hellloooooo everyone!
i cannot believe that one - its august 18th already, and two - that it has been a few weeks since my last post! i am very sorry! the times that i have been using the internet lately have been dedicated to working on my apps for grad school and i didnt realize how lax i had been on keeping this updated! i will do my best to fill you in on what i have been up to since then! the other thing is that from here on out i will no longer be able to include pictures on my blog because heather, the volunteer who i was borrowing the memory card reader from and one of my bffs here, has left to go home. so my apologies, but from now on my blog will be strictly narration.
ok so where to start...well i will begin with the weekend following safari during which i went to kisumu with two of the volunteers that i have been living with the last couple of months as well as two of the men that we work with in kibera. the guys wanted to introduce us to their families, as well as show us their hometown, and we wanted to go on an adventure to the western side of kenya so after minimal planning - we were off!
we met the boys (jack and dan) at the bus station in the city center early and boarded the bus for an 8 hour ride to kisumu. during most of the ride i enjoyed the 90s throwbacks that the kenyan radio station provided for our listening pleasure (heather and i have had a love hate relationship with the music here, on one side its great to hear the songs that remind us of our younger years, but on the other side i have heard enough power ballads and slow jams to realize why i have moved on from that musical genre). sooooo 8 quick hours later we arrive in kisumu. as soon as we get off the bus i can feel the temperature difference. that is one thing that continues to amaze me here - every time i leave nairobi the climate is dramatically different! you would think that in a county that is about the same size as texas that the climate would stay relatively uniform, but it was significantly warmer and more humid in kisumu than in nairobi.
anywho, after getting off the bus we headed to a matatu station to head to our first destination of the weekend, dans house. the usual chaos of the matatu station greeted us, with the locals grabbing at heather, abby, and i trying to get us to not only ride in their matatu, but also to try and get us to purchase something from them. it continues to make me laugh at the selection of goods that are available for purchase from the people milling about the stations. for example, when we were sitting in the matatu waiting for it to fill up so we could leave, many, many people would come up to the window trying to sell anything from candy and snacks, to more unique items such as titanic memorabilia (cds, books, photo albums) or an array of underwear (still in the package of course). it never fails to amaze and entertain me what people will sell on the streets. after the matatu had supposedly "reached maximum" we were off for the two hour ride to dans house. in typical matatu fashion though, we stopped on the way to pick up more passengers. we began the journey with the "max" 14 people, and by the time we got to dans, we had 27 people and a chicken...yeah. it was a bit cramped to say the least. definitely the most ridiculous ride i have experienced here in kenya.
once we exited the matatu we were forced to hire a taxi to dans house because it had rained earlier and the roads were now a river, and we were unable to walk the rest of the way. dan found a man who had a truck and we piled in for the final leg of our journey...about a half mile from where we got the taxi the driver (who obviously had limited driving experience) got the truck stuck in the mud. everyone piled out and the guys attempted to push the car out of the mud. the driver though did not understand the principle of driving a manual car and was not managing to get the car into a gear and was instead trying to rev the car in neutral. now, i am no manual expert, but i could see the problem and thus tried to explain what he was doing wrong....as usual, i had a hard time making myself understandable since i speak in such my fast-paced english and the driver did not understand what i was saying. we decided to walk the rest of the way to dans and left the driver to get himself out of the mud....when we were leaving the next day the car was not there anymore so he must have found a way out lol.
soooo after MANY hours of cramped travel we arrived at dans!!!! we were all hungry and excited to eat and go to bed, which is what we did. the food was amazing and dans family was so wonderful to us, asking some questions, but allowing us to rest. after dinner, abby heather and i headed to bed. the next morning, after a wonderful nights rest (though a bit snug -as we were all in one bed that was slightly smaller than a full sized bed at home) we woke up to help prepare breakfast. talking with dans family was difficult as they did not speak much english and the little swahili that i have managed to pick up was not of much use since they spoke luo, which is their tribal language. that is something that i cannot remember if i have mentioned in my other blogs, but there are 42 different languages here in kenya! english and swahili are the official languages, but every tribe has their own language, which adds to the difficulty of conversing with someone. after an entire weekend of speaking with people who speak mainly luo, i managed to pick up one word - thank you. safe to say i dont have an ear for languages lol.
after helping prepare breakfast and taking a tour of their family farm, we headed back to the matatu station to continue our journey to jacks house. this time we managed to ride in a small bus headed that way so we were not forced to have such cramped quarters as we did riding to dans thank goodness! we had to switch matatus part way there though, and as usually happens when riding a matatu somewhere, it is never easy. this time rather than dealing with crowding we had to deal with a van that had could not stay in gear. every so often the car would stall out and someone would have to get out and push until the car would kick back into gear. by this time abby and i were almost peeing our pants laughing at the transportation experiences we had had over the weekend!
we made it to jacks as evening was hitting and we took some time to explore the land around his parents house as dinner was prepared. his family was very excited to meet us and the whole clan came with as we walked around. dan and jack found a spot where some "edible" bugs were flying about, they tried their darnedest to get us girls to eat them, but we kindly refused...i just could not get myself to eat a bug, much less a live one. after dinner we sat around talking and headed off to bed. jack showed us the room we girls would be sharing and asked if we needed anything, we responded that we were fine and he left. it was after he left that we realized that the bed we were intended to have all three of us sleep in was the size of a twin bed....no joke. we all started cracking up and decided to make the best of it. needless to say, we found a position and slept as best as we could with out moving. it was an experience that we still laugh at.
the next morning we got up, had a nice bucket shower, and headed off to church with jacks family. jacks dad is the pastor for their local church (and i have a feeling he spread the word about our visit that weekend) as church pulled quite the crowd. the service was in luo so i understood only the part that the boys translated for us, but it was fun to hear all the songs and see the dancing. during the service jacks dad had us introduce ourselves to the congregation and it was at this point that i started to fell slightly uncomfortable. we were most definitely the animals at the zoo. most everyone at the church had never seen a white person before and one of the kids asked jack if we were "jesus". of course this got jacks dad all excited and he started preaching about how jesus was working through us to bring improvements to their church. it was here that i got a bit itchy to leave. i was completely content to come to church and all that jazz, but i did not want anyone making the analogy that i was jesus. it made me feel as if they expected me to pull out my millions and build them a new church..thankfully they were content with a contribution to their collection and to get some pictures with us.
after church we headed back to jacks to have lunch and then packed up to make our last stop - lake victoria - before heading back to nairobi. we left jacks with no excitement (thank goodness) and headed into kisumu to see the lake. abby, heather and i were super excited to see the lake, as it is the second largest freshwater lake in the world so we had some expectations! unfortunately, they were not met. the lake was HUGE, dont get me wrong, you could see nothing but water for miles, but it was spoiled by the fact that people had backed their trucks and cars into the lake and were using it to wash them off. i was disgusted, and could only think of how polluted the water must be. we managed to find a small spot to sit and watch the sunset, which was lovely, but i couldnt get over how dirty the water was!
after watching the sunset we headed back to the bus station to take the night bus back to nairobi. it was a wonderful weekend, as we got the chance to meet jack and dans family and see how the average kenyan lives, as well as we able to see a lot of the countryside, but it was also an exhausting weekend of traveling! i realized how settled in i have gotten becuase as we pulled into the city in the morning heather and i both sighed in relief to be "home".
we managed to get about an hour of sleep before heading to orientation on monday to help welcome the new volunteers, as well as promote the program that we run in kibera in the hopes of recruiting some volunteers help distribute food in the slum. it was an exhausting day, since we running on no sleep, but it was nice to meet all the new volunteers and get back into the groove in nairobi.
welllll thats all i have time to update you all on right now! i will do my best to catch up on the past couple of weekends as soon as i can! i love you all and hope all is great at home!
xo
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Lions and Elephants and Giraffes Oh My! ....safari time :)
hello all!!
sorry it has been a couple of weeks since my last update, as usual internet here has been super touch and go! everytime i manage to get a connection, i check my email and the power goes out. but anywho, here i am and ready to inform you all about the AMAZING time i had on safari a couple of weekends ago.
on friday we left early and headed out to the Masai Mara (south of Nairobi, adjacent to the Tanzanian border) to begin our adventure. the car ride was long, and the road was ridicously bumpy, but we were so excited to be on safari that we didnt mind. once we got to the park and checked in, we went out on our first game drive. within the first 3 hours of being out on the savanah we spotted 3 of the big 5 (the big 5 include the lion, rhino, cheetah, leapord, and buffalo) and i officially felt like i was a photographer for national geographic!! being out amongst the wild animals was sooo amazing and i will tell you all without a doubt that going on safari is something that you MUST do before you die!!! we were able to get ridiculously close (within 6ft at least) to almost all of the animals.
after an evening of driving out on the savanah we headed in to have supper and hang out. since we were all tourists this weekend rather than volunteers, the accomidations were a MAJOR step up! im not saying that where i stay is bad by any means, but the bed i slept in on safari was the best bed i have had in kenya, and the food we ate was amazing. i am pretty sure i ate more than i have the entire time i have been here over the three days of safari lol. after dinner i taught some of the kenyans we work with a few card games. nothing too crazy, just a few classics like spoons and slap jack, but it was SO funny! they had such a good time, and spoons got really competitive with the loser having to perform dares such as eating a spoonfull of hot sause, or getting cold water dumped on them! it was a fun evening, and it continues to amaze me how worldly my set of friends has become here. i have met people from all over the globe, for example our card game included individuals from all corners of the world (new zealand, ireland, kenya, and america) and it makes me sad that i probably wont see many of these people ever again after we part ways. that has been both the up and down of this trip.....
