Good times despite everybody's favorite Niño

Cheers to one month Hans solo! Living solo has left me with A LOT of time for introspection (about 99.9% of which I'll spare you) and movie watching. Movies I've watched lately that take place in Africa (e.g. Blood Diamond, another on Kony's LRA) are such a far cry from the world I live in that they've been a good reminder: there's popular media and then there's reality. Just like not all Westerners are mysteriously well-off, sexually open, and glamorous like Carrie Bradshaw and/or gun-wielding like OO7 and Rambo, not all Africans are violent, corrupt, and in a state of crisis... We know this.

A very encouraging Weds ;)

Perhaps the best part of living alone, besides the space, is feeling compelled to reach out in the community. This month I started joining yet another group of missionaries in my more local area, Kakamega Town, at their bi-weekly "Encouragement Wednesdays." Yep, at the end of the day, encouragement is just what each of us needs, we who are far away from home and/or maintaining a new home in Western Kenya. It's an absolutely lovely group of American and British expats, most of whom have picked up and moved indefinitely to the Kakamega area. Some work in children's education and caretaking, others work in agriculture (e.g. animal husbandry, soil management), and others still contribute to existing congregations - pastoring and encouraging adult disciples. Most of them served in the same capacity at their home churches, found their way here via the missions their churches run, and felt God's call to move here more permanently. I can't imagine God calling me to live here indefinitely, but I'm glad He did them, because they're great company. 

My field assistants deserve a round of applause for having been excellent sports this past month. They've been essential in running the project through the various challenges we've faced and been brave enough to flex some new muscles:

Sylvia, the walking rock/
My boots aka we're not in
Brooklyn anymore

1) El Niño: We thought we were out of the rainy season, when suddenly ultra-wack weather arrived. It now either storms or drizzles from 13:00 on in the afternoons, part of the night, and most mornings are reminiscent of London and Seattle. Neither human nor monkey enjoys this weather (except for my oddball colleague from Oregon). So while we bat off-trail through sodden undergrowth and suck our boots out of ankle deep mud, the monkeys hide high up, spread out and quiet. Like the mud, we suck it up, although my assistants do a better job of it than I do.

Solar repairs on a sunny
morning/my baby...
I mean, freezer 

2) Related solar power issues: Because of said niño, my beloved solar freezer (where our bio samples are stored) had some power struggles. Thank goodness, not a sample was compromised, although my sleep and patience were. We had several visits from our friends at a small solar business to make adjustments and found a solution for every ill. My assistants have humored me and been hard-working throughout my freezer-sitting and prolonged email dances in the forest to search for signal.

Sheila teaching a secondary
student during an activity

3) Conservation outreach: In my Summer 2014 pilot season, I started visiting nearby schools with some of the local forest workers to build appreciation and conservation awareness about Kakamega Forest. This past month, I asked my field assistants to join me. Each played her part in style, leading kids in activities on population ecology and discussing energy-saving alternatives to common practices in the kitchen. We're looking forward to keeping this up and doing outreach as a team once every month.

Last thing, now. Every November something special happens - I turn another year older. That's right, this month marks the end of my 30th year on this planet. In the immortal words of Cedric the Entertainer "Ima grown a$$ man!" And I'm pumped. Let the celebrations begin.

Take care all of you wherever you are and keep in touch.

Lots of love!

Nicole