News & Thoughts

• Max is taking Swahili classes. Twice a week, after naps (if he doesn’t sleep through it) we walk back to his classroom at the school for a half hour class. Mostly older kids but he seems to be interested. He comes back with one new word each time and he is actually spontaneously using them in conversations and asking me how do you say such and such in Swahili. We are all learning a little bit anyway because all the house staff uses it and is using it with us and we hear it in the streets everyday so I suppose before it’s over here we’ll be able to at least have a little conversation in Swahili.


• We live well here by anybody’s standards but it is sobering to consider within less than a mile from us there are people literally dying because they can’t afford food or basic medicines or are miss-diagnosed at the hospitals. It not something I am used to being around and makes me feel guilty at times and also inspires me to help in some way. Americans are so lucky. Sure we gripe and moan and we should, it’s what keeps things improving and moving. And there are some people who fall through the cracks here and there, but not like here. And even though life is so hard for so many the cliché of the ‘human spirit’ shines through all around here. People are good natured, happy and friendly for the most part.


• Gladys our new cook/nanny/housekeeper has finally moving into the staff quarters today. We now have living-in help and our staff is now complete. She is a sweet woman from the north of the country. Just in time as Kayla left today for eight days in Atlanta. Max and Esther already feel very comfortable around her, even more comfortable than with the woman who we ‘say’ is the nanny, so even though they are both wonderful people there may be ‘changes’. Even so, when you let someone go here it’s a lot more severe than in the U.S., there is no unemployment very little compensation and they may be supporting extended families on their salaries so you don’t do these things willy nilly