first entry...failed first publishing...retry!

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Salama!

This time yesterday found me crashed out for what was supposed to be a quick power nap and ended up a three hour sleep session so profoundly deep I nearly thought I was paralyzed. Fortunately that was not the case, just miscommunication between my body's clocks and humanity's clocks. Today has been better so far. I had intended to lay down for a brief afternoon nap following today's adventure (details to follow) but I was deterred by the inability to find my earplugs. In my search for the earplugs, which were in the same bag as my toothbrush and toothpaste (!!!), I was unsuccessful on all three accounts. I did find my workout top which was worth all three of those things and then some.

I can't say enough how friendly people are here. I'm reminded of my mom's and my first experiences in Seattle. Shocking to all, I'm sure, I stick out just a bit as "not from here". One of the staff in the airport befriended me, obviously a bit unfamiliar with the pickup process at the arrivals area, and helped me find the correct transport. The driver for KEMRI (the organization who's hosting me) shows me all sorts of Nairobi landmarks and points of interest as we move from place to place. I do suspect that the very nice man who left his fruit stand and started jogging next to me, offering to escort me to wherever it was that I was going perhaps had ulterior motives. I told him I was just fine walking three blocks by myself but asante sana!

My first two nights in Kenya I stayed at a very posh place, The Country Lodge. $60 (American dollars) earned me access to a mini gym, a mini business center with Internet, a wonderfully quiet room with a lock box, a blue tiled bathroom, a wonderful bed, hot water on demand. All behind what seemed to me like excessive security, but now as I've wandered Nairobi a bit more, most things are behind guarded fences/gates. At first I felt very uncomfortable with the opulence of this place, but once the journey caught up with me a bit, I soon became very grateful for the shower, the bed, the peace and quiet. After my meetings yesterday afternoon at KEMRI, I thought I'd lay down for a quick nap before dinner. I tried to wake up three times but found myself only able to move my eyelids. Three hours later, dark and too late for dinner, I finished my delightful book then ran on the treadmill a bit, showered for the second time that day and fell back asleep at about 1 am, Kenya time.

Now for one third the price (still a great deal more than I had planned to pay for lodging but appreciated since this was set up for me) I am staying again behind a locked gate at Flora Hostel, run by the Consolata Sisters...yes, I'm staying in a Catholic hostel...lucky enough to have my own room with a bathroom. Lodging tends to come with at least one meal included. Flora Hostel provides three squares a day. Mass as well. I'm a bit undecided with what I should do with the cross over my bed...any thoughts?

Probably you all are more interested in my adventures. I finally got in touch with my research mentor at KEMRI at about 11 am yesterday. We were to meet at about 2:30 pm with the driver coming for me at about 2:15. Getting around in Kenya. Many people walk. The streets do not have sidewalks but people walk along any road, no matter how narrow, how fast the traffic, how rocky or muddy the terrain. Some people travel by these buses, matatus. More about those next time. Especially at night, but also at other times, one takes a taxi. KEMRI has a driver they employ who has been kind enough to ferry me twice now. He gives a great driving tour of the city and isn't opposed to side jaunts to the cash machine or to the grocery store for a drink. I am very glad that people walk. So I did as well.

I wandered into Nairobi for a few hours. I forget until I move around that Nairobi is a bit farther in the air than Seattle...like >6000 feet. My legs were feeling it. My skin is also feeling this adventure today as I somehow thought a few hours out in the sun AT HIGH NOON AT 6000 FEET was not a jaunt worthy of sunscreen. Wrong. Just the wrong choice.

The Country Lodge is on a hill overlooking Nairobi City Centre. Interestingly the Flora Hostel is three blocks down, on the same hill. I walked down into town, through Uhuru Park where a flock of ibis were playing, squawking, and bathing. Vendors selling snacks and pop were scattered throughout. Kenyans dress very well and do just about anything in their nice clothes. Many people were scattered on the grass, catching a snooze or hanging out.
I made it to the park on the site of the former American Embassy, bombed in 1998. One of the security guards there recommended a lunch spot and I got my first Kenyan meal, kabob and chapati. Please don't ask me what kind of meat was in the kebab, I'm not thinking about it. It was good and filled me until the next day. The men sitting next to me recommended the chili sauce and this salsa - esque concoction that added a lot to my kebab. I joked with them about giving the white girl the crazy hot sauce - wasn't really funny. Not funny at all. Will study Kenyan humor a bit more before I try my hand at it.

I wound my way around for three hours and made my way back to my hotel without consulting my map once! After my meeting, the rest of my day consisted of sleeping, a brief stint on the treadmill while I could, a shower and then more sleeping.

Today, I moved to my new location for the next ten days and took off with Peter, my driver, to see animals. We went to an elephant orphanage which takes baby elephants orphaned by poachers, natural disasters, but usually encounters with humans and raises them. This is a twenty or so year process. The gentleman giving the talk was so patient. There were easily over one hundred tourists here, of all nationalities, mostly who just wanted to touch the elephants and would scream at their every move. He just waited while everyone freaked out and then kept going. Each baby has it's own "human mother" (the humans get to work in shifts) who works one on one with the elephant and is with it at all times for the first two years or so. After they start to get their tusks (>2 yrs old) they transition away from the orphanage to a bigger environment with other elephants, some wild but mostly older orphans where they start to learn group dynamics. Apparently it takes nearly fifteen years for the elephants to really start to have a sense of themselves as elephants. Fascinating. No, I did not adopt the entire pack, although I was tempted. Fostering an elephant costs $50 ... fifty american dollars and is tax deductible.

Then I did a walking safari in Nairobi National park and saw lions, cheetahs, wildebeest, crocodiles, hyenas, tortoise, impala, gazelles and other big game. Not so many birds as I was hoping for. This area was basically a zoo with large open areas for the animals rather than cages. A good intro...a good cause.

Remind me to tell you all about Kenyatta Market next time.

Well, I should wrap up. I'm surprised at how tired I get just by heading out for a single adventure. I'm also thinking of Jessie and Jared and Lexi especially today. Some of my best memories of Lexi are out adventuring...I think she'd fit in here better than I, but she definitely wouldn't have liked the plane flight one bit.

I hope to be rid of this nasty jet lag soon. Enjoy the pictures!

Until next time,

Love Em

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