Conflict in the Cheese Capital

Many of you had major concerns about our visit to Kenya (pronounced KEEN-YA by mom and grandma). Today we drove across the aptly named Rift Valley into Eldoret and while things are peaceful, there are definitly signs of the struggles that happend just weeks before. Our route was peppered with burned down houses and rows of burned out shops. Yesterday the reality of the situation hit home as our tour driver at Lake Nakuru drove us past the soccer stadium...now home to over 16,000 families. He was living there himself after his house was burned down. He said that we may have been one of the first visitors back to the national park (located adjacent to the town). The owner of our campsite had to switch all his full time staff to part time just to keep afloat. The good news is that all the people are still very welcoming and really positive about things picking up and going on as business as usual in the coming months. Col and I took a long walk through a small mud & thatch farming village to see the sunset by a big Acacia tree. We were greeted by 10 or so small children who just wanted to walk with us - no begging, no "gimme sweets, madam" -just bored little kids who haven't had visitors in a while. They would repeat everything I said in English (my favorite was when I'd call one "sweetie pie" and he'd say it with his little Kenyan accent - note he had to be about 3) and when we arrived at a field by the tree we met some older kids and played a little soccer. So, despite all the signs of recent violence, it's good to know that kids are still kids and life goes on.
I'm currently sitting in a semi-ripe internet cafe with an incredibly sticky keyboard so I'll have to keep this one short. To everyone who was worried - we are absolutely fine, the towns are rebuilding and we have been welcomed like family. To the Ozars - I keep thinking of father Riwa's flight into here and the remaining displaced children. It's hard to be so close and not do anything about it.

Tomorrow we begin the long journey to Uganda to see the gorillas. We are thinking about all of you!