Snow Day in Chogoria

Despite what the calendar says, I hear that Spring has not yet sprung in parts of the Northland.  From over here in the Land of Eternal Spring, I fully understand what people are pining for.

However, I am a Midwest girl through and through, and I love me a good Snow Day.  In January, as a blizzard swept through parts of the Midwest and we heard of school closings and all the regular fuss that goes with enormous amounts of snow in a short timespan, we finally inaugurated a new tradition over here: Snow Day in Chogoria.

This is not my own idea.  I stole it from the Tenwek community when we lived there.  Since it's such a fabulous tradition and the kids look forward to it so much every year, I knew we had to bring it to Chogoria.

It was a Friday and we gathered the kids in the morning to make an announcement from the mamas: "Today is a Snow Day!  School is cancelled!"  I wish we would've thought to record their reactions.  It was priceless!

We told them to meet in the Webbers' backyard with swimsuits on.  Their curiosity was piqued.

First up: fake snow and a snow-themed read-a-loud.  Grandma Horn has always kept us well-stocked with fake snow, which we use at Christmas time.  She doesn't want these Duluth-born babies to forget winter!  So we had plenty to share and the kids were fascinated by it.  It really is impressive how it turns out.

Next up: a slip 'n slide!  This was our dry season version of sledding.  It's hot here in January, so this was the perfect activity to have fun and stay cool.  The kids were a bit hesitant at first, and I realized that most of them had never done a slip 'n slide before and didn't even know what to do.  But eventually their courage grew until we had to force them to quit by the end.

The slip 'n slide was followed by a water balloon toss.  Because why not?

We finished the morning with snow cones courtesy of Lauren who thought to bring over flavored syrup from America and who also has an ice crusher.  I had forgotten how good a snow cone is!  And what childlike wonder a snow cone represents.

We sent everybody home for lunch, then regrouped for a viewing of Frozen with hot chocolate and treats.  The day was a huge success and I don't doubt these kids will all be looking forward to continuing the tradition next year!

Family Medicine Training

When I had babies and toddlers climbing all over me, demanding my time and energy, and stealing my sleep, I remember thinking that I didn't have much time to do anything beyond keeping them and myself alive.  There was certainly a truth to that.  And yet, when I think back to those days and compare them to what's on my plate now, I think I had it fairly easy.

Life in this current stage is BUSY.  Granted, those same kids are marvelously more independent nowadays.  They can do a lot for themselves and play outside for hours without me needing to literally be out there with them to keep an eye on things.  It's fantastic.  And overall I love this stage way more than the babies and toddlers stage.  This is definitely my sweet spot.

AND it's insanely busy.  Homeschooling is no joke.  It demands so much of my time and energy, in part because I have multiple children doing multiple grades and in part because I really do take my job of Teacher Mom seriously and pour myself into doing a good job for these kids.  Also, my roles and responsibilities in other spheres of life and ministry have only grown and expanded over time, leaving me scrambling most days to even answer one email.

All that to say, I have had no margin to keep up with photos or posting of said photos.  And yet, I've been taking lots of photos because we've been doing lots of things!  Lots and lots of things.

We did not slow down after the holidays - there's no "post-holiday lull" over here like there is the Midwest in which people hunker down and hibernate for a bit after all the holiday craziness.  We just kept rolling.  In January we hosted a two-week training event for all the first-year Family Medicine residents.  They traveled from all the sites and converged here in Chogoria for ALSO, ACLS, BLS, PALS, and ATLS.  It was a great time of preparing these new residents for the clinical rotations which followed, as well as giving them a chance to get to know each other and the faculty better as they started the program.

I have to brag on my husband, who did a lot of planning and organizing to arrange the courses, visiting faculty, transportation and housing logistics, and a day trip to the mountain for everyone.  Afterwards, we received incredibly positive feedback from the residents, with one of them saying that this time in Chogoria will always be a cherished memory.

I was so encouraged because 1) my husband really did work hard to make everything run smoothly; and 2) the residency is my husband's heartbeat and the reason we ended up in Kenya at all.  So hearing such glowing reports is a boost for the spirit!

Here are some photos of hands-on learning, including a "goat lab" to learn how to put in a chest tube and a trach.

The day trip to the mountain happened because we wanted to give everyone something fun to do on the weekend off, and also because Mt. Kenya is the icon of our region and we just wanted to show her off!  It was an absolutely perfect day.  We hiked to Nithi Falls and the Mau Mau caves, then made a quick stop at Lake Ellis before heading back to the bandas for lunch.  (There's a restaurant at the bandas now - the first time ever! - and they did a great job accommodating our large group, plus the food was great).

The homeschool families tagged along for the day's adventures, which was wonderful because none of the kids had been to the waterfall or caves before so it was a perfect opportunity.  Plus, as Eli has always said, Family Medicine is such a great specialty because it cares about families!  So it was a no-brainer to bring the kids and moms along for the day.

Also, breathing mountain air is good for the soul.  So very good for the soul.

We are so thankful for these people: for the faculty that works so well together and does a wonderful job teaching and training the residents; for the residents who work hard to learn well and show up day after day even though their education is demanding; and for our kids who live this life with us as we focus on training up future generations of quality, Christ-centered Family Medicine physicians for Africa.