What I had originally planned to be a quiet, productive long weekend at home quickly turned into everything but. I'll start with Thursday, when we were supposed to get out of classes early with the prospect of no school on Friday! I had every intention to spend some time at home, get some work done, go out with Lisa and crew that night, then hit up Carnivore (a restaurant nearby) for Luya night on Friday and cook and start my research papers on Saturday and Sunday. Yeah right, T.I.A. (This Is Africa), so nothing will ever go according to plan. I was reading my Kiswahili book outside on Thursday with the rest of my class when a girl in the intermediate class, Meghan, came outside to get some water from a vendor. She said she wasn't feeling too well. Then she turned deathly pale and fainted in the middle of our university parking lot. Some quick action found me, her and another girl named Becky in a cab on our way to Nairobi Hospital, where we proceeded to spend the next 4 1/2 hours getting her registered, into a room, x-rayed, tested, etc... The strange thing about Kenyan hospitals is that you have to pay for everything BEFORE you get it. Since she didn't have enough money, I ended up footing her bill. It wasn't a problem because of course she'll pay me back, but I wonder why it's set up that way? I mean, if you have an accident and end up in the hospital, what happens if you don't have enough money with you to pay for your treatment? It's insanely expensive by Kenyan standards, and if you don't have someone there with you who can get ahold of a credit card or cash, you're basically SOL. But other than the payment issue, the hospital was good and she was given excellent care. So that took up pretty much my entire day. Then I walked back home. It was really hot and sunny, so by the time I got back I was really dehydrated and not feeling too well. Then my host mom announced that, if I didn't have any other plans, we would go to her rural home in Kericho......leaving at 5am the next day. I was too tired to remember the other things I had in mind, so I agreed. I would have agreed anyway though. I wasn't going to miss out on seeing where she grew up and where much of her family still lives.
Later on Thursday evening, I walked down the road to a nearby compound to visit Ashley at her host mom's new shop. It was starting to get dark, but I figured we'd just meet up and leave. Wrong! We waited there for her mom and when she finally showed up, it was already dark outside. We had no choice but to walk back to our compound in the dark. Since there were three of us white girls AND Ashley's mom, I wasn't too worried. But then we had to pass through a group of young boys. One of them felt my thighs, I'm assuming he was looking for pockets to go through...and then another one tried to steal my baseball hat right off my head. We're told to just let muggers take what they want and not put up a fight because they could potentially have a knife or worse, but my automatic reaction was the grab my hat back and scream "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" at the boys. Then I pulled a basketball move and swung my elbows back and forth to deter them from coming close to me. It was just a gut reaction, probably not the smartest thing, but it worked. I kept my hat, I didn't have any pockets for them to steal from, and then a concerned older Kenyan man walking behind the boys yelled "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" and the boys scattered. I then walked as fast as I could back to my compound. Not the worst that could have happened, but definitely unsettling. And at least they didn't get my hat.
What with the dehydration and the early departure looming ahead of me, I decided to cancel my plans to go out and just hit the sack. And thank god I did. I woke up at 4:45 to get in a nice shower before heading into a land of no electricity or running water. Now, you may all be surprised to learn that I've become very accustomed to cockroaches here. But I mean the little, light brown ones that are barely a few centimeters long. As I was showering, I looked down to find the GODZILLA of cockroaches staring me down. It must've been at least 3 inches long and dark brown and definitely looked like it could eat me if it felt so inclined. I stamped my feet hard and yelled to try and scare it away...but this only encouraged it to enter the shower with me. It chased me around for a few seconds until I gave up, grabbed my towel and fled back upstairs where I climbed into bed and hoped it hadn't followed me.
We ended up leaving Nairobi at closer to 6am. I passed out in the front seat with my knees squished against the dashboard (we were in a car that, if possible, is actually SMALLER than the Prius). But we couldn't have gone very far before we hit a police checkpoint and got pulled over. I woke up to a mean-looking, old policeman staring at me through the window. He spoke harsh Swahili to the driver, Geoffrey, and to my mom in the backseat. Then he reached through my open window and started tugging on my seatbelt. I did my best to ignore him because I had no idea what his deal was. Turns out he was one of those corrupt officials we hear about so often, and after making up a bunch of laws we were supposedly breaking, he tried to get us to bribe him with 1000 shillings. This is only about $13 USD, but is quite a lot in Kenya. So finally, 500 shillings shorter, we got to drive off.
There are only 2 roads to Kericho from Nairobi. One goes through Nakuru (the town where we did our first week of orientation) and is a very nice, well paved road. The other goes through Narok and is still incomplete. For some reason I still dont understand, we took the Narok road. It was mostly unpaved, potholed, red dirt road and our little car had a very hard time of it. I would sleep for a few minutes in between every crater sized pothole we had to drive through. And the parts that are paved are only partially finished, so they are swarming with giant construction vehicles. What should have only taken 1 1/2 hours ended up taking 3 to get to the first middle sized town on the way. We stopped, got some awesome samosas and stretched out before continuing on to a small town near the Masai Mara called Bomet. My mom has a few relatives and tons of friends there, and we stopped for a quick meal with her niece and friends before continuing on. Then we stopped at a random little outpost on the road to pick up one of my mom's sisters. She squished in the back and, a couple hours later, we finally got ourselves to rural Kericho. And when I say rural, I mean REALLY rural. I had ignorantly pictured something similar to a midwestern farmhouse...only without electricity or running water. Kind of amish-like. I was dead wrong. Tons of family members live together in a small compound of about 5 mud huts with either tin roofs or thatched roofs. There's no doors, no windows, no water, no electricity, nothin. There were small forests all around, small patches of fields for the animals to graze on, and a few other huts dotting the surrounding hillsides. Its the most isolated place I have EVER been. The kids have seen so few white people, that they were actually afraid of me at first. And since they speak only the local language, no Swahili and no English, we had trouble communicating. But the adults were very kind and welcoming and the kids warmed up to me after a few hours. Just as we arrived, it started POURING, so we stayed inside the dark huts and I listened and tried to communicate with my mom's relatives. They have a few chairs and a small coffee table, but little other furniture. They made us ugali and beef stew, which was actually quite good considering how I don't like those things in Nairobi, and they got a kick out of me eating the ugali with my hands, like a Kenyan. And that's pretty much all we did until it got dark. They lit a few old-fashioned lanterns, we had dinner (the same thing plus greens) and I took some pictures and let the kids play with my camera. I had to go to the bathroom, but seeing as they were across a field, 2 of the kids grabbed a lantern and guided me there. The lantern was too big to take into the latrine with me, so I was in a tiny stall in pitch darkness with a hole in the floor that I couldn't see! I did the best I could to aim, not fall over, and be as fast as I could. When I got back to the house, everyone had a good laugh at me because they knew how difficult I had found it. Then I was so tired, I had to pass out. They made up a bed for me and I plopped into it half asleep already. It wasn't til I woke up the next morning that I realized they had given me one of the 2 beds they have, and that the rest of the family had slept on the floor inthe next room. I felt incredibly guilty, but later learned that guests will never be made to sleep on the floor, so there was nothing I could have done about it. I brushed my teeth next to a cow in the yard, had some chai with the family, then walked around taking pictures. I stumbled on some of the kids peeling potatoes for our lunch and sat down to help. They thought this was absolutely hilarious and had a great time watching me slowly cut the potatoes. I stopped only when a bunch of ants became too interested in my ankles and started biting.
