"Or you can herd a lion..."

This weekend has been nothing short of life-changing.

Not in the sense that I now know what I want to do with my life, or that saw my life flash before my eyes and everything became clear.

No, it was life-changing because everything I did was something new. Everywhere I went, was authentic. Everything I saw was beautiful and different and interesting and genuine.

It was happiness. Even though I spent the majority of my time among people living in extreme poverty. Their essence was intoxicating. You can’t help but smile with every part of your being.

Anyway. Today the entire AU abroad group crowded into the bus that we traveled in during orientation (driven by Evans) and traveled down to a Maasai Village. There, we were greeted by the village chief, Chief Joseph. He came to us by pikipiki (motorcycle) it was quite the entrance. We trekked through the bush for a little bit. There, we learned how to make a toothbrush out of a twig (who needs dentists…[kidding daddy]). We also saw where the warriors camp out when they are out hunting or while they are fulfilling their ritual of becoming a man (you can herd a lion or do something else that I can’t remember).

We also visited Chief Joseph’s church, talk about Christian love.

Then....

Yes! Giraffes (more photos at the end). Chief Joseph took us "herding for giraffes." Steven, Margaret and Joseph surrounded the little herd and ran towards them -- the giraffes then came towards us! It was amazing. Honestly, a dream come true. All of these tall blondes just hanging out, roaming the same terrain. It was amazing. 

After we travelled to Joseph's home where we drank some tea and browsed (and purchased) some Maasai jewelry.

Maasai Land

After donating maize to the village (picture courtesy Quinn L's camera). 

Maasai beaded work (photo by Quinn L)

Group with Maasai 

Giraffes!

Giraffes!

Chief Joseph getting off his pikipiki

siku ya ajabu (a wonderful day)

I have erased three sentences while trying to express how wonderful today was. 

Today was wonderful.

Quinn (L) was invited to a football match in Kibera by Boneface, one of the men we met a couple of weeks ago, so a bunch of us decided to tag along and journey out to the match with her. 

Eventually, we think, we will get use to the concept of kenyan time. Boneface said he would meet us at the KenCom bus station at noon -- it was more like 1pm. The match was supposed to begin at 2:30pm, it finally started around 5pm -- just in time for us to leave, sadly. 

Boneface (yes, that is his name) is one of the assistant coaches - so before we went to the football field, he took us to his house (a small room where he had a freezer, some chairs, a bed, a tv -- it was very nice) and showed us the trophies and medals his teams have won in the past. We then went to ICA - where we had meet a bunch of guys when we previously toured Kibera, and caught up with them. 

We all ended up going to the match.

I think the pictures i'm going to post will explain the rest.

the football field

Crista and kids

the loved getting their picture taken and then looking at the digital camera screen

They also loved braiding hair and their braids were incredibly good

this little girl was incredibly shy, but still wanted to be around everyone. and she is gorgeous

sunglasses were a big hit

as was my watch

All of us with Boneface's football team

 “The whole slum seemed to spring into action, with men, women and children grabbing buckets, oil tins, battered yellow jerry cans — anything to carry the spilled fuel. Even minibuses raced in from miles away, looking for free gas, a small godsend in a place where most people are jobless and live in rusty metal shacks that rent for $25 a month.”

As hundreds descended to the body of water where a tanker had begun to leak barrels of oil into a ravine in the Sinai the Lunga Lunga industrial area, the water and air exploded.

“The BBC's Kevin Mwachiro says a cigarette butt is believed to have started the fire”

It is also speculated that the sparks from the constantly burning trash throughout the city perhaps ignited a river of fire.

I wouldn’t have known anything was wrong if it wasn’t for a text message that my program director sent us at 2:45, advising us to avoid the southern part of the Nairobi.

People were just going on with their day – I assume that most people were completely unaware as they rode matutus, drank a tusker or just sat around the city center. There were no news reports blaring from store front radios, or no news coverage with masses of people huddling around the glowing screen.

No one speculated a bombing, no one thought terrorism – it was a cig or some trash that ignited a flock of people who were attempting to obtain a resource that is arguably essential. As the quote from the NYT stated, there are no jobs, there are even fewer opportunities and free fuel held endless possibilities.

Once the fire began, people ran into the oil drenched water to escape the flames.

There was a preschool that was devastated in the explosion.

and to think people have always thought Nairobi to be blessed in a sense because oil hasn't been discovered there yet. 


"People were scooping fuel from the leaking pipeline when the explosion happened. They would not have been doing that if Sinai was a well-built area and its residents had decent jobs."

kind of makes you hate the power of petroleum.

kickin it in Kenya

Mambo!

Not much has happened in the last few days – with classes starting and all of us attempting to adapt to life as a student with a 2+ hour commute too and from school, we have had little to no energy to do much more than eat and sleep when we finally get home from school.

However, on Friday we were placed with our internships! I will be interning with Amani Ya Juu. Amani Ya Juu means “higher or heavenly peace” in Swahili. It is a sewing-marketing-training project for women who have been marginalized because of war or internal conflict in their native countries. The organization gives women a chance to improve their skill training to make a living. It also serves a dual purpose in helping woman “sow seeds of peace in the hearts of the women as they grow in the community and their faith together.” There are Christain themes to the organization.

