Hey all,
Just wanted to send a massive apology for the delay in blog update.
All's well here though we've had a long half term and are pretty exhausted. We've got 2 and a bit weeks left now and then it's half term which they've moved so it falls at the same time as the elections.
We're still trying to work out what to do over the half term holiday as we're not sure how stable the country will be during the time, but we hope and pray it'll be ok and that we'll enjoy a little rest.
There's not much news here other than that we had a fab Christmas and New Year with the Joneses and have been working hard to prepare kids for exams, competitions and Viso weekends.
We're looking forward to a weekend offsite next weekend and then the following weekend Rachel's string quartet (4 pupils, not me!) are competing in Nairobi against other British schools, which she hopes they'll do really well in. House Music kicked off recently and all the houses are learning James Bond songs for a sing off. We've enjoyed coaching them on Goldfinger, the Man with the Golden Gun, Diamonds are Forever and Live and Let Die, which has been entertaining as a lot of the kids have never heard of James Bond and are far too young to understand the lyrics, let alone to watch the films.
We're looking forward to the Easter holidays, when we're planning to do a road trip round north Tanzania to visit the Ngorongoro crater, the foothills of Kili and the coast at Tanga or Dar possibly. This'll be our first long road trip so we're excited and have had lots of work done on the car to ensure we'll at least make it into Tz!
Well anyway, I'll love you and leave you but hope all's well in chilly Britain.
Do let us know your news too and hopefully catch up soon
Love Rach and Dan xx
Monday, 11 February 2013
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Christmas is coming...
Hey all,
Hope you're all well wherever you are and enjoying the build up to Christmas. Well I'm trying to think of what to share with you since the last post but it's been so busy it's hard to think where to start...
We had a busy build up to the end of term at school. Christmas carol services, Christmas dinners, nativities and lots of musical activities kept us entertained, if a little exhausted. We enjoyed a wonderful time with our friends the Blakeleys who came up to visit from Likoni where they are involved in the 'Education For Life' mission. We managed to introduce them to the Rift Valley and spent a lot of time sitting by the fire with them drinking mulled wine and eating good food.
After we had finished for the 'holidays' we took 19 kids to London for a music school trip for a week. We had a wonderful time seeing Stomp, Wicked, The Lion King and Matilda as well as squeezing in trips to the museums and a National Children's Orchestra Concert. They all had a great time despite the cold but, as much as we enjoyed it, we were delighted to be safely back in Kenya where we are now sitting at the beach, sipping cocktails in the scorching heat having shared another lovely day with the Blakeleys.
On Friday we will celebrate our 3 year anniversary here at the coast (time flies doesn't it?!) before heading back to school for christmas and returning to the coast again with Dan's family for New Year which we are very much looking forward to.
As we look ahead to next term we are aware that upcoming elections could be a tricky time for the country so are trying to work out where would be safest to be during that uncertain time. Watch this space and please pray that we might have wisdom about what to do.
Please keep us informed with your news. We always love to hear from you all and hear how life back in the UK is.
God bless and speak to you soon.
Dan and Rach
Hope you're all well wherever you are and enjoying the build up to Christmas. Well I'm trying to think of what to share with you since the last post but it's been so busy it's hard to think where to start...
We had a busy build up to the end of term at school. Christmas carol services, Christmas dinners, nativities and lots of musical activities kept us entertained, if a little exhausted. We enjoyed a wonderful time with our friends the Blakeleys who came up to visit from Likoni where they are involved in the 'Education For Life' mission. We managed to introduce them to the Rift Valley and spent a lot of time sitting by the fire with them drinking mulled wine and eating good food.
After we had finished for the 'holidays' we took 19 kids to London for a music school trip for a week. We had a wonderful time seeing Stomp, Wicked, The Lion King and Matilda as well as squeezing in trips to the museums and a National Children's Orchestra Concert. They all had a great time despite the cold but, as much as we enjoyed it, we were delighted to be safely back in Kenya where we are now sitting at the beach, sipping cocktails in the scorching heat having shared another lovely day with the Blakeleys.
On Friday we will celebrate our 3 year anniversary here at the coast (time flies doesn't it?!) before heading back to school for christmas and returning to the coast again with Dan's family for New Year which we are very much looking forward to.
As we look ahead to next term we are aware that upcoming elections could be a tricky time for the country so are trying to work out where would be safest to be during that uncertain time. Watch this space and please pray that we might have wisdom about what to do.
Please keep us informed with your news. We always love to hear from you all and hear how life back in the UK is.
God bless and speak to you soon.