We ate a hasty lunch (rice and fresh fresh chicken), then took off to get to Kericho town and visit my mom's in-laws there. Kericho is famous for its tea plantations, and as we drove along the road, I took a lot of pleasure in viewing the miles and miles of rich green tea. It's a nice change from the red dust I'm used to seeing everywhere we go. Not much happened at the in-laws. We had tea, chatted, I finally met my other brother Kip (who has been working in Kericho since I arrived). Some funny things happened that night when we hung out with Kip and his work friends, but I'll elaborate on that later. Pretty uneventful, and I was exhausted from all the driving and a nice sunburn I had gotten that morning. I went to sleep early.
The next morning (Sunday), I woke up and made breakfast for everyone with some food I had bought the night before in town. Kenyans supposedly don't like cheese, but I took a risk and made scrambled eggs with onions and cheddar. I think they actually liked it, if they weren't lying to me to be polite. Then we squished back into the car, this time with me in the back plus my mom's brother in law and his son, mom in the front and Geoffrey driving. Pretty uncomfortable, but there was nothing to do about it. So I alternated reading and sleeping. We took the road through Nakuru this time, so it was easy enough to sleep thank God. Next thing I know, we're stopping in a random town to buy fresh meat. The animal parts were hanging from hooks in the ceiling in a delapidated wooden shack, but this is apparently one of the best places to buy from and I enjoyed watching my mom's brother in law negotiate the price and cuts of meat he wanted. He also bought me a roasted corn from the side of the road, which I tried but seriously disliked. The maize here is nothing like the sweet yellow corn we get at home. It's starchy and flavor-less, if you ask me.
Another couple hours and I looked up to find our car surround by at least 15 men in white, butchers coats running alongside and yelling at us. We had pulled into an open-air "restaurant" where they sell fresh nyama choma (roasted meat) and these guys were all jostling to get us to come to their stall. I was soooo not in the mood to be harassed, so I sent them a mean look and they stayed away from me. We picked our meat and it was brought over to a plastic table for us to enjoy. We ate with our hands and oooh that meat was DELICIOUS! I stayed away from the intestines and other unknown organs, but the actual meat itself was as good as anything I've had. And the hundreds of flies that buzzed around, landing on us and the meat as we ate, only added to the authentic feel of the place. I loved it. :)
We made it back to Nairobi with no further distractions, and I tell you I have never been so relieved. The weekend was great and very eventful, but we spent a majority of our time in a car, with me getting sunburnt in the front seat or nauseous in the back. If we had stayed in just one of the places for the whole weekend, I think I would have been able to enjoy it more, but I'm not complaining. I had a taste of what most Kenyans live like outside of the city, I experienced things both good and bad, but always interesting, and I met a lot of wonderful people. Now, I'm tired and I have to go back home and entertain my friends. I'll post again soon.
Until next time! XOXO!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
time flies...
Wow, sorry for the delay in posts guys! It's been a crazy few days. Let's see here, the first thing I've been needing to post is that Janet, our househelp, is amazing. Remember how I made french toast for the fam a couple weeks ago? Well, she watched me making it, then a few days later made it for me for breakfast before school! It was SOO cute because she's never made it or heard of it before, so I could tell she was being really sweet. And it was delish. :)
Secondly, I have officially befriended pretty much every primary school-aged kid in my compound. Aubrey (who lives a few houses down) has 2 little siblings who we play with a lot, and basically all their friends and neighbors and a few randoms have discovered the 3 "wazungu" living in their compound and basically assault us every chance they get! This past week, I think I've probably spent 3 hours every day playing with at least 7 or 8 little kids. Thank god for Aubrey and Ashley. I could NOT handle them on my own. They're cute, but they must think that white people are indestructable, so they jump on us and rough house and beg to be carried at all times. And they think we're hilarious. The way I say "hi sweetie" cracks them up. And me, Aubrey and Ashley walk Aubrey's siblings to school every morning now, and the first few times they brought us into the classroom like show and tell!
I got sick for the first time a few days ago. I think it was my body finally reacting to all the pollution here, but I was exhausted and ended up with a low fever. I spent Monday in bed and then felt pretty much back to normal. But my cough I think will never go away here. The air in Nairobi is just so bad with all the exhaust from cars and trucks and the heat and the lack of sanitation in many places. I walk just about everywhere these days, and during the day it can get really bad. But late at night (9:30 or 10) the air has cleared and its nice and cool and the stars are out, so I've taken to walking around my compound with Aubrey and Ashley for 30 or 40 minutes every night just clearing my lungs and enjoying the quiet. I've also started running at that time--when I'm not too tired from walking all day! Yesterday we got out of classes early, and a group of us went to the MSID office, then went to Prestige (the mall), then to a used clothes market, then to the supermarket, then back home. All in all, we probably walked about 6 or 7 miles. And I got a thorn in my foot the other day, so I skipped the run last night. =P But seriously, aside from the pollution factor, this is the healthiest I've been in a long time. The amazing food and all the walking and the urge to go run or work out...well...it's working for me!! Lol. And yes, Shannon, I actually have a tan this time. With all the time I spend walking around in the sun, it would be ridiculous NOT to.
