Space Invaders

The new year has begun and we’re more or less back to our routines. The drought is worsening in the Horn of Africa and I’m in the thick of work on humanitarian response. The girls are back in school. The cast that was on my right arm is now gone and I’m on the slow path to recovering my mobility and strength. I’ve done this several times before but it seems a bit slower at this phase of my life. It’s okay. I don’t mind the challenge.

* * *

After successfully traveling back to Kenya, we shifted quickly to the work of getting over jet lag and preparing for work/school. The former hasn’t gone so well. I’m not a good sleeper even in the best of times so when faced with jet lag, it’s often a question of whether the lying awake is caused by my normal insomnia or if it’s a matter of adjusting to the time zones. Added to that, almost immediately after arriving I came down with a bad cold/congestion. For me, sickness always exacerbates jet lag.

As with a lot of sicknesses these days, it always raises a yellow flag as to whether or not it might be Covid. The symptoms I was dealing with were more or less consistent with those communicated as being common with the Omicron variant. Though we were all PCR tested the day we left the US, according to the CDC, it can take a couple days before someone will test positive. So I could have contracted it, for example, at the Louisville basketball game or passing through a store (even though I have been masked whenever out and about). Even though everything seems to be sped up with Omicron, it’s unlikely that I would be symptomatic from picking it up during the US travel, where PCR tests and/or vaccines are not mandated, given that it was too recent.

We did a couple antigen tests over the span of a few days and they were negative. So it appears to be a common cold. I was almost hoping it would be Covid given that the symptoms are manageable, it might build me some antibodies and it would go away after a while.

* * *

Given all the dramas with the current new variant, the girls’ school has been in hot debates about starting off the year in class or online. Given the success of the school’s pivot towards online education in 2020, I was a bit puzzled to see the pushback from some parents about they possibility of going online for a couple weeks or so. Apparently some teachers are impacted by related travel complications (canceled flights trying to get back to Kenya) or have contracted Covid and are not able to travel. This whole thing is inconvenient for everyone but, as Priya told the school Whatsapp group, people need to exercise a bit more grace during times like this.

In any case, the girls are back to online school for now. There’s an upside to living where we do when normal school is happening. But our urban apartment is less attractive when the pandemic flares up.

Kiran and a classmate are using our dining table and Kinaya took the office. My office is on work from home status so Priya and I ended up being pushed a bit to the margins. I opted to spend a few hours here and there in cafes to carve out some space which isn’t terrible. There are loads of good coffee shops in Nairobi. It wasn’t the end of the world but thankfully school returned to “normal” and I have my office again.

Indiana/Louisville

Flying to Louisville mid-morning is both good and bad. It’s good that you can wake up at a decent hour but the downside is that you arrive late. Not only that, the later in the day you flight, the greater the chance of being impacted by some sort of airline delay that happens in the country during the course of the day, particularly in winter. Such was the case for us on this occasion. In the end, our arrival was delayed by over an hour.

they kinda know their way around airports

We had warned family that it would likely be past midnight and discouraged anyone from meeting us. We would hop in our rental car and meet up with them the following day. Alas, our plans were foiled as we arrived at the rental counter to find no one there. In fact none of the offices were staffed. An airport employee told me that generally they close at midnight. That was news to me. The rental company never mentioned it. I’d even received a reminder of my rental from them just a few hours before showing up to find no one to provide us a car. Moreover, I worked in the car rental business for several years and any reservation that was tagged with an arrival flight number, we would wait for the plane to arrive. It made business sense since you would make more off the rental than you would spend on keeping the office open an hour or so later. 

In any case, we had no car and it was approaching 1am. We checked into Uber but that would have cost us $150. Finally, knowing that Priya’s mom was awake, we called to have her drive the half-hour or so to come pick us up. We felt bad but we had limited options.

* * *

Having made it to bed at 3am, the following day would begin rather slowly. Thankfully we didn’t have any urgent events to attend so we took it rather slowly. It wouldn’t last long given that Christmas was two days away and we need to finish up the necessary errands. Again, we hadn’t done the holidays like this previously so we needed to adjust accordingly. We would be in high gear for a couple days and then hopefully downshift after the 25^th.

