January 1 & 2, 2011 - The Last Days

January 1st 2011 - Happy New Year!!

I woke up at 8am to call Ramsy back home (it was just midnight there) to wish him a Happy New Year!  Then dragged my bones out of bed at 10am and headed for the pool and beach.  I grabbed a chair by the pool and could see the ocean just a few feet away, such an amazing view.  Today is all about relaxing.  Spending a few hours by the beach with Michele & Emily in the sun & having lunch.  Then I had a massage at 3pm before showering and getting ready for dinner.

The contrast between Mombasa, the project and these resorts is incredible.  I've never experienced such poverty or such luxury and so close together.  I guess this is common in other resort/tourist areas & countries, but after actually living with and spending time with the kids, it's hard to not feel bad about spending so much (which is really not much in our terms) money on a resort like this.  We went from being 1 of 5 "mzungus" (white people) to being the majority, except for staff.

Meri, Michele & Emily and I relaxed by the pool & the ocean.  Enjoyed some delicious cocktails and met some interesting guests at the hotel pool bar.  We enjoyed an evening drink at the "swing bar" and watched the sunset.  We enjoyed a buffet dinner at the hotel & then the rest of the girls headed back to Mombasa.  Meri's flight for London was leaving at 6:30am the next day.  I headed back to the room & slept in AC for the first time in weeks!

January 2nd, 2011 - Had breakfast & enjoyed a few hours by the pool before heading to the airport.  George (our cab driver) picked me up and we headed to Moi International Airport.  The airport is all "open air" so it's HOT!  I'm looking forward to not sweating like a pig every single day, regardless of the amount of energy I exert.  The heat is truly exhausting!  My flight layed over at Kilimanjaro, it was SO cool to fly above the mountain & actually see the peak from above the clouds!  Arrived in Ethiopia and upgraded to first class for my flight home (through Italy).  I watched some soccer in the first class lounge during my layover and enjoyed some tea & snacks.

I'm getting excited about returning home.  Looking forward to a real shower, where I can open my mouth & use hot water if I want, brush my teeth with tap water, have a salad & feel cold, not having to apply 3 layers of sunblock & bug repellent several times a day!  Although, I will miss the always interesting (& always good music) matatu rides, the New Hope kids, the friendly people of Kenya, Angela's chapati (yumm!) and just the "feel" of Africa.

This had been probably the most amazing and meaningful trip I've ever taken.  I honestly believe that I learned more from the kids at New Hope than they learned from me.  It's been eye opening.  The little things we take for granted are often so important to others.  I plan to continue to support the school and the kids by donating school supplies and anything else they might need.  They love school so much and only want to continue their education.  In the US kids dread school and take it for granted.  In Kenya, these kids would do just about anything to continue on through highschool.  And I believe it's an opportunity that they deserve.

December 31, 2010

New Years Eve & our last day at the project!  I started to teach Alice & some of the girls how to use the sewing machine.  Until it stopped working!  Couldn't figure out what the issue was, so Violet is going to have the tailor look at it on Monday.

After lunch the pizza's arrived & Violet took some of the kids into the other room for a few minutes.  We weren't sure what they were doing.  Then we all gathered in the computer room and the children took turns dancing and singing for us.  It was so amazing & very sweet.  A few of the boys got up and said a few words about our time here & it was very touching.  They made posters for each of us with messages & beaded bracelets they made.  We each said a few words & then it was time to head home.  It was a pretty sad goodbye, even though we'd only spent two weeks with them.  They kept asking when we were coming back to visit.  I'd love to go back & see them again one day....

I got back to the house, packed up the rest of my things & grabbed a taxi to the resort.  I had booked 2 nights at a resort right on the Indian Ocean for my final 2 nights in Kenya.  And it is AMAZING! Like nothing I've ever seen before.  Beautiful gardens & palm trees with monkeys running around, pools overlooking the ocean and adorable bungalows.  NYE dinner was a HUGE feast, literally 3 huge rooms filled with different foods and desserts.

