Around the world

Hello from Kenya! We have been here for almost three weeks already. Last time we wrote we were in Vietnam, then we flew home for a short but wonderful visit. That completed a full circle around the globe. But we are not done yet, in fact today is our half way mark on the year of travel.

Let me back up for a minute. We finished our visit in Vietnam in one of the most beautiful spots in our opinion. Northwest of Hanoi is SaPa, which is up in the mountains and filled with rice farms. We spent 3 days trekking with a guide in the valley through beautiful scenery. We stayed in home stays in small villages and met wonderful people along the way. It was definitely a highlight of our trip. We spent Christmas in Hanoi and then flew home.

Home was a much needed reset of our batteries. We loved seeing everyone and going to some of our favorite places. One highlight for sure was meeting the newest family member Hank (Ben and Keisha’s baby). Sometimes it’s good to go away and realize how much you love your home.

Our transition to Kenya has been a bit rough. We had a couple logistical bumps as well as tryin to emotionally gear up for 6 more months of travel. Let’s face it we are not your typical gap year people. We spent 5 days in Nairobi which mostly consisted of Jim connecting with coffee colleagues and getting caught up with work. I got to meet some of his coffee friends and see an impressive third generation estate coffee farm. And we have eaten some great Kenyan food.

After getting settled we drove to Elderet with a one night stop at Lake Elementaita to see the pink flamingoes. In Elderet, we met and stayed with some family of our good friend Patrick from Seattle. His aunt runs a daycare/primary school next to her home for kids age 1-grade 2. I spent about a week and a half hanging out, learning and teaching at the school. It’s remarkable how quickly I got attached. This small school of about 30 kids and 6 teachers is so dynamic. With a very small budget and basic supplies, they make incredible teaching happen. The students are engaged, curious and very happy. The teachers work hard, and have to be so creative with the few supplies they have and I never heard one complaint. Straight edge blades to sharpen pencils (that was new), tires and ropes to play with at recess and lots of singing and laughter. Environmental science lessons, math, geography, English, Swahili… it was a full day! I loved it and was so appreciative of being welcomed in, even for such a short time. It was hard to leave…a few tears were shed.

One funny story, I was teaching an English class on day two and a student was testing me (not following my direction). Another student handed me a stick “a cane” and said use this! I looked confused and said “for what”? I wasn’t comfortable with that form of discipline. He eventually came back to his seat, thankfully. There are many differences in culture and practice but the kids are the same. They are creative, curious, eager to learn new things and fun to be with!

We are back in Nairobi for a couple days then off to Uganda to explore more schools and more coffee. The slower pace of travel is nice because it gives us more of a chance to experience local life in a deeper way.

On a side note, many of you know about the trial that my daughter Madeline is going through from her work with No More Deaths. I want to thank you for your support of her and the others who are waiting to hear about sentencing. I appreciate all your prayers and kind words as we wait to see the result. It’s been hard to be far away during all of this, but again I am so thankful for our family and community that surround us and support us.

Here is the link to CNN article

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/01/22/us/arizona-aid-volunteers-guilty-trespassing-trnd/index.html?r=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com#%7CgigyaMobileDialog

Peace to you all,

I post pictures more often on Instagram if you want to follow: m_heiser_

Michelle and Jim