Day 1 of Class, Transportation and Food

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Today was the first day of class. We had approximately 4 hours of Kiswahili. Even though we didn't learn a lot, it still seemed overwhelming. So far I know how to greet other individuals upon first meeting them. We also had a class in country analysis, where we get a deeper understanding of how the political science of Kenya works. I walk to class daily with other students that live near me and it takes us approximately 45 minutes. At first it seemed like a long distance but since we have been doing it now for 4 days it is a lot easier and good exercise. The main forms of transportation (besides walking) are buses and matatos. Matatos are faster; however, they do not always take you to your assigned locations. For example, if there is traffic the matato may skip its stop to avoid getting stuck. Matatos are elaborately decorated and usually blare load music. I have only ridden on the matato once since coming here thus am not yet comfortable riding it alone. Buses are slower but they reach each stop.
We have breakfast and dinner with our host families and lunch with students at restaurants near our school. My host family is pretty relaxed and my host mom Rose has told me that I should feel free to eat when I am hungry, since there is no designated dinner time. Most of the other students in my program, however, have more formal eating habits and eat together at diner with their host families. For breakfast I typically have chai and toast. There is a daily tea break during class because people in Kenya love drinking tea. My host mother has made me some really good vegetarian foods, mostly consisting of stews and rice. Ugali is also a popular dish I have had numerous times, which is like mashed potatoes but is made out of flour. Overall, the food has been satisfying even though sometimes my choices are limited.

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