December 1979

Jambo sana,

Seasons greetings to all our friends and relatives.  As can be seen by the stamp, we are still in Nairobi--and loving it more than ever.  We have never found a more perfect climate, nor a place with more opportunities for adventure and enjoyment.

Our jobs at the International School are better than ever. After a normally shaky first year, we have entered into the life of the school this year with vigor:  Sharon is in charge of the yearbook, and Ken has the school newspaper as well as just having produced and directed "The Importance of Being Earnest" as the school play, a grueling but highly successful effort.

On the home front, we've moved from our country cottage of last year to a smaller, more conveniently located guest wing on an estate just outside town. We've sacked our servants and now live a more frugal, less ostentatiously colonial existence. Our daily routine is one of work, jogging, swimming at the school's pool, theater or dinner out at night at one of the many excellent and reasonable restaurants in town.

Adventuring, of course, is the reason for coming to Africa, and the past year has seen plenty of that.  The picture on our card was taken at Samburu Game Reserve in the Northern Frontier District.  It's a place of stark, raw beauty, with primitive tribesmen, rare game, dry plains, and a winding "African Queen" type-crocodile infested river. Camping there was a wild experience--frightening and exhilarating all at once.

In February, Sharon went back to NJ to visit her mother, who was terminally ill, as it turned out. Shortly after Sharon's return, her mother died--a sad blow indeed for all of us.

Later in the year, we went to the coast as chaperones on an East African History class trip. We visited Mombasa and its port with Arab dhows, then went north to the island of Lamu--a hideaway seemingly forgotten by time. To get there, we had to take a local bus, pull it across a river by hand, then push it through mud holes and streams.  Once on the island, we were treated to an Arab-like town with narrow streets, veiled women, exotic foods and smells, the cries of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer.  We rode in Arab dhows to other islands, slogging through mangrove swamps on foot, and on the return trip, were abandoned by the bus 10 miles from any other inhabitants and had to walk for three and a half hours in the broiling sun with our luggage until rescued by a Land Rover.  Great adventure--now that it is over!!

Last summer, we spent 2 months in Europe.  Ken went to summer school in Athens, while Sharon loafed around and enjoyed the sights. We had a marvelous 5 weeks in Greece, exploring the Peloponnesus and were enthralled by the marvels of Greek architecture and civilization--especially the ruins at Delphi.

Then on to Italy where we stayed in Rome, rented a car and camped up the boot to Florence. Later we visited Venice, camping on a beach outside the city.  We crossed the border to Austria, were enchanted by Salzburg, the Tyrolean Alps, and finally made it to Switzerland.  The prices of food and lodging were, as expected, quite steep, but worth every penny as we walked through the wildflowers on hills near St. Moritz, or gorged on ice cream while gazing at the Matterhorn from Zermatt (where we spent our 11th anniversary) or strolled among the medieval buildings of Geneva.

Returning to Nairobi, we picked up friends from Hawaii and went on safari again, to the Ark (a luxury game viewing lodge in the mountains), then to Samburu again and finally to Masai Mara reserve where we witnessed one of the most spectacular sights on earth--the migration of the wildebeests on the Serengeti plain.  Endless lines of these hairy, bison-like creatures, as far as the eyes could see, walking slowly to an unknown call of the wild.

So, it's been a hell of a year for us.  This Christmas, we return to NJ and Florida for the holidays.  We may go to Egypt at Easter.  And we have 99 per cent decided to renew our contracts here for another 2 years which will mean a return trip to the States this summer. On the trip back here, we may stop in South America.  But, of course, if something better comes along, we will pack our things and go where adventure calls us. Until next time,

Best wishes and a Good Year!