the shelves - who does drink advocat?

Hammocks - we had 2 as wedding presents years ago. They were great hanging from the mango trees in our garden here. But they have been riddled with holes by weather, termites and vigorous swinging and have been removed before anyone falls through them.

Outgrown toys, clothes and shoes can always find good homes here. The kids continue to grow apace and we have plenty to pass on. I have a box that I fill every month or so for someone who needs it more than us. I've been filling it a bit more regularly the last few weeks and have added a second box full of things that it's better to sell on, giving the money to those who need it.

Lotions and potions from the UK have been my other treat when travelling home. We have been running down supplies and know that our ayah and house help will make good use of anything left in the cupboard in April.

Legacy of an extreme laundry regime - we have a big pile of sheets, towels and clothes that won't live to fight another day after repeated washing and bleaching in the sun. It halves the lives of our shoes too - not just the adore mentioned flip flops.

Balls - burst, gifted, hit, kicked or thrown into neighbouring gardens. We also plan to give any balls that survive the next few weeks to The thunder foundation, a charity that works with kids in the slum that backs onto the kids' school. But I'm sure the incrediballs, and a football or two will be deemed essential plane luggage to keep everyone busy in our first few weeks in an empty house.

Broken plates, mugs, glasses, cafetieres (x 3) - washing up and hard surfaces and stone floors mean a box or 2 less marked "kitchen". Even our plastic plates have been the victim of hot ash on camping trips and will find a happy home here when we leave.

Of course we have found other things to take their place and will be bringing back our fair share of wicker furniture, wash baskets, bins, carved wooden nicnacks, kikoi towels, t shirts for various causes and from various beaches and loads of very happy memories.




Anne

Bucket list

Our African adventure is drawing to an end. With only a couple of months left before we head back to London there is quite a bit to do, whilst keeping our fingers crossed that the rain and floods dominating news from the UK have subsided by then. We should probably be doing lots of sorting through our stuff, selling and giving away things we don't need and getting ready for packers. And there is a bit of that. But it is much more fun to spend time with the great friends we have made here and to do the things we haven't quite got round to yet. So we have compiled a bucket list with something for everyone - parties, places to go, a half marathon and people to hang out with at home so we aren't completely exhausted, or broke, by the time we arrive in London.

Our camping weekend a few weeks ago was the start (although looking back through my posts you might suggest that our weekend in a tree house 2 years ago was the real start). And we ramped it up this weekend with a treat hop over to Zanzibar. Lovely. We stayed in a posh hotel on the East coast of the island. It was pretty empty and we were the only family with kids. This meant the kids were very well looked after by the staff, enjoyed our company rather than running off with other children and we all had a great time pottering on the beach, swimming in the pools eating great food and just relaxing.



Jamie took the opportunity to have his first dive - rude not to I guess. Quite different from my first open water dive under Swanage pier! He then told Matthew and katie how sorry he was that they would have to have their first dive in a UK quarry and not the Indian Ocean. In the interests of fairness I quickly stepped in and promised warm water holidays when the other too are ready to have their first dive. Hardly a sacrifice for any of us. Matthew now thinks he will do that in April when we have a final beach trip (more bucket list). Jamie is adding diving gear to his birthday wish list. He doesn't get the concept of reducing our packing challenge.... But it is already clear we are going to have a fun 2 months.

zanzibar 2014 View photos You are invited to view anne's album. This album has 18 files.

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Zero tolerance - fgm

Yesterday was International Day for Zero Tolerance towards Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). I've always known that this barbaric practice happens across the world and have heard lots of horrid stories on women's hour - my former radio 4 source of info. But it is only since moving here and living and working in Kenya and Somalia that I've begun to understand the extent of this tradition and the devastating impact it has on women and girls. And so yesterday I got as close as I could to joining a DFID thunderclap on twitter to raise awareness of the issue. Not being a member of twitterati I had to join via Facebook. But the support was there.