That’s sort of how it went though I don’t think there was any downshift. One thing that makes a big difference is that, unlike in Idaho, we would be in the same bed each night. That lessens the stress considerably.

 

 

The weather was considerably mild. One day it was around 70F/21C and I was in shorts. As with Idaho, larger gatherings didn’t happen (though we would bend our own rules and attend a couple of large events). Christmas was low-key but very nice. We attended a couple of church services, one of which would definitely qualify as a large event. The other, definitely not. For the former we assumed there would be a number of anit-vaxers and masks would be in short supply so we took necessary precautions, sitting near the rafters and avoiding the thick lobby traffic. It wasn’t ideal but we apparently came out unscathed.

Christmas Eve

Over the course of the time that we were there, we went to the Speed Art Museum, to a play at the Derby Dinner (though Priya and I only had the dinner part) and a University of Louisville basketball game. We took the girls bowling (again, something I was unable to do) and the family all got together for a bridge walk over the Ohio River, something that was much more pleasant given the mild weather.  

Derby Dinner - A Christmas Story

Louisville v. Wake Forest

Living in Nairobi, we don’t have the pressure to shop before we return as much as we did when we were living in Bujumbura. We’re able to get more or less what we need. There were a few things that we needed to pick up, partly because they’re just cheaper, but it makes it easier not to have a dozen bags.

view of Louisville walking back to the car

Given the need for us to arrive in time for the girls to go to school on Monday, we opted to travel on Dec. 31. I’m not a big celebrator of New Year’s Eve so it didn’t matter to me that we’d be in the air as 2022 began. Given my inability to sleep on a plane, it guaranteed that I would be awake this year for a change. I will say that it’s a bit strange given that it wasn’t clear exactly when the new year began for us since the plane is moving in the opposite direction of the rotation of the planet. Also, it can depend on the route of the plane given that time zones bend in some places to accommodate the preferences of the respective populations. At one point I tried to figure it out where we were when it was our 12am. I came to the conclusion that we were likely over one of the most sparsely populated time zones of the Atlantic, GMT -2. Admittedly, unimportant information.

Early in the flight, the KLM attendants announced that it was midnight in the Netherlands. They took a moment to do a rather stilted waltz through the plane wearing New Year’s hats, they played a Dutch New Year’s song and later served champaign. An enjoyable moment of levity given that the Dutch aren’t really known to be that playful.

I think the real travel miracle, other than the fact that all the bags arrived, was that we made it at all. Apparently 2,500 flights were cancelled the day we traveled, mostly in the US, due to weather and Covid. The only such impact we experienced was that we were delayed at the outset trying to get out of Louisville due to staff shortages. There were gaps pretty much everywhere, from baggage handlers to the people that guide the planes in and out. Given how long we sat on the plane, the pilot announced that he was on the verge of allowing us to disembark until it got sorted out. Not long after that, however, the plane began to roll and we were on our way.

* * *

Now back in Nairobi, we had a day to adjust to jet lag a bit and unpack. The Kenyan summer weather is sunny and warm. The snow seems like a distant memory. Work and school beckon. Back to reality.

Idaho for the (pre)holidays

Over the years I’ve generally been quite good about not taking time with family for granted. When the pandemic hit, it was reinforced all the more. When an opportunity arises to be with my kin, I take it.

Every year I’m allowed a home leave for me and my family to visit my home of record. It’s a benefit that is more or less standard for people who hold international humanitarian positions. Private sector provides similar support (though likely with a few more bells and whistles). My home leave falls on the anniversary of my start date which was in December. It’s handy, in a way, since it means that it always falls around the holidays. As such, having spent most of my life outside the US, I’ve still only missed two Christmases away from family. Last year the pandemic prevented my family and me from spending the holidays with our families in the US – one of the only two that I missed.

* * *

This year we decided to begin the holiday in Idaho with my family and then head to southern Indiana/Louisville to spend time with Priya’s family, about ten days with each. The girls’ school vacation sort of dictates when we travel nowadays and that’s the way it’s going to be for a few years.

The challenge in frontloading the Idaho part of the trip is that we would arrive and depart before the 25th – missing both Christmas and New Year's. Even in Indiana, we would leave by New Year’s Eve (on the flight as I type).