Dan and Rach
Sunday, 21 October 2012
More adventures down south...
Hi all,
Hope you're well and enjoying the gradual build up to Christmas across the globe.
Just a little update on what we've been up to.
We've just had a week's half term break here at Turi. The first half term as houseparents was absolutely exhausting but enjoyable too. We've had a great time getting to know the kids, providing them with entertainment and laughing and playing with them. The 13 hour working days have been a bit of a shock though and so the half term holiday was a welcome break.
So where have we been and what have we been doing? Maria, Rachel's friend from Sheffield came out to visit and we've been to Kisumu, Nairobi and Naivasha. We spent the week banana-boating, swimming, enjoying beautiful sunsets, going on walking safaris amongst buffalo, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest and enjoying really, really good food.
It has been such a blessing to have a fun, restful holiday with close friends in beautiful places. We now have 7 weeks of action-packed term before Christmas holidays hit. Orchestral weekend is next weekend and so that will be fairly hectic... We look forward to some good performances with Dan conducting an orchestra of about 150 kids from British schools across Kenya. Then we'll start work on Nativity stuff and before long we'll be in London on our school music tour.
I think that's enough for now. I'll pop some photos on facebook soon and we'll try here too. Do keep in touch - we'd love to hear your news too!
Loads of love,
Dan and Rach xx
Hope you're well and enjoying the gradual build up to Christmas across the globe.
Just a little update on what we've been up to.
We've just had a week's half term break here at Turi. The first half term as houseparents was absolutely exhausting but enjoyable too. We've had a great time getting to know the kids, providing them with entertainment and laughing and playing with them. The 13 hour working days have been a bit of a shock though and so the half term holiday was a welcome break.
So where have we been and what have we been doing? Maria, Rachel's friend from Sheffield came out to visit and we've been to Kisumu, Nairobi and Naivasha. We spent the week banana-boating, swimming, enjoying beautiful sunsets, going on walking safaris amongst buffalo, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest and enjoying really, really good food.
It has been such a blessing to have a fun, restful holiday with close friends in beautiful places. We now have 7 weeks of action-packed term before Christmas holidays hit. Orchestral weekend is next weekend and so that will be fairly hectic... We look forward to some good performances with Dan conducting an orchestra of about 150 kids from British schools across Kenya. Then we'll start work on Nativity stuff and before long we'll be in London on our school music tour.
I think that's enough for now. I'll pop some photos on facebook soon and we'll try here too. Do keep in touch - we'd love to hear your news too!
Loads of love,
Dan and Rach xx
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Back to school...
Dear all,
Hope you're all well and enjoying the beginning of autumn in the UK. Hope you're not suffering too much from post Olympic and Paralympic blues and that September is bringing you joy wherever you are.
We're both well and enjoying the beginning of term so far. We did our first ever teacher training session the other day - coaching some of the other music teachers from British Schools around the country and also chatting through the musical diary for the year to plan events and prepare ourselves for the year. It was a fab day and everyone left encouraged, we think, about the year ahead.
We're enjoying the challenge of house parenting whilst also finding it a little exhausting. The kids seem to really value us and we've had some lovely evenings with them in the dorm, singing songs, dressing up and rehearsing for the chapel service next weekend which is led by the Junior Girls. We've chosen the Armour of God as our theme and are looking forward to dressing up the smallest child in the dorm in hockey goal keeper's clothes to demonstrate the point... We'll take photos!
This weekend we've enjoyed some time off at Island Camp in Lake Baringo. (http://www.islandcamp.co.ke/index_en.htm) It was a place we haven't stayed at before so was really good fun and we've got to know some other members of staff through going away with them, which is fab. The sun was hot and it was fun to watch the crocodiles circling the island and be woken up early in the morning by weaver birds cheeping away. I'm pleased to say the only things found in our tent were lizards and spiders... another friend found a scorpion in his bathmat this morning!
Well anyway, I think that's enough of an update. We hope you're all well and would love to hear from you soon. Sorry if we've been lax at communication but we'll be in touch again soon...
Much love,
Rach and Dan
Hope you're all well and enjoying the beginning of autumn in the UK. Hope you're not suffering too much from post Olympic and Paralympic blues and that September is bringing you joy wherever you are.
We're both well and enjoying the beginning of term so far. We did our first ever teacher training session the other day - coaching some of the other music teachers from British Schools around the country and also chatting through the musical diary for the year to plan events and prepare ourselves for the year. It was a fab day and everyone left encouraged, we think, about the year ahead.
