All Situated in Orongo

Hi everybody. Thanks for all your comments on our previous posts! We enjoy reading the good wishes.
 
We are now in Orongo and writing to you from an internet cafe in Kisumu. Sorry we have not had a chance to update previously as we've been quite busy! I guess that means we have a lot of things to update you on. On the second we took a nice 9 hour bus ride from Nairobi to Kisumu and got a really nice view along the way. The second half of the ride (from Nakuru to Kisumu) is typically very very bumpy and often on gravel roads, but since last August it has been much improved so we were able to relax and get some sleep. That night we met up with our real nice friend Joseph and we stayed at his place in Nyalenda. Nick, Anna, Zach, and Sam got their first taste of being a celebrity among the kiddies. Everywhere we went within Nyalenda there would be several kids running along side us holding our hands, wanting their picture taken, or just wanting to play! We have lots of fun pictures from that.
 
On the third we got ourselves situated in Orongo. It took the whole day to go shopping and get our bedding, mosquito nets, food, etc but we got all settled in and had a really nice sleep in the house of Mama Lona. We are very safe there and they made sure of it. They actually hired a Maasai warrior to guard our place at night as extra security so we really don't have to worry.
 
On the fourth, we attended Pastor John's church and then John, Stephene, and Tobias gave us a tour of Orongo for those in our group who had not seen the village before. We saw Orongo School, Nyaimbo School, Lake Victoria, and many peoples' houses, farms, and even an agroforestry plot! This was a lot of walking but we were rewarded with a really nice meal. Stephene and John helped us cook Dega which is a Kiswahili word for a type of small fish maybe an inch long and 1/8 inch tall/wide. Some of us (definitely including me!) thought it was delicious while others prefer simple beans like we had on the third.
 
Today is our first week day here so we have split up into three groups to go to several different meetings in Kisumu. One group is going to three irrigation meetings, one group is going to three agroforestry meetings, and myself, anna and stephene are running around town shopping for slow sand filter supplies. And updating this blog of course!
 
Anyway, things are very good and spirits are high. It is not nearly as hot as we were expecting, our water supply is not salty like last time, and our teams' culinary abilities are making our dinners fantastic! We will have a lot more to update you on in the next several days after we have started constructing our slow sand filter and started working on our agroforestry plot.
 
Also, speaking of the agroforestry plot, there was a failed plot already at Orongo School so we can use their already built fencing which makes our lives a lot easier. We are finalizing our design of what all we are going to plant so we hope to start digging really soon! Until then, tutaonana tena!