In trying to figure out how to continue my exercise program while I’m in Kenya, I needed to find a substitute for the ParaBody gym and hand weights I use at home. And it had to be something lightweight that would fit in my luggage (the guy at Dunham’s said, “Can’t you go to the hotel fitness center?” - yeah, right). So I bought a set of resistance cables that fit into a smallish bag. They came with a jumprope and a grip exerciser. Tuesday morning was my first chance to try them out. I think the resistance cords may work as an ok substitute.
The work day starts around here with the staff gathering for Bible Study followed by a staff information session. Each of the employees, Mums and Uncles alike, take their turn leading the Bible Study. I got back from my run too late to attend on Monday and besides, my foot, ankle and hand were hurting. So Monday afternoon Kate gently chided me, blaming herself for not telling me about it. Clearly I am expected to participate. Which means I’ve got to be ready to roll by 8 am every day. And I thought that had ended when I retired!
Kate had errands to do so we drove the 40 minutes into Karen (“ideal” traffic conditions - if traffic is bad it takes much longer). Kiserian is nearby, but is a small town and there’s not much that can be accomplished there. Also, we’re in the middle of the annual audit (yes, even in Kenya!) and we had papers for which we needed signatures of two of the Kenyan trustees. One lives in Karen and the other met us there because she was there on other business. While Kate went to the bank, she sent me with the box key to the nearby post office to check the mail. The address for Hekima Place is now a PO box in Kiserian, but some mail still comes to the old box in Karen. I had dark glasses on and on the short stroll to the post office, a Kenyan man sitting under a tree said hi to me. I said hi back and kept walking. Then he asked if Mum Kate was around, so I stopped and looked, still with the dark glasses on, and said she was at the bank and started to walk on. Finally I took the dark glasses off and realized I’d been speaking to Sam, the driver who picked me up at the airport! I was so embarrassed not to have recognized him, but he was very gracious about it. Then I was so flustered, I got to the post office and couldn’t remember the box number, except that it ended in 27. I tried practically every box in the place ending in 27 until I finally hit the right one. I’m glad nobody else was in there watching what I was doing!
Kate had asked if I would tutor the 8th graders in math after dinner - apparently they’re not doing well in math at school. I got the textbook and thumbed through it - they’re studying geometry. There’s not a lot of guidance in the textbook, but at least there was enough to give me confidence that I could probably help them. So at 7 pm after dinner I met with my little group of 8th graders in the dining hall: Winnie, Alishpa, Aribeena, Marcy, and Beth. They didn’t have any math homework that night, so they picked a place in the book and we worked our way through it until 8:30.
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