Blogs from Kenya, Africa - page 248

Last week I was in Nairobi for a Technology conference. It was pretty uneventful but nice to be able to catch up with a lot of other volunteers. This week I'm back at site busy writing funding proposals. I have a temporary roommate which is nice because I was beginning to get a little lonely living by myself. She'll only be here for nine weeks and most of that time I'll be traveling so the arrangement worked out well for both of us. Tommorrow a few other volunteers are coming to visit and we are all going out dancing. Saturday we are going to Nairobi for the 4th of July party but on by the embassy. It should be a lot of fun. They have a soccer tournament too and I think we are going to ... read more

Well climbing the mountain was a lot of fun. It took us about an hour to climb up it and another two hours to walk around the crater and another 45 minutes to get back down. It is actually a volcanic crater that has been dorment for some time but it was cool because you could see the the steam rising from certain parts. Our Halloween party at the center was a lot of fun. It was nice to stay there overnight and be able to use "real" bathrooms. I am covered with bug bites though I think from planning manhunt. This Friday we find out where our sites will be and I'm pretty excited to be almost done with training. Nov 9th I finally found out what my placement will be I'll be doing microfinance ... read more

Now that we're back in Nairobi, it doesn't seem as daunting the second time. Except that when we got off the bus, Mike almost let himself get pissed off at a relentless, harassing taxi driver. My approach now? Say nothing and just look at them. Or turn and respond with, "Blah, blah, blah!" Not worth my energy anymore to get baited into a fight. Leaving Arusha was tough but tougher still because I caught a cold which became full-blown by the time the bus ride was over. There was a memorable highlight at the border stop: I became most interesting, as my hair got the full attention of a young Maasai guy who spent a good amount of time touching it and examining how it works. I love Maasai areas. The people are so interested in ... read more

Matatu = white minivan fitted with fourteen seats to accommodate thirty-five Africans + their babies, baskets, chickens and fish. After deciding it didn't feel right to trek Mt. Kenya in Nanyuki, we took the big bus to Nairobi! Big, notorious city. We made it very quickly to the nearby guesthouse, matatus everywhere! Everyone told us it's dangerous but it's clear now how really lawless it is. Police can be quite corrupt and don't work at all on Sunday(!) No respectable Kenyan is on the street then. After many warnings from the staff and horror stories of being mugged from other guests, we clenched our teeth to venture out for beer and Indian food. Turns out EVERYTHING'S closed on the weekends and we may have to stay til Monday - get me out! Bright side - we ... read more

This morning we headed out for a quick safari, going to be the last of the trip. The days just disappeared so quickly. We continued to keep an eye out for the reclusive rhinocerous still missing from the big five list but had to do with some antelopes and waterbuck instead. When we returned to the camp we packed our gear into the cars and prepared for the drive back to Nairobi. At this point a lot of the people wanted a group photo taken and we lined up like a school photograph while people dashed to the cars to collect their cameras. As we kept standing there our guide taking one picture after the other in the stark sunshine I suddenly started to feel a bit dizzy. The next thing I know I wake up ... read more