anywho, after a relaxing nights sleep we got up early and spent the entire day out on the savanah doing a game drive. we continued to see more of the big 5 (in the end missing out of the rhino, oh well) and since it is migration time (when the wildebeasts and zebras migrate across the masai mara into Tanzania) we were lucky enough to see literally thousands upon thousands of them running together across the savanah!! it was so unbelievably cool!! as we continued on our drive i got an apprecation for how long it must have taken for the people who filmed planet earth to collect enough footage to make the series. for although we saw a LOT of animals, we also spent a lot of time driving around looking for those animals that are hard to spot, such as the leapord and the cheetah. after awhile everyone (except me i should note) was sick of seeing a heard of zebras for the millionth time. i, on the other hand, continued to be excited by every single one and felt the need to shout - ZEBRAS! - everytime we passed a group of them lol. basically i was the little kid of our group, also feeling the need to stand for the entire three days with the breeze blowing in my face and my hair getting full of dust and dirt from the gravel paths we were driving on. i figured if i spent a whole lot of money to experience this, i was going to absorb every minute of it and enjoy the view, as well as bring a little savanah home with me in the form of dirt and grime in my hair :)
after we had a picnic lunch out on the savanah (the only time we were allowed out of the vans during the game drives) we continued on our quest to spot the rhino. mike, our safari driver, asked us all what we wanted to see that would make our safari the best experience we could have. i immediately shouted "i want to see a whole herd of giraffes together on the savanah - at sunset - in front of the mountains!...or just a giraffe in general" mike responded with "consider it done laura, we will definately see a family of giraffes" and sure as shit, within a half an hour we pulled up to a whole herd of giraffes just walking out in the open! needless to say, i was in heaven!!! i started snapping photos like crazy and basically squealing with glee - and then my camera died. i was sooooooo heartbroken, but decided it wasnt time to pout and just absorbed how completely insane it was to be within a few feet of what i consider to be one of the most beautiful animals on the planet. i was so extreemly happy and told mike my safari was above and beyond and i considered my money well spent :)
a few hours later we headed in for another amazing dinner and some more cards before heading to bed. on sunday morning we got up even earlier than the day before to take some pictures of sunrise on the savanah. it was so incredibly beautiful and definately worth getting up the earliest i have while being in kenya. we spent the next three hours finishing up our time on the savanah and just soaking in being amongst such beautiful animals out in the wild.
by mid-morning we headed back, had breakfast, packed up and left the masai mara. we were all sad to go (as we had been looking forward to safari since day one of being here, and the weekend was so amazing). after a long day of driving we finally ended up at home where i decided that a shower was necessary and washed what was left of the savanah off of me, officially ending safari weekend.
on monday heather and i had a meeting with pator oweggy, one of the men who helps to coordinate the feeding program to touch base and interview some new families to put on our program. he had us over to his house, and we had a wonderful day of getting to know each other better, as well as make sure that we are all on the same page with the direction of the program. it was good to get back into the volunteer mindset after a weekend of fun, and i enjoyed meeting the new families we will be helping.
i feel as though the amount of time that i choose to be here was perfect for me. after spending 7 weeks in kenya, i can now see the difference that our program is making, as well as feel as though i am getting a true feel for life in kenya. i am so glad that i have managed to do as much as i have while i am here, as well as see as much of kenya as i have. by the time i leave in 7 weeks, i will have seen almost all of the country (minus the north where there is extreeme drought and it is currently not safe) as well as feel as though my time here was used effectively.
well thats all for now! i will be adding another blog about this past weekend and the time that i spent in kisumu as soon as possible! thank you to everyone for your understanding with my spotty updates, as well as your messages from home! i LOVE LOVE LOVE reading everything that i am sent!!
miss you all!
xo
sorry it has been a couple of weeks since my last update, as usual internet here has been super touch and go! everytime i manage to get a connection, i check my email and the power goes out. but anywho, here i am and ready to inform you all about the AMAZING time i had on safari a couple of weekends ago.
on friday we left early and headed out to the Masai Mara (south of Nairobi, adjacent to the Tanzanian border) to begin our adventure. the car ride was long, and the road was ridicously bumpy, but we were so excited to be on safari that we didnt mind. once we got to the park and checked in, we went out on our first game drive. within the first 3 hours of being out on the savanah we spotted 3 of the big 5 (the big 5 include the lion, rhino, cheetah, leapord, and buffalo) and i officially felt like i was a photographer for national geographic!! being out amongst the wild animals was sooo amazing and i will tell you all without a doubt that going on safari is something that you MUST do before you die!!! we were able to get ridiculously close (within 6ft at least) to almost all of the animals.
after an evening of driving out on the savanah we headed in to have supper and hang out. since we were all tourists this weekend rather than volunteers, the accomidations were a MAJOR step up! im not saying that where i stay is bad by any means, but the bed i slept in on safari was the best bed i have had in kenya, and the food we ate was amazing. i am pretty sure i ate more than i have the entire time i have been here over the three days of safari lol. after dinner i taught some of the kenyans we work with a few card games. nothing too crazy, just a few classics like spoons and slap jack, but it was SO funny! they had such a good time, and spoons got really competitive with the loser having to perform dares such as eating a spoonfull of hot sause, or getting cold water dumped on them! it was a fun evening, and it continues to amaze me how worldly my set of friends has become here. i have met people from all over the globe, for example our card game included individuals from all corners of the world (new zealand, ireland, kenya, and america) and it makes me sad that i probably wont see many of these people ever again after we part ways. that has been both the up and down of this trip.....
anywho, after a relaxing nights sleep we got up early and spent the entire day out on the savanah doing a game drive. we continued to see more of the big 5 (in the end missing out of the rhino, oh well) and since it is migration time (when the wildebeasts and zebras migrate across the masai mara into Tanzania) we were lucky enough to see literally thousands upon thousands of them running together across the savanah!! it was so unbelievably cool!! as we continued on our drive i got an apprecation for how long it must have taken for the people who filmed planet earth to collect enough footage to make the series. for although we saw a LOT of animals, we also spent a lot of time driving around looking for those animals that are hard to spot, such as the leapord and the cheetah. after awhile everyone (except me i should note) was sick of seeing a heard of zebras for the millionth time. i, on the other hand, continued to be excited by every single one and felt the need to shout - ZEBRAS! - everytime we passed a group of them lol. basically i was the little kid of our group, also feeling the need to stand for the entire three days with the breeze blowing in my face and my hair getting full of dust and dirt from the gravel paths we were driving on. i figured if i spent a whole lot of money to experience this, i was going to absorb every minute of it and enjoy the view, as well as bring a little savanah home with me in the form of dirt and grime in my hair :)
after we had a picnic lunch out on the savanah (the only time we were allowed out of the vans during the game drives) we continued on our quest to spot the rhino. mike, our safari driver, asked us all what we wanted to see that would make our safari the best experience we could have. i immediately shouted "i want to see a whole herd of giraffes together on the savanah - at sunset - in front of the mountains!...or just a giraffe in general" mike responded with "consider it done laura, we will definately see a family of giraffes" and sure as shit, within a half an hour we pulled up to a whole herd of giraffes just walking out in the open! needless to say, i was in heaven!!! i started snapping photos like crazy and basically squealing with glee - and then my camera died. i was sooooooo heartbroken, but decided it wasnt time to pout and just absorbed how completely insane it was to be within a few feet of what i consider to be one of the most beautiful animals on the planet. i was so extreemly happy and told mike my safari was above and beyond and i considered my money well spent :)
a few hours later we headed in for another amazing dinner and some more cards before heading to bed. on sunday morning we got up even earlier than the day before to take some pictures of sunrise on the savanah. it was so incredibly beautiful and definately worth getting up the earliest i have while being in kenya. we spent the next three hours finishing up our time on the savanah and just soaking in being amongst such beautiful animals out in the wild.by mid-morning we headed back, had breakfast, packed up and left the masai mara. we were all sad to go (as we had been looking forward to safari since day one of being here, and the weekend was so amazing). after a long day of driving we finally ended up at home where i decided that a shower was necessary and washed what was left of the savanah off of me, officially ending safari weekend.
on monday heather and i had a meeting with pator oweggy, one of the men who helps to coordinate the feeding program to touch base and interview some new families to put on our program. he had us over to his house, and we had a wonderful day of getting to know each other better, as well as make sure that we are all on the same page with the direction of the program. it was good to get back into the volunteer mindset after a weekend of fun, and i enjoyed meeting the new families we will be helping.
i feel as though the amount of time that i choose to be here was perfect for me. after spending 7 weeks in kenya, i can now see the difference that our program is making, as well as feel as though i am getting a true feel for life in kenya. i am so glad that i have managed to do as much as i have while i am here, as well as see as much of kenya as i have. by the time i leave in 7 weeks, i will have seen almost all of the country (minus the north where there is extreeme drought and it is currently not safe) as well as feel as though my time here was used effectively.
well thats all for now! i will be adding another blog about this past weekend and the time that i spent in kisumu as soon as possible! thank you to everyone for your understanding with my spotty updates, as well as your messages from home! i LOVE LOVE LOVE reading everything that i am sent!!
miss you all!
xo
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
becoming one with nature in kakamega rainforest....
hello all :)
i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!! its hard for me to believe that i have already been in kenya for almost 6 weeks now! the time has just flown by!
this past weekend was another busy one! i ventured out of Nairobi with two other volunteers to western Kenya to go hiking in Kakamega rainforest. it was a long bus ride (about 8 1/2 hours on a VERY bumpy road) but well worth it. the rainforest was amazing! i got to see monkeys in the wild up close, as well as learned a lot about medicinal plants found in the forest. we also did a sunrise hike which was STUNNING. the picture on the left is me standing inside a parasitic tree! these trees eat away at the tree that they join on too and after 50 years they destroy the original tree completely and have formed a trunk of their own that is hollow and has formed around that of the original tree! how cool is that?!