The pandemic is still very much an issue as the omicron variant has spread throughout the US (and around the world). Though our travel went without mishap, thankfully, family activities would nonetheless end up being shaken up a bit. Even before traveling there was considerable discussion about the presence of anti-vaxers at the various gatherings. There was also concern about us, though we were tested the morning we left, we could potentially be exposed on the way there, including within the US where no testing is required for internal travel Though more than 90% of my family (including spouses, children, etc.) are fully vaccinated and have been cautious, there are a couple of holdouts. I was more sympathetic for those who held off due to uncertainties around the virus during its first few months. But now, with its effectiveness and safety more than verified, people just need to step up. And share their vaccines with places like Africa.

As such, family gatherings were a bit more broken up into smaller groups. I tend to like it that way anyway. Conversations are better. When you have 30+ people in a room, including some tots running around, it’s next to impossible to really find out how people are doing and have meaningful exchanges.

We spent a few days with the Boise-based family before heading down to see my parents. Jet lag didn’t seem to be much of an issue. Even our girls are getting pretty good at managing the effects of time differences, though heading east to west tends to be easier than the opposite.

We did get some snow in both Boise in Kimberly. Not a lot but it was enough to make a snowwoman. But bigger snows were on the way.

We had planned on sneaking in a first ski at a small ski area called Pomerelle near where my parents live. We geared all up and headed out. It’s not a bad drive, particularly as you get up into the area where the mountain is. We’d checked the website just to make sure it was open. The site provided all the normal information including snow and weather reports, ticket prices, etc. The one thing it failed to mention was that it, in fact, wasn’t open. Apparently, word of mouth still rules in these small communities, something one isn’t privy to when arriving from abroad.

Growing up we’d never known Pomerelle to be closed the second week of December. It tends to get more snow than other ski mountains in Idaho due to where it’s situated. In any case, we made it all the way to the parking area covered with nearly a foot of fresh snow, only to see the sad, motionless chairlifts.

We headed back to the town of Albion located at the foot of the mountain. It’s an area steeped in history, including that of my own family, and I always like going there. It was very quiet and several of the few businesses appeared to be closed. We stopped at a place that had an “Open” sign illuminated. The door was unlocked but the place was empty when we walked in. Soon a guy came out who seemed to be surprised he might have some business. Formerly a restaurant, the place was now a store. We were able to order a couple of hot chocolates for the girls and we chatted with him for a bit. Found out at the end of the conversation that he was the mayor. Not sure why that surprised me. For a rural town with less than five hundred people, chances are a bit higher that you might accidently run into the mayor.

After our failed ski adventure, we opted on a trampoline place so the girls could burn some energy. Exercise is good for getting over jet lag and this was one of the few options I could think of. I was still nursing a broken arm/thumb and jumping on a trampoline is probably the worst activity for such a condition. So I was relegated to spectator.

Otherwise, we shoveled and played in snow, and hung out with my parents. It’s always a low-key time but always relaxing and enjoyable.

* * *

We then headed north to the mountains. For me it’s a core part of the holidays – time to be in the big snow, ski, sled, etc. I was more limited in my activities due to my broken appendages but it’s always a special time for the kids who have been raised in the tropics of Africa. We met my brother for lunch and then made our way to the local hot springs. Taking an outdoor dip in the water in the middle of a snowy winter is wonderful. This valley (where we bought property a couple years ago) is such a magical place with all that it has to offer. At least in my opinion.

Then it was off to my sister’s rather large cabin to spend a couple of nights in what was a real winter wonderland. We relaxed, had steaks and enjoyed time with family. We also met with a contractor at our unfinished house to see if we can’t get it done, in spite of all the demand on contractors these days. We had a chance to ski, finally, though the snow was relentless. It was that cold, dry, fluffy snow that makes for good skiing though visibility wasn't all that great. Sadly, we didn’t have much time to enjoy it before we needed to get back to Boise to prepare for the second leg of our trip.

* * *

The last day or so before traveling is usually more work than fun. We return winter things to storage. Run last minute errands. Etc. We squeeze in time with family but it tends to be rushed. In addition, we were watching an increasingly precarious travel situation with the spread of the Omicron variant. Thankfully we had no disruption and were able to make it to Louisville without drama.