FGM/C is one the worst kinds of violence against girls and women, mostly done on children when they cannot consent to an act which causes them lasting psychological trauma and suffering. Globally, more than 125 million girls and women have undergone FGM/C and 30 million girls are at risk of being cut over the next decade. Girls and women around the world have suffered a lifetime of damage, sometimes even death, as a result of this practice. And reading the graphic descriptions in a Somali woman's autobiography recently of her childhood cutting, the slow recovery and the pain of her first experience of sex was a truly uncomfortable experience.

For those of you interested in the stats here are a few from here. In Somalia 98% of women have undergone FGM/C and in Kenya the figure is at more than 27% across the country, but one third of women in some provinces. Out of the 42 ethnic groups in Kenya, only five communities (Luo, Luhya, Pokomo, Teso & Turkana) report that they do not practice FGM/C. Studies suggest that FGM/C is far more prevalent among Somali (98%), the Kisii (96%), and the Maasai (73%).

But there is hope for change. The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS 2008 – 2009) indicates a decline in the percentage of girls and women (aged 15-49) who have undergone FGM/C from 38 % in 1998, to 32 % in 2003, to 27 % in 2008-2009. The KDHS data also shows that while 49% of older women aged 45-49 years had undergone FGM/C, only 15% of women aged 15 to 19 years had been affected; that rural women are more likely to be circumcised than urban women; and that there is a relationship between education level and circumcision status. 54% of women with no education report that they are circumcised compared with only 19 percent of those with at least some secondary education. So a growing middle class in Kenya with higher levels of education and increasing urbanisation means this steady decrease is likely to continue in Kenya at least.





Anne

T is for tents, torches and toasting marshmallows

Last weekend was a camping one. Katie had her first overnight school trip - a whole year camp on the school field. She was soooooo excited. Even the boys' world weary questioning as to why anyone could get excited about a night under canvas on the hockey pitch didn't dent her enthusiasm. Her rucksack was packed days before the trip and when I went to pick the boys up after school she and her friends were already in their home clothes and raring to go. And a small army of groundsmen was surrounded by tent poles and mattresses and green canvas.

When I picked her up in the morning it was clear that sleep hadn't featured much. But she was very happy with late night marshmallow toasting and early morning "caterpillar" fights in sleeping bags as the highlights. So we headed to a beautiful spot in Naivasha with a group of friends for more Tent action, surrounded by Zebra, wildebeest and gazelles. The kids played, Tim got the tent just right, we had tea and cake and gently unwound. Then it was time to build a great camp fire, cook lots of sausages, drink beer, eat by torchlight and toast more marshmallows. All the kids (and some adults too) agreed with Katie that marshmallow toasting was the best bit.

But I personally liked the bit when Tim and I were making the fire safe before turning in and could hear hippos rustling near by. We turned the car headlights on and saw a hippo waddle off at pace about 50m away. We wisely decided not to tell everyone else - turns out the danger hippos signs had led to some anxiety.......

Sunday was just as chilled, with horse riding, a boat trip and a yummy lunch at this beautiful spot. Even the drive back to Nairobi up the Rift Valley escarpment - possibly one of the hairiest drives we do here - wasn't as terrifying as normal. And we came home happy dusty and tiered, with lots more lovely memories and a belief (which I fear will be proved to be misplaced in coming years) that camping is fun.

sanctuary farm 25th January View photos You are invited to view anne's album. This album has 21 files.

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Anne

The rough with the smooth

As Expats living in Kenya there is a lot to enjoy. The country is amazing and varied. We have made some very good friends. The weather and space means we all get to spend loads of time outside in the sun - and I for one find that feeling healthy (ish) in body helps my state of mind. My life is made much easier by having a small army of people to help look after the kids, sort the house, drive us around, do the shopping and babysit. Tim and I have stimulating jobs that get us out and about round the region, meeting interesting people and learning a bit more about the place we live in. The kids are happy at school. And we all have full social lives with parties, good places to eat, swimming pools to splash in and weekends out of town.

We also get to do some pretty surreal things, like running round a garden with the Commonwealth baton and Kenyan Olympic legend Kip Keino. The premiership trophy appeared that night too.

I didn't take photos of last night's eating haggis, drinking whiskey, sitting with men in skirts (a girl's checked school skirt in the case of a Frenchman who thought it the next best thing to a kilt) or the Scottish country dancing in the middle of a Nairobi garden to celebrate the Scottish national poet. That would be an odd experience anywhere.

