• The great Mekkes slat trick (18k): Now, I don't know who's idea this was to start with. I think it was Therkildsen's, but Doane might have been behind it too. The idea, of course, was to take all the slats out from under Mekkes's mattress. So we did, and then strategically placed ourselves all over the room with cameras at the ready. Unfortunately, Mekkes's enormous suitcase was right underneath his mattress, and was big enough so that he didn't fall down, he just kinda went *foomph* and sat directly on his luggage. This picture is of Mekkes trying valiantly to censor his left hand from doing something rude. "Boza", the word on the note tacked to his bed, means stupid, at least, that's what we all thought it meant at the time. I think Eric Therkildsen put it on Mekkes's bed, and then hid his absolutely enormous comprehensive swahili->english dictionary, so we surmised that it was something along those lines. Problem is, I looked up "boza" at the Internet Living Swahili Dictionary and it said that Boza means beer, intoxicating beverage, or narcotic. So that doesn't make much sense, unless boza means something different in Borana (another local language).
• Why you little. . . . (23k): Mekkes finally snaps and picks up one of the authentic African spears to chase down Jon Doane (who is videotaping his final moments for all posterity). I had to take this picture diagonally because I knew it wouldn't fit otherwise -- and then I just rotated it for the version you see here. (That's Andy Kress in bed off to the side.)
• Behind the scenes at Women's Appreciation Night (57k): We decided to have this Women's Appreciation Night thing. It was a way for us to have fun and "treat" the ladies to dinner, only in a non-romantic context. Or something -- this is definately one of those things that is really fun and makes sense and you don't have to have a reason for doing it. Anyway. We decorated the dining room area and partitioned it off, and covered up the partitions with foofy decorative cloth wraps and we even made quiche (the quiche was the best meal I had in Marsabit). This picture is a "behind the scenes" look at us eating dinner that night. Pictured are Dan Panik, Bill Schoonover, Dan VandenBerge, Mike Kolassa, Jarret Gill (I think), Dave Bosscher, Andy Kress, Brian Tracy and Eric Therkildsen. Cliff Burch is in the foreground facing away from the camera.
• Group Picture (55k): This is all of us dressed up foofily: Back Row: Kim Schouten, Chrissy Pomroy, Erin Karner, Bianti Curry, Song Yang, Summer Conklin, Jenny Pintsch. Next Row: Lee Paulsen, Jason Bordewyk, Dave Bosscher, Eric Therkildsen, Joel Mekkes, Jon Doane, Dan Panik, Bill Schoonover. Next Row: Mike Kolassa, Brian Tracy, Andy Kress, Jarret Gill, Me (Yes, Mom, I did too wear the foofy pink shirt with the tie to start out with, but then I did a comedy routine later, see, and I wanted to be wearing comedy routineish clothes), Cliff Burch, Dan VandenBerge, Josh Bilhorn. Front Row: Cori White, Lindsay Bussell, Carolyn Larson, Karissa Bultman, Jill Hare, Sarah Bonsall, and Serenity Schoonover.
• Tank Team 1 group picture (33k): Naturally, we've got to have a group picture with just the other members of our team! Back row: Dan Panik, Tim Webster, Bill Schoonover, Serenity Schoonover. Front Row: Me (that's my belt thingie -- all my pants have these little foofy belt things built in), Karissa Bultman, Cori White, Brian Tracy. Very Frontest Row: Corwyn Webster. Not shown: Hilary, Nigel, and Dyson Webster.
• Dan Panik vs. Dave Bosscher 1 (27k): I don't remember how this got started (does anyone ever remember how these things get started?) but Dan Panik launched himself up on Dave Bosscher's bed and started wrestling with him.
• Dan Panik vs. Dave Bosscher 2 (22k): Dan starts to move towards the "Losing" end of the wrestling spectrum.
• The total humiliation of Dan Panik (15k): Yes, that's Dan under there somewhere. Dave has this habit of sitting on his opponents after he has defeated them in wrestling.