Speaking of tans, I finally found out today that my internship in Mombasa has been confirmed!! I will be working for Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI), which is the group that provides healthcare and education to commercial sex workers on the Kenyan coast. I'm SO freakin excited!! And even though Mombasa is going to be ridiculously hot and humic, I don't care, because it looks like one of the most beautiful places on earth. I can't wait for my internship to start so I can really get a feel for work here in Kenya. AND my Swahili will really improve there. In Nairobi people speak a lot of Sheng, but the coast is where the really good, pure Swahili is spoken...the kind I've been learning. So I expect to come back knowing it pretty well.
There is some sad news unfortunately. My host mom, who I absolutely LOVE, has to go to London in a few days to see a heart specialist. She has a pacemaker and its something she manages well, but she has to go and stay there for a whole month. So I won't see her again until I come back from my internship in December. She's so wonderful and is going to let me stay in her house with my brother and Janet until I leave, but I was devastated when I found out. And worried. I'm definitely not religious, but I pray for her and her wellbeing pretty much daily. And I'm so thankful I don't have to move to another homestay. I am so settled and comfortable here that it would really suck to have to switch now. Everyone keep her in your thoughts please and wish her the best. She should be back by the end of October.
I finally started taking some pictures here in Nairobi this past weekend, so I'm going to figure out how to get those up ASAP. They're mostly of a birthday party I went to on Sunday. I've become good friends with Simon, a director in my program, and his wife and daughter. They deliver milk to my house twice a week, and I always play with Bethany, who just turned 2 last week. I think I've mentioned her before. We're besties now. :) Anyway, I was invited to her birthday party, and it was SO much fun!! There must have been at least 30 people crammed into Simon's living room--mostly kids. We ate amaaaaazing food (cabbage and chapati are definitely my new favorites!) and the kids played and played and the parents talked. I was the only white person there, so of course the kids mobbed me, as usual. But you all know I love it. :) We played with a makeshift soccer ball made of a bunched up plastic bag and some string. I took lots of pictures of the kids and they stole my camera and completely wore it out playing with it. And eating the cake was so much fun! Simon is Maasai, and apparently it is tradition for the birthday girl/boy to feed a piece of cake to close family members and friends before doling it out to everyone. She had a great time feeding us all, and I got fed too! Lol. Then its also tradition for the kids to dab the frosting on their cheeks, nose and foreheads. Of course, I got dabbed as well, and then laughed at because the pink frosting was the same color as my skin and didn't show up on me!! I had the best time, but it definitely wore me out. I came home and absolutely collapsed.
I also went to my first Baptist church on Sunday with my bro and his friends. I wasn't feeling too good at that point, so I definitely fell asleep during the service. But to be honest, it wasn't as much fun as the Catholics! The sermon was 2 hours long and mostly about evangelizing and converting others and being "saved". I wasn't too keen on the message. At least at the Catholic service they talked more about being a good person and loving your fellow man...and the music was wayyy better at the Catholic service. But I'm glad I experienced it. I would still like to go to the Quaker church down the road and to a mosque. But I'll probably wait til I'm in Mombasa and living with a Muslim family before doing that. I'm not sure if I'm actually allowed to attend.
Oh, and on Friday night the usual crew checked out a new club in a ritzy part of town called Westlands. It's supposedly where all the white people live and party, and I definitely saw some of that, but the club we went to was called Rezorus and our Kenyan friend Lisa took us (the one who's taken us out before). So it was definitely an all Kenyan club. I LOVED it and danced til 4am with Ashley, Aubrey, Andre, Lisa, etc. I did check out the club across the street called Black Diamond, but that was definitely where all the Europeans and Americans gather, so I left pretty fast. It's so funny because my mom and Aubrey's mom both say the same thing when we go out. They say, "oh girls, you're going to go shake-shake!" So that's our new favorite phrase. On Monday night, when I was feeling better and after a nice walk around the compound, I got home to find my mom having a fashion show with 3 of her friends! One of them is a part-time dealer of used clothes, so she brought over a ton of her new finds and they made me model for them. It was really fun and my mom and I had a bit of a dance party in our outfits. They told me I "shake-shake" very well, like a Kenyan! :) I liked this one outfit so much that I bought it on the spot. So there's my first purchase here in Kenya. I got some white linen pants and a matching vest and this morning I wore the pants and Aubrey's little sister told me I look very smart. So that's a plus. I didn't find anything at that used clothes market we went to yesterday, but I would rather buy Kenyan clothes than used American ones, no matter how cheap they are! So I'll probably wait til I get to Mombasa to buy anything else. That's where they have all the good kangas and Swahili dresses. It's going to be fun!
Alrighty, I better get home because it's getting late. But I promise to write again soon. This coming weekend should be a fun one, so I'll report on the various happenings ASAP.
All my love!
Secondly, I have officially befriended pretty much every primary school-aged kid in my compound. Aubrey (who lives a few houses down) has 2 little siblings who we play with a lot, and basically all their friends and neighbors and a few randoms have discovered the 3 "wazungu" living in their compound and basically assault us every chance they get! This past week, I think I've probably spent 3 hours every day playing with at least 7 or 8 little kids. Thank god for Aubrey and Ashley. I could NOT handle them on my own. They're cute, but they must think that white people are indestructable, so they jump on us and rough house and beg to be carried at all times. And they think we're hilarious. The way I say "hi sweetie" cracks them up. And me, Aubrey and Ashley walk Aubrey's siblings to school every morning now, and the first few times they brought us into the classroom like show and tell!
I got sick for the first time a few days ago. I think it was my body finally reacting to all the pollution here, but I was exhausted and ended up with a low fever. I spent Monday in bed and then felt pretty much back to normal. But my cough I think will never go away here. The air in Nairobi is just so bad with all the exhaust from cars and trucks and the heat and the lack of sanitation in many places. I walk just about everywhere these days, and during the day it can get really bad. But late at night (9:30 or 10) the air has cleared and its nice and cool and the stars are out, so I've taken to walking around my compound with Aubrey and Ashley for 30 or 40 minutes every night just clearing my lungs and enjoying the quiet. I've also started running at that time--when I'm not too tired from walking all day! Yesterday we got out of classes early, and a group of us went to the MSID office, then went to Prestige (the mall), then to a used clothes market, then to the supermarket, then back home. All in all, we probably walked about 6 or 7 miles. And I got a thorn in my foot the other day, so I skipped the run last night. =P But seriously, aside from the pollution factor, this is the healthiest I've been in a long time. The amazing food and all the walking and the urge to go run or work out...well...it's working for me!! Lol. And yes, Shannon, I actually have a tan this time. With all the time I spend walking around in the sun, it would be ridiculous NOT to.
Speaking of tans, I finally found out today that my internship in Mombasa has been confirmed!! I will be working for Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI), which is the group that provides healthcare and education to commercial sex workers on the Kenyan coast. I'm SO freakin excited!! And even though Mombasa is going to be ridiculously hot and humic, I don't care, because it looks like one of the most beautiful places on earth. I can't wait for my internship to start so I can really get a feel for work here in Kenya. AND my Swahili will really improve there. In Nairobi people speak a lot of Sheng, but the coast is where the really good, pure Swahili is spoken...the kind I've been learning. So I expect to come back knowing it pretty well.
There is some sad news unfortunately. My host mom, who I absolutely LOVE, has to go to London in a few days to see a heart specialist. She has a pacemaker and its something she manages well, but she has to go and stay there for a whole month. So I won't see her again until I come back from my internship in December. She's so wonderful and is going to let me stay in her house with my brother and Janet until I leave, but I was devastated when I found out. And worried. I'm definitely not religious, but I pray for her and her wellbeing pretty much daily. And I'm so thankful I don't have to move to another homestay. I am so settled and comfortable here that it would really suck to have to switch now. Everyone keep her in your thoughts please and wish her the best. She should be back by the end of October.
I finally started taking some pictures here in Nairobi this past weekend, so I'm going to figure out how to get those up ASAP. They're mostly of a birthday party I went to on Sunday. I've become good friends with Simon, a director in my program, and his wife and daughter. They deliver milk to my house twice a week, and I always play with Bethany, who just turned 2 last week. I think I've mentioned her before. We're besties now. :) Anyway, I was invited to her birthday party, and it was SO much fun!! There must have been at least 30 people crammed into Simon's living room--mostly kids. We ate amaaaaazing food (cabbage and chapati are definitely my new favorites!) and the kids played and played and the parents talked. I was the only white person there, so of course the kids mobbed me, as usual. But you all know I love it. :) We played with a makeshift soccer ball made of a bunched up plastic bag and some string. I took lots of pictures of the kids and they stole my camera and completely wore it out playing with it. And eating the cake was so much fun! Simon is Maasai, and apparently it is tradition for the birthday girl/boy to feed a piece of cake to close family members and friends before doling it out to everyone. She had a great time feeding us all, and I got fed too! Lol. Then its also tradition for the kids to dab the frosting on their cheeks, nose and foreheads. Of course, I got dabbed as well, and then laughed at because the pink frosting was the same color as my skin and didn't show up on me!! I had the best time, but it definitely wore me out. I came home and absolutely collapsed.
I also went to my first Baptist church on Sunday with my bro and his friends. I wasn't feeling too good at that point, so I definitely fell asleep during the service. But to be honest, it wasn't as much fun as the Catholics! The sermon was 2 hours long and mostly about evangelizing and converting others and being "saved". I wasn't too keen on the message. At least at the Catholic service they talked more about being a good person and loving your fellow man...and the music was wayyy better at the Catholic service. But I'm glad I experienced it. I would still like to go to the Quaker church down the road and to a mosque. But I'll probably wait til I'm in Mombasa and living with a Muslim family before doing that. I'm not sure if I'm actually allowed to attend.
Oh, and on Friday night the usual crew checked out a new club in a ritzy part of town called Westlands. It's supposedly where all the white people live and party, and I definitely saw some of that, but the club we went to was called Rezorus and our Kenyan friend Lisa took us (the one who's taken us out before). So it was definitely an all Kenyan club. I LOVED it and danced til 4am with Ashley, Aubrey, Andre, Lisa, etc. I did check out the club across the street called Black Diamond, but that was definitely where all the Europeans and Americans gather, so I left pretty fast. It's so funny because my mom and Aubrey's mom both say the same thing when we go out. They say, "oh girls, you're going to go shake-shake!" So that's our new favorite phrase. On Monday night, when I was feeling better and after a nice walk around the compound, I got home to find my mom having a fashion show with 3 of her friends! One of them is a part-time dealer of used clothes, so she brought over a ton of her new finds and they made me model for them. It was really fun and my mom and I had a bit of a dance party in our outfits. They told me I "shake-shake" very well, like a Kenyan! :) I liked this one outfit so much that I bought it on the spot. So there's my first purchase here in Kenya. I got some white linen pants and a matching vest and this morning I wore the pants and Aubrey's little sister told me I look very smart. So that's a plus. I didn't find anything at that used clothes market we went to yesterday, but I would rather buy Kenyan clothes than used American ones, no matter how cheap they are! So I'll probably wait til I get to Mombasa to buy anything else. That's where they have all the good kangas and Swahili dresses. It's going to be fun!
Alrighty, I better get home because it's getting late. But I promise to write again soon. This coming weekend should be a fun one, so I'll report on the various happenings ASAP.
All my love!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
i got a booboo
So I just washed my underwear in a bucket outside and managed to scrape off most of the skin on my fingers. SWEET. On the up-side, I now have clean underwear. :) Though I can't say the same of my feet, which seem to be perpetually filthy no matter how much I shower. Oh well, nobody really cares here!!
I'm taking a break from my extensive Kiswahili homework, and I think having a cyber cafe directly in front of my house will prove to be very distracting in the coming weeks. Then again, I will need the distraction because reading Ngugi wa Thiong'o in Kiswahili is VERY challenging. My pace is about a page every 45 minutes. Oy vey.
I'm taking a break from my extensive Kiswahili homework, and I think having a cyber cafe directly in front of my house will prove to be very distracting in the coming weeks. Then again, I will need the distraction because reading Ngugi wa Thiong'o in Kiswahili is VERY challenging. My pace is about a page every 45 minutes. Oy vey.
Monday, September 15, 2008
wikendi (weekend)
This past weekend has been full of excitement! Some good, some bad. To start with, on Friday night most people from my program went to a bar called Casablanca. I decided to stay in because a) I was still pretty tired from Wednesday night, and b) I didn't really want to be in a huge group of white kids. It's been so weird and awkward walking around together in Nairobi that I'd just rather keep a low profile when I'm out. 5 or 6 of us is okay, but I knew that like 20 would show up. I heard it was pretty crazy and am kind of glad I opted out. On Saturday I slept in til almost 11 (fabulous!!) then hung around the house all day. Simon came over again with his wife, Grace, & daughter and I played with Bethany (who is almost 2) for a while. She's super adorable, but speaks no English and only baby-talk Swahili, so I can't really understand her at all. But we're getting to be fast friends. :) Then I went to Uchumi (the supermarket) with my brother and his friend. I got some DESPERATELY needed conditioner and ingredients to make french toast and nutella crepes. :) Tamara, the crepes are in your honor!
