December 1982

Friends, relatives and family,

'Tis Christmas time again, the carols are ringing in our ears, and we are well into our fifth year in Kenya.  It has been a most eventful year for us, a year in which we managed to visit the U.S. twice, meet Vice-President Bush, explore one of the natural wonders of the world and circle the globe - all without a visit to bankruptcy court!

This time last year, we were winging our way to North Carolina to spend the holidays with Sharon's father in a rented cottage by a stream.  After a week of familial bliss, we moved on to Sun Valley, Idaho, for a week of skiing with some friends and were introduced to the cold crisp weather of the American West.  Then we completed our month long American safari, with a stay at Ken's folks' house in Florida.

In February, we had the good fortune to take a trip to Zimbabwe, that trouble-torn country in the throes of nation building.  It was there that we experienced one of the greatest thrills of our lives - the mighty Victoria Falls.  Imagine, if you will, a wall of water a mile long, cascading over a sheer precipice with a deafening roar and throwing up a cloud of spray which can be seen for 50 miles!  Awesome!

The school year finished quickly thereafter, and we were off on our great round-the-world journey.  We started in Egypt with a cruise on the Nile (an absolute must!), then went to summer school again in Greece where we learned how to program micro-computers, and then on to Amsterdam. A week in North Carolina with Ken's parents was followed by a marvelous stay in Seattle with friends, then a return to "home" - Hawaii.  From there we jetted to Micronesia, and dove Truk Lagoon, where the Imperial Japanese fleet was sunk.  Crawling inside the 400 ft. ships which have become beautiful coral gardens after 40 years below water was indeed an experience to remember.

We finished our journey with stops in a hot and sticky Hong Kong for shopping and then Singapore for a rest at Raffles Hotel.  During our trip, we were unsettled by the news of an attempted coup in Kenya, but when we returned, we found little changed except for a curfew and jittery nerves.  However, the image of Kenya as the African Continent's most stable paradise has been tainted forever.

Nevertheless, we continue to hang on here, finding more and more things to do and having fewer and fewer free moments to do them in.  Last month V.P. Bush visited our school to cheer us "expats" up a bit.  And we finally managed to convince Ken's parents that they wouldn't be eaten if they came here, and at this writing, we are anxiously awaiting their arrival for a month's stay.

And with that, we say "Until next year" and "Merry Christmas to all."