• Josh, Me, Dan and Bill with Lunch (31k): This is a picture of Josh Bilhorn, myself, Dan VandenBerge, and Bill Schoonover with Lunch. Yes, in the back of that Land Rover pick up are five goats, which will be our lunch later that day. Note: This is an example of how being in another culture changes a person. In Kenyan culture (at least, in the part of Kenya where we were at), people are a lot more physically close with each other, in ordinary every day settings. That's why I have my arm around Josh. It was pretty weird having to adjust to American ideas about individualism and PERSONAL SPACE!!!! when we came back to the states.
• Um, would that really be approved by risk management? (92k): Okay, so we get to where we will be having Lunch. Actually, it's called nyama choma, which literally means "roast meat" but is probably a synonym for barbeque. Where we were at, it basically meant "goat roast." At one point I almost died trying to keep myself from laughing when Mike Kolassa was speaking at a local church, and he used the phrase "goat roasts" -- "a goat roast", yes, "*THE* goat roast", okay, but "goat roasts" as a plural noun -- my brain temporarily couldn't handle the strain of looking at it that way. Anyway. We got to the park where we would be having nyama choma, and off to the side there was this HUGE, easy to climb tree. So a number of us just shot right up it, and this is a picture of the folks on the ground from my perspective. Andy Kress (I think), Dan Panik, Sarah Bonsall, Jenny Pintsch, Song Yang, Karissa Bultman, Bianti Curry, Summer Conklin, Joel Mekkes, Lee Paulsen (waving), Jon Stone, Jill Hare, and Lindsay Bussell stand around waiting for someone to fall out of the tree. Jon Doane is sitting on the ground ready to video tape us if we do.
• If he falls, I am *so* getting his share of matumbo! (106k): I don't know what posessed me to take two pictures of everyone on the ground, but here you go. Pictured here are . . . a lot more people standing around in ways which makes it a lot harder for me to tell you who they are. Let's try. . . . From left to right, top to bottom: Andy Kress, Jon Doane, Josh Bilhorn (I think -- kinda looks like Ryan Texer!), Chrissy Pomroy, Cliff Burch, someone in a dark blue shirt, Sarah Bonsall, Carolyn Larson, Brian Tracy, Jenny Pintsch, Song Yang, Jill Hare, Cori White, Erin Karner, Karissa Bultman, Andy Kress again??? (maybe the guy all the way off to the edge is Jarret Gill), Bianti Curry, Summer Conklin, Joel Mekkes, Dan Panik, Jon Stone, Lindsay Bussell, probably Serenity Schoonover, and Bill Schoonover. (In case you're wondering, "Matumbo" is Swahili for "bowels, entrails or intestines", and that's exactly what it is. Bits of braided goat intestine and stomach, cooked together and seasoned with. . . something or other. It actually doesn't taste that bad, but I tried it and gagged six times before I could even bite down once. It's just the idea -- I couldn't do it. I managed one chew before spitting it out and the texture is exactly what you'd expect goat intestine to be (they cleaned out the. . . ahem. . . contents of the intestines before braiding them. But "not too much, because it ruins the flavor.") I didn't get any pictures of it with my camera, but I've got a few pictures from Bill's digital camera and others that will probably make their way up on my web page at some point.)
• Me in a tree (27k): I gave my camera to someone and they climbed down the tree and then had someone take a picture of me in the tree. This is extreme close up, and I cannot figure out what the heck I have in my hand. My current theory is that it's someone's little Kodak disposable camera.
• Hey. If they get a turn, WE get a turn! (56k): Some of the women on our team get their chance to climb the tree. "But how can they climb the tree in their dresses?" you ask. Well, because they're really wearing pants, with foofy decorative wrap things around their waists. *foomp*, off came the decorative wrap things, and up the tree they went. (In case you're wondering about culturally sensitive issues, we were in a park which was pretty far away from the rest of the town, so it was no big deal.) Pictured here (going diagonally up the tree) are Sarah Bonsall, Song Yang, Karissa Bultman, and Cori White. Eric Therkildsen is on hand to throw himself down and let someone land on him instead of the pricky bushes if they fall.
• *Munch* (18k): Erin Karner really digs into a goat leg. At least, I think it's a leg.
• This is some good stuff! (41k): Jon Doane, Dan Panik, Dave Bosscher, Mike Kolassa, and I think Joel Mekkes standing around eating nyama choma. That branch on the plate is actually brushing the flies away, and isn't edible or anything.
• Speech! (45k): After nyama choma, we got together as a group, and lots of people gave speeches. This is Joseph Nyamu giving a speech. Sitting on the ground are John Ndungu (the guy in charge of FHI in Marsabit (well, the parts which aren't the Child Development Program bits)), and Paul the water engineer. I don't know who that other guy is (although I recognize him). I also got a picture of Paul's speech (45k).
• Group Picture (92k): Back row: Tim Webster with Nigel Webster on his shoulders, Dan VandenBerge, Jon Doane, Carolyn Larson, Me with a resigned scowl on my face on account of the crappy camera, Jill Hare, Karissa Bultman, Erin Karner, Song Yang, Jarret Gill, Jason Bordewyk, Dave Bosscher, Joel Mekkes grinning like it's going out of style, Mike Kolassa, Brian Tracy sad that nyama choma is over, Chrissy Pomroy, Bianti Curry, Bill Schoonover, Eric Therkildsen, Sarah Bonsall, Jenny Pintsch, Lee Paulsen, Lindsay Bussell, Andy Kress, Dan Panik, Hilary Crehan, Cliff Burch. Front row: Serenity Schoonover, Hilary Webster, Corwyn Webster, Dyson Webster, Josh Bilhorn, Summer Conklin.
• No, look at *my* camera! (78k): I just snuck up with my camera to get a surreptitious picture, so most of these guys are looking at a different camera. Left to right, as usual: Stone, Tim Webster, Stephen, Isiah, Jon Stone, Joseph Nyamu, Paul, Josh Bilhorn.
• Kim and Isaac (66k): In case you haven't noticed, we're getting pretty close to the end of the trip in terms of time left in Marsabit. These last few pictures on this roll (and a whole bunch of pics on the next roll) are from when we toured the completed work sites. I like this picture. Kim Schouten holds Isaac Stone (he broke his leg three days after we got to Africa.) while behind them you see 22.389738953 percent of Bianti Curry, Dan VandenBerge talking with John, the principal or superintendent of the school, and Joel Mekkes looking on.
• One week until Burger King. . . (42k): This picture is actually part of the previous one, but I think they work better as two seperate images. Chrissy Pomroy, Andy Kress, Dan Panik, Eric Therkildsen, Dave Bosscher and Jon Stone stand around at the "Tank Team two" water tank site. Also appearing in this picture are 'Becca Stone's blanket and part of my finger. This picture is exhibit number one to support my theory that Eric Therkildsen is actually Paul Brohaugh. Only one or two other people who will ever read this web site will understand what I'm talking about, and only I really understand it because not only do they look alike, they act and talk alike too. Paul Brohaugh was a friend of mine from Minnesota back in grade/middle school. We were in Boy Scouts together. He's a missionary in El Salvador now -- but I ran into him back home last time I was there, and. . . oh my. I couldn't get over how much those two are alike.
• Walking around the water tank (42k): Joel Mekkes and a couple of FHI guys walk around Tank Team 2's water tank. In the background are Dave Bosscher's hat (presumably with him under it), Hilary Webster, Corwyn Webster, Jon Stone, Tim Webster, Jenny Pintsch, and Eric Therkildsen. (I like the action of this shot.)

words/images/design remix
© jpw. (e-mail: feedback at jowilson.org)

original design © aq. (e-mail: comments at domesticat.net)
modified/used/exploited with permission.