Not too bad

Truth be told we are a little bummed that we have not been able to leave Nairobi for the past six or so weeks. Due to Rhonda’s management status at work, she must remain in town even on the weekends due to the uncertainty surrounding the recent election. The fact of the matter is that we would like to go out of town at least once a month to see the countryside – hard to believe but most likely we will only be here for another 16 months and there just seems to be so many fascinating places to visit that already we feel we might be missing out! To top it off, over the past weeks two of them have included four day weekends which would have been perfect for quick weekend trips.

So to try and make lemonade out of lemons, we thought we would try a vacation within Nairobi for this past four day weekend. And as it turns out we had a good time. Friday morning we headed for Nairobi National Park and saw lots of zebras, giraffes, gazelles, buffaloes, etc.

For the afternoon we visited Rolf’s (and crossed over a rope bridge to get there!) for lunch and then walked over to Kitengela Glass.

On Saturday however, most of the morning was spent dealing with bureaucracy at the bank. Sometimes we have to appreciate the red tape for its inherent humor though, like the fact everytime I sign something there they examine my signature against the one they have on file for every little inconsistency. On this bank visit, and this was not the first time, I had to re-sign a document three times before they announced it was acceptable! In evening we met some of Rhonda’s work friends for a night out and ended up at a pulsating night club – no dancing for us but the place was electric.

Rhonda’s director invited us for Easter dinner on Sunday afternoon and the kids had a great time decorating a cake to look like a bunny.

Monday was still a holiday in Kenya, but Rhonda wanted to catch up on work in the morning so we met her later in the day. After some boring food shopping we could not figure out what to do for the rest of the day, but then at the last minute I mentioned I wanted a hair cut and we ventured over to the Indian section of town where I normally go for a trim. It turns out they also give foot massages – so both Rhonda and I signed up. The setting wasn’t the most tranquil, but for $6 for 30 minutes we’ll take it! Seemed to be a little strange as we were both enjoying it while the kids are there with us watching and wondering what was going on! Afterwards, we treated them to some delicious fresh mango and pineapple juice for their patience and understanding - something tells me in coming years buying off their time won't be as easy!  Here’s a picture of Ruby watching as the drinkmeister is making her juice…