We're enjoying the challenge of house parenting whilst also finding it a little exhausting. The kids seem to really value us and we've had some lovely evenings with them in the dorm, singing songs, dressing up and rehearsing for the chapel service next weekend which is led by the Junior Girls. We've chosen the Armour of God as our theme and are looking forward to dressing up the smallest child in the dorm in hockey goal keeper's clothes to demonstrate the point... We'll take photos!
This weekend we've enjoyed some time off at Island Camp in Lake Baringo. (http://www.islandcamp.co.ke/index_en.htm) It was a place we haven't stayed at before so was really good fun and we've got to know some other members of staff through going away with them, which is fab. The sun was hot and it was fun to watch the crocodiles circling the island and be woken up early in the morning by weaver birds cheeping away. I'm pleased to say the only things found in our tent were lizards and spiders... another friend found a scorpion in his bathmat this morning!
Well anyway, I think that's enough of an update. We hope you're all well and would love to hear from you soon. Sorry if we've been lax at communication but we'll be in touch again soon...
Much love,
Rach and Dan
Friday, 31 August 2012
Kenya believe it's year 2?!
Hi everyone!
We arrived back to school just over a week ago and here's a taster of what we've been up to...
We arrived into Nairobi at 3.45am on Thursday last week and after having dealt with immigration etc we set off for Turi in a taxi at around 4.30am. It was a beautiful drive and we felt so happy to be back in this beautiful country (though Rach was unconscious for much of it...) It was fun though having a Christian radio station playing for the whole 3 and a half hour journey - occasionally Rach woke up to a beautiful Rift Valley view and the of 'In Christ Alone' -what a lovely way to be welcomed back into this wonderful place.
We unpacked and set up our new house that day and on the Friday, whilst also meeting the new staff and trying to help people feel welcomed and not too daunted. We've met some wonderful people over the last week and are really looking forward to working with and spending time with the new staff. We have a fantastic new music teacher in our department and are looking forward to really pushing on the department and making music more of a thing in the school.
The main thing that's taken up all our time since being back, however, is Junior Girls - the boarding house we're taking over. We've spent many days sorting all the admin work to prepare for the girls' arrival on Sunday and are pleased that it now looks good and like a fun place to stay! We've renamed the rooms after ice cream flavours and the colours of the walls match up with the dorm name.
Whilst it doesn't sound like a huge amount of work... many things have slowed down the work. Broken printers, ICT problems and changes at the last minute of who's joining the dorm and where exactly they should sleep have all meant that the work has been done, scrapped, redone and then scrapped and redone again... BUT we think we've got there now and are excited not just to be doing admin anymore but actually meeting all the kids on Sunday and acting out our roles as houseparents. (Please pray for us... this is all very new!)
We did managed to get away for Rachel's birthday on Monday temporarily though, which was something to look forward to. After tasty birthday breakfast with friends we went to Sunbird Lodge, which is on a lake just over an hour's drive from the school - http://www.sunbirdkenya.com/pages/index.html - we had a great time swimming in the tiny, freezing cold pool, eating tasty food, enjoying watching a storm over the lake and then going on a guided walk once the weather had cleared up. We had such a fun day and loved getting off the school site to have some refreshment and rest time.
We've now just got a day until the kids arrive. Please pray it all goes smoothly. Pray for the new staff to settle quickly - to get over culture shock and to love every minute of life here. Pray for the pupils and parents too - 3 pupils have pulled out at the last minute and won't reapply until after the elections in March 2013 (last elections were very bloody and led to many Kenyan deaths as well as pupils and staff leaving the school / country). We have no idea how much the elections will impact the school but we have developed a real love for this country and would love you to pray for protection over the next 12 months.
Right, I think that's enough for now but keep in touch and know we miss you and love you,
D & R
xxx
We arrived back to school just over a week ago and here's a taster of what we've been up to...
We arrived into Nairobi at 3.45am on Thursday last week and after having dealt with immigration etc we set off for Turi in a taxi at around 4.30am. It was a beautiful drive and we felt so happy to be back in this beautiful country (though Rach was unconscious for much of it...) It was fun though having a Christian radio station playing for the whole 3 and a half hour journey - occasionally Rach woke up to a beautiful Rift Valley view and the of 'In Christ Alone' -what a lovely way to be welcomed back into this wonderful place.
We unpacked and set up our new house that day and on the Friday, whilst also meeting the new staff and trying to help people feel welcomed and not too daunted. We've met some wonderful people over the last week and are really looking forward to working with and spending time with the new staff. We have a fantastic new music teacher in our department and are looking forward to really pushing on the department and making music more of a thing in the school.