Feedback from a few mates suggests that I may have blogged a bit too much about the new, exciting, fun and interesting aspects of life here at the expense of incisive political observations. And I accept that it is insensitive to make too many references to the Indian Ocean when friends in the UK are suffering extreme flooding and friends in DC are snowed out. Thinking what to blog about next I do try and avoid too much "sunshine and swimming pools" but there is a bit of a cumulative effect showing more of the smooth of life than the rough.

The rough isn't of course as photogenic and it is not so good for talking about as a family - as I have learnt from the mix of inquisitive minds and one too many horrific world service Africa news item about genocide, war crimes and rape on the way into school. But just in case anyone is getting jealous of the tales of exotic animals, white Sandy beaches and outdoor living I thought I'd reflect briefly on some of the less positive aspects of our "Nairobbery" life. These of course came to World attention during Westgate. That was horrible and still impacts on how people feel about living and visiting here. But the underlying crime that gives Nairobi its nickname is a big thing too as is the Truly awful traffic which probably merits a blog all of its own.

The last week has really highlighted the contrast of rough and smooth for me. The weather is great just now - Nairobi at its best. People are being sociable after the Christmas break so alongside the Burns supper, I've been drinking mojitos at a friend's birthday and we are camping with friends this weekend. The kids are loving their hockey and have matches and school camps this weekend with much excitement. Pretty smooth.

But against that, this week we have an attempted terrorist attack at the airport (4 hours after I travelled through) and one of Matthew's friends was at a sleepover during an armed robbery at the house. He was threatened with an ak47. His mum was travelling (hence the sleepover) and it took the whole day for her to get back so he came and hung out with us for a bit after school. He and everyone else at the house is physically fine and over the scaletrix track he told Jamie all about it. He is 10. That is really really rough.

I worry that none of this feels unusual to me any more. After the airport incident Matthew just observed that it couldn't have been a lightbulb as the police were claiming because that wouldn't have blown up a bin. And Jamie and Matthew's first question on the robbery was to check with their friend if the guys had been armed. Those aren't things they even considered when we lived (and were burgled) in South west London. It is hard to convey the anxiety that incidents like this leave behind - expat life is good here but it certainly is not all sundowners on the veranda.



Anne

Going and growing up

An early start this Saturday morning to get Jamie up and off to school by 630am for a hockey match out of town, on the back of a 3 day school trip white water rafting and generally adventuring which has left him happy but exhausted. I'm struck, as recent visitors have been by how much growing up Jamie has been doing after his first term in middle school. Security and traffic make it hard to give him the little bits of independence he would enjoy in the UK - unaccompanied journeys to school, walking round to friends' houses, hanging out in shopping centres with mates. But he does get the odd night away for sports events, sleepovers and school trips which help both him and me loosen the apron strings.

He spent the first week of the Christmas holiday climbing mount Kenya on a school trip. Its a pretty major undertaking - the second highest mountain in Africa, ice and snow capped, with altitude sickness a very real possibility. He set off early and very cheerily if slightly nervously. Big hugs for mum and dad were sought out but strictly only allowed in the privacy of home and certainly not in front of mates in the school car park. This was evidently the arrangement all the other 11 year old boys had come to with their parents too. He packed his rucksack (a 40 year old thing that Tim inherited from his older brother) with the warmest clothes we have here (not much), my sturdy UK raincoat and oversized gloves borrowed from a friend of mine. And having tried out various shoes and second hand walking boots, he went off wearing my size 7 walking shoes which fit him perfectly. Growing up.

It rained for the entire trip (except when it snowed) and they came back a night early having run out of dry clothes and raced down the mountain to get home and warm as soon as possible. Jamie said that the second night was the low point - cold, wet through, in a tent with no end in sight. But they persevered and he made it to Lenana Point - the highest point you can reach without ropes at just under 5,000 metres, which was fantastic - very proud of him and his mates for trying so hard. They all looked pretty dazed the morning after. Pretty tough going up.



But good to know that through all the going up and growing up, the heaps of wet muddy washing still come home to mum. And the sponge bag returns packed exactly as it left.


Anne