31. February 12, 1968 From Barbara to her folks

 31. February 12


Dear Mom and Dad (Line from Barb)


Yesterday we went down to Nairobi to see Diane. She could come out for the  day. We went down Saturday, did some shopping, and stayed the night in our tent in Knudson’s back yard at Kenyatta College. It was a real nice trip, and Diane was sure glad to see us. We hadn’t let her know we were coming. She seems to be doing all right, although she bawled when we left. I would guess that she gets more homesick than she lets on. She is quite enthused about her guitar lessons. She can practice during rest period, which suits her better than just laying on her bed. I’m not really convinced that it is a good idea for her to go another term, except for the chance to be with people her own age.


This is Happy Valentines to you. I couldn’t get the kids enthused about making Valentines. It’s not the right kind of weather I guess, and it is impossible to find red paper, even in Nairobi. Paper products are scarce and when you do find them they are very expensive. Anyhow, Happy Valentines.


We did some shopping around in the curio shops in Nairobi. WE are trying to get some ideas of things to bring home.I guess one reason we’ve been thinking an extra lot about going home is that Mrs. Knudson is flying home next month to take her oral exams for her doctorate. They were all in a hurry getting ready to send her off. They had collected a large amount of carvings and souvenirs for her to take back and had everything from jawbreakers to an electric mixer on her list to bring back. I think everyone in the group would go with her!


Even here with the weather being nice, February is a bad month. It is nice and warm, but has been dry so long that the dust is terrible and everything is dry and brown. Even the milk is short at the college because there isn’t enough grass for the cows. They haven’t thought about irrigating pasture for the cows. That involves too much work on how to get the water to the grass.


We will have power by March first...so they say. They are digging holes for the poles all the way from Embu and have several finished on the campus. Last week they brought poles and dropped one by each hole. It is very encouraging. This is a funny place. They either don’t move at all or else it is done in a twinkling. For instance the Spreiji ( the Dutch couple) received a phone call last week. The Ministry of Education wanted them to move to Chukka about thirty miles farther out in the bush from here and teach at that school, because there was room for both of them to teach and they needed them. They have made all the arrangements and will leave tomorrow. No one knows just how the word got around, or what decided the Ministry to move so quickly. Sometimes you can wait for weeks for something to be done, and other times it’s done before you’ve finished asking.


We also brought back some more books for the library from Kenyatta College and it’s my job to mark them. These books are some from the dependents’ school in Japan that was closed. They shipped three whole libraries to Kenya. Some of our group have been sorting and marking them with a little stamp that says “A gift from the people of the United States of America to the People of Kenya”. They have sorted and counted about 3500 books and have about that many more to do! Most of them are textbooks that are certainly welcome in any of these schools. The worst trouble is the attitude of the British teachers, I guess it’s because the books come from America. I get real disgusted at the Anti American attitude sometimes. That’s enough griping!


Our garden is looking good. There are four nice squash and the bamboo we transplanted is starting to sprout. One flower bed is reaching the scraggle stage, so we are going to dig it up and plant something different. Our early spring fever urge is having a good outlet!


Last Friday we were invited to the house of the principal of the Agriculture Training Center in Embu. This is like an experiment station and helps train local farmers. It is also a model farm to show people how modern management pays off. Anyway we were invited to dinner. We had met them at the celebration for President Kenyatta, and I wasn’t overly impressed with her. She was just “too British”, and I sure wasn’t looking forward to the evening. They didn’t invite the kids. I can understand that, but she gave me the feeling she couldn’t be bothered with them even though she has two little boys of her own.


We went and it was a nice dinner and a pleasant evening. There was another British couple there too. It is hard for them to understand that we have come for such a short stay. Both couples will be here for the rest of their lives with short leaves to England. The Wallaces, our hosts, just got back from leave and were very glad to be home. They didn’t like the crowds of people and the cold weather in England. I guess it’s all in what you get used to. She could hardly believe that I didn’t have anyone helping in the house and didn’t want anyone. We had a typical British dish for dessert. It was a custard with melted sugar dribbled all across the top so that it formed a hard crust. She hit the top with a spoon to break it, so it could be dished out! (*trying to remember the name*)


Frank’s dad is improving. He can go home weekends and back to the traction bed during the week. Love, Barb

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