Logistics, Luggage and Loading

It's taken 6 months, but we have finally been able to move our household goods out of Tanzania!

Andrew flew down to Dodoma last Thursday to load up all our boxes:

With a bit of help from friends, all was safely stowed on board!

Then Andrew flew out of Dodoma for what will probably be his final time. The MAF base in Dodoma is closing down and will no longer be operational. MAF Tanzania is down-sizing as the country develops, with a much smaller base operating out of Arusha and a limited service in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya. The end of an era for MAF in Dodoma...

We have had a long and complicated wait for our boxes from Dodoma. There were several factors which delayed the removal of our household goods...
-First, we were not able to import anything to Nairobi without a Kenyan work permit. This took a long time to be issued; it came at last in mid-April.
-Next, we needed clearance from the export people in Tanzania. Without the correct paperwork and an inspection by customs, we could not take goods out of Tanzania. Waiting for the appropriate people to sign the appropriate papers took longer than anticipated.
-Finally, it was tricky to line up the logistics of having a plane available and Andrew available on the same day!
Many months and many prayers later, we are thankful to finally have the boxes in Kenya!

However, our boxes are not yet with us. They will not yet be unpacked. They are in storage at the airport until we can get the correct paperwork/ visa clearance to move them on to South Sudan...
It seems like such a long time ago since I started packing up all those boxes in Dodoma, back in November/ December last year! It will feel like Christmas when we finally get to unpack them, once we have moved into our new home in Juba!

Meanwhile, it is time to get out the suitcases and pack up our clothes and odds and ends here in Nairobi. The Chaos of packing has once again been unleashed...

With a trip to England before the move to Juba, my brain hurts from trying to work out the logistics of which suitcases to take to England (what can I manage to carry on my own with 3 kids, before Andrew joins us after a couple of weeks?) and which suitcases to pack up for Juba:

The mossie nets have been unearthed from forgotten suitcases that came with us from Dodoma in January. Since we will be needing mosquito nets again in South Sudan, I decided to wash the gathered dust off them and put them through the washing machine. Washing the nets is the easy part. Trying to hang a mosquito net on a washing line is the tricky part- they get all tangled up! I wrestled a long time with this bunk-bed net before I managed to get it strung up on the line!

The rooms in our Kenya home have started to look disorderly as I begin the preliminary sorting for packing up. When we leave this home in 2 weeks, it has to be ready to be handed back to the landlord, with every trace of the Parker family erased. I marvel at how much extra stuff we have to pack up, accumulated from random garage sales over the past 5 months!

Looking at the disorder and chaos caused by packing always makes me feel tired! The working out of what should go where and what should fit where is the exhausting part, but once I roll my sleeves up and start actually packing, I know I will feel much better. Thankfully, there is no shortage of tea in this tea-producing nation of Kenya, as I feel a lot of tea breaks will be necessary over the next 2 weeks of sorting, packing and getting ready to move the five of us on again for a new adventure in another country!

Opportunity

Living in Nairobi exposes us to certain disadvantages such as traffic congestion, high crime rate and a tense security situation. However, it is so much more developed than Dodoma! This means that we now have access to many more opportunities! Compared to Dodoma, Nairobi has a wider variety of people from all kinds of countries and professions and a wider range of resources and available activities.

Joel and I have discovered some fun weekly activity groups!
On Wednesday mornings, Joel and I go along to a singing group for preschoolers, called, "Bible Singing Class" where the children sing along to a set of songs with fun actions, instruments and picture card cues. This Wednesday routine has been good for us. On the days when Joel feels compliant (not a consistent trait of a 3 year old!!) he sings along heartily and bashes his instrument with enthusiasm! Since April, I have helped to lead the singing on a rota basis and it's been good fun singing with the little ones and their mums or nannies!

On Thursday mornings, Joel joins other little ones for a gymnastics class, with energetic and fun teachers:

Twice a week, Esther and Ben have recently started piano lessons with teacher Cara from America, who was trained as a concert pianist and is a great teacher to get Esther and Ben started on beginning piano skills:

 I really hope we can find a teacher in Juba who will be willing to help Esther and Ben continue with their music lessons...

Additionally, Nairobi boats a wealth of second-hand sales! This means that I have been able to stock up on several Home-School resources for Juba :-) Boxes of books and puzzles are beginning to stack up in the corner, next to the second-hand school desk which I also purchased at a bargain rate!

The boys tried out one of the puzzles this morning:

At school, Esther has made a mini stage debut, taking part in her school assembly play of "Handa's Surprise" in the school theatre:

 On Wednesday this week, I will be going to watch a Year 3/4 production of Robin Hood, where Esther will be singing with her classmates as part of the informal "choir". I had a sneaky peek at the impressive scenery as I wandered past the theatre door on my way to the cafe. It looks very promising!

Both Ben and Esther have also had been to some wonderful birthday parties, with horses to ride and with swimming pools gracing their hosts' gardens and with amazing dressing up themes! A rather different world from dusty Dodoma, where children seemed satisfied with our more homely kids' parties! Happily, I found this "Transformers" dressing up suit at a garage sale, ready for one of the themed parties Ben went to:

It has been great to have these opportunities in this thriving metropolis of Nairobi. I was overwhelmed by Nairobi when we first got here. I felt confused and uncomfortable with the culture shock we experienced after tranquil Dodoma. Five months later, I can step back and see many advantages from our time here. I hope we will look back from Juba and feel like we made the best of the fun opportunities Nairobi gave us for this season!

gotcha!

We got him!!

Just a shame about his furry friends, who we have spotted lots more of over the weekend! It seems there's a plague of them on this compound. One came running into our garden as we were eating on our garden patio today!! I've been swapping rat stories with several neighbours on this compound, listening with revulsion to their tales of the rats behind their oven, rats brushing against their feet as they stand cooking, rats under their bed, rats in the underpants drawer!! Am starting to count down the 5 weeks until we leave Nairobi and can say "adieu" to these rats....