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Africa » Kenya » Nairobi Province
June 11th 2009
Published: June 11th 2009
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Well I'm not writing from London, but Kenya was a former British territory so I'm not too far off. alas let me tell my British adventure.
As most of you know, I put on a British accent on frequent occasion. Well while in the UK I decided to try it out and see if it's as good as I think it it. Turns out, I'm awful. Just plain awful. So I have vowed to stop trying to pretend that I'm British from now on, but when I get back we'll see how long that lasts, as long as any real Brits aren't around.
Anyways, I got on the first flight I tried for and arrived in England at about 6:00 a.m. I flew business class and I must say, once you flown upper class it's hard to fly anything but. I had a chair that reclined all the way to a supine position ( sorry for the nursing terminology- supine is lying down), my own menu for dinner and breakfast, the infamous hot towel, and so on. Well thank god for the woman next to me, Linda or I would have been so lost, like Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer when he flies first class. After I arrived, I was confused at the directions I had been given for the family I would be staying with, that Linda, my flight buddy decided to take me to her cottage south of London, while I made some calls and figured everything out. You see, there are still nice people in the world.
So after taking a train back to London, and then riding the Tube to the Hainalt station, I lugged my very heavy suitcase for a ten minute walk to the Richson Family House. The Richsons are fellow Couchsurfers who were lovely enough to offer me food and shelter for my London stay. They include Sarah (mom), Lydia (niece) and her children Lewis (15), Weljah (10) and and Abigail (5). They were so welcoming towards me that I instantly felt like a part of the family, and we all even slept in the same room most nights. They showed me around East London, went on a picnic, did a little shopping where Sarah bought me my first pair of Wellingtons (we americans call them rainboots)in exchange for the three pairs of Payless shoes I had brought them from america. Did I mention that they are Kenyan? So the entire week they prepped me on what to expect in Kenya, how to dress, a few words in Swahili to know, and Lydia, whom I got along with extremely well told me about Kibera, which is where I would be working. At one day in the week, I met up with a friend from high school, Jordana and spent the day and night with her and her friends while she showed me the downtown London area, and the week would not have been complete without the Euro trash club night! It was fun hanging out with Jordana, knowing someone in a foreign land, and catching up on all the high school gossip. We had a little picnic, saw the sights, she took me to her friend's birthday party, where I met some of the most interesting people my age, I think I will ever meet, and of course- the night ended at a a Euro Trash club and a early morning cab ride. Typical European night.
And the next day I did what any Harry Potter fan would do, I headed over to King's Cross, ran to Platform 9 2/4 and yes I searched for the Leaky Cauldron but was unsuccessful in my attempt. Next time.

And so after a lovely time in the Uk, I set off for Cairo very early in the morning, and after barely making my flight, who knew public transportation was so unreliable after growing up in Chicago? I arrived safely in Nairobi Sat. morning.

I must say that I was pretty pleased with the success of my couchsurfing, not only did I get room board and food for the week, but I met a great family and I hope some lifetime friends. They gave me numbers for people to call In kenya for any situation I might think to encounter. So therefore I am xtremely grateful for the Richson family and look forward to my next CS experience.



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