we took the night bus from Nairobi on thurs evening and arrived in kakamega early friday morning. since none of us slept on the bus we took a nap in the morning and then went for a 3 hour hike in the evening. the walk was beautiful (i forgot how much i love the smell of nature!) and we learned a lot. our guide nancy showed us plants that locals use for everything from natural toothpaste, to headaches, to coughs, to urinary tract infections, and even some STI's. she also pointed out trees known as sandpaper trees which not only have leaves that can be used for sanding, but also when the trunk is knocked on by another piece of wood make an echo that can be heard for miles!(picture on right) before modern communication the locals used them to send messages. we also got a chance to splice open the bark of a natural henna tree and use the paint that ran out of the tree to write on ourselves!(picture on left) after our hike we went to dinner at a local canteen and then had a campfire with the manager of the campground who told us some african tales.
the next day we woke up at 4:30am to go on a sunrise hike. it took two hours to get to the viewpoint at the top of a hill overlooking a valley. after watching the most amazing sunrise i have ever seen we continued hiking until we got to a river and had a pinic lunch. in total we were hiking for 8 hours on saturday!! by the time we got back to our hut i was SOO tired. we all passed out for a few hours, had a bucket shower, ate some dinner and had another campfire before we passed out again. all in all it was an amazing time! (though i was physically exhausted and my ankle was as stiff as a board) we took the day bus on sunday back towards nairobi, but got out at a town called Nakuru and stayed the night to help out a medical camp that fellow volunteer coordinated for monday.
the medical camp was located near the garbage slum and it was wonderful to be a part of providing help to the hundreds of people that live there! over the course of the day over 400 people showed up to recieve medication as well as education. at the camp we provided (with the help of many american and kenyan doctors and nurses) womens health, eye exams(-including perscription glasses), HIV testing, pediatric health, dental care, general check ups, as well as chiropractic exams. at this camp i helped do the intake forms. basically, as people showed up i took their vitals and asked what they were coming to the camp for. it was really great to be able to not only keep my blood pressure skills fresh, but also be able to work on my swahili. i have also - believe it or not - been trying to speak slowly and enunciate so that the locals can understand me when i speak english lol.
helping out at the medical camps has been the most rewarding volunteering i have done while being here in kenya and i hope to be able to particiapte in a few more before i finish my time here.
i have another full week here in Nairobi, the number of volunteers participating in our program has increased which is wonderful! the only way that we pay for the food we provide for the families is by volunteers coming into kibera with us, so it is vital that we have participants.
this weekend i am headed on safarai which should be AMAZING :) luckily, the girls that i have gotten close with at the house are all going this weekend as well so i know we will have a great time together. but before i head out for the weekend again i need to spend some serious time doing laundry (a task i have come to dread here more than at home. i dont know that i will ever get the hang of doing laundry by hand)
soooo im off to try and scrub-a-dub-dub my clothes clean!
xoxo
lulia
p.s. pictures to come in the next day or so!
Monday, July 11, 2011
outreach weekend
hello all!!!
i know that it has been a couple of weeks since my last post, and a lot has happened to me since then so brace yourself for a very long/interesting/emotional update!
during the week, i have been spending a lot of time in Kibera, which has been so incredibly wonderful! the families that we go and support are now recognizing me (to the kenyans, all of us muzungus - aka non kenyans - look the same) so it has been wonderful to realize that i am making an impact and they are happy to see me! i have gotten very attached to them all, and it will be heartbreaking to leave them! we have been beginning to train a new volunteer on the program, so that when heather and i leave he will be able to take over. also, i am planning on spending some time out in the rural areas of Kenya before i leave and we needed to have someone who is able to go out and keep providing food for the families we are supporting.
it continues to amaze me how generous that the people who have absolutely nothing are. the men who walk around with us through Kibera and keep us safe (essentially our bodyguards) are the sweetest guys i have ever met!! they live in Kibera (and have lived there for 10yrs) and live off the bare minimum, yet they are constantly asking what heather and i need! for example, they went to visit their families in northern Kenya (an 8 hour bus ride) for the weekend and asked heather and i if they could bring us anything back. we said no thanks, but they came back with pineapples and avocados for us from their family farm. although they didnt pay for them since they got them from the farm, they still could have used them for their own kids, or sold them, but instead insisted on giving them to us! it truly touched my heart that they wanted to be able to give us something when they have so little themselves!
this weekend was another dose of generosity, as well as humbling as i went on the outreach weekend put on by some of the guys who work with IVHQ. basically outreach weekend is two days of a whirlwind of activity! we traveled to three different slums in the area, as well as Hell's Gate national park. and holy cow did i learn and see a lot! (the picture to the left is of Abbie and I at the Great Rift Valley)
we left early on friday morning and first traveled to the KCC slum, so named because of the KCC milk factory that is nearby. this slum has been the site for a project that one volunteer has been working on for the past 2 years. the slum is home to about 6,000 people. of those 6,000 people, about 700 of them are children and of these 700 the school is able to provide education for 145. the kids that are lucky enough to attend the school, are also the ones that are lucky enough to receive food. the school provides porridge in the morning for the kids, as well as a lunch later in the day. without this assistance, most of them would not eat.
the thing that i found very interesting about the people living the in the KCC slum is the clean water situation. the volunteer who has been working there for the last two years was able to arrange for the slum to now have a source of clean water, but the people refuse to use it. the have a river that flows near to the slum that is literally black from pollution and trash, and that is what they drink. to them, the clean water tastes "bad" since they are used to the ridiculously polluted water which is, as a result of the pollution, "softer". because of their refusal to use the clean water, and their continued use of the horribly unsanitary water, the mortality rate for kids under 5 is extremely high. the good news is that marcus has also managed to buy some farmland for these people, so they are now able to support themselves and feed a good portion of the population as they begin to harvest some crops!
(if you are interested in more info on KCC you can check out the blog at: www.kccslumproject.wordpress.com)
after spending some time with the people in the slums, and playing with the children at the school, we moved on to the next stop on our weekend - Hell's Gate.
at Hell's Gate, we rode bikes for 7km to a giant gorge that we were able to hike through for about 2km, and then bike back along the trail. it was a beautiful day, and the bike ride was amazingly gorgeous, definitely worth the pain. to paint the picture for you imagine me on a bike that is ridiculously too small (basically my knees were up to my ears with every peddle of the bike, aka a clown bike) and riding along a road that was all loose gravel - which provided a nice "massage" as the boys so kindly put it. honestly, my butt has yet to recover. but is was definitely worth it! the scenery was amazing, and we got to bike alongside wild animals! at one point i had zebras on my left, and wildebeests on my right! we also biked past pride rock - aka the rock from lion king! it was wonderful to be out in the fresh air, and a nice change of pace from the emotions of the slums.
after we were done biking and hiking at the park, we headed to our hotel for the night where we were able to shower and get the layers of dust off us. it was my first hot shower in Kenya, so that basically made my night!! then we headed out to dinner and after dinner those of us that weren't completely wiped went out for a few drinks and some dancing! it was my first time going out in Kenya, and it was an interesting experience. the club played a nice balance of american music, as well as kenyan music so all of us found something to dance to. those of you that have spent some time out with me in lax know how much i love to request music and be all chummy with the djs - well no worries, i felt the need to do the same here lol. i made sure to request a good balance though, so that the locals wouldnt hate me! :) all in all, it was a good night!
the next morning we woke up early and bagged up a huge amount of food to pass out at the two slums we were going to visit. after an hour of bagging flour and cooking fat, we headed out to go and visit an IDP nearby. IDP stands for internally displaced persons, and most of these people are living at these camps as a result of the post election violence that occurred three years ago. due to the fact that Kenya still has a rich tribal heritage, after the election those tribes that were not happy with the results basically attacked those from different tribes and ran them out of their homes. many of these homes were set on fire, so the people that were forced out were only able to bring with them what they had on their backs. after this occurred the government provided tents for these people as temporary housing that was intended to last for 6 months. it has been three years and the first group of people has just been relocated 2 months ago. of the over 700 people living at the IDP camp that we visited, 28 of them were moved to permanent housing a couple of months ago. the rest of them live in tents in a giant valley. now you may think "hey its africa - its warm, tents wouldnt be so bad". wrong. there are two giant problems with these people living in tents. one - they are living in a giant valley, so when it rains it floods. i asked the women what they do when it floods and they said they gather all the children and sit with them in their laps until the rain goes down. the other major problem is that in the evenings it gets extremely cold here! for those of you that have joined in on the valley camping experiences, imagine living in the valley with the temps being how they have been the majority of the time we have spent there - but instead of toughing it out for a weekend, you have to do that everyday of your life. most of the children there are sick due to a lack of proper warm clothing.
another major problem that the people here have is that they have little to no food, which is why we provided some for them. the government only provides food for these people once or twice every three months, and the rest of the time they are left to fend for themselves. since they have no money and no income (the dont live close enough to a town to find work, and even if they did, the unemployment level here is insane!) they have very little choice to provide for their families. past volunteers saw the immense need at this camp and were able to make some huge improvements! they built a school for the young children so that they no longer have to walk 7km to school every morning and evening (though the older children still do this) as well as provided a well for clean water. a volunteer who is there currently even spent her own money ($300) to put in an irrigation system so that these people are able to begin farming to provide food for themselves!(we helped dig some of the irrigation system while we were there and i was reminded how weak i am when i attempted to use a hoe to break up some of the land.)
after spending some time talking with the locals and passing out food (we were able to provide enough food for each family for a week), we packed up the van and headed to the last slum for the weekend.
