Time To Go

Well, here it is everyone, my last blog post in Kenya. This is such a bittersweet moment for me, and over the last few days there are many things that happened that reminded me on why I will miss this place.

Tuesday night, Ken, the guy who runs my internship program invited some friends over and he made me this huge dinner with chapati, ndengu, beef stew, cabbage, sukuma wiki and then my friend Maggie made guacamole. We got to sit around and talk about my experience here, and he was also really appreciative of my work with his program. It was great to sit and laugh with friends about all my ridiculous stories from this trip.

Yesterday, after hanging with some friends at Java, I went back to the school where I worked with the kids from Kibera. They wanted to say thank you, so they sang me a goodbye song in Swahili to send me off.

Today, after turning in some papers, almost everyone from my program went out to lunch to this amazing Indian restaurant and had a great time. Not only did I find a new love in Indian food, but it was great for us to just sit around and laugh together about the time we've spent and what we'll do in the future.

This afternoon, I met up with a couple of my good friends, Khou and Peaches. We just sat and had some coffee and talked about life for a little while. O, how I will miss these people. It's getting harder and harder for me to say bye to people.

As much as I've wanted to go home over the past couple weeks, there is this part of my life I've experienced over the past almost four months that will have a lifelong impact on me, and I will truly miss this place. In terms of things I've learned from this program:

-How to relax: I am mildly obsessive about the things that happen in my life, whether it's the food I eat or what happens to me on a daily basis. While stuff has happened to me here, I learned to do things like not ask what I was eating, and turned out ok. I remember my first meal at my homestay, my host sister made pasta and then poured tap water over the noodles to stop them from cooking. I just sat there and prayed that I wouldn't get sick, and I ended up being ok.

-How to get stuff: In all honesty, I will truly miss bargaining. I think I've found a little self confidence, but I've also learned to not let people walk over me because it's the easy response.

-How to communicate: While I've found people in Nairobi to actually speak English quite well, there's still a bit of a language barrier. You have to learn how to work with other people, understand where they're coming from and what they understand, and go from there as to how to best portray and discuss information with one another. And I had to pick up and use some Swahili, Kenyan accent and Kenyanisms.

-How to roll with bad situations: It seemed like a lot of things did not go to plan on this trip. I remember after a weekend of ridiculous things happening, just laughing at everything that had happened. At some point, I just started to look at all the things that happened to me as potential stories to share with my friends and family about my epic journey in Kenya and Tanzania.

-How to be patient: Eiiisscchh (this is my Kenyanness), how many times did I wait over an hour for someone to show up? I've learned to be patient and when someone showed up within 15 minutes of when they said they would, being excited about it.

-Rely on God: This is by far the most important thing I've learned. While this is still a growing process for me, and something I continuously struggle with, I've had to rely on him for safety, security and understanding. This is new to me, and something I'm glad I got to experience.


In addition to these things I've learned, there are also some things I will really miss about Kenya:

-Amazingly nice people
-My friends
-Children running up to you, and while I hated when they called me mzungu, I loved it when they would say: How are YOU?
-Going to Java and getting to know the waitstaff there
-The randomly satisfying thought of seeing your feet and pants covered in mud and dirt after a day of working in Kibera
-When people stared at me when I would respond to their question in Swahili.
-BARGAINING!!! And talking down touts on buses and matatus
-Randomly having things happen to me. Trust me, I've got enough stories for a while after this trip
-My Kenyanisms and Kenyan accent
-Talking with people about how life in America isn't as glamorous as it looks in all the movies
-Hearing hip-hop music everywhere
-Laughing at the ridiculous things I see: animals walking around, people peeing in random places (including a lady one time!), the stuff people would wear (including a guy wearing a flag promoting the Confederate flag?!?), the things people would try to sell me (a tiny piece of sugar cane out of a guy's pocket for 10 shillings)
-Again, the people I've met and made amazing relationships with


So, here I sit, almost done, and about to embark on another journey to take me halfway around the world again. I thank you all for your love and support over the course of the last 3.5 months and I hope you all know how much I appreciate all of you. I hope you have a great weekend, and God Bless! Kwaheri yote! Napenda nyinyi na nitaona nyinyi katika Amerika!

Finishing up the Semester

Yesterday was the last official day of the semester for me! Over the weekend, we had exams and seminars at a place called the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi.