The main thing that's taken up all our time since being back, however, is Junior Girls - the boarding house we're taking over. We've spent many days sorting all the admin work to prepare for the girls' arrival on Sunday and are pleased that it now looks good and like a fun place to stay! We've renamed the rooms after ice cream flavours and the colours of the walls match up with the dorm name.
Whilst it doesn't sound like a huge amount of work... many things have slowed down the work. Broken printers, ICT problems and changes at the last minute of who's joining the dorm and where exactly they should sleep have all meant that the work has been done, scrapped, redone and then scrapped and redone again... BUT we think we've got there now and are excited not just to be doing admin anymore but actually meeting all the kids on Sunday and acting out our roles as houseparents. (Please pray for us... this is all very new!)
We did managed to get away for Rachel's birthday on Monday temporarily though, which was something to look forward to. After tasty birthday breakfast with friends we went to Sunbird Lodge, which is on a lake just over an hour's drive from the school - http://www.sunbirdkenya.com/pages/index.html - we had a great time swimming in the tiny, freezing cold pool, eating tasty food, enjoying watching a storm over the lake and then going on a guided walk once the weather had cleared up. We had such a fun day and loved getting off the school site to have some refreshment and rest time.
We've now just got a day until the kids arrive. Please pray it all goes smoothly. Pray for the new staff to settle quickly - to get over culture shock and to love every minute of life here. Pray for the pupils and parents too - 3 pupils have pulled out at the last minute and won't reapply until after the elections in March 2013 (last elections were very bloody and led to many Kenyan deaths as well as pupils and staff leaving the school / country). We have no idea how much the elections will impact the school but we have developed a real love for this country and would love you to pray for protection over the next 12 months.
Right, I think that's enough for now but keep in touch and know we miss you and love you,
D & R
xxx
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Hi all,
Just wanted to give you an update on what we've been up to lately...
We made it through the first year! After a very busy end of term with ABRSM exams, a little illness (exhaustion mostly and colds due to the rainy season) and packing up and moving our house, we headed off to Egypt for a couple of days seeing pyramids, climbing mount Sinai, quad biking and snorkelling in the Red Sea. We had an amazing time and would love to return there one day as the country, though it's reputation isn't great at the mo, is beautiful with so much history and so much to see and do.
We then arrived in the UK and since then have enjoyed time in Nottingham, Manchester, London, Aylesbury and Edinburgh. We've been trying to catch up with as many people as possible whilst also catching some of the Olympics matches - some volleyball at Earl's Court and the football semifinal at Old Trafford. We're so sorry if we haven't managed to fit you in much time or at all, but we will be back again soon - bringing 20 children to London at the beginning of December... so if you'd like to see us we're more than happy for you to help out with the trip!!!
We return to Kenya on 22nd August and have a lot to do before term starts again - sorting out the boarding house, our house and the Music Department so that they're all up and running before the kids arrive. Please pray that we won't already be exhausted by the time school restarts... It's a long term and jam packed with new things so we need a lot of enthusiasm right through to the end of the school trip on December 16th...
We'll update this again once we're back at school but we hope you enjoy the rest of the good summery weather and hope to hear from you soon,
Love Rach and Dan
xxx
Just wanted to give you an update on what we've been up to lately...
We made it through the first year! After a very busy end of term with ABRSM exams, a little illness (exhaustion mostly and colds due to the rainy season) and packing up and moving our house, we headed off to Egypt for a couple of days seeing pyramids, climbing mount Sinai, quad biking and snorkelling in the Red Sea. We had an amazing time and would love to return there one day as the country, though it's reputation isn't great at the mo, is beautiful with so much history and so much to see and do.
We then arrived in the UK and since then have enjoyed time in Nottingham, Manchester, London, Aylesbury and Edinburgh. We've been trying to catch up with as many people as possible whilst also catching some of the Olympics matches - some volleyball at Earl's Court and the football semifinal at Old Trafford. We're so sorry if we haven't managed to fit you in much time or at all, but we will be back again soon - bringing 20 children to London at the beginning of December... so if you'd like to see us we're more than happy for you to help out with the trip!!!
We return to Kenya on 22nd August and have a lot to do before term starts again - sorting out the boarding house, our house and the Music Department so that they're all up and running before the kids arrive. Please pray that we won't already be exhausted by the time school restarts... It's a long term and jam packed with new things so we need a lot of enthusiasm right through to the end of the school trip on December 16th...