the Gioto garbage slum was our last stop, and by far the WORST poverty i have experienced here in Kenya (which is saying something since i spend everyday in Kibera). the people who live here are literally living in a huge landfill. these are once again people who were dislocated due to post election violence, as well as many other circumstances. i dont know that i will be able to describe what all i saw so that you will be able to understand just how dire this slum is but i will give it a try. (for those of you that know me well, you know how infrequently i shed a tear....well when we arrived i couldnt hold it in. i cried at the site of how these people are living.)
the people here have no money so the way that they feed themselves and their families is by digging through the landfill and finding "edible" food. since this is a huge dump-site, hotels and restaurants in the area dump their trash here and the rotting, moldy food that they throw out is what these people live off of. the children spend their days walking amongst the rubbish, digging through for food to eat and plastic bottles to sell. for one kilo of plastic bottles, they are able to get 10Ksh, which is nothing. they can not even feed one person off that. the picture to the right is a house and the picture below is of the toilet that they people here use.
since this is a giant dump-site, hospitals and clinics dump their trash here too. this has been a huge problem because close to 65% of the population is now HIV positive due to accidental needle pricks from walking through the trash. the Kenyan government does provide free HIV medication for those that are HIV positive, but in order to take these meds people must eat, as well as drink water. this is something that these people have neither of. many of the people at the garbage slum have died due to taking HIV meds with no food or water.
all of these issues regarding access to clean water and food have been a breeding ground for other issues. one major one is prostitution. to make money so that they are able to buy food and water for their families, girls as young as 11yrs old make their way down to the highway every evening and sell themselves for as little as 10Ksh a night. this is, for many of them, the only way they can purchase drinking water or food. this of course leads to many unwanted pregnancies, as well as other diseases, but since they have no other choice or education on the subject, it continues.
at this point many of you may be wondering why 1. the government has not done anything to help these people or 2. why volunteers have not managed to help. the horrible thing is that the Kenyan government knows about these people living in the landfill, and once a year or so they come and shoo them off the land. but, since these people have no where else to go, they wait it out for a few days and once the government officials leave they head right back and start up again.
as far as volunteers go, they have made some immense improvements in the living conditions for these people with the limited resources and options they have. since the land is government land and these people are not allowed to live there, we cannot help them build any sort of permanent structure such as housing, a school, a well, or even a toilet. instead these people live in tents, or whatever they can build from the rubbish. their children do not attend school (except for the lucky few who have been sponsored by volunteers and their families to attend boarding school) they do not have clean water available, except in the form of a huge tank that gets donated once a month from the money we spend to attend outreach weekend, and the go to the bathroom where ever there is a convenient spot - adding to the already immensely unsanitary conditions!!
the major project that a volunteer is working on now is providing training on sewing for the women, and barbering for the men so that they may become self-sustainable with a source of income. his eventual goal is to fund raise enough money for a few plots of land so that these people may have an area that is not only MUCH safer and sanitary to live, but also be able to build themselves a more permanent structure to live in.
i was simply blown away that people can live in this manner, literally eating trash and living without clean water. it was overwhelming!!! it is literally inhumane, and horrifying that these people are forced to live this way. what is even more sad is that most of the locals in the area dont even know that this slum exists. i was absolutely flabbergasted, and i hope that i was able to illustrate this for you all in some way.....
(if you want more info, or are interested in sponsoring a child from the garbage slum you can check out: www.garbageslum.org)
all in all it was a VERY humbling weekend, and made me exceptionally sad, frustrated, and horrified that these kind of living situations exist, as well as grateful for the life i have. i arrived back in Nairobi both physically and emotionally drained. some days the amount of need that i am surrounded by beats me down and i just feel like there is no end to the projects that could be undertaken. i am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity that i have to be here, and i look forward to the projects that i have the opportunity to contribute towards over the next 2 1/2 months!
after an incredibly intense couple of days, i spent sunday going around to a majority of the animal parks in Nairobi with a small group of volunteers and a couple of the wonderful kenyan guys we have had to opportunity to work with through IVHQ. we went to 4 parks, as well as a stop at the maasai market. it was a very fun filled day and i got to touch, hold, and/or kiss many different animals!
our first stop was to the elephant orphanage, where rescued elephants live for up to 10 years before they are reintroduced into the wild. it was a fun stop and i touched a baby elephant (which felt like hairy sandpaper). the orphanage is only open for one hour a day, so it was a quick stop.
next we went to the giraffe center, which i had been to before but was well worth another trip! (i could honestly spend a whole day there feeding the giraffes if i wanted). it was funny watching the other girls freak out when they kissed the giraffes (yes, i did get another smooch or two). after we had all gotten a few pecks and lots of pictures we went to the crocodile center which was WAY cool!!
at the croc center i got to hold a baby croc (wicked cool) as well as some tortoises. i also learned a few interesting facts about crocs: 1. they are the only carnivore that does not have a tongue! and 2. their stomach bile is poisonous to humans! they also had a man-made lake their that we went paddle boating on. it was fun stop and def a place i will suggest to future volunteers to go check out.
after our time at the croc center we went to the monkey park in the city center of Nairobi. this was free and very entertaining! you pay 10Ksh for some peanuts to feed the moneys and they just roam around in this giant park where people are having picnics, and playing on the playground. at first i didnt see any monkeys and i asked Chomlee (one of the kenyans that brought us there) where they were. "dont worry laura, they know muzungus, they will come running." and sure as shit, after about one minute of us standing there about 20 monkeys came running at our group! it was soooo funny! they come right up to you and take the peanuts out of your hand! but you have to be careful, because if they see the whole pack of peanuts they will steal it from you. one of the girls we were with was not careful and the monkey jumped from the ground, onto her chest and stole the pack of peanuts she was holding and ran off. it scared the crap out of her, but made the rest of us laugh! as i was sitting on the ground feeding the monkeys, Chomlee thought he would be funny and hold a peanut above my head (without my being aware) and suddenly i had monkeys on my shoulders trying to get a a hold of the peanut! it freaked me out and first and i screamed (much to Chomlee's amusement) but i managed to have one of the other girls snap a pic before i scared the monkeys off.
it was a VERY full weekend, and last night i slept like a rock for the first time since arriving!! i am sorry that it took me so long to update my blog, but i have had bad luck with getting successful internet connections! i am also not going to be able to put pictures up right now because i have to get some stuff done for my placement this afternoon, but i will try to come and put pictures up from the weekend in the next couple of days!! (believe me i have some good ones!)
sorry if there are lots of typing errors, or something does not make sense! due to the ridiculously slow internet here, it has taken me almost two hours to type this! (about once a paragraph the computer freezes and i have to just sit and wait for it to be ready again) so please comment if their is something that i need to clarify or you want more info on it!
thank you all for your emails and such!!! it honestly means sooooo much when i get to read the updates from all of you!!
miss you!
xoxo
i know that it has been a couple of weeks since my last post, and a lot has happened to me since then so brace yourself for a very long/interesting/emotional update!
during the week, i have been spending a lot of time in Kibera, which has been so incredibly wonderful! the families that we go and support are now recognizing me (to the kenyans, all of us muzungus - aka non kenyans - look the same) so it has been wonderful to realize that i am making an impact and they are happy to see me! i have gotten very attached to them all, and it will be heartbreaking to leave them! we have been beginning to train a new volunteer on the program, so that when heather and i leave he will be able to take over. also, i am planning on spending some time out in the rural areas of Kenya before i leave and we needed to have someone who is able to go out and keep providing food for the families we are supporting.
it continues to amaze me how generous that the people who have absolutely nothing are. the men who walk around with us through Kibera and keep us safe (essentially our bodyguards) are the sweetest guys i have ever met!! they live in Kibera (and have lived there for 10yrs) and live off the bare minimum, yet they are constantly asking what heather and i need! for example, they went to visit their families in northern Kenya (an 8 hour bus ride) for the weekend and asked heather and i if they could bring us anything back. we said no thanks, but they came back with pineapples and avocados for us from their family farm. although they didnt pay for them since they got them from the farm, they still could have used them for their own kids, or sold them, but instead insisted on giving them to us! it truly touched my heart that they wanted to be able to give us something when they have so little themselves!
this weekend was another dose of generosity, as well as humbling as i went on the outreach weekend put on by some of the guys who work with IVHQ. basically outreach weekend is two days of a whirlwind of activity! we traveled to three different slums in the area, as well as Hell's Gate national park. and holy cow did i learn and see a lot! (the picture to the left is of Abbie and I at the Great Rift Valley)
we left early on friday morning and first traveled to the KCC slum, so named because of the KCC milk factory that is nearby. this slum has been the site for a project that one volunteer has been working on for the past 2 years. the slum is home to about 6,000 people. of those 6,000 people, about 700 of them are children and of these 700 the school is able to provide education for 145. the kids that are lucky enough to attend the school, are also the ones that are lucky enough to receive food. the school provides porridge in the morning for the kids, as well as a lunch later in the day. without this assistance, most of them would not eat.
the thing that i found very interesting about the people living the in the KCC slum is the clean water situation. the volunteer who has been working there for the last two years was able to arrange for the slum to now have a source of clean water, but the people refuse to use it. the have a river that flows near to the slum that is literally black from pollution and trash, and that is what they drink. to them, the clean water tastes "bad" since they are used to the ridiculously polluted water which is, as a result of the pollution, "softer". because of their refusal to use the clean water, and their continued use of the horribly unsanitary water, the mortality rate for kids under 5 is extremely high. the good news is that marcus has also managed to buy some farmland for these people, so they are now able to support themselves and feed a good portion of the population as they begin to harvest some crops!