On Saturday, everyone returned from all over the country from their internships to come back to Nairobi for our final exams. Sunday afternoon, we moved into the Guest House, which is basically just a hotel, and took our first exam Sunday afternoon. Our first final was on development, which wasn't too bad. Sunday night, we got to experience our first dinner at the Guest House. Let's just say I was a little excited about the fact that we got a buffet, and our program covered all the fees! However, I was bummed by how much my stomach has shrunk, and how little I can eat. But hopefully, I can stretch that out over the next couple days to prepare me for eating back home.

Monday, we had our exam for Country Analysis, also not too bad. We bummed around the hotel Monday night, tired after our last couple days. Yesterday, we had our final seminar work for the semester. We went around the group and talked about our internships and then had lunch (all the meals were buffets!). Then we did some discussion about re-entry into the U.S. and reverse culture shock. Last night, we had dinner at the hotel, I did some work on my papers, and then I met some people at a restaurant to have a drink and chill out as our last night together in Nairobi.

I woke up this morning, had breakfast and moved back into my homestay. Needing some clean clothes for my last week, I did my last set of laundry by hand!! Now, I'm editing a couple papers away from being completely finished. I leave this country in three days, this is crazy! I cannot wait to see you all and talk about our lives for the past few months. I hope you're all doing well and God Bless!

One Week

So I'm sitting here in Java (again...) doing some work and studying for the exams I have coming up in the next few days. In one week from right now, I will be somewhere in the air between Nairobi and London. This is absolutely crazy to me. I have no idea where the last three or so months have gone.

So, because of a job interview, my uncle has had to cancel our trip to Europe. I was looking forward to spending the week with him. Despite that, I am really excited TO SEE EVERYONE IN ONE WEEK!!!!!

I remember back to a post I did earlier in the semester where I talked about not really realizing how soon my time in Kenya was coming to a close, yesterday it finally clicked. I was chatting with my sister Elise online, and I told her I would see her in a week. Suddenly, the concept made sense in my head. One week!

While I've had a good time here, and will miss it when I get home, I am more than excited to see everyone back home. I'm kind of at that point where my body is just ready to go. I'm looking forward to the moment when I get through customs at O'Hare and finally see my family. There are times where it feels like I've been here a long time or a short time, but no matter what, I feel like I've not seen my family and friends for a long time.

So as I start finishing up everything for my program (papers, exams, internship, which ended yesterday) I begin to realize that I get to do what I've wanted to do for basically the entire time I've been here. Spend time with the people I love! See you guys soon!

Getting my Djembe Drum

My parents can tell you I've always been a drummer. If I'm bored in a car, you'll hear me tapping along to a beat, and I've also been known to break a fish tank because I hit it with drum sticks....

Anyways, so since I was about 14 years old, I've wanted to get a hand drum called a djembe. It comes in various sizes, but is about 2 feet tall, and you play it like a conga, but instead it goes between your knees. So since I'm in Kenya, I figured what better place to buy a drum than in Africa?? Easier said than done.

I first tried to get a djembe about 5-6 weeks ago when I went to my first market. While I thoroughly enjoy bargaining, getting this drum has been a serious process. My first attempt to get a drum from the market started out with guys trying to sell me a drum from 12,000 shillings to, my personal favorite, 40,000. I talked some guys down to about 8,000, but I was not satisfied.

So, I went back...repeatedly. I talked to one guy who sold drums three different times, and another five! The guy I talked to five different times was a serious project, but after over a month of bargaining and me paying a bit more than I initially wanted, I finally got my djembe last Sunday!

When I first started talking to this guy, he started at about 14,000 shillings. I went to his station on Saturday and got him down to 5,500, but I knew I shouldn't pay that much. One of the girls in my program, Kiersten, also wanted to buy a drum before she left. So on Sunday, we went to the same market at a different location, we talked to him and the lowest he could go was 10,000 for two. So at this point we're both frustrated and walk away.

As I was leaving the market in the parking lot, the guy came and found me! He said he was giving us a deal, and I told him we were giving him an outrageously good deal at two for 7,000. So he offered 9,000, I said no, then he went to 8,000, he said no, and then he went to 7,000. At this point he was going down quickly, so I tried to see if I could go lower, which I couldn't.

I told him that we still didn't really want to pay that much, so I told him no. But then, after calling Kiersten, we decided we could settle at that price. SO, after over a month of bargaining and a bit of settling for me, I FINALLY GOT MY DRUM! Now I have to get it home....

