There are signs all around us...

One of the things that is always striking when living abroad are the little differences in how language is used and meaning of things.  I find that on a regular basis, I am amused by little signs or shirts or symbols that I see.  I wanted to take this blog post to share a few.  

Well this sign pretty much speaks for itself: 

 

 I don't know why this sign amuses me so much, but it really does.

This one is for Suzette...yes, Poo Villas...ha ha ha

 

This is obviously just hilarious and witty!

This is on the dash of one of our regular taxi drives and I love it!

I also wanted to share some fascinating clips from the Daily Nation, one of the Kenyan newspapers.   Most of these clippings relate to the new Marriage Bill that recently passed in the Parliamentary house here:

This final clip relates to an uptick in the demand for fully armored cars in Kenya....yikes.

I wish that I had the chance to take pictures of many of the people that I see walking around in shirts that originated state side, but ended up here via Salvation Army, etc.  I saw a man wearing a bright pink shirt that said, 'Future Trophy Bride' and John saw a pigmy wearing a shirt that read 'BIG THINGS ARE COMING'.  I also had a carpenter come to the house recently to take apart one of the beds we were selling who was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat.  I have seen many White Sox fans trolling around in baseball caps - none of which actually know who the White Sox are nor which sport they are associated.

Everyday is certainly an adventures - one worth taking in and enjoying, in my opinion.  

Seychelles (this is Africa too??)

For Christmas, my amazing husband gave me an envelope with a picture of the Seychelles and said he would like to bring me there in March in lieu of a material gift!  He knows me well that a travel experience supersedes nearly any other kind of gift.  In was seems to be a hilarious pattern for J and I, this trip was scheduled from Sunday to Sunday and J was supposed to start work in a new country on the Monday after our return.  So, much like Nepal, J and I departed ways in transit and he took a flight to Dar, while I stayed in Nairobi.

Nevertheless, the Seychelles was a perfect holiday before beginning our new adventure in Tanzania.

Final Weekends in Nairobi for JR

JR is a creature of habit and thus when presented with his final full weekend in Nairobi, it was no surprise to me that on Friday night, he was eager to go to his favorite restaurant here, Abyssinia.  He has grown a strong affinity for Ethiopian food and to be fair Abyssinia seems to do it the best.  We were also hoping that we would finally get to enjoy some of the Winter Games, particularly the US vs Canada semi final hockey game since Abyssinia has Super Sport (the only licensure of the Olympic games in Kenya). Others seemed to have our same hope at catching the semi finals, but in typical Kenyan programming, Super Sport chose to broadcast the short track speed skating qualifying rounds over the hockey game!  Nevertheless, we did enjoy an absolutely delicious meal - although our eyes were WAY bigger then our stomachs and we significantly over ordered:

Before the mains were added to the injera (fermented Ethiopian flatbread)

Once all the food was added to the injera (ridiculous!)

Saturday was filled with selling furniture and getting our home organized for the great migration to Tanzania.

Sunday, we enjoyed one of our favorite loops in the forest with Pickle.  We are both really excited about Dar, but agreed that the forest and weather in Nairobi will be greatly missed.  While out on our hike we encountered some awesome African black ducks which Pickle was going crazy over.  Below are some pictures of him eagerly waiting to pounce on any duck that floated his way:

Next weekend, we head to the Seychelles (a dream vacation) and then JR departs for Dar while I wrap up our lives in Nairobi before joining him.  Excited for the next adventure!

Packing our bags again and heading South East...

J and I are excited to be continuing out East African living adventure with a slight change in location.  J got offered an amazing job through a company called CTS Global working at as consultant to CDC Tanzania.  

The job could not be more ideal for J's interests and skill sets, but it does mean moving again.  There is so much that is exciting about this next step though!  1.  We have both spent a good amount of time in Kenya, but never really explored the other East African nations (with the exception of short stints in Uganda).  2.  This position is far better supported than his current role and offers him the opportunity to work in a wealth of diseases ie HIV, malaria, influenza, etc.  and 3.  We are moving to the Beach in Dar Es Salaam! (which will be a first for us both).

Needless to say, we are very excited about this next journey and will keep you all informed.  J will be starting on 3/10 directly following our trip to the Seychelles and I will follow a few weeks after with Pickle and our belongings.

Brunch in Karen (where colonialism seems to still be envogue)

JR, M, V, and I decided that we wanted to head out to Karen to try a place called Talisman.  Talisman is known for it's food, ambiance, and organic Farmer's Market on Saturday's.  We piled into the Prado and headed to Karen.

Our sweet ride (with model for the shot):

This is the security Caboose, which is at the entrance of the restaurant:

The lovely Farmer's Market:

 A horribly taken 'self taken' group photo (minus J):

My handsome husband enjoying the ambiance

 

The shoes that I wore to 'Salute' (insert irony here) colonialism!

Pickle's got a new play mate and a birthday weekend.

I am pleased to report that after many trips to the forest and cutting back on the food, Pickle is looking svelte and healthy again, which happened just in time for this new friend to arrive on the compound.  Our landlords just got a brand new baby Labrador puppy (of the chocolate variety).

Pickle seems to be tolerating the little ball of fur, and even welcomed Bouncer for a sleep over last week:

Bouncer even showed Pickle one of the tortoises that lives on our compound this weekend - which Pickle had not yet noticed:

All an all a nice Birthday weekend for Mr. Pickle the Grump.  We got him 4 years ago, February 15th! 

We had big plans to take pickle for a long walk in the forest for his birthday, but the long rains that shouldn't arrive until April seem to have made a very early and unwelcome appearance, which means the forest is a MUDFEST!  Hopefully, the new playmate provided enough birthday fun for our favorite pal!

To the Birthday Boy!

Friday, JR and I both took the day off in honor of J's 33rd birthday!

Cheers to the Birthday Boy:

To celebrate, we took the opportunity to explore Nairobi National Park, which turned out to be an amazing experience!  We saw 3 rhinos, a lion, lots of gazelles (hartebeest, impala, Thomson gazelle, eland, etc), Ostrich (both mom and baby), zebra, giraffe, crocodiles, beautiful and not so beautiful birds, cape buffalo, wildebeest, and got assaulted by baboons during what was supposed to be a delightful birthday picnic.  All and all it was an amazing day!  We then went to Purdy Arms for a lovely dinner.  Below are some clips of the day in picture form: