Our Kids in Kenya

We thought it would be fun for you to get to know our family a bit better, so we’ve collected some questions that we’ve received from churches and added a few of our own for an interview with Tristan and Emma. We hope this will be a fun way for you to get to know these two amazing little people (no bias) and about our life here in Kenya.

Tristan, what are some of your favorite things we do as a family?
I like playing board games, popcorn and movie nights, and going on trips. I also like playing Nintendo and cooking with Mommy, playing adventure games with Daddy, playing hide and go seek with Emma, and just playing with Ava.

What do you like to do on your own? Take a nap.

How about you Emma? What do you like to do as a family?
I like it when we play games, and go out for Indian food, and watch movies.
Do you have any favorite things you like to do?
I like making jewelry with Mommy, playing adventure games with Daddy, playing tag with Tristan, and dancing with Ava.

What do you like to do on your own? Play school.

You both like to read. What are three of your favorite books?
Tristan: “The Tale of Des Espirit”, "Mr. Popper’s Penguins", and "The Dangerous Book for Boys"
Emma: "The Hot Hippo", "Disney Fairy Tales", and I can't think of any more right now.

What do you two like to do with your friends?
Tristan: Playing board games like carcazone, playing spy, and having sleepovers .
Emma: Playing mermaids, playing boys chase girls, digging in the sand and planting rocks, oh and sleepovers, and Nintendo games.
Tristan: Yeah, Nintendo games!

What are your favorite Nintendo DS games?
Tristan: Mario, Animal Crossing, Pacman and Zelda.
Emma: Nintendo Dog, Mario, and my Princess game.

What are a few things that you like about Kenya?
Tristan: Feeding giraffe and ostrich; riding camels; seeing crocodiles; and catching frogs, scorpions and lizards.
Is there anything you don’t like?
Tristan: The traffic, the robbers, the milk, malaria and how things always go missing in the stores, like pop corn and pancake mix -- Sometimes we have to wait three months for things.

How about you Emma?
Emma: I like all the monkeys here, and the giraffe and the baby elephants. I don’t like thorns, mosquitoes or ticks. And I don’t like it when the power always goes off or when we have to have sponge baths because there is no water.

What do you like about your school?
Tristan: My friends
Emma: My friends, my teacher, ballet class and art.

What about our church?
Tristan: I like it.
Emma: I like the music, the stories and colouring. I also like it that our church is at our school.

Most Sundays we go to the International Christian Fellowship, but some weeks we attend Kenyan churches. What do you think of those services?
Tristan: They’re okay, but they are way too long and I don’t understand the language.
Emma: I like going to African Church, and learning new African songs.

I know that you both miss your grandparents, all your cousins and your friends back in Canada. Is there anything else you miss about living in Canada?
Tristan: McDonald’s chicken Mc nuggets! Well, any fast food, and TV, and the people.
Emma: I miss JJ’s Diner (in Sussex, NB), and Mama Georges (a restaurant in Midland, NB). And I miss “trick or treating”, and snow.

Finally, what about our trips into Northeastern Province? What were they like for you? What is it like living in the desert with Somali people?
Tristan: I like Dadaab but not Garissa. Well, Garissa is okay, but I like Dadaab better.
Emma: Living there is kinda easy and kinda hard. I like playing out side, but it gets really hot! But I like playing in the sand.
Tristan: The drive is so long.
Emma: I like seeing dik diks. But I don’t understand what the kids there are saying to me. All the kids want to touch me.
Tristan: Me too.
Emma: They want to touch my hair and my skin.

Do you like living in Africa?
Tristan and Emma: Yes!