November in Africa

Thought you all might enjoy what I found in my inbox this morning, from my dear childhood-in-Kenya friend, Rachel Robinson. Rachel is Kara's little sister(Karaduck--she's got flat feet--my bosom friend through middle and high school). I spent a lot of time at the Robinson's house, basking in their peaceful, silent, wind-chimy, planty, sun-catchery home, avoiding their clever, unpredictable African Grey Parrot, sitting at their dinner table in slight awe of their bearded father, Uncle Robbie, who grew up in East Africa and could speak Masaai, Swahili, Samburu (did I miss any? I'm sure I wrote one of them wrong), teasing their little brother (who is now a hunk, by the way), eating Aunt Margie's peanut-butter bars and hoping she'd make me meatloaf sandwiches layered with sliced dill pickles and ketchup for my school lunch. With Rachel, I always enjoyed a sort of middle-child camaraderie: What up with those oldest sisters, man? Rachel and I used to do things like run in the rain, hurl coffee beans from the plantation around their second house outside Nairobi, and shout life predictions to the wide, blue sky. I think mine was to write a musical, direct it, and perform the lead part. Thank goodness some predictions don't come true (I also said I'd wear a purple wedding dress but that was years before the musical one).

Let's see--November here means dusty coats, footie pjs, the roar of the furnace, the garden dry and brown. Anyone for East Africa? Here's Rachel:

From Uganda-- whoot whoot!! :) Wish I felt as excited about that as I sound right now. Naw, I mean, its all good-- just somedays I feel lonely and far away from people who really know me. But community takes good time. So I'll be patient. In the mean time... being here IS good. I do really love it. I love that it is still sunny and HOT during the days-- mid November. I love the parrots that fly by every morning on their way to work... And the monkeys that hang out in my guava tree making a racket.

For more of Rachel's adventure and images of her life--pictures so beautiful they make my heart ache with longing--visit her blog.