(if you are interested in more info on KCC you can check out the blog at: www.kccslumproject.wordpress.com)
after spending some time with the people in the slums, and playing with the children at the school, we moved on to the next stop on our weekend - Hell's Gate.
at Hell's Gate, we rode bikes for 7km to a giant gorge that we were able to hike through for about 2km, and then bike back along the trail. it was a beautiful day, and the bike ride was amazingly gorgeous, definitely worth the pain. to paint the picture for you imagine me on a bike that is ridiculously too small (basically my knees were up to my ears with every peddle of the bike, aka a clown bike) and riding along a road that was all loose gravel - which provided a nice "massage" as the boys so kindly put it. honestly, my butt has yet to recover. but is was definitely worth it! the scenery was amazing, and we got to bike alongside wild animals! at one point i had zebras on my left, and wildebeests on my right! we also biked past pride rock - aka the rock from lion king! it was wonderful to be out in the fresh air, and a nice change of pace from the emotions of the slums.
the next morning we woke up early and bagged up a huge amount of food to pass out at the two slums we were going to visit. after an hour of bagging flour and cooking fat, we headed out to go and visit an IDP nearby. IDP stands for internally displaced persons, and most of these people are living at these camps as a result of the post election violence that occurred three years ago. due to the fact that Kenya still has a rich tribal heritage, after the election those tribes that were not happy with the results basically attacked those from different tribes and ran them out of their homes. many of these homes were set on fire, so the people that were forced out were only able to bring with them what they had on their backs. after this occurred the government provided tents for these people as temporary housing that was intended to last for 6 months. it has been three years and the first group of people has just been relocated 2 months ago. of the over 700 people living at the IDP camp that we visited, 28 of them were moved to permanent housing a couple of months ago. the rest of them live in tents in a giant valley. now you may think "hey its africa - its warm, tents wouldnt be so bad". wrong. there are two giant problems with these people living in tents. one - they are living in a giant valley, so when it rains it floods. i asked the women what they do when it floods and they said they gather all the children and sit with them in their laps until the rain goes down. the other major problem is that in the evenings it gets extremely cold here! for those of you that have joined in on the valley camping experiences, imagine living in the valley with the temps being how they have been the majority of the time we have spent there - but instead of toughing it out for a weekend, you have to do that everyday of your life. most of the children there are sick due to a lack of proper warm clothing.
another major problem that the people here have is that they have little to no food, which is why we provided some for them. the government only provides food for these people once or twice every three months, and the rest of the time they are left to fend for themselves. since they have no money and no income (the dont live close enough to a town to find work, and even if they did, the unemployment level here is insane!) they have very little choice to provide for their families. past volunteers saw the immense need at this camp and were able to make some huge improvements! they built a school for the young children so that they no longer have to walk 7km to school every morning and evening (though the older children still do this) as well as provided a well for clean water. a volunteer who is there currently even spent her own money ($300) to put in an irrigation system so that these people are able to begin farming to provide food for themselves!(we helped dig some of the irrigation system while we were there and i was reminded how weak i am when i attempted to use a hoe to break up some of the land.)after spending some time talking with the locals and passing out food (we were able to provide enough food for each family for a week), we packed up the van and headed to the last slum for the weekend.
the people here have no money so the way that they feed themselves and their families is by digging through the landfill and finding "edible" food. since this is a huge dump-site, hotels and restaurants in the area dump their trash here and the rotting, moldy food that they throw out is what these people live off of. the children spend their days walking amongst the rubbish, digging through for food to eat and plastic bottles to sell. for one kilo of plastic bottles, they are able to get 10Ksh, which is nothing. they can not even feed one person off that. the picture to the right is a house and the picture below is of the toilet that they people here use.
since this is a giant dump-site, hospitals and clinics dump their trash here too. this has been a huge problem because close to 65% of the population is now HIV positive due to accidental needle pricks from walking through the trash. the Kenyan government does provide free HIV medication for those that are HIV positive, but in order to take these meds people must eat, as well as drink water. this is something that these people have neither of. many of the people at the garbage slum have died due to taking HIV meds with no food or water.all of these issues regarding access to clean water and food have been a breeding ground for other issues. one major one is prostitution. to make money so that they are able to buy food and water for their families, girls as young as 11yrs old make their way down to the highway every evening and sell themselves for as little as 10Ksh a night. this is, for many of them, the only way they can purchase drinking water or food. this of course leads to many unwanted pregnancies, as well as other diseases, but since they have no other choice or education on the subject, it continues.
at this point many of you may be wondering why 1. the government has not done anything to help these people or 2. why volunteers have not managed to help. the horrible thing is that the Kenyan government knows about these people living in the landfill, and once a year or so they come and shoo them off the land. but, since these people have no where else to go, they wait it out for a few days and once the government officials leave they head right back and start up again.
as far as volunteers go, they have made some immense improvements in the living conditions for these people with the limited resources and options they have. since the land is government land and these people are not allowed to live there, we cannot help them build any sort of permanent structure such as housing, a school, a well, or even a toilet. instead these people live in tents, or whatever they can build from the rubbish. their children do not attend school (except for the lucky few who have been sponsored by volunteers and their families to attend boarding school) they do not have clean water available, except in the form of a huge tank that gets donated once a month from the money we spend to attend outreach weekend, and the go to the bathroom where ever there is a convenient spot - adding to the already immensely unsanitary conditions!!
the major project that a volunteer is working on now is providing training on sewing for the women, and barbering for the men so that they may become self-sustainable with a source of income. his eventual goal is to fund raise enough money for a few plots of land so that these people may have an area that is not only MUCH safer and sanitary to live, but also be able to build themselves a more permanent structure to live in.
i was simply blown away that people can live in this manner, literally eating trash and living without clean water. it was overwhelming!!! it is literally inhumane, and horrifying that these people are forced to live this way. what is even more sad is that most of the locals in the area dont even know that this slum exists. i was absolutely flabbergasted, and i hope that i was able to illustrate this for you all in some way.....
(if you want more info, or are interested in sponsoring a child from the garbage slum you can check out: www.garbageslum.org)
all in all it was a VERY humbling weekend, and made me exceptionally sad, frustrated, and horrified that these kind of living situations exist, as well as grateful for the life i have. i arrived back in Nairobi both physically and emotionally drained. some days the amount of need that i am surrounded by beats me down and i just feel like there is no end to the projects that could be undertaken. i am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity that i have to be here, and i look forward to the projects that i have the opportunity to contribute towards over the next 2 1/2 months!
after an incredibly intense couple of days, i spent sunday going around to a majority of the animal parks in Nairobi with a small group of volunteers and a couple of the wonderful kenyan guys we have had to opportunity to work with through IVHQ. we went to 4 parks, as well as a stop at the maasai market. it was a very fun filled day and i got to touch, hold, and/or kiss many different animals!
our first stop was to the elephant orphanage, where rescued elephants live for up to 10 years before they are reintroduced into the wild. it was a fun stop and i touched a baby elephant (which felt like hairy sandpaper). the orphanage is only open for one hour a day, so it was a quick stop.
next we went to the giraffe center, which i had been to before but was well worth another trip! (i could honestly spend a whole day there feeding the giraffes if i wanted). it was funny watching the other girls freak out when they kissed the giraffes (yes, i did get another smooch or two). after we had all gotten a few pecks and lots of pictures we went to the crocodile center which was WAY cool!!
it was a VERY full weekend, and last night i slept like a rock for the first time since arriving!! i am sorry that it took me so long to update my blog, but i have had bad luck with getting successful internet connections! i am also not going to be able to put pictures up right now because i have to get some stuff done for my placement this afternoon, but i will try to come and put pictures up from the weekend in the next couple of days!! (believe me i have some good ones!)
sorry if there are lots of typing errors, or something does not make sense! due to the ridiculously slow internet here, it has taken me almost two hours to type this! (about once a paragraph the computer freezes and i have to just sit and wait for it to be ready again) so please comment if their is something that i need to clarify or you want more info on it!
thank you all for your emails and such!!! it honestly means sooooo much when i get to read the updates from all of you!!
miss you!
xoxo
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
"hello sista"
hello all!
sorry it has been a week since my last post - there have been a couple of things inhibiting me from creating a new blog entry. 1. it has been raining here a lot, and when it rains in Kenya, we lose power. every single day over the last week we have lost power..sometimes for the entire day. it gets annoying, but i have come to accept spotty electricity as part of life in here. 2. i have had a bout of the flu since sunday. i spent all of sunday evening, monday and all day today in bed. i finally felt well enough to try and eat something and get out of the house so here i am!
on friday we didnt do a whole lot, heather and i attempted to go to the office to try and work on some documents for the feeding program but as soon as we arrived at the office (which takes a half hour to walk to) the power went out. we hung around for awhile but after an hour of waiting for the power to come back on we walked home. it was a very unproductive day.
on saturday i went into the city center. although i am staying in Nairobi, we are outside of the main hubub. a couple of the volunteers and i decided to venture into the city to do some shopping and such. we took the city bus (the entire days transportation cost around $1) and had an adventure. i thought when we got into the city that we would see more caucasian people, but we did not. at this point though, i am getting used to the staring and honestly hardly notice it. the main streets of Nairobi are not what i pictured at all. all of the buildings have very old architecture and it is like walking down the streets of what i picture america to look like if the 30s and 60s co-existed. i was concentrating too much on not getting hit by the crazy amounts of insane drivers to take pictures but i promise to try and snap a few next time i venture in.
