Pictures to Share

I have a lot to say but I'm too tired to say it.  Maybe next post.  I remember a friend in Taber telling me that missionary sisters ought to wear pants so we would be like the locals.  Well, here in Kenya, women wear dresses.  That's just what they do.  It's mostly tourist women who wear pants.  So dresses are always in style here.  I don't know how that thought fits in with this post.

We had a quiet day at the office as only LeRon and I were in today.  LeRon was busy with finances and I was communicating with branch presidents and bishops about how to fill out missionary recommendations forms.  I had to send emails to about 65 people.  It kept me busy all day.  Then after we were finished we drove up to The Hub, the new mall which is close to our office to buy some cheese.  It's the only place we've found to buy mild cheese.  It costs about $12/lb!  On the way home, I took some pictures along the way.  When we got home, we went for a long walk and took more pictures.  Enjoy!

This is a very crowded street.  Matatus on the side waiting to pick up passengers.  Covered stalls selling a variety of food that they cook right there.  Not recommended for us mzungus (foreigners) to try.  I'm trying to be unobtrusive as I take the picture.  I should have zoomed in a little more.

I zoomed in on this picture and it was too much.  In the front is a handcart loaded with goods.  We don't shop along these streets.  For locals only.  But I bet there's good deals here.

Look at the lovely red soil.  I was trying to take a picture of the nursery plants but my camera is too slow and I got the motorbike instead.  A motorbike is certainly the way to go around here.  You can zip in and out of traffic very easily.  And motorbikes transport a lot of goods -- even Kentucky Fried Chicken.  On both sides of the road people set up their nurseries, which they water by hand.  I don't know if they have to pay for the use of the land or not.  I even saw someone planting a small garden alongside of the road.

In some areas, the streets are blocked off.  You can only go down them if they let you in.  This is the entrance to our neighborhood.  The guards know us and let us easily in.  A couple of times we changed trucks (we drive mission trucks) and the guards weren't going to let us in until they saw our faces.  They hadn't recognized the truck.  Nice to know they really don't let people in who shouldn't be there.

Now we're on our walk.  It's a lovely neighborhood.  The only trouble is that you can't see into the yards.  I'm sure they're very lovely.  But all we see is trees and walls and gates.

There's a section of the road with beautiful sculptured bushes along the way.  They look like chairs to me.

More chairs.  Somehow the light was reflecting funny.  And this was about 5:30 p.m. too -- just an hour before sundown.  Maybe my camera's set wrong.

I wish the pictures would do justice to the beautiful sculpturing.  Nairobi is a very beautiful city.  And all of these bushes are undoubtedly hand-sculpted.

I was going to try and sit in the bush but it didn't really work.  It was just a bit too tall.

I tried this chair too but I thought I might break it!  Such cool bushes!

I peeked through a hole in the wall and saw this lovely home with cows grazing beside it.  LeRon held the camera over his head and took the picture for me.  Nice to see inside those walls!

I can't get over how beautiful the bougainvillea are.  I wish they would grow like this in Alberta.

More gorgeous bougainvillea.

Click on this picture to enlarge it.  Here's an armed guard strolling down this road.  There are several homes along this road and I imagine he's paid to guard them all although each home has its own guard too.  Not all guards are armed.

Interesting tall trees reaching for the sunlight.

If there's not walls, then there are dense hedges and tall trees to guard each homestead.

This is the gate we drive into and out of every day.  Our guards are armed and very professional.  Some even wear suits and ties.  They are very fine people.  We enjoy visiting with them.  We're very happy to be living in such a nice place.