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!