After a long day or two of getting from San Francisco to Nairobi through several other exciting locations like New York and London, I have arrived safely with all 8 checked bags and 2 carry ons. The credit for the true achievment of getting our first installation of 250 shoes for the Hope Runs project goes jointly to American Airlines and our friend Jonathan's parents, Bob and Susie.
Bob and Susie, who travel too much, were able to help us get in touch with some fantastic individuals at American Airlines who waived about $1300 dollars in excess baggage shipping fees to get the shoes here without breaking the measly Hope Runs budget. We are so very grateful, and can't stop saying that.
I'm tired, and horifically jetlagged, so I'm going to bed. But I'll leave you with some thoughts for the evening, or morning, as it may be in Kenya.
1. One of the best parts of my flight over was watching Posh Nosh, a British farce of a cooking show. It was truly one of the best programs I had ever seen. If anyone knows anything about this program, pray tell.
2. The Women's International Perspective is an awesome news source that Lara and I have started writing for. Blog reader Sarah Mac was a part of the founding of this effort, and was kind enough to convince the rest of her team hire us on for occasional articles. Here is one by Claire on Cairo's Garbage City. Lara's first will be out next week.
3. Jonathan and Lara have been bored, and bonding, in Nairobi for the past four days getting errands done and waiting for me before we head off into areas more rural where the Tumaini Children's Center is. They have been getting along well, it appears. For instance, as I write this, I hear Jonathan having adiscussion with Lara in the adjoining room of Karen Kottage, our home away from home in Nairobi. The discussion seems to peak with such sarcastic comments by Jonathan as, "I just feel that the tables have turned suddenly," and "The sheer number of you (meaning both Lara and Claire) makes me feel less clever." Somehow this makes me feel happy that Lara and I have joined forces again.
4. The winner for London Bookseller/Diagram Prize's Oddest Book Title of the Year contest was perhaps announced, and may indeed be:"How Green Were the Nazis?"
Last year's winner was "People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It," by Gary Leon Hill.
This year, there are some other noteworthy finalists, including:
- "The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A guide to field identification"
- "Tattooed Mountain Women and Spoon Boxes of Daghestan,"
- "Di Mascio's Delicious Ice Cream, Di Mascio of Coventry, an Ice Cream Company of Repute, With an Interesting and Varied Fleet of Ice Cream Vans,"
- "Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Seaweed Symposium."
- "Better Never To Have Been: the Harm of Coming Into Existence."
5. Interesting fact you surely don't know: The first president of Kenya renamed himself Kenyatta after the country when he became Prez. That's why the airport is called the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
1 comment:
The WIP is so happy to have you both!
Chiwan, our managing editor, had a nice compliment for Claire in his editorial, Simple Words, that ran this morning.
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