the markets we went to were very interesting and i bought some really neat things (which i wont mention as some are gifts that i would like to keep a surprise). the most overwhelming part of the day was going to the maasai market. this is a huge market in the center of Nairobi in which vendors come and set out blankets full of crafts and such for sale. let me tell you - a half hour of this was all i could take! as soon as you step into the gates you are assaulted with "hey sista let me show you ____" and these people do not let up!! they will follow you all over the market grabbing your arm, putting jewelry on you in an attempt to have you purchase their goods. i dont have a problem being firm with people, but unless you are outright rude they will not leave you be! the worse is if you pause for even one millisecond at their blanket, then they assume they have you hooked and you are a goner! i did buy one thing at the market - an oil painting of giraffes on the savannah at sunset which i am VERY excited to frame at home. after buying that i got the heck out of there....ill venture back sometime again before i leave.
on sunday we decided to go to the national park and the giraffe center. we had heard from a volunteer who left that you could go to the national park and pay 1000Ksh (approx $10) to pet a cheetah. when we got to the park gates we asked the staff where we had to go to pet the cheetah. they proceeded to laugh in our face. "you cant pet the cheetah" said the guard, "thats illegal". so we told her we had heard of people petting the cheetah for 1000Ksh and she said "ohhh no, you cant pet the cheetah for 1000Ksh, it will cost you 40,000Ksh" (so apparently it wasnt illegal, you just had to be willing to fork over some serious dough). after we entered the park we had an extremely shady employee follow us around for a good deal of time before he approached us and said, "if you give me 1000Ksh, ill let you pet the cheetah." although we were tempted, the idea of ending up in Kenyan jail was too strong to go though with it and we said no. it was yet another example of the amount of corruption that happens here in Kenya, as well as all over the world. (i couldnt resist snapping a picture of the sign as we left the park - below). we decided that since we were already there we would go on the safari walk and see some of the wildlife. the safari walk is basically a VERY open zoo. the animals are behind fences, but you can get extremely close to them and the monkeys just wander around the zoo. at one point i was within 3 feet of a baboon!
although i wouldnt pay again to go to the national park, it was really nice to get out of the city and be in the forest. i didnt realize until we were on the walk how much pollution is in the air here! the cars all run on diesel fuel and the air is very smoggy! it was wonderful to smell the fresh air and not feel like i was contracting black lung for a few hours.
after the national park we wandered to the giraffe center which was the highlight of my trip thus far fo sho!!! this center was designed to protect one of the endangered species of giraffe and there is even a hotel on the property that you can stay at where giraffes wander around the grounds! (basically a dream come true for me and definitely where i want to spend some time in the future.) at the center the giraffes come right up to a platform where you can feed them, as well as kiss them! of course i went right in for the smooch! to do it you put a food pellet in-between your lips and the giraffe goes right in for the kill. i knew everyone would want a photo, so in order to get the shot i had to kiss the giraffe 9 times lol. this is not a clean peck either, they are quite slobbery! but i cant say i didnt enjoy it a little - i mean how often do you get to kiss your favorite animal?? especially when it is not one that you can have as a pet lol.
on the way back from the giraffe center we got caught in a rainstorm (when it rains here it RAINS. it will downpour so hard you can not see in front of your face, and then stop within an hour), got on a bus packed to the MAX, got stuck in rush hour traffic that was at a standstill, and sat next to a chicken on the bus. yes, a chicken. i have come to the realization that this is Africa, and i love it :). despite all the chaos, and the fact that nothing happens quickly, there is something about this place that has me hooked!
after two long days of running around and taking wayyyy overcrowded transportation, i spent the last couple of days laying in bed sleeping and recovering.
i hope that all is going wonderfully at home! (though i hear that it has been rainy and cold so im not missing too much)
miss and love you all!
sorry it has been a week since my last post - there have been a couple of things inhibiting me from creating a new blog entry. 1. it has been raining here a lot, and when it rains in Kenya, we lose power. every single day over the last week we have lost power..sometimes for the entire day. it gets annoying, but i have come to accept spotty electricity as part of life in here. 2. i have had a bout of the flu since sunday. i spent all of sunday evening, monday and all day today in bed. i finally felt well enough to try and eat something and get out of the house so here i am!
on friday we didnt do a whole lot, heather and i attempted to go to the office to try and work on some documents for the feeding program but as soon as we arrived at the office (which takes a half hour to walk to) the power went out. we hung around for awhile but after an hour of waiting for the power to come back on we walked home. it was a very unproductive day.
on saturday i went into the city center. although i am staying in Nairobi, we are outside of the main hubub. a couple of the volunteers and i decided to venture into the city to do some shopping and such. we took the city bus (the entire days transportation cost around $1) and had an adventure. i thought when we got into the city that we would see more caucasian people, but we did not. at this point though, i am getting used to the staring and honestly hardly notice it. the main streets of Nairobi are not what i pictured at all. all of the buildings have very old architecture and it is like walking down the streets of what i picture america to look like if the 30s and 60s co-existed. i was concentrating too much on not getting hit by the crazy amounts of insane drivers to take pictures but i promise to try and snap a few next time i venture in.
the markets we went to were very interesting and i bought some really neat things (which i wont mention as some are gifts that i would like to keep a surprise). the most overwhelming part of the day was going to the maasai market. this is a huge market in the center of Nairobi in which vendors come and set out blankets full of crafts and such for sale. let me tell you - a half hour of this was all i could take! as soon as you step into the gates you are assaulted with "hey sista let me show you ____" and these people do not let up!! they will follow you all over the market grabbing your arm, putting jewelry on you in an attempt to have you purchase their goods. i dont have a problem being firm with people, but unless you are outright rude they will not leave you be! the worse is if you pause for even one millisecond at their blanket, then they assume they have you hooked and you are a goner! i did buy one thing at the market - an oil painting of giraffes on the savannah at sunset which i am VERY excited to frame at home. after buying that i got the heck out of there....ill venture back sometime again before i leave.
although i wouldnt pay again to go to the national park, it was really nice to get out of the city and be in the forest. i didnt realize until we were on the walk how much pollution is in the air here! the cars all run on diesel fuel and the air is very smoggy! it was wonderful to smell the fresh air and not feel like i was contracting black lung for a few hours.
after the national park we wandered to the giraffe center which was the highlight of my trip thus far fo sho!!! this center was designed to protect one of the endangered species of giraffe and there is even a hotel on the property that you can stay at where giraffes wander around the grounds! (basically a dream come true for me and definitely where i want to spend some time in the future.) at the center the giraffes come right up to a platform where you can feed them, as well as kiss them! of course i went right in for the smooch! to do it you put a food pellet in-between your lips and the giraffe goes right in for the kill. i knew everyone would want a photo, so in order to get the shot i had to kiss the giraffe 9 times lol. this is not a clean peck either, they are quite slobbery! but i cant say i didnt enjoy it a little - i mean how often do you get to kiss your favorite animal?? especially when it is not one that you can have as a pet lol.
on the way back from the giraffe center we got caught in a rainstorm (when it rains here it RAINS. it will downpour so hard you can not see in front of your face, and then stop within an hour), got on a bus packed to the MAX, got stuck in rush hour traffic that was at a standstill, and sat next to a chicken on the bus. yes, a chicken. i have come to the realization that this is Africa, and i love it :). despite all the chaos, and the fact that nothing happens quickly, there is something about this place that has me hooked!
after two long days of running around and taking wayyyy overcrowded transportation, i spent the last couple of days laying in bed sleeping and recovering.
i hope that all is going wonderfully at home! (though i hear that it has been rainy and cold so im not missing too much)
miss and love you all!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
keeping busy!
hello all!
its been a few days since i posted a blog so here is a summary of what i have been up to:
on friday heather and i spent the day in the volunteer office doing some logistic work for the feeding program in Kibera. since the program is so new (it has been running for about a month) we have a lot to do as far as creating documents for the future volunteers who will be taking over the program to follow. at times it is a bit overwhelming, and we have learned that nothing happens quickly in kenya, but it is very exciting to have such an impact on a wonderful project!
saturday we spent just hanging out sleeping in after a long week of being out in the sun. it was nice to just talk with the other volunteers and play some cards. i have introduced everyone in my house to skip bo and it has taken on like wild fire! we play everyday, and we have even created a "champ board" where we write the name of the winner everyday. its been a nice way to unwind and get to know one another! for those of you in lax, i have yet to introduce them to the 1024 Farnam version, but i am sure that will happen over the next three months :)
sunday we headed to Fourteen Falls, which was amazing! it was a long day since the falls are about 2 hours away from Nairobi, but it was a lot of fun! i got to meet volunteers who are staying all over Kenya, and i even went cliff jumping! to get to the site where we got to jump we had to cross a very treacherous path of rocks with a very strong current running through them! we had a guide who showed us where to step and we all held hands as we crossed in a long line. it took about a half hour to get across, and my legs were sore the next day from bracing myself against the current, but it was worth it! the one thing that continues to amaze me here is the amount of trash everywhere! even at the falls, which are a beautiful natural site, there is trash everywhere! the 30 garbage bags i brought as a donation will hardly make a dent in the trash here! even in the city people just throw litter on the ground. in the slums there is no garbage pick up system, so people throw it on the ground due to the lack of anywhere else to put it, but in the city they have trash cans and a garbage removal program which is why i don't understand the overwhelming amount of trash!
after the long day we had on sunday, we got up early again on monday to put on a medical camp about 2 hours outside of Nairobi. the camp was a big success, with hundreds of locals who had not seen a doctor or received medical care in over a year, showing up! we had several different booths such as dental care, womens health, family planning, HIV/AIDS awareness & testing, as well as many doctors & nurses available for check-ups. being the outspoken person that i am, i was assigned to family planning and spent the day showing the locals how to use a condom. it actually went over very well and the men asked a lot of questions! after the sessions were done, we had a lot of time where people were just waiting to see the doctors so i spent the rest of the day playing with the kids and getting to know the locals. i learned a lot and it was a very interesting, as well as entertaining day!