I am incredibly excited – and did I mention that it is only a 25 min walk from my apartment? And a 5 min walk from the AU office where we take classes? Most of the other students will travel on 2 matatus and for possibly more than 2 hours. I am quite luckily and also very excited! I start in a 2 weeks.

Yesterday (Friday) after Swahili we all went on a Scavenger Hunt around Nairobi. I was in a group with Crista and Ashley. However, it ended up being Katie, Quinn, Quinn, Kara, Margaret and the three of us. It felt like we walked 15 miles. We got slightly lost while leaving Westlands (where we live) and when we finally found where we were, we discovered we had walked to town! Normally, we take a 15 min bus ride to get there. It was quite the adventure. We had to take pictures of the places we went – some of which we could not actually take pictures of bc it was against the law – so we were sneaky.

The weather has been kind of chilly, but the sun peeks out every so often.

girls hanging out outside the National Theater 

Just another day, walking on the highway

bus we took during orientation (sorry about the delay in posting it)

murals by a view of the great rift valley, also during orientation

2 of my roommates, ashley (left) and Jess

our kitchen!

just hanging out

My bed!

Well, the last two days have truly opened my eyes to what my experience in Kenya will be like. However, I accept that I am still perhaps a bit jaded in my interpretation of the events that have occurred.

I had my first day of school on Monday. Besides the 30 min walk from my apartment to the office where the class is held – the class was incredibly enjoyable. Fred, our instructor is easy to understand and quite amicable. I think for the first time ever, I will enjoy a language course.

Upon the conclusion of Swahili – we ventured out to the matatu stop – boarded a 48 and made it to our stop for the USIU bus in impecible time. We were told the bus would be there at 9:30am. 9:30 came and passed, no bus. Then 10, no bus, then 10:30, no bus. Mind you all, I have class at 11 and it is a 40 min ride to USIU. Finally at 11, the bus came. I have never appreciated that AU shuttle more.

I was convinced our bus was going to tumble into a ravine for the first 10 mins of our bus ride – we didn’t, but we almost get stuck on a speed bump. But, Welcome to Kenya.

When I made it to my first class, the professor asked if we were lost and let us sit down as he continued to lecture. Little did I know that I would have this professor for both of the classes I am enrolled in at USIU. The 2^nd class was “History of Kenya.” In his introductory lecture, not once did he mention Kenya. He talked about Spain and the Muslims, Booker T. Washington and how he supported slavery and segregation and how the US had the first slaves, etc etc. So, that was shocking. The majority of the notes I took included question marks and doodles of confused faces.

Again, welcome to Africa. It is all part of the experience.

I won’t bore you with the rest of the details, but it took Katie, Ashley, Kara and I an hour to find a matatu home, and then had to rush home through the less than safe area we commute through after a meeting at the AU office. A white man, who was clearly from the area, saw us twice and asked us if we were lost.

But abroad is about experiences like this. I can laugh about it now.

Today (the  6^th) has been my favorite day of the trip thus far. We toured Kibera in small groups of 2 or three with members of an NGO that is located in the settlement. For the first time this trip, I felt like I was actually interacting with locals and improving my perception of what Kenya and Nairobi has to offer me. Our guide was Steve, a resident of Kibera and he escorted us around a section of Kibera. He showed us where he lived with this parents, 2 brothers and 2 cousins. They are fortunate and have 3 different rooms to conduct everyday business in their home. As I sit here writing this, I have yet to fully justify writing about my interpretation of Steve's life. Here I am, writing about how basic needs are met and yet how from my interpretation, there is a necessity for more. I believe that I will continue to struggle with my constant analysis of what is vital and what is lacking. 

Anyway.

Everywhere you turned, the most adorable children squeaked, “HOW ARE YOUUU?” or “HOW ARE OOOOO,” or "OW ARR OUUU" (the younger children merely mimicked the sounds of the older children), with huge smiles on their faces and anticipation for our reply. At times, we were followed by small clusters of children. It just warmed every part of your body. You forgot that you were in a slum. All you could see were these children’s faces, looking up at you and smiling like that was the only thing that mattered. Regardless of the litter and sewage that coated the dirt roads, these children still smiled.

There is an unexplainable joy in that. An unexplainable sensation of serenity that removes you from the struggle of entropy that surrounds you. They are an oasis.

We then had the (illegal) pleasure of crowding onto a bus and jamming out to some of the best rap songs of the 90's, 2000's and today while we battled Nairobi traffic. 

Though the commute is long and there is mud splattered on my legs and caked on my shoes - each day renders a new perspective, a new appreciation and even though perhaps the same amount of apprehension, I am transforming and I am adapting. 

And that is all I can ask for -- and that is all I really want.

Kibera (we were not allowed to take pictures, so this is from google - original photos to come)

baby on a motorcycle -- cutest thing ever

Wake up in the morning...