I headed south to Mombasa beach to meet the rest of the volunteers for our NYE celebration.  It was PACKED!! the NYE tradition in Mombasa is to attend beach parties & stay until morning.  They set up stages for music and bars all along the beach.  I got back to the hotel around 3:30am.

December 30, 2010

Angela made us "African pancakes" this morning & they were delish!  They were sort of like a thick crepe.  Then I met Lucy (our in-country contact) at 9am to go buy a sewing machine for the school.  It cost about 13,000 shillings, but will help them be able to mend their own clothes instead of paying the tailor to do it.

The girls took my braids out today.  There were probably 10 girls all unbraiding at once & it still took over an hour!  My head is super itchy & crazy frizzy.  Note to self: while the braids were cool, don't ruin your hair again! :)  The floors in the new bedrooms are finished, just waiting on them to dry!

We stopped at Lucy's flat for some traditional Kenyan tea (tea, milk & water all boiled together) and also some traditional sweet potatoes.  The sweat potatoes were totally different than those in the US, but tasty!

The tuk tuks in Old Town

After school I headed down to Old Town alone, to pick up the bracelets I had made with mine, my sister & my nieces names in them.  I stopped in a shop and the owner asked if I would trade my pink Nalgene water bottle for something in his store. He said he wanted to be able to bring fresh water from home with him & anything that says "Made in the USA" is coveted.  I traded it for a Masai painting and a wooden keychain for my brother.  I did end up paying about $12 for everything in addition.  I bought a few more items & then grabbed a tuk tuk for a ride home.  The guy tried to charge me 100 shillings (when it's really only 50) and I laughed at him & said, "good try! I'll give you 50, now let's go!".  He laughed and said, ok!

December 29, 2010

Another day at the project & the kids want to play cards!  We sat on a mat under the mango tree and played "Go Fish" and "House" for several hours.  Jimmy & Jack collected banana peels and we fed them to both of the cows.  These two boys (twins who were born premature & are very small for their age) are adorable.  They are very shy at first, but once they open up are so much fun.

We headed over to the new bedroom building to check out the progress.  Meng & I had donated just under $400USD to have the floors poured and everything ready for the kids to move in.  That way they will have separate bedrooms from their classrooms.  They've started to cement some of the floor and they should be finished pouring by the end of the day tomorrow.  Hilary, one of the older boys, is heading to boarding school in February and scored the highest on their national testing. 

We walked down to Old Town & Fort Jesus but decided to bypass the tour.  It was going to cost us 800 shillings (tourist price).  It was 200 shillings for everyone else.  Usually places will give breaks to volunteers but not here!  So we decided to shop for souvenirs at the gift shops instead.  We haggled and bargained and got some really great deals.  I spent approximately $50 on ALL of my gifts for friends/family.

There was a young man who was sort of "following" us from shop to shop.  Saying he didn't want money, he was only trying to "help".  It was quite odd.  We thought maybe he was communicating to the shop owners about things we'd already negotiated?  We're still not sure, but it was a little odd.

Definitely starting to feel sad that my time is almost up here.  I'm really going to miss the kids and the excitement of the city.  But I'm also excited to get back home too.

December 28, 2010

I can't believe we only have 3 days left at the project & 4 days left in Mombasa.  Seems like we've finally gotten the flow of life here.  Although, despite what everyone said, the heat is still unbearable!

I got to the project & Jimmy & Jack were immediately asking, "where are the cards?!".  We played lots of "Go Fish" and then they taught me a game called "AK47" although I'm still not sure how to win!  I taught some of the older boys a simplified version of blackjack.

We took all 33 children, plus 7 volunteers & 3 teacher to the beach today, in only 2 matatus.  There were 14 people in the first & about 30 in the second one!  Kids were piled 3 high!  Michele & I took a ride on the beach camel.  His name was Jack & he did NOT want to sit down & let us off!  The kids absolutely loved the beach.  Some played in the water, a group of girls completely covered themselves in sand & then chased eachother around & some of the older boys played a soccer game. 

We arrived at the beach with 33 kids and several adults, but it was like nothing I'd ever seen.  We picked a spot to set our stuff down & then the kids scattered in every direction.  Kids here are much more free to roam without parents always over their shoulders ensuring they don't "get in trouble".  And the kids are all so well behaved.  I'm not sure how they rounded them all up at the end of the day, but they all arrived at home safely.