Back at the compound, I hung out with Ashley and Aubrey and we walked around with like 7 or 8 of the local kids. Aubrey has 2 little siblings, and as we walked around, more and more kids joined us. We taught them the hokey pokey, and they laughed at me when I tried to learn a dance they showed us. It was really fun, but good LORD they have so much energy. When they started doing flying leaps over a barbed wire fence, I decided it was time to call it a night. We dispersed all the kids back to their respective homes, and then Ashley came over to my house to chill. We ended up playing "Kenyan poker" (which is like a combo of Uno and Crazy 8s) with my brother and like 7 of his friends and taking shots. I was up til 3am and had SO much fun. Then the next morning, I got up early to make the french toast before church. Andre came over for breakfast too, and by 11am there were probably 12 people in my living room! I made french toast for all, with cinnamon sugar on top because there's no maple syrup here, and it was a big hit. Of those 12, most of them were women from my mom's Women's Group, and they are all so strong and amazing and empowered. One of them runs a huge group in Kenya for teachers who are HIV+, providing them with support, fighting stigma, making sure their jobs are secure and that they work in areas with access to ARVs. She's incredible, and she invited me and Andre to a conference she's running next weekend for HIV+ teachers. I think it's going to be an amazing experience.
After breakfast, Andre & I met Sarah at Nakumatt Prestige (a mall) about a 45 minute walk away from our houses. They have free wi-fi there, so Andre brought his laptop and we chilled there for a while. Then we went to this gorgeous Ethiopian restaurant down near Sarah's house. That was probably another 40 minutes walk away from the mall. Once there, we had incredible Ethiopian food and sampled Ethiopian honey wine (called Tej). Overall, it was pretty cheap considering how nice of a restaurant it was. Probably $40 or something total for 6 people. Though today for lunch, we had the exact same food at a different place for about $12 total for 6 people. I wanted to grab a matatu home to save myself a bit of time, but had no idea which one to catch, so we just did the hour+ walk back. By the time I got home, I was SO exhausted that I just passed out on a chair in the living room while chillin' with my mom & her friends.
My weekend was all good, but some others were not so lucky. One girl got her backpack stolen right out from under her feet! And another guy got mugged by a gunman while getting his hair dreaded at a salon!! Luckily they were both fine. A few people on the program are sick right now, allergies & food reactions and stuff. I've been lucky so far. No problems yet! The only issue is the pollution here in Nairobi, which is making me feel like I have a cold. But anyway, I'll write again later. Gotta do my homework!
:) Alana
Back at the compound, I hung out with Ashley and Aubrey and we walked around with like 7 or 8 of the local kids. Aubrey has 2 little siblings, and as we walked around, more and more kids joined us. We taught them the hokey pokey, and they laughed at me when I tried to learn a dance they showed us. It was really fun, but good LORD they have so much energy. When they started doing flying leaps over a barbed wire fence, I decided it was time to call it a night. We dispersed all the kids back to their respective homes, and then Ashley came over to my house to chill. We ended up playing "Kenyan poker" (which is like a combo of Uno and Crazy 8s) with my brother and like 7 of his friends and taking shots. I was up til 3am and had SO much fun. Then the next morning, I got up early to make the french toast before church. Andre came over for breakfast too, and by 11am there were probably 12 people in my living room! I made french toast for all, with cinnamon sugar on top because there's no maple syrup here, and it was a big hit. Of those 12, most of them were women from my mom's Women's Group, and they are all so strong and amazing and empowered. One of them runs a huge group in Kenya for teachers who are HIV+, providing them with support, fighting stigma, making sure their jobs are secure and that they work in areas with access to ARVs. She's incredible, and she invited me and Andre to a conference she's running next weekend for HIV+ teachers. I think it's going to be an amazing experience.
After breakfast, Andre & I met Sarah at Nakumatt Prestige (a mall) about a 45 minute walk away from our houses. They have free wi-fi there, so Andre brought his laptop and we chilled there for a while. Then we went to this gorgeous Ethiopian restaurant down near Sarah's house. That was probably another 40 minutes walk away from the mall. Once there, we had incredible Ethiopian food and sampled Ethiopian honey wine (called Tej). Overall, it was pretty cheap considering how nice of a restaurant it was. Probably $40 or something total for 6 people. Though today for lunch, we had the exact same food at a different place for about $12 total for 6 people. I wanted to grab a matatu home to save myself a bit of time, but had no idea which one to catch, so we just did the hour+ walk back. By the time I got home, I was SO exhausted that I just passed out on a chair in the living room while chillin' with my mom & her friends.
My weekend was all good, but some others were not so lucky. One girl got her backpack stolen right out from under her feet! And another guy got mugged by a gunman while getting his hair dreaded at a salon!! Luckily they were both fine. A few people on the program are sick right now, allergies & food reactions and stuff. I've been lucky so far. No problems yet! The only issue is the pollution here in Nairobi, which is making me feel like I have a cold. But anyway, I'll write again later. Gotta do my homework!
:) Alana
Friday, September 12, 2008
SPARKS!
Sooooo, yesterday I was walking back home with Andre from the MSID office. This involves walking right past Nazarene College, where we have our classes. A few days ago during Kiswahili class, we saw the telephone/electric wires outside our room sparking and then the lights flickered a went completely out. A bit unsettling, but nothing happened after that. But yesterday, RIGHT as we were passing underneath those power lines, they started sparking again! I freaked out at first and Andre told me to calm down, no biggie. But then every single power line started sparking and crackling over the entire street and people were getting out of their cars and running like hell away from them!! Oh my god, I thought I was going to be electrocuted right then & there. What a crap way to die. Electrocuted in my first week in Nairobi!! We waited out the sparking storm on a grassy area in front of Nazarene, then caaaarefully made our way back home. Aaah...Kenya. :)
Oh and one of my host brothers finally came back from their rural home (did I mention this?). So even though I was completely exhausted last night, I stayed up late to watch action movies with him & the neighbors. We saw Hancock, part of Iron Man, and then I went to sleep during Dark Knight. It was really fun and I'm glad I did it, even though now I'm so tired I could pass out right here in this internet cafe!!