Leaving Soon/Things To Do

As I sit in my room this Saturday evening attempting to get some work done on my assignments and papers, I'm coming to the realization that in two weeks from this moment, I will be somewhere in the greater London area. It's absolutely crazy to me that this program is ending so quickly, and to see how I am now (Which is a bit more Kenyan. I talked down the price of my hotel room in London!) Despite how soon I'm leaving, I'm already creating a list of things I have to do when I get home in my head. I'm going to miss it here, but there are definitely things I have to do when I get home, which include:

-Spend time with my family and friends
-Go see my grandparents
-Go hiking/camping at Devil's Lake
-Go eat the food I've been missing all semester (Qdoba Chicken Queso burrito, Coldstone Birthday Cake Remix gotta have it, Starbucks)
-Read "Harry Potter"
-Watch ridiculous movies with friends and family
-Go have a beer on the Union terrace while listening to live music
-Drive around rural Wisconsin at dusk
-Go running at nighttime
-Have coffee readily available every day
-Go swim laps
-Eat cheese and brats
-Go to the Madison Farmer's Market, WHERE, I will eat Stella's Bakery Hot Spicy Cheese bread
-Catch up on missed episodes of "The Office"
-Have a card game night with friends, which will include excessive yelling


These are a few of the things I've missed while being here. It's a lot to get done in the three weeks before I go to work at Okoboji Bible camp, but I will try my hardest. I look forward to what the next month and a half have in store for me. I miss you all and God Bless!

Feeling Normal

It's been a long time since my last post, about a week. That's most likely because at this point in my semester, I truly feel like living here is normal. I've become more accustomed to life here than I originally thought I would, and the things that stuck out for me before do not necessarily still strike me as odd.

An interaction I had last week exemplifies how situations have become more normal for me than they would have a few weeks ago. Leaving work in Kibera, I walked up to a tout of a bus and asked him how much I should pay to get to a stage I needed to get to. He said 30 bob (shillings) when I knew it was 10. I told him the stage name again and he kept the price at 30. So I clicked at him and started to walk away and he dropped the price down to 10. Ken, the guy who runs Filamujuani, just started laughing and asked if I bargained the tout down. He was amused that I just bargained down as a foreigner. That is one thing I'm proud of is my new ability to be a bargainer, but I guess there's some stubborn blood in my family so that might be why. I got a few compliments on my bargaining skills last weekend at a market.

Things like this are the norm for me, and I am not entirely how I feel about leaving yet. As I told my family, I do not feel like Nairobi is a place I would enjoy living in long term. I am, however, VERY happy that I did this program and feel like I've learned a lot in my time here.

So as I sit in my room and think that I leave in two and a half weeks before meeting up with my uncle Larry in Europe, the idea is not really clicking in my brain. At this point, this is where I am, and I don't feel like I will truly understand that I will leave 3 1/2 months of my life behind until I get on the plane home.

This seems to be a common theme for me. I often don't realize these things are truly happening until the moment they actually happen. I remember feeling fine leaving Frontier Ranch, a Young Life camp in Colorado where I worked the summer after my junior year of high school, and on my way to O'Hare to leave for here. Both times, I was ok. But as I got to the point where I suddenly was by myself in the airport and realized the drastic change that was about to happen in my life, suddenly everything seemed to click. I can to the realization that my life would not be the same, and in some ways that was good, scary, exciting, etc. But it was most definitely different. I imagine something similar to that will happen as I say goodbye to friends in the Nairobi airport May 1st.

But for now, I feel today is just another day in Nairobi. Also, I ask that you all pray for my dad as he's going into surgery tomorrow for his knee, that God can bless the surgery in his will.

I want to thank you all for following my blog the last almost three months. In some ways, leaving seems so far ago, and other times just like a few days. Regardless, I appreciate all the help and support I've received from home. I truly appreciate all of you, and hope you have a great rest of your week. God Bless!

Another African Adventure

What's a trip in Africa without a bit of adventure?! It seems like every time I want to do something here, something exciting/ridiculous happens. This weekend certainly did not disappoint.

This weekend, myself and my friends Maggie and Julie made the long journey from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by bus, and eventually to the island of Zanzibar by ferry. If you ever go to Africa, please stop in Tanzania and make your way out to Zanzibar. It is absolutely beautiful. I loved this part of Africa.

A taxi picked Julie and I up Friday morning at 6 to get down to the bus station. We got there a bit before 6:30, when we were supposed to get on for our 7 o'clock bus to Dar. We met Maggie there, and waited...Finally a bus showed up at 7:15ish and looked really nice. But after everyone on the bus got off, it drove away, ruining our dreams of having the nice bus for our trip. At about 7:40, our bus finally showed up, and we left Nairobi a little before 8. