I'm on african time now

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Sorry it's been a while. A lot has happened. I'm on african time which is very relaxed and makes me wonder how anything gets done. But it does. Someow.

On Friday, I met another volunteer Kasey from Kansas. We hit it off immmediately and have been inseparable ever since. We spent our last weekend at the homestay and went to Carnivore Restaurant, one of the top restaurants in the world. It was delicious and quite an experience, trying exotic game meats such as ostrich meat balls and crocidile. We also met up with a Canadian and Australian who entertained us for the night. We hit a casino, bar, club and adventure all in one night. The next day Kasey and I moved to our new home, a volunteer house ( I would call it an estate because it's huge) in Kiserian, a half hour matatu bus ride from nairobi.Matatus are crazy mini buses that dont obey any rules of traffic, and are determined to get you to your destination at any cost. Monkeys chill in the road, and I swear if we ever hit one, I will never recover. I share a room with Kasey, and our other housemate is Tattiana or we call her Tanya from Russia. Tanya is not only the first Russian Ive ever met, she's the most intimidating woman i've ever met. But i love her, and also got along with her right away. International friends are the greatest. We sit around with our cook, a 20 year old Kenyan girl, Ann and we all just talk for hours.


My new clinic placement is at Saint Mary's Clinic in Ngong, which is a half hr walk from the house. It wasn't ready to recieve me yet, so I was placed in a nearby school to help out. ANd by helping I mean standing around, waving to children like im some sort of celebrity. Imagine stepping out of a car and hearing/seeing 1000 children burst into applause and then come running at you, just to touch you or shake your hand or for many, just to get a long stare. I will never get used to it.

So i helped out in the special education class, teaching them the Hoke Pokey, Heads/shoulders/knees/and toes, and Duck Duck Goose. We didnt really feel like we were helping, more providing a distraction from their studies so Kasey and I decided to take a day off and hike the seven hills of Ngong, which include a variety of terrain and hell of a lot of stamina. I about died, and wouldn't have made all seven if it wasn't for a Kenyan police guard who kept shouting at me to finish. ANd I'm glad i did because apparently few people make all seven. Just wait for the pictures, they are breathtaking.

We also met another volunteer, 20 year old Gati, who is from Kenya but her parents live in Thailand and she goes to university at DePauw in Indiana. We hit it off with her right away, and am spending the weekend at her sister's apartment.Today we are headed to Safari Sevens which is a huge international rugby tournament that lasts all weekend. Then tomorrow we will head out to Massaii Market, a huge local trade market.

I wish I could write more but there isn't enough time and these computers are so slow. BUt hey to everyone and I will definetly be returning as a different person with wider eyes and heart. Love.

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