Also, if anyone wants to send me letters or stuff, my address here in Nairobi is:
Alana Keusch
c/o MSID Kenya
P.O. Box 66731
00800 Westlands
Nairobi, Kenya
Make sure you send it airmail, because otherwise it could take a couple months for anything to arrive! I miss you all but am settling in so so well here in Nairobi. Mama Koech continues to be amazing...I'm so lucky to have her. I can tell that this will be a relationship I keep up with for the rest of my life. The Kenyan way of life is so much slower than at home in Wisconsin or Boston. I find myself becoming very mellow with a very go-with-the-flow attitude. Things that would drive me crazy in US are like no problemo here. I loooove it. And I've heard that on the coast, life is even MORE relaxed. It's going to be really hard to re-adjust to a fast-paced life in the states!
Be safe & happy everyone! XOXO
Oh and one of my host brothers finally came back from their rural home (did I mention this?). So even though I was completely exhausted last night, I stayed up late to watch action movies with him & the neighbors. We saw Hancock, part of Iron Man, and then I went to sleep during Dark Knight. It was really fun and I'm glad I did it, even though now I'm so tired I could pass out right here in this internet cafe!!
Also, if anyone wants to send me letters or stuff, my address here in Nairobi is:
Alana Keusch
c/o MSID Kenya
P.O. Box 66731
00800 Westlands
Nairobi, Kenya
Make sure you send it airmail, because otherwise it could take a couple months for anything to arrive! I miss you all but am settling in so so well here in Nairobi. Mama Koech continues to be amazing...I'm so lucky to have her. I can tell that this will be a relationship I keep up with for the rest of my life. The Kenyan way of life is so much slower than at home in Wisconsin or Boston. I find myself becoming very mellow with a very go-with-the-flow attitude. Things that would drive me crazy in US are like no problemo here. I loooove it. And I've heard that on the coast, life is even MORE relaxed. It's going to be really hard to re-adjust to a fast-paced life in the states!
Be safe & happy everyone! XOXO
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Nairobi clubbing
So last night I went out with a few friends for our first night on the town in Nairobi. Since living with a host mom is like being back in high school again, I made sure to ask her permission first! With my freedom for the night confirmed, my neighbors Ken and Tony, and my brother Toti drove me to my friend Andre's house in another compound down the road. I was planning to just walk because it's pretty close, but it was already dark out and we live next to Kibera...this huge Nairobi slum. The guys said it wouldn't be safe even if they were with me...hence we drove. The compounds are safe inside, but we can't be out walking after dark. That will pretty much guarantee a mugging or worse. Then I chilled at Andres for while before Sarah came and picked us up in Lisa's taxi. It's typical to use just one or two specific drivers here who have decent prices & who you know a little bit. Just a good precaution considering they're not part of a taxi company per se. Lisa lives in the US but is Kenyan, so she knows things better than we do so far! With all of us finally squeezed into this tiny taxi, we drove into downtown Nairobi.
The club was in this UFO-looking thing on top of a gas station! It was reggae night, so the music was very chill but often familiar. LOVED IT. The vibe inside was so nuts--this big disco-y room with a disco ball and neon lights and a kind of planetarium thing going on with the ceiling. It was only 9:30 (still early to be out) so it was pretty empty aside from the few women already there. Sarah and I were wearing our daily conservative clothing: long skirt/anything that covers our thighs, tshirts, a sweater. But the women there were wearing an assortment of see-thru clothing, spandex miniskirts, tube tops and high heels! We didn't realize immediately that they were prostitutes! But we figured it out when they all gravitated to the two tables full of old white & asian men. We snagged a booth for ourselves and ordered a round of Tuskers, waiting for things to pick up. And wow, it REALLY picked up! By midnight the club was PACKED with people. It was mostly locals, the sex tourists, and us. We definitely stood out, but for the first time no one really seemed to notice or care...unlike in the smaller towns or when we're walking around Nairobi in a huge group. We danced for a while, and then later when we were back sitting down, the dance floor cleared and the lights went out! Then both male & female dancers came out wearing RIDICULOUS outfits (think spandex, sparkly, neon colors, REALLY revealing). They performed a few dances to songs like "Who let the dogs out?" and other random American music...and WOW their moves got pretty explicit! The girls spent most of their time with their legs wrapped around the guys' waists, gyrating to the music, crawling around...it was so nuts! Sarah got propositioned a bit later, probably the first of many. =P We danced until 3am, then found the taxi and got everyone home. Except for Sarah, who was locked out! She ended up spending the night at my house. We got to sleep at 4:30 or so, then woke up at 7:30 to get ourselves to our 8:30 class!
It was a crazy & amazing night. Perfect for our first time out. I can't wait to go out more over the next 6 weeks!! Nairobi is so fun and I love how different things are here. Everything we do and everywhere we go is new & exciting because we never know what to expect.
Until next time! Kwa heri!
The club was in this UFO-looking thing on top of a gas station! It was reggae night, so the music was very chill but often familiar. LOVED IT. The vibe inside was so nuts--this big disco-y room with a disco ball and neon lights and a kind of planetarium thing going on with the ceiling. It was only 9:30 (still early to be out) so it was pretty empty aside from the few women already there. Sarah and I were wearing our daily conservative clothing: long skirt/anything that covers our thighs, tshirts, a sweater. But the women there were wearing an assortment of see-thru clothing, spandex miniskirts, tube tops and high heels! We didn't realize immediately that they were prostitutes! But we figured it out when they all gravitated to the two tables full of old white & asian men. We snagged a booth for ourselves and ordered a round of Tuskers, waiting for things to pick up. And wow, it REALLY picked up! By midnight the club was PACKED with people. It was mostly locals, the sex tourists, and us. We definitely stood out, but for the first time no one really seemed to notice or care...unlike in the smaller towns or when we're walking around Nairobi in a huge group. We danced for a while, and then later when we were back sitting down, the dance floor cleared and the lights went out! Then both male & female dancers came out wearing RIDICULOUS outfits (think spandex, sparkly, neon colors, REALLY revealing). They performed a few dances to songs like "Who let the dogs out?" and other random American music...and WOW their moves got pretty explicit! The girls spent most of their time with their legs wrapped around the guys' waists, gyrating to the music, crawling around...it was so nuts! Sarah got propositioned a bit later, probably the first of many. =P We danced until 3am, then found the taxi and got everyone home. Except for Sarah, who was locked out! She ended up spending the night at my house. We got to sleep at 4:30 or so, then woke up at 7:30 to get ourselves to our 8:30 class!
