10.1 Sept 17, 1967 Frank

 Sept 17

Dear Folks (Cochrane)

    We missed writing last week so you are probably wondering where the letters are and it was particularly bad because of Dad being in th hospital and not getting a letter off. I suppose he is home by now or will be in short order. I wonder how soon he will be able to tell how it is going. I don't know why I keep saying "he" instead of directing the questions to you, Dad!

    The last two weeks have been rather eventful around here. Last week end the whole family went to Nairobi and on the way down the car started acting up and we limped in at a very slow speed. it took about four and a half hours and it should have taken two. We stayed with some of the people of our group that are stationed this side of Nairobi about ten miles (Kenyatta College). Saturday morning we took the car back to the dealer and of course they quit work at noon Saturday and they didn't get much done. It took them until Tuesday morning to get it out. New points, carburetor cleaned, spark plugs, timing, rebuilt starter, new starter gear on the fly wheel, new clutch which was ruined because of bad oil seals in the transmission which they also repaired. We were lucky they did all of that work and didn't charge me and guarantee or not it is had to tell what they will do. We sponged off the families that I mentioned all that time. We bought groceries of course, but we were pretty well stuck, I don't think I have ever been so dependent on other people outside of relatives in all my life. A new experience. Of course we would have been happy to do the same things for them if the circumstances had been reversed. I guess that counts for something.

    I started a couple of classes when I got back. They are working on lesson plans for student teaching which starts a week from tomorrow. At first I didn't think they were going to learn anything out of what I was saying, which they probably didn't, but some of the lesson plans in science look pretty fair. Some are terrible and they end up doing them again. I keep telling myself that it will all take time for us to get used to them and vice versa. We also moved to a bigger house and a nicer yard but no view. At least we can get our things out of the boxes and begin feeling at home. The kids put up a tire swing and they had collected quite a crowd of Africans before it was over. In the next two days they had given dozens of kids rides on the swing. It got so that they couldn't get a turn because the swing was occupied. It is customary among the local people to push and shove to get their way, but at least they experienced something new.

    You asked about Kiva and Milton in your last letter. I don't know that I can tell you what their impressions are. They think about home when we read the letters, but the rest of the time I don't think they think much about it. I don't think Kiva realizes where we are. Once in a while she will ask if we can go back to our other house as if it were just down the road. She has no concept of how far she is from home. Milton has a better idea but it doesn't crop up very often. They both have African friends that they play with and there never seems to be any question about race. They were all a little awed by the hair and skin differences but that didn't last long.

    We started an irrigation system for our garden this weekend. Milton and I did it when we thought we would get the least advise and comments from people. We had quite an audience from time to time. They chop at their soil to turn it over with a tool that resembles a grub hoe and then in that state of jumbled up and down mess they plant. I turned ours over with a yard fork and took a piece of slab wood and drug it with Milton and one of his African friends riding on it, and then corrugated. We have strawberries that I transplanted, onions, carrots, lettuce, beans, etc. Sure wish we had some sweet corn though. One of the Africans on the staff came over and was quite impressed when he saw the water running through the rows.

            Love, Frank

(on another air letter)

I just finished the other letter, but wanted to tell you about the sawyers that have been working right across the fence from us. they saw logs up by hand like in ancient times. They can saw a 12 foot long log fifteen inches in diameter in half in four hours. It is real fascinating to watch them work. One of them sings a chant as he works. He sings in a falsetto voice sometimes making the country side ring!  It sounds like a young boy's voice. Some of the words are about his mother according to what one of the little boys told me. i hope I can get a picture but these people are real funny about having their pictures taken...something about taking part of their life and putting it on that piece of paper. This is what I've been told, but I haven't tried to test it yet. (There is a sketch here of a log on supports with one man standing below and one man on top of the log and a long cross cut saw drawn through the log from one man to the other. The lower man stands in a pit, ground level being about his arm pits.)

    One of the single people from Kenyatta College came up this week end so I took him for a drive up towards the mountain. We came to a national forest boundary which covers the top of Mt. Kenya. They had a ranger station there and the only road at that point into the forest only went in about six miles so we drove down about two miles, found a path into the forest and walked down to a creek. There were no trout, but nice and clear which is unusual. The forest was mostly deciduous trees of some sort, lots of moss hanging down and dense undergrowth. Some real big trees that looked rather weird growing almost horizontally with their limbs growing vertically.  Quite an interesting place, but I have got to find the fishing! Guess I had better quit and let someone else write. Barb had the Kenya stomach today so don't know if she will feel like writing so maybe I can get some of the kids to put a note on this. Kiva drew this right after we read your letter the other day. Love, Frank (In among the writing on this page is a figure colored blue with a rather sober face. No note except "Bye, Kiva" written in her hand) (the rest of the page is written by Barb.)...I recovered from whatever it was, I guess. It is a state that we shall have to put up with now and then!