So today (Sunday) is the first day we have completely free. At the moment, I am the only one awake (shocking, i know). Our plans include: going to the grocery store, buying Ashley a modem and than cooking for ourselves for the first time in a week. Since our knowledge of Kenyan cuisine is still quite limited, we plan on having a nice mixture of what we have learned how to cook in Kenya and what we normally cook in the US. Perhaps as my affinity with Kenya and it's cuisine grows, the Kenyan cuisine will become more prominent in my cooking than any other variety of food.

We woke up yesterday and walked to the office where we will be taking Swahili and our Politics and Culture classes. It was about a 20-25 minute walk, which is something that I will have to keep in mind when those urges to hit the snooze button undoubtedly arise. It wasn't a bad walk - though we do walk down a closed road and across a make shift bridge in a ditch -- welcome to Nairobi. My feet are going to be perpetually dirty these next four months.

Following our time at the office, we took a matatu to where we will pick up our USIU buses following or monday/wednesday classes. We then ventured around the city -- visiting the site of the 1998 bombing of the US embassy and the KICC building (the Kenyatta International Conference Center) where there was a great peripheral view of the city (pictures to come). Eventually we made our way to the Maasi market. Since we had been up since 7am and it was now 3pm, very few of us had the energy or were in the mood to be followed around and hassled by merchants, however we all bargained a little. I have no doubt that I will return there many times once I am more familiar with the city and what things should cost.

It is nice to have today off -- especially since we start classes tomorrow. I am both excited and nervous, as I seem to be for most things in this country. I guess that is the experience, that is the point. The unknown is suppose to challenge your conception of who you are and what you can do.

I can't even being to describe the emotions I go through each day. I am awakened by a jogoo (rooster) each morning -- it starts squawking at 5 in the morning, even though the sun doesn't come up until 6:30. Kenyans also start their day's early -- I can hear the people who live below me enjoying brekky on their balconies and separate kitchens.

The apartments are beautiful - and having the cleaning ladies come in each day to clean them is nice -- though I am still getting used to coming back and having my bed re-made and my things in different places.

There is just a different way of life here - perhaps that is where the most difficulty adjusting will come from. The concept of "kenyan time" is refreshing (that of tardiness not being an issue) however that means everything takes THAT much longer.

A commute lasts more or less 1.5 hours -- no matter what the distance -- and nothing is overly far. The concept of fresh air in Nairobi does not exist, petrol and body odor act as the outdoor scent. And the most extreme poverty mets you at every turn and every stretch of land.

You can't help but feel helpless -- yet invigorated.

Internet, finally

Habari!

Though I have been in Kenya for practically 5 days now, I just now have stable enough internet to use this abroad blog. Before I was able to steal wireless from the apartments surrounding mine, however the signal was weak and I was only able to log-in to one website at a time and it was incredibly slow. Kenyans don't really use routers, instead they use individual modems -- like the ones you see business men using in airports. They are like giant USB ports, so -- that is what i bought and am now using! It was 19,000 shillings, which is 20 dollars, and than unlimited internet is 30 dollars a month -- however calling on my nokia cellphone -- that resembles my first cellphone, is only 3 cents a minute to the USA, while it is 10 cents a minute to Uganda.

Enough about that. Due to Irene, 6 of the 16 people in the program were delayed in arriving, three came last night/this morning and three will come tonight (friday night). They missed our orientation in Nivasha -- a lake area where they are one of the largest exporters of roses in the world.

I won't rehash the same details as I did in the first email I sent.

Today we had our first trip to Nairobi -- it is unlike any city I have ever been to. The amount of pollution and people and lack of driving skills is indescribable. You tempt fate every time you have to cross the 4+ lane high way where cars drive on all sides of the street. Today, while we were on our way to USIU (where we will take some of our classes) our taxi realized he was on the wrong ramp and turned around and drove off of it -- while incoming cars/matatus (mini buses) dodged and honked at us. It is better to look out the window instead of straight ahead.

We toured the USIU campus, it is quite pretty. The State Department has built them a new library and it is absolutely gorgeous, so I look forward to utilizing that. I will be able to talk more about USIU once I begin my classes on Monday (bummmmer.)

We then went to "town" which is what they call the city center of Nairobi. The air quality is so poor that you often find yourself holding your breath or coughing if you breath in too much. I will have to carry my inhaler with me at all times, which probably isn't a bad idea to begin with. There is litter everywhere -- it is unfortunate that the beauty of the country cannot be extended into the city -- it is truly lost once you enter the city limits, you wouldn't think that you are in a lovely mountainous region where there are zebras and giraffes roaming in the wild.


Our days are packed with so many activities, that by the end of the day, we are all exhausted. However we still manage to enjoy a few Tuskers (kenyan beer) and have wonderful conversations. Tonight we made authentic kenyan food -- Chipata (which is kind of like a pita/tortilla flat bread, Ugali -- which is impossible to explain but is a maize flour mixture that you pick up food with -- i get to eat with my hands, fruit salad and other varieties of food that I can't remember the name of but will tell you when I remember.

We have all early mornings here -- i have to be out of my apartment by 7:30 am -- quite the change from my usual wake-up calls.

I am happy here.

 view of the great rift valley

 billboard sponsored by the flower farm we visited

 clothes being cleaned at the government hospital

baboon!