Let me catch you up...

(view of the Rift Valley from our apartment)

     Now that we've been in Kijabe a few days (and have our internet situation sorted out) I think it is a good time to update on what we've been up to.
     Our trip getting to Kenya was quite the adventure. Our flight out of Pittsburgh was mostly on time, but we did not have so much luck in Newark.  We boarded the plane, taxied down the runway as far as we possibly could and then just sat. Turns out we had a mechanical issue that could not be fixed that evening, so after 3 hrs on the runway we de-planed, reclaimed our luggage (this was all from 9pm on) and then had pretty much no help whatever from the airline sorting out our rebooking.  By midnight we had found a hotel and had a tentative booking for the next day.
     Upon arrival for our rebooked flight, we discovered that really nothing was done right so Bill spent several hours running around the airport sorting stuff out while the kids and I camped out and watched videos on the computer.
Finally at 5:30pm Sunday evening we were finally off - connecting in Paris on the way to Nairobi.
     It turns out having a 3 hr layover in Paris was a good thing because the airport is ridiculously huge and confusing to us non-french speaking folk. Coupled with tired children and Ella not feeling well, it was extremely stressful. We did eventually get to our gate with a bit of time to spare.
     Upon our arrival in Nairobi (after Ella was sick on the plane) we did not have to wait too long to get our Visas and passports stamped. The kids layed down every time we stopped and fell asleep, poor things. Unfortunately collecting our bags did not go as well. Two of them didn't make the connection in Paris, so we had to wait around to sort that out. (They should be here by Monday.) We found our driver and made it to our accomodations that night.
     Tuesday morning we traveled back to the airport (under the pretense the bags had arrived, which they had not) and spent a lot of time in city traffic. After our unsuccessful trip to the airport, we had to do some grocery shopping at a Wal-mart-esq store, which was complicated by fatigue and Jack getting sick in the car multiple times. So needless to say shopping wasn't too successful.
     Needless to say we were pleased finally to make it to Kijabe. We spent the rest of Tuesday settling in and had several people stop by to welcome us.
     Our first full day in Kijabe (I believe that was Wed? It has all run together a bit) consisted of Bill starting off to work straight away and the kids and figuring out the day to day stuff. We had a new friend help us around a bit, showing us the local shops (dukas in Swahili) and telling us a bit about the place.

     (Hospital where Bill is working)

     Since then the kids have made friends with the 4 and 8 year old across the street, as well as another girl about 6 or 7 houses down. (In fact, Ella was crying that she couldn't have a sleepover with the girl across the street tonight). Bill is quite happy with all the operating he is getting to do at the hospital.  And I am feeling a bit better now that I am getting over jet lag and figuring out a little bit how things work around here. (I will say I do enjoy that someone comes and cleans and dose laundry twice a week).
     Tomorrow (Sat) we are traveling to Nairobi to check out the Giraffe Center (self explanatory -  a place that has giraffes you can see and feed) and visiting some old friends of Bill's.
     So that's about all - now that we are here, the pace of life has slowed down and we can be lured into thinking it's a bit like vacation at times, with the gorgeous view of the rift valley and the chance to doze on the couch in the afternoon. But we're hoping to continue to find ways to mesh into the community and not just be in vacation mode.
And as a side note, yes it gets pretty chilly at night. Low 50's (maybe even high 40's) and very windy. And with no temperature controls in the houses, you can really feel it. The temperature reminds me of camping - cold at night, warm in the sun during the day. We are definitely going to have to break in the wood stove one of these nights soon!

(Bill enjoying our porch on a sunny afternoon)