Heading to Casablanca's (a dance club) with Meng, Meri, Michele, & Emily (all volunteers) and also 2 Joys, Janice, & Sam (all friends of Meng's homestay father, Andrew who was also with us).  The music was GREAT! A really interesting mix of western hip hop and local music.  EVERYONE stared at us when we started dancing, but we've kind of gotten used to the staring everywhere we go.  The DJ joined us and did his best to teach us some dance moves.  We danced & danced & danced.  Joy showed us some different types of tribal dances, it was really fun.

Apparently below the Casablance is "Club Casanova" which has a "live sex show" along with a strip club.  We did not attend, but it was interesting that this was an acceptable form of entertainment and not hidden at all.

On the walk home Sam professed his love for Meri and I'm pretty sure he proposed as well, it was quite a spectacle.  But very sweet! :)

December 27, 2010

Another day at the project.  I think the kids are starting to get bored with us.  The novelty has worn off! :)  Our trips to/from the project have become pretty uneventful and routine.  The matatu is almost relaxing.  Although the little children yelling "how are you!" is still quite entertaining!

Construction has begun on the upper walks of the school, thanks to Michele and Meri's donations.  Children from the school and neighborhood have begun showing up to help carry bricks and shovel sand. 

Over the weekend they slaughtered a cow for Christmas.  The pictures were pretty gruesome, but they ate well all weekend.

I'm still getting lots of questions about Barack and promised to send the older boys some t-shirts and books when I got home.  We asked the older boys of the school what they would like/need with the extra donation money.  They said they would like bookbags and notebooks!  These kids love school!

Emily (volunteer from Wisconsin) has arrived from London.  She's about 10 days late due to the snow!

Thoughts:

LOTS of good music everywhere, in the matatu's, coming from the shops, etc.  I have not watched TV since I've been here & the only thing I'm missing is football updates!  Which Ramsy has been so kind as to give to me when I call! :)  I am sooooo looking forward to not having to lather up in sunscreen & bug repellent several times a day!

December 24th, 25th & 26th, 2010

December 24, 2010 - Happy Christmas Eve!
Well it's Christmas Eve and we're leaving for our Safari at 7am!  We headed out of Mombasa on the Mariakani Highway, which is a 4lane (2 each way) highway that heads towards Niarobi.  Alice (our in-country contact for i-to-i) and her 9DAY old baby, Niyla decided to join us.  Along with our guides, Anna and Robert (R.Kelly on the two way radio!) Anna's 2 daughters, a woman and her 3year old son (I believe named Didi?) and another woman.  I've obviously forgotten their names!

Our first stop was at Tsavo East on our way through to the lodge.  We saw warthogs, impala, giraffe & elephants.  We also spotted a cheetah, but unfortunately my eyes were better than my camera & the photos aren't great. :(  We arrived at the lodge, had lunch and a shower and then headed out for a 4pm afternoon/evening game drive.

We stayed at the Red Elephant Lodge.  They had a nice buffet of food and it was quite an ordeal ordering a bottle of wine!  It was a screw top bottle, which the manager insisted on trying to open with a cork screw, then insisted it was bad b/c there was no cork! After about 30 minutes of watching this debacle, we finally got our wine unscrewed & were able to enjoy a few glasses of a sauvignon blanc from South Africa.

December 25th, 2010 - Merry Christmas!!!
Woke up at 6am for the morning game drive through Tsavo East again on our way to Amboseli.  As soon as we arrived at Amboseli our van was surrounded by Masai people trying to sell their jewelry, it was a little scary as they kept tapping on the windows & were all around!

Right away Robert heard something on the radio, I caught "simba" which means lion in Swahili and boy did we see a lion! It walked RIGHT in front of our van!!  Caught some amazing photos of this guy, he was HUGE!  We also saw lots of elephants, giraffe, baboons and buffalo.