It was a crazy & amazing night. Perfect for our first time out. I can't wait to go out more over the next 6 weeks!! Nairobi is so fun and I love how different things are here. Everything we do and everywhere we go is new & exciting because we never know what to expect.
Until next time! Kwa heri!
Monday, September 8, 2008
first entry from KENYA!
So I officially arrived in Kenya 1 week ago. After some confusion at the airport and plenty of missing bags (none of them mine! Thank God!), we all got on a rickety bus to our hostel for the night. We were exhausted, cranky and hungry! And of course, SO SO EXCITED! The hostel was very basic. It was the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya hostel just outside Nairobi. We had tea and biscuits when we arrived, got some clean clothes out and chose bunkbeds. There was also lots of laughter and confusion about the bathrooms, because they were just holes in the floor and none of us felt too skilled yet! There were no showers that I know of, so those who wanted to clean up just dunked their heads in a bucket of water and washed it off under a cold tap that we also were using as a sink. It was pretty funny :) Then the next day we woke up at 5:00 am to get ready, re-pack, and have some breakfast. We had to get into downtown Nairobi early to avoid the famous Nairobi traffic jams! We did some tedious immigration stuff & started to get to know each other a bit more. There were 37 of us at that time, mostly girls. And surprisingly, 16 of us or so are year long students! We spent the morning becoming official Kenyan residents, then had some lunch, hit a supermarket for lots of toilet paper, and headed off to Nakuru for our week-long orientation.
3+ hours later, we were in Nakuru National Park in another (VERY basic) Wildlife Clubs of Kenya facility. At least this one had normal toilets! Though by that, I don't mean they had toilet seats...or paper. Lol. It just wasnt a hole in the ground, which made life MUCH easier. We split up into bunks again, had some tea, talked some more, but pretty much just slept and ate. We were all still very jet-lagged at that point. The next day, I and a few other girls were up at 5am again, took FREEZING cold showers (there was no hot water available), then enjoyed ourselves by watching the water buffalo that had come right up to the fence surrounding our campsite! The mist was all around us and the buffalo were just grazing, must have been over a hundred of them! One very brave one came RIGHT INTO our compound, so we gave him a wide berth. No need to get gored by a buffalo on our first day. Then it warmed up, we had some breakfast, and things got going. We did some ice-breakers & worked on some assignments meant to help us prepare for our homestays, our internships, and being safe & secure during our trip. Of course we hated doing it all, but we were brought together as a group in our mutual hate of ice-breakers! :) The staff are all SO wonderful though, they made everything very easy on us. They are Simon, Jane, Khalif, and Abdul-Aziz. The girls bonded later on as we all freaked out about the gigantic black beetles that kept ending up on their backs in front of our door. And when I say gigantic, I REALLY mean it. Apparently, if they get ahold of you, they latch onto your skin and DO NOT let go. So we were pushing them around with brooms to get them away from us and our bare feet! There were also these big flying insect/wormy things that had gotten too heavy to fly. So they just buzzed around in circles on the floor and ended up in our luggage and stuff. They were disgusting and all the staff laughed at me especially cause I was running around so they wouldn't touch me or land on my feet! Jane keeps playfully threatening to catch one and put it in my bed. That night also, around 3am, Abdul-Aziz was praying outside and a lion came right up to the fence and roared at him! He FREAKED OUT and ran back inside. The lion was a frequent visitor to us in the nighttime, but luckily he never came in like the buffalo. We did see him 3 times though! We were SO lucky. We went on 3 game drives, 1 on each night, and on the 2nd one we had the most amazing luck. We saw EVERYTHING Nakuru has to offer except a leopard. I was most excited about the rhinos, which at one point we were able to get so close to that they were just maybe 10 feet away! We also saw tons of huge giraffes, zebra, hyenas, antelope, etc...Oh and at the lake, we got off the bus and walked around as hundreds of flamingos swam and flew around us. It was incredible!
On Thursday we found out where our internships were going to be and what we'd be doing. My internship is not finalized yet, however, because there were some issues & confusion sorting it out. But I should (FINGERS CROSSED) get exactly what I wanted! This is working for Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI) in Mombasa. They go into the homes of commerical sex workers & offer them the opportunity to learn a new skill so they can find another job to support themselves. It also gives them healthcare and family planning, and I think it also has started to address the issue of child sex trafficking in the area. Anyway, when I know for sure what I'm doing & where I'll be living, I'll write about it.
Saturday we left Nakuru and came back to Nairobi to finally meet our host families. I am living with the Koech family in Sunview Estates, a nice safe gated community with a few hundred houses in it. My mom is SO WONDERFUL. She has made me feel very at home & comfortable, and she is SO smart. She's a teacher, and we have been having long, interesting conversations about everything! Her husband is not around much because he works far away in Eldoret, so I haven't met him. She has 4 kids, 2 who are in the US and 2 who live here. But I haven't met those 2 yet. They have been in their rural home in the rift valley this weekend. I hope to meet them soon. But I have met some of the neighbors! There are 2 boys who came my first night, Ken & Tony. They were great and we talked for a while. And Ken was over last night and we talked for hours with Mrs. Koech, then played cards for a while. They are great, so I'm excited to meet my 2 host brothers. Also, there is a lady named Janet who works as house-help. She's very quiet, but sweet & caring. She is from Kisumu originally and has 3 children who still live there. I went to church with Mrs. Koech yesterday. She is Catholic, and she attends this HUGE church in the center of Nairobi. I really enjoyed the ceremony, especially the music, and apparently impressed Mrs. Koech with my ability to sing along & dance to the choir. I told her I had next to no experience, but just followed her as best I could! :) She is wonderfully progressive and open to everything we talk about. I know I will learn so much from her over the next few weeks.
Today was our "first day of classes" at African Nazarene University. It's nice because I am close enough to walk to campus, just 15 minutes or so. We didn't really have class, we just met our professors, then went back into downtown Nairobi to do more immigration stuff & get our cell phones (finally). It POURED today, and the streets in Nairobi don't have any grates, so the water flooded the streets really fast. It was insane! Thankfully, I and a few friends who live really close to me had already gotten on a bus to go home, so we stayed pretty dry and warm. The bus comes right in front of my Estate, so it's a nice easy trip. I'm not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow, but I cannot wait.
