I'm no Angelina Jolie

During our latest trip to Siminjero Tim was able to conduct some interviews. (Finally, some permission letters delivered!) This meant that for an hour and a half, Eleanor and I were free to explore the village. I use the term 'explore' loosely, however, because the sun made it too hot (because of the BLAZING high-noon heat) and dangerous (because of the BLAZING high-noon heat) to venture much further than the (roughly) three feet of shade that fell around the village's administrative offices.

In Lobersoit we were lucky enough the have the gravel front yard of Tim's field assistant Isaya's house to help shade and entertain us. (Have I written yet about how much Eleanor loves playing with rocks?) Joined by several neighborhood children we sat in front of his three room cement home, sorting, counting (with the children teaching me how to count in Kiswahili), and filling (and emptying) plastic containers with rocks.

At 3:30 hundreds of children, recently released from the primary school just around the corner, passed by the driveway to see Eleanor and I happily engaged with out new friends, and suddenly our little gathering was not so intimate. At first they stood staring from the end of the driveway, probably 30 feet away. When the bravest of the group moved to the back of the Land Cruiser, the whole group joined him, and before I knew it I was standing with by back flat against the house hemmed in by a sea of curious onlookers. Had I been a celebrity I would have started signing autographs, but I'm no Angelina Jolie. I froze, and like them, stared.

Consistently, Eleanor has proven much more willing to engage this kind of behavior with mutual curiosity, smiles, and laughter. Maybe it's because she doesn't feel the limitations of the language barrier the way that I do or maybe it's because she doesn't have a one-year old that she feels the need to protect. What ever the reason, Eleanor continues to make friends where ever so goes, and I continue to admire her ability to do so.
- kjd