We checked into the Sentrim lodge, WOW!  This place was amazing!!!  It sits right at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro and was just beautiful.  You stayed in "tents" but the tents were large buildings with built in bathrooms, closets, etc.  The only thing that resembled a tent was that the door zipped open & closed!  Enjoyed a 3 course meal for lunch before relaxing in the shade next to the pool before our afternoon game drive.

We got stuck in a dust storm on our afternoon drive and experienced a mass elephant crossing RIGHT behind our van.  Again, lots of awesome photos!!  On the way back we got an up close look at a baboon and her baby sitting right in the middle of the road!

Enjoyed another 3 course dinner with roasted pork, steak & fire roasted pizzas!  This was the first "cool" weather I've experienced since I've been in Africa.  It was probably close to 60degrees at night and when we woke up in the morning.  The view of Kilimanjaro in the morning was incredible as was the sunrise!

December 26, 2010 - Happy Boxing Day!

Today we leave Amboseli to head back to Mombasa & it's an EXTREMELY long trip!  We'll leave at 7am and not arrive home until about 5pm.

We stopped on the other side of Amboseli to visit a Masai village.  The Masai are one of the few still existing nomadic tribes in Africa.  They rely on herbal medicine and traditional practices, including building their homes out of sticks and mud.  They performed a welcome song and a prayer, which was neat.  They showed us how they make fire using donkey dung, and pieces of hard & soft wood.  The medicine man's son also showed us their traditional medicines, which all looked like sticks to me.  But apparently they boil them or treat them somehow to extract the medicine.  Then we experienced their "store".  Let me tell you, these people are very smart!   They created the most high pressure sales environment that I've ever been in.  First, they explained that most of the people did not speak english, so we had to be accompanied individually through the "store".  The store consisted of 2 rows of blankets lined up w/people sitting behind them selling their wares.  Then they lead you, EXTREMELY slowly past each blanket, picking up items and putting them on you in an attempt to get you to buy them.  They controlled how fast you walked by always walking in front of you.  Then at the end, if you'd picked out some items they would negotiate by writing their price on their arm.  BEWARE!!! They completely overcharge! Like 12x's what you can buy the same items for in the markets.  I have to say, I was totally intrigued by their culture and way of life, until I experienced the "commercialization" and their attempt to take advantage of tourists that come through.  I can't blame them for trying to make a living, but if you ever visit, be smart & know that you can buy the same things, made the same way, for MUCH less!

We arrived back in Mombasa at about 5:30pm and met Meng & Andrew (Meng's home stay father) to head to a club.  Andrew's son, Clinton, was performing with his dance team at a club called Florida.  It was a really neat club, which had water pools and sat right on the ocean.  It was odd however to see young children there dancing.  When I say young, I mean like 10-11years old.  Apparently they're allowed, but are made to leave at 8:30!  We then stopped at a local bar for a beer, yummy Tuskers before heading home for the night.

Such an amazing experience thus far!  I feel like I'm starting to get the "swing" of things in Mombasa, but this is a place where you can never "blend in" as they often tell tourists.  Especially with the constant shouts of "Jambo Muzungu!" (Hello white person!) that follow you everywhere!

December 22 & 23, 2010

December 22 - Well I'm sick!  It's 156degrees out and I have a cold & sore throat, the whole deal! :(  Maybe being sick took my mind off the heat because it didn't feel so unbearable today?!

Played another football match with the boys at the project and after about 5minutes decided I had embarrassed myself enough.  We had some of the children make paper snowflakes, which was quite interesting trying to explain the concept of a snowflake!  We hung them across the classroom on a string.

The kids then all sat down and made bead necklaces and bracelets.  It was amazing how long they were concentrated on this, even the young one's sat for several hours making jewelry.

Jimmy & Jack hiding under the mattresses

Michael is VERY interested in Obama (if you didn't know he has Kenyan roots & they LOVE him) and American politics.  He continues to "grill" me with questions, and I'm sad to say I sometimes don't know the answers!

We did a little shopping in the fabric market & I picked up two skirts for less than $12USD!  We then picked up lots of Christmas decorations for a surprise party we're throwing for the kids tomorrow!