The other kids on the program so far are really fantastic. Its nice to be around so many people with the same interests as me. But we come from very diverse backgrounds so its still very new and interesting to talk to all of them. It's also been very useful so far to have my Swahili background. When people tried to sell me things in the market the other day, I spoke to them in Kiswahili rather than English and they left me alone after that! Not being constantly hassled to buy overpriced tourist items was SUCH a relief. And I can already tell my Kiswahili is getting better here. If I do end up in Mombasa, I think I'll be relatively well versed by the time I come home next summer!
Alright, it's time for me to go home now and get some dinner. I'll write again soon! Kwa herini rafiki zangu (goodbye my friends!).
Alana
3+ hours later, we were in Nakuru National Park in another (VERY basic) Wildlife Clubs of Kenya facility. At least this one had normal toilets! Though by that, I don't mean they had toilet seats...or paper. Lol. It just wasnt a hole in the ground, which made life MUCH easier. We split up into bunks again, had some tea, talked some more, but pretty much just slept and ate. We were all still very jet-lagged at that point. The next day, I and a few other girls were up at 5am again, took FREEZING cold showers (there was no hot water available), then enjoyed ourselves by watching the water buffalo that had come right up to the fence surrounding our campsite! The mist was all around us and the buffalo were just grazing, must have been over a hundred of them! One very brave one came RIGHT INTO our compound, so we gave him a wide berth. No need to get gored by a buffalo on our first day. Then it warmed up, we had some breakfast, and things got going. We did some ice-breakers & worked on some assignments meant to help us prepare for our homestays, our internships, and being safe & secure during our trip. Of course we hated doing it all, but we were brought together as a group in our mutual hate of ice-breakers! :) The staff are all SO wonderful though, they made everything very easy on us. They are Simon, Jane, Khalif, and Abdul-Aziz. The girls bonded later on as we all freaked out about the gigantic black beetles that kept ending up on their backs in front of our door. And when I say gigantic, I REALLY mean it. Apparently, if they get ahold of you, they latch onto your skin and DO NOT let go. So we were pushing them around with brooms to get them away from us and our bare feet! There were also these big flying insect/wormy things that had gotten too heavy to fly. So they just buzzed around in circles on the floor and ended up in our luggage and stuff. They were disgusting and all the staff laughed at me especially cause I was running around so they wouldn't touch me or land on my feet! Jane keeps playfully threatening to catch one and put it in my bed. That night also, around 3am, Abdul-Aziz was praying outside and a lion came right up to the fence and roared at him! He FREAKED OUT and ran back inside. The lion was a frequent visitor to us in the nighttime, but luckily he never came in like the buffalo. We did see him 3 times though! We were SO lucky. We went on 3 game drives, 1 on each night, and on the 2nd one we had the most amazing luck. We saw EVERYTHING Nakuru has to offer except a leopard. I was most excited about the rhinos, which at one point we were able to get so close to that they were just maybe 10 feet away! We also saw tons of huge giraffes, zebra, hyenas, antelope, etc...Oh and at the lake, we got off the bus and walked around as hundreds of flamingos swam and flew around us. It was incredible!
On Thursday we found out where our internships were going to be and what we'd be doing. My internship is not finalized yet, however, because there were some issues & confusion sorting it out. But I should (FINGERS CROSSED) get exactly what I wanted! This is working for Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI) in Mombasa. They go into the homes of commerical sex workers & offer them the opportunity to learn a new skill so they can find another job to support themselves. It also gives them healthcare and family planning, and I think it also has started to address the issue of child sex trafficking in the area. Anyway, when I know for sure what I'm doing & where I'll be living, I'll write about it.
Saturday we left Nakuru and came back to Nairobi to finally meet our host families. I am living with the Koech family in Sunview Estates, a nice safe gated community with a few hundred houses in it. My mom is SO WONDERFUL. She has made me feel very at home & comfortable, and she is SO smart. She's a teacher, and we have been having long, interesting conversations about everything! Her husband is not around much because he works far away in Eldoret, so I haven't met him. She has 4 kids, 2 who are in the US and 2 who live here. But I haven't met those 2 yet. They have been in their rural home in the rift valley this weekend. I hope to meet them soon. But I have met some of the neighbors! There are 2 boys who came my first night, Ken & Tony. They were great and we talked for a while. And Ken was over last night and we talked for hours with Mrs. Koech, then played cards for a while. They are great, so I'm excited to meet my 2 host brothers. Also, there is a lady named Janet who works as house-help. She's very quiet, but sweet & caring. She is from Kisumu originally and has 3 children who still live there. I went to church with Mrs. Koech yesterday. She is Catholic, and she attends this HUGE church in the center of Nairobi. I really enjoyed the ceremony, especially the music, and apparently impressed Mrs. Koech with my ability to sing along & dance to the choir. I told her I had next to no experience, but just followed her as best I could! :) She is wonderfully progressive and open to everything we talk about. I know I will learn so much from her over the next few weeks.
Today was our "first day of classes" at African Nazarene University. It's nice because I am close enough to walk to campus, just 15 minutes or so. We didn't really have class, we just met our professors, then went back into downtown Nairobi to do more immigration stuff & get our cell phones (finally). It POURED today, and the streets in Nairobi don't have any grates, so the water flooded the streets really fast. It was insane! Thankfully, I and a few friends who live really close to me had already gotten on a bus to go home, so we stayed pretty dry and warm. The bus comes right in front of my Estate, so it's a nice easy trip. I'm not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow, but I cannot wait.
The other kids on the program so far are really fantastic. Its nice to be around so many people with the same interests as me. But we come from very diverse backgrounds so its still very new and interesting to talk to all of them. It's also been very useful so far to have my Swahili background. When people tried to sell me things in the market the other day, I spoke to them in Kiswahili rather than English and they left me alone after that! Not being constantly hassled to buy overpriced tourist items was SUCH a relief. And I can already tell my Kiswahili is getting better here. If I do end up in Mombasa, I think I'll be relatively well versed by the time I come home next summer!
Alright, it's time for me to go home now and get some dinner. I'll write again soon! Kwa herini rafiki zangu (goodbye my friends!).
Alana
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