We'll update this again once we're back at school but we hope you enjoy the rest of the good summery weather and hope to hear from you soon,
Love Rach and Dan
xxx
Saturday, 5 May 2012
May 2012
Hey all,
Hope you're all well. Would love to hear your news as we're feeling less and less in touch with what's going on in the UK.
We're excited that it's only about eleven weeks til we'll be back in England though, catching up with friendly faces again.
So what have we been up to lately? We had a fab holiday with Rach's mum and sister seeing lots of animals in Tsavo Safari Park and then heading to the coast for some chill time. It was lovely to see Lynda and John Blakeley and Sam Boyes and catch up on what they'd been doing at Education for Life for the last couple of months. We also spent a couple of days in Nairobi, which we've grown pretty fond of lately, shopping and visiting some lovely touristy attractions as well as enjoying a church service at Karen Vineyard Church.
Since then we've been back and working pretty hard. On top of all the teaching and school duties we've decided to organise a music trip for yr 7 and 8 to London in December to see musicals, a splash of ballet and orchestras as well as doing the necessary London Eye, O2 arena and London Dungeons. This week has been spent making budgets, posters and a letter for parents, so now we're waiting to find out about uptake.
Next weekend's VISO, when the parents flock from all over the world to see their children. Many will be performing their ABRSM grade pieces to prepare them for their exams and we're also doing a fundraising concert for the school's charity Turi Children's Project - http://turichildrensproject.com/ It should be an enjoyable weekend, though please be thinking of us - it's rainy season at the mo and the showers can be extreme. The parents and kids generally camp on the field and as it's a joint concert and chapel service between the 2 schools, it's all in marquees as no hall is big enough for everyone. Please pray we won't all get soaked as it could make the weekend very miserable!
Rachel's string group are looking forward to a trip to Nairobi to play in a music festival at a British school in the city at the end of half term, whilst Dan may get a samba group together to perform there too. We're looking forward to half term break when we're taking a group of year 7s to Zanzibar - an island off Tanzania. We're not organising the trip as it's a history trip but are very pleased to be the chosen staff. After that we'll pop to the coast again and then back to start the last half term, in which all children will take end of year exams and about half the pupils will be doing at least one ABRSM exam - all in a 4 week half term. Then to the UK!
Anyway that's all for now. Do let us know when you're free over the summer so we can catch up, and hope to see you in July, August at some point
Much love,
D and R
xx
Hope you're all well. Would love to hear your news as we're feeling less and less in touch with what's going on in the UK.
We're excited that it's only about eleven weeks til we'll be back in England though, catching up with friendly faces again.
So what have we been up to lately? We had a fab holiday with Rach's mum and sister seeing lots of animals in Tsavo Safari Park and then heading to the coast for some chill time. It was lovely to see Lynda and John Blakeley and Sam Boyes and catch up on what they'd been doing at Education for Life for the last couple of months. We also spent a couple of days in Nairobi, which we've grown pretty fond of lately, shopping and visiting some lovely touristy attractions as well as enjoying a church service at Karen Vineyard Church.
Since then we've been back and working pretty hard. On top of all the teaching and school duties we've decided to organise a music trip for yr 7 and 8 to London in December to see musicals, a splash of ballet and orchestras as well as doing the necessary London Eye, O2 arena and London Dungeons. This week has been spent making budgets, posters and a letter for parents, so now we're waiting to find out about uptake.
Next weekend's VISO, when the parents flock from all over the world to see their children. Many will be performing their ABRSM grade pieces to prepare them for their exams and we're also doing a fundraising concert for the school's charity Turi Children's Project - http://turichildrensproject.com/ It should be an enjoyable weekend, though please be thinking of us - it's rainy season at the mo and the showers can be extreme. The parents and kids generally camp on the field and as it's a joint concert and chapel service between the 2 schools, it's all in marquees as no hall is big enough for everyone. Please pray we won't all get soaked as it could make the weekend very miserable!
Rachel's string group are looking forward to a trip to Nairobi to play in a music festival at a British school in the city at the end of half term, whilst Dan may get a samba group together to perform there too. We're looking forward to half term break when we're taking a group of year 7s to Zanzibar - an island off Tanzania. We're not organising the trip as it's a history trip but are very pleased to be the chosen staff. After that we'll pop to the coast again and then back to start the last half term, in which all children will take end of year exams and about half the pupils will be doing at least one ABRSM exam - all in a 4 week half term. Then to the UK!
Anyway that's all for now. Do let us know when you're free over the summer so we can catch up, and hope to see you in July, August at some point
Much love,
D and R
xx
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