yesterday i was back in Nairobi at my placement handing out food in Kibera. it was an overcast day, which was nice because when it is hot out it is not pleasant to be in Kibera! there is almost no wind, and the smell of the sewage and garbage gets a bit overwhelming! it was good to see the familiar faces of the families and check in on them. after a week and a half i finally feel comfortable walking to Kibera from the volunteer house by myself and managing to not get lost. the thing that is very tricky about Kenya is that they 1 - do not use north, south, etc...they just say something is "over there". 2- they have very minimal street signs. besides main roads, streets are not labeled so you have to remember your way by landmark. this can get very difficult as the streets are so crowded that they look very similar. especially once you enter the slum, it is almost impossible to navigate, as every alley looks the same (to me at least). one of the men that takes us through Kibera said that after a few weeks i will notice the differences, so i said that on my last day i will lead the tour through the slum...we shall see if i am able.
after the last three days of running around and being gone from 7am-7pm, i am taking today to catch up and relax. i am also going to try and do laundry for the first time! we shall see how this goes... :S
until next time!
xoxo
its been a few days since i posted a blog so here is a summary of what i have been up to:
on friday heather and i spent the day in the volunteer office doing some logistic work for the feeding program in Kibera. since the program is so new (it has been running for about a month) we have a lot to do as far as creating documents for the future volunteers who will be taking over the program to follow. at times it is a bit overwhelming, and we have learned that nothing happens quickly in kenya, but it is very exciting to have such an impact on a wonderful project!
saturday we spent just hanging out sleeping in after a long week of being out in the sun. it was nice to just talk with the other volunteers and play some cards. i have introduced everyone in my house to skip bo and it has taken on like wild fire! we play everyday, and we have even created a "champ board" where we write the name of the winner everyday. its been a nice way to unwind and get to know one another! for those of you in lax, i have yet to introduce them to the 1024 Farnam version, but i am sure that will happen over the next three months :)
sunday we headed to Fourteen Falls, which was amazing! it was a long day since the falls are about 2 hours away from Nairobi, but it was a lot of fun! i got to meet volunteers who are staying all over Kenya, and i even went cliff jumping! to get to the site where we got to jump we had to cross a very treacherous path of rocks with a very strong current running through them! we had a guide who showed us where to step and we all held hands as we crossed in a long line. it took about a half hour to get across, and my legs were sore the next day from bracing myself against the current, but it was worth it! the one thing that continues to amaze me here is the amount of trash everywhere! even at the falls, which are a beautiful natural site, there is trash everywhere! the 30 garbage bags i brought as a donation will hardly make a dent in the trash here! even in the city people just throw litter on the ground. in the slums there is no garbage pick up system, so people throw it on the ground due to the lack of anywhere else to put it, but in the city they have trash cans and a garbage removal program which is why i don't understand the overwhelming amount of trash!
after the long day we had on sunday, we got up early again on monday to put on a medical camp about 2 hours outside of Nairobi. the camp was a big success, with hundreds of locals who had not seen a doctor or received medical care in over a year, showing up! we had several different booths such as dental care, womens health, family planning, HIV/AIDS awareness & testing, as well as many doctors & nurses available for check-ups. being the outspoken person that i am, i was assigned to family planning and spent the day showing the locals how to use a condom. it actually went over very well and the men asked a lot of questions! after the sessions were done, we had a lot of time where people were just waiting to see the doctors so i spent the rest of the day playing with the kids and getting to know the locals. i learned a lot and it was a very interesting, as well as entertaining day!
until next time!
xoxo
Thursday, June 16, 2011
week one coming to a close...
hello all :)
yesterday i had orientation into the IVHQ program, we got to meet all of the other volunteers, as well as the administrative staff in Kenya. i continue to be impressed with how friendly everyone here is! they are all so happy, and grateful for our time/help. it is so wonderful to be amongst such friendly people!
after orientation we went just hung out and all spent some time getting to know one another. the house that i am staying in holds 10 volunteers, and right now we are at full capacity. it has been just as much fun getting to know the volunteers from all over the world as it has been to get to know the kenyans! last night we had a big discussion about the differences between "american" english and "british" english - which was quite entertaining! as much as i have loved getting to know all the other volunteers though, it is hard because i have had to say goodbye to a few i have grown close to already! (they have placements in other parts of kenya) it is amazing how fast you bond with others while traveling, especially since we are all in an unfamiliar surrounding.
today i went into Kibera again. for the rest of the time that i am here i will be going into Kibera to pass out food on Mon, Tues & Thurs, and spending time at the WEEP center on Wed and Fri. the WEEP center is a center for women who are living with HIV to come and learn trades such as sewing and bead work, so that they may make money to support themselves and their children. here, the women living with HIV/AIDS are severely shunned and are not allowed to make an honest living. they are often disowned by their families and their husbands leave them, making it nearly impossible for them to survive. this center provides work for the women, as well as education for their children, allowing them to support their families. it was another humbling day of meeting friendly, wonderful people making the best out of the very little that they have.
i am also very excited because on monday i will be participating in a medical camp that is being put on by a fellow volunteer! many of the people in this area have not seen a doctor or had medical care in over a year, so this camp is bringing together doctors, nurses, etc so that these people can receive basic care. i will be helping with patient education, which is right up my alley! it costs us volunteers about 2500Ksh for the day - which is roughly $30, which helps to pay the doctors and buy supplies. i think it will be a great time!
other than that, heather and i (a volunteer from colorado who i have gotten close with) have been spending our free time planning trips for the wknds. i have already decided i will end up spending more than i wanted in these three months, but there are just SOOO many things i want to do and who knows when i will end up on this end of the world again! this wknd we are thinking of going to the market in masi - which i have heard is huge! and then perhaps to the giraffe center, where you can kiss a giraffe (you all know how excited i am to swap spit with my favorite animal)! we dont do much in the evenings during the week, one because we are exhausted from walking around in Kibera all day in the sun & two because it isnt safe to walk around Nairobi after dark.
speaking of which, it is getting late here, and we have some errands to run on the way home. until next time!
xoxo
yesterday i had orientation into the IVHQ program, we got to meet all of the other volunteers, as well as the administrative staff in Kenya. i continue to be impressed with how friendly everyone here is! they are all so happy, and grateful for our time/help. it is so wonderful to be amongst such friendly people!
after orientation we went just hung out and all spent some time getting to know one another. the house that i am staying in holds 10 volunteers, and right now we are at full capacity. it has been just as much fun getting to know the volunteers from all over the world as it has been to get to know the kenyans! last night we had a big discussion about the differences between "american" english and "british" english - which was quite entertaining! as much as i have loved getting to know all the other volunteers though, it is hard because i have had to say goodbye to a few i have grown close to already! (they have placements in other parts of kenya) it is amazing how fast you bond with others while traveling, especially since we are all in an unfamiliar surrounding.
today i went into Kibera again. for the rest of the time that i am here i will be going into Kibera to pass out food on Mon, Tues & Thurs, and spending time at the WEEP center on Wed and Fri. the WEEP center is a center for women who are living with HIV to come and learn trades such as sewing and bead work, so that they may make money to support themselves and their children. here, the women living with HIV/AIDS are severely shunned and are not allowed to make an honest living. they are often disowned by their families and their husbands leave them, making it nearly impossible for them to survive. this center provides work for the women, as well as education for their children, allowing them to support their families. it was another humbling day of meeting friendly, wonderful people making the best out of the very little that they have.
i am also very excited because on monday i will be participating in a medical camp that is being put on by a fellow volunteer! many of the people in this area have not seen a doctor or had medical care in over a year, so this camp is bringing together doctors, nurses, etc so that these people can receive basic care. i will be helping with patient education, which is right up my alley! it costs us volunteers about 2500Ksh for the day - which is roughly $30, which helps to pay the doctors and buy supplies. i think it will be a great time!
other than that, heather and i (a volunteer from colorado who i have gotten close with) have been spending our free time planning trips for the wknds. i have already decided i will end up spending more than i wanted in these three months, but there are just SOOO many things i want to do and who knows when i will end up on this end of the world again! this wknd we are thinking of going to the market in masi - which i have heard is huge! and then perhaps to the giraffe center, where you can kiss a giraffe (you all know how excited i am to swap spit with my favorite animal)! we dont do much in the evenings during the week, one because we are exhausted from walking around in Kibera all day in the sun & two because it isnt safe to walk around Nairobi after dark.
speaking of which, it is getting late here, and we have some errands to run on the way home. until next time!
xoxo
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
"hello - how are you?"
hello hello
its weird to say this after only a couple of days, but i am officially starting to feel settled in, and am now referring to the IVHQ house as "home." the people i have met (both volunteers and kenyans) are sooooo nice! i am so glad i came here!
today i went into Kibera which is the largest slum in Nairobi and the second largest slum in Africa. it was the most humbling experience i have EVER had. Kibera houses over a million people, literally every corner of space is utilized! these people have nothing. literally. they live in "houses" that are the size of my room with no running water - and if they have some money, spotty electricity. even the houses with electricity are pitch dark, and almost impossible to see anything. we spent three hours walking around passing out flour and beans to residents, who were so thankful for our help! the food we gave them (about two bags of flour and a bag of beans per family) feeds their family for a week. everywhere we walked the children would shout out "hello, how are you? i am fine" in a chorus (the most english they know) and chase after us. it was so adorable, and heartbreaking at the same time. seeing these kids who were so smiley and happy, running around in donated, dirty clothes shouting out to us and coming up to get hugs was overwhelming. sadly, most of the families cannot afford to send their children to school, so the kids spend their days playing in the sewage and rummaging amongst garbage. to send a child to school here cost 600 shillings a month, which is a little over $5. but the families simply cannot afford it. i have already decided that i am going to sponsor a child and pay their school fees, it is the least i can do when they have so little.