Bella Vista on Wednesday = Karaoke!!!!  Meng sang 2 songs & has a very nice voice.  Meri & Michelle (aka "the muzungu's") sang Santa Claus is Coming to Town & it was "fantastic"! hahahaha  Quite an experience.

December 23, 2010 - Not much to report on this day.  Another day at the project & we surprised the kids with decorations for a Christmas tree, cookies, party hats & noise makers!  They had a blast decorating the tree in the morning and then we gave them cookies.  They sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and it was adorable!

December 21, 2010

Well this will be a short post today.  I ALMOST slept through the whole night and woke up not feeling like I was going to vomit!!!  It's the little things!

We headed out to the school and had a pretty uneventful ride in the matatu and walk to school.  We worked with the children on pictures of their home to send back to Meri's class in London.  Then we played some football (soccer) outside in the yard.  These kids are amazing!!!  Needless to say, I'm not very good compared to them and the heat about killed me!

Meri & I arranged for our safari to Tsavo East & Amboseli today.  We will leave on Christmas Eve at 7am!

Looking forward to a cold shower & my fans!! :)

December 20, 2010

Well, I woke up at 2:30am this morning hot & nauseous and feeling completely awful.  Lots of fun!  I finally got back to sleep around 5-5:30 but had to be up at 7 for our first day at the project.

We caught a matatu to mweshamoroni for 20Ksh, which only took us part of the way to school.  We then had to walk what I would estimate to be another 0.5-0.75miles to the school.

The towns we walk through are pretty amazing.  Quite literally shack upon shack, some of them held up with what looks to be large tree branches.  The local children are taught to say, "how are youuu?" but understand little else.  They get very excited when they see muzungu's walking & come running out to yell...."how are youuuuu?".

Once we arrived at the school Japheth, the director gave us a tour.  The children share beds and sleep 2-3/bed depending on their size.  The bedrooms double as either classrooms or food storage and have dirt floors, and like most other buildings in Mombasa, do not have glass windows.  They just have bars on the window openings.

The childcren are so sweet and welcoming, not to mention extremely well mannered.  Lillian (5), loves to braid hair & managed to doll out a few knots that Meri & I will have to deal with later in the shower.  Muhammed and Michael (two of the older boys) are so smart!  Their knowledge of world history is simply amazing.  They were asking about Bush and Sadam, and the differences between DC and LA.  The girls were enjoying themselves by taking millions of pictures with our cameras.

The school is currently on winter break, so we only have the 33 children of the orphanage.  When school resumes on January 3rd there will be over 300 students!  I can't imagine!  Tomorrow we will begin working with them on art projects and any other activities we'd like to do.

Our trip home was interesting, as we missed our stop and ended up on the way back out to the project.  Then we managed to walk in circles for about an hour before finally finding our way back to the volunteer house.  The roads are not marked at most intersections making it quite difficult to orient yourself if you're lost.

I had an "encounter" with a crazy beggar who asked for money, I refused then continued to follow us and spout crazy half english half kiswahili banter, then proceded to try and trip me!!  He then tried to touch my side for some reason? and Meng promptly got in the way & shoo'ed him off!  Good thing we have security! :)

Quite an interesting day!  I drank close to 3.5L of water while at the project and still feel dehydrated.  Now time for a cold shower, dinner & bed!

December 19, 2010

Woke up this morning with a killer headache and nauseous.  The heat is physically whooping my a$$ right now.  Hopefully lots of water will help!



The i-to-i volunteer house



i-to-i orientation started at 10:30am.  I met Meri (Meredith) from London and Meng from New Zealand who will both be at New Hope (our project) with me.  Angela made us lunch; vegetable stew, rice and chapati.  Chapati is a traditional Kenyan bread, it sort of looks like a tortilla but thicker and is fried in oil.  It's DELICIOUS!!!

