Week 11: Food fair

Last week we got back late at night from the trip and we were exhausted from traveling all day, but the first thing we were greeted with was all the girls so excited to have us back. In the next few days, it was like we got to fall in love with all of them all over again. We had gotten back so refreshed, and I think that it made the next week go by that much faster. The girls have a new obsession with the game Uno, and also Sequence, which makes for a great time throughout the day when the babies are sleeping. They do get a bit competitive (very) at times but it's actually endearing to see them all act like sisters even when they are bickering. Another thing that they absolutely love is painting their nails. This is usually a Sabbath afternoon activity, and their love for bright colors has actually rubbed off on me!

These last few days I found it has become very easy to be present or at least put the effort into trying. As soon as I decide to be present when I'm with the babies and with the girls, and actually decide to look for joy or for something to smile about, 10 out of 10 times it takes two seconds for me to see that Collins is laughing and wants a hug, Blessing is sticking her tongue out, Nancy is pretending to cook me a meal, Triza is inviting me to play Uno, Kelvin is tugging at my skirt so I can pick him up, or Sharleen is wanting to sit close to me and ask me random questions. Turns out the happiness was in front of me the whole time. Once this clicked, I've been doing the most I can to be present whenever I am around them, and this has made me love life here that much more.

After a painting nail session

Earlier this semester Kim suggested we do a cultural dinner and when we got back that's what we set off to do! We had to hit the ground running on Wednesday but Shudear went out shopping to get us some supplies. Each of us were going to create a couple of dishes from our respective countries, and we were planning to have the cultural dinner on Thursday. Kim gave us some of the day off so we would have time to cook all of them and it was such a fun day! I'm half Argentinean and half Uruguayan, so of course I had to make some of my favorite food. On the menu we had:

• empanadas (me)

• arroz con leche (me)

• medida, a sweet drink from Sudan (Shudear)

• rice and lentils (Shudear)

• green onion pancakes (Lauran and Katie)

• spicy cucumber side dish (Lauran and Katie)

• chocolate cake (Danielle)

• mac and cheese (Danielle)

• pizza (Shudear and Danielle)

The Kenyan palate doesn't really venture out a lot, so many of the foods and flavors and spices we used were new to the staff and girls. This was a good thing for some foods and a bad thing for others because some people weren't the biggest fans, but overall they were grateful for the dinner we put together! We also put together a slideshow explaining parts of each of cultures which we presented after we ate. Here are some pictures:

Making empanadas :)

The potluck spreadddddd

Slideshow time!

Some other news! Kim went to America for about a week and when she came back she had two new puppies with her! On the left is Lola and on the right is Mr. Pug. They are the friendliest dogs ever and visit us often up at the kitchen.

Last bit of news! Bubba (Ezekiel), one of our babies who is around 1 year, was adopted this week. His new parents came on Thursday and stayed with him in the dental house for a few days before leaving. It's bittersweet; we are all adjusting to not having him around, but we are also so very happy that he has a home now. This picture is us watching him and his parents from afar as they were playing with him near the house. We will miss you Bubba :)

The semester is coming to an end and I will be leaving Kenya for a few weeks to visit family. My next post will be the last one before I leave, and it will probably be a bit more of an emotional reflection of the first few months (just a heads up). Until then have a great week :)