the project i helped out on today passing out food was started by a past volunteer very recently, and they are looking for a volunteer who is "long term" to help run it. i am considering taking this post, as surprisingly i am the most long term of this new batch of volunteers. as heartbreaking as today was, it was also reassuring that the things that we do here are actually helping! by providing food for these families, they are able to save money to put toward their children's school fees.
after returning from Kibera - literally covered in feces, yes feces (my shocks will most definitely not be coming home with me!) we went to the "walmart" of Nairobi to purchase drinking water and some fruit. i also bought a Kenyan cell phone and some minutes, so now i just have to figure out how to use it!
tomorrow we have orientation, though i have to say i feel like i am getting the hang of the lifestyle already without it. tonight i will be taking a much needed shower, followed by packing up in case i am moving for my placement.
i will try to post pictures on my blog soon, but to be honest i haven't taken many because i don't feel comfortable enough yet. i draw enough attention to myself being here, that i don't want to add to it by being "that tourist" with the camera. also, i have not figured out how to add pictures at the internet cafes. the computers are old, and i am not sure i can plug my memory card into them...perhaps i will have to search for a more expensive cafe that may have more updated equipment.
well, time to head back :)
xo
its weird to say this after only a couple of days, but i am officially starting to feel settled in, and am now referring to the IVHQ house as "home." the people i have met (both volunteers and kenyans) are sooooo nice! i am so glad i came here!
today i went into Kibera which is the largest slum in Nairobi and the second largest slum in Africa. it was the most humbling experience i have EVER had. Kibera houses over a million people, literally every corner of space is utilized! these people have nothing. literally. they live in "houses" that are the size of my room with no running water - and if they have some money, spotty electricity. even the houses with electricity are pitch dark, and almost impossible to see anything. we spent three hours walking around passing out flour and beans to residents, who were so thankful for our help! the food we gave them (about two bags of flour and a bag of beans per family) feeds their family for a week. everywhere we walked the children would shout out "hello, how are you? i am fine" in a chorus (the most english they know) and chase after us. it was so adorable, and heartbreaking at the same time. seeing these kids who were so smiley and happy, running around in donated, dirty clothes shouting out to us and coming up to get hugs was overwhelming. sadly, most of the families cannot afford to send their children to school, so the kids spend their days playing in the sewage and rummaging amongst garbage. to send a child to school here cost 600 shillings a month, which is a little over $5. but the families simply cannot afford it. i have already decided that i am going to sponsor a child and pay their school fees, it is the least i can do when they have so little.the project i helped out on today passing out food was started by a past volunteer very recently, and they are looking for a volunteer who is "long term" to help run it. i am considering taking this post, as surprisingly i am the most long term of this new batch of volunteers. as heartbreaking as today was, it was also reassuring that the things that we do here are actually helping! by providing food for these families, they are able to save money to put toward their children's school fees.
after returning from Kibera - literally covered in feces, yes feces (my shocks will most definitely not be coming home with me!) we went to the "walmart" of Nairobi to purchase drinking water and some fruit. i also bought a Kenyan cell phone and some minutes, so now i just have to figure out how to use it!
tomorrow we have orientation, though i have to say i feel like i am getting the hang of the lifestyle already without it. tonight i will be taking a much needed shower, followed by packing up in case i am moving for my placement.
i will try to post pictures on my blog soon, but to be honest i haven't taken many because i don't feel comfortable enough yet. i draw enough attention to myself being here, that i don't want to add to it by being "that tourist" with the camera. also, i have not figured out how to add pictures at the internet cafes. the computers are old, and i am not sure i can plug my memory card into them...perhaps i will have to search for a more expensive cafe that may have more updated equipment.
well, time to head back :)
xo
Monday, June 13, 2011
getting settled in...
for those of you keeping track - yes, i was able to post twice in one day! crazy eh? turns our internet access is not as hard to get as i thought it would be. i am currently sitting in a cafe about a block away from the IVHQ volunteer house. soooo much has happened to me already and it has only been one day!!
around 11am this morning i was able to get in touch with the volunteer coordinator in Kenya and they came and got me from my hotel. right away when i got to the house, the volunteers that were there asked if i wanted to come to the "mall" with them. we walked about the equivalent of 6 blocks and explored some of the shops. trying to convert shillings to dollars in my head is SO confusing, i am hesitant to spend much money until i am more comfortable with the currency.
after we were done at the mall, we went to the IVHQ house in another part of Nairobi, and then continued on to explore one of the markets. we traveled by way of "matu" which is basically a SUPER over-crowded mini-van. where in the US mini-vans seat 7 people, here there are at least 15! it was very interesting, but i am learning to be ok with no personal space! all in all a days worth of exploring cost me about a dollar, so i cant complain.
anyways, we are headed back to the house for dinner so i have to run!
lots of love! xo
around 11am this morning i was able to get in touch with the volunteer coordinator in Kenya and they came and got me from my hotel. right away when i got to the house, the volunteers that were there asked if i wanted to come to the "mall" with them. we walked about the equivalent of 6 blocks and explored some of the shops. trying to convert shillings to dollars in my head is SO confusing, i am hesitant to spend much money until i am more comfortable with the currency.
after we were done at the mall, we went to the IVHQ house in another part of Nairobi, and then continued on to explore one of the markets. we traveled by way of "matu" which is basically a SUPER over-crowded mini-van. where in the US mini-vans seat 7 people, here there are at least 15! it was very interesting, but i am learning to be ok with no personal space! all in all a days worth of exploring cost me about a dollar, so i cant complain.
anyways, we are headed back to the house for dinner so i have to run!
lots of love! xo
Sunday, June 12, 2011
ive arrived!
hello all :)
well i arrived. as most of you know, my flight was changed last minute and after 24 hours of pure chaos and freaking out (thanks to those of you that put up with me) i made it to Nairobi! since my flight was pushed up 24 hours i booked a hotel near the airport until i can meet up with someone from IVHQ. i made it to my hotel at 12:30am, and crashed immediately after wayyyyy too long of traveling!
the plane rides were alright. i ended up with a middle seat for both flights (9 hours each) so that was unfortunate, but i lucked out by meeting two very nice gentlemen. on my second flight i sat next to a man from Texas who now lives in Bujumbura for his job as a contractor, which is an hour flight from Nairobi. he was very nice! (and cute :) ) and offered to show me around if i ever wanted to visit with him this summer. it was very reassuring to meet a fellow american and exchange contact info!
for those of you that are convinced i will find a husband this summer you will find the following entertaining - when attaining my visa yesterday the woman working told me: (while reading my passport) "you are single?? you have a beautiful smile miss! if you continue to show that while in Kenya you will have all the men asking to be your husband and you will never leave!" that gave me a good laugh after all my travels! :)
here are a few things i have learned in my short time in Nairobi already:
1. cab drivers here have the same mentality as those in Greece, if you want to pass someone and the other lane is not available, use the shoulder of the road!
2. 50-60 degrees is cold. when i arrived at my hotel the security guard came out to the car in a jacket, pants, hat, and one of those ski masks that we Wisconsinites feel is only necessary when it is 20 below zero! keep in mind i was dressed in yoga pants and a tshirt.
3. nothing is done in a hurry, which is something i could stand to learn from. i think the rest of the world is onto something here - we in America seem to be the only ones obsessed with time.
anyway, i need to get going - i have to check out of my hotel in the next hour and i have no idea if/where i am meeting someone from IVHQ. i think this may also have something to do with the lack of urgency with time here...
well until next time!!
xoxo
well i arrived. as most of you know, my flight was changed last minute and after 24 hours of pure chaos and freaking out (thanks to those of you that put up with me) i made it to Nairobi! since my flight was pushed up 24 hours i booked a hotel near the airport until i can meet up with someone from IVHQ. i made it to my hotel at 12:30am, and crashed immediately after wayyyyy too long of traveling!
the plane rides were alright. i ended up with a middle seat for both flights (9 hours each) so that was unfortunate, but i lucked out by meeting two very nice gentlemen. on my second flight i sat next to a man from Texas who now lives in Bujumbura for his job as a contractor, which is an hour flight from Nairobi. he was very nice! (and cute :) ) and offered to show me around if i ever wanted to visit with him this summer. it was very reassuring to meet a fellow american and exchange contact info!
for those of you that are convinced i will find a husband this summer you will find the following entertaining - when attaining my visa yesterday the woman working told me: (while reading my passport) "you are single?? you have a beautiful smile miss! if you continue to show that while in Kenya you will have all the men asking to be your husband and you will never leave!" that gave me a good laugh after all my travels! :)
here are a few things i have learned in my short time in Nairobi already:
1. cab drivers here have the same mentality as those in Greece, if you want to pass someone and the other lane is not available, use the shoulder of the road!
2. 50-60 degrees is cold. when i arrived at my hotel the security guard came out to the car in a jacket, pants, hat, and one of those ski masks that we Wisconsinites feel is only necessary when it is 20 below zero! keep in mind i was dressed in yoga pants and a tshirt.
3. nothing is done in a hurry, which is something i could stand to learn from. i think the rest of the world is onto something here - we in America seem to be the only ones obsessed with time.
anyway, i need to get going - i have to check out of my hotel in the next hour and i have no idea if/where i am meeting someone from IVHQ. i think this may also have something to do with the lack of urgency with time here...
well until next time!!
xoxo
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
well heellooooooo
so here i am. 12 days from my big adventure!!! the chaos has officially begun, and im sure the remaining time i have before i leave will fly by! i will do my my best to keep you all up to date with the shenanigans i get myself into this summer :) feel free to comment back so i can hear all about whats happening in good ole wisco. xo
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