Took the tour of Mombasa with Meri and Lucy again, hoping that I would remember where things were this time.  We decided to take a matatu out to Pirates (public) beach.  A matatu is the most popular form of public transportation in Kenya.  Nairobi (the capital) has buses, but Mombasa does not.  A matatu is essentially a mini-bus that seats 14 and has a sliding door.  One man drives and another hangs out the door shouting the destination, with his money folded in his hand.  It's quite an interesting ride, especially when the matatu gets full!  Our ride out to Pirates was about 25-30minutes & cost 30 shillings (aproximately 27cents). 

View from the 2nd to last row of the matatu

Lucy keeps promising that we'll get used to the heat, but I'm not quite sure that I believe her just yet.  Everytime I do anything more strenous than breathing I feel like I'm going to pass out!  I enjoyed another nice cold shower & then relaxed in front of the fan on my bed before dinner.

Dinner was pilau; a Kenyan spiced rice with beef.  Again, soooo good!  Meri and I walked over to Tusky's to get food for lunch and more water.  We bought stuff to make good old PB&J sandwiches and a 5L bottle of water, EACH!

Tomorrow is the first day at the project!!

Observations on day 2:
I would say the population is about 50/50 with traditional muslims.  Lots of women in traditional muslim wear covering everything except their eyes.
It's still SOOOO HOT!!!  I know I keep saying that, but words can't describe this heat & the fact that I am sweating non-stop, even while sleeping.  Sounds fun, huh?!

December 18, 2010

Well I arrived at Dulles around 9:30am for my 12pm flight.  I was flying on Ethiopian airlines through Addis Ababa, ET then on to Mombasa which would take me about 18hours flying time.  Our flight was delayed until almost 2pm, I thought I would miss my connection for sure.  I decided to splurge and upgrade to Cloud Nine (first class) for the longest section of the trip (the 13 hours to Addis).  It was pretty sweet.  The chairs turned into beds and I had my own private flat screen TV, not to mention amazing 3 course meals! Yuuumm!!

Snow in Baltimore before I left!

I sat next to an older gentleman named Richard, a retired marine now working as a contractor for the state department leading peace keeping missions in Africa.  He had some very interesting stories and insight into Kenya.

I arrived in Ethiopia around 10:30am (my flight was supposed to leave at 10:15) but they held all the connecting flights for our plane.

I was met by Lucy and George at the Mombasa airport after clearing customs and changing into a t-shirt.  Moi airport is completely open air & I was immediately hit by the heat and humidity.  Time to get rid of the winter weather gear!

First observation, that I failed to think about.......driving on the left side of the road.  Needless to say over the next few days I would nearly get hit by several tuk tuk's (small taxi like things) because I looked the wrong way! :)

Got to the volunteer house, which consisted of 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on the 2nd & 3rd floors.  Angela (the "house mom") stayed on the first floor with the living room, dining room & kitchen along with her rooms.

Lucy took me for a walking tour around Mombasa for about 2 hours and I thought I would DIE!!! The heat and sun are unbelievable.  I had sweat literally pouring down my face, really attractive!  We walked past Tusky's (grocery store), down to Old Town, Ft. Jesus, Moi Ave and she showed me the currency exchange and Internet cafe's.  All of which, except Tusky's, I could not remember how to get back to.

The signature Tusks on Moi Avenue in Mombasa

Returned to the house and took a cold shower, it was AMAZING!  I have no need for hot water here, that's for sure.  Laura, a girl from Panama (living in London) was packing up to head home.  We had dinner prepared by Angela; beef stew, spaghetti and kale.  All very tasty, except the kale.  I'm not a fan of cooked greens, yuck!

After dinner I took a solo walk down to Tusky's for some bottled water and Bauny cookies (Kenyan Oreos) and an orange Fanta!  Headed to bed early, trying to get adjusted to the 8 hour time difference!

Observations from day 1:

Everyone is very friendly and seemingly unaffected by this heat.

No one wears sunglasses!

Traffic is extremely loud, between diesel engines and honking!

Buildings are very old, but you can see some of the history in their architecture.

Introduction

So I kept a journal while I was in Kenya for two weeks.  I felt like spending 2 hours everyday at the Internet cafe typing a blog was a waste of "exploring" time, so I'm going to go through and transcribe my journal day by day, now that I'm home.  If you feel so inclined to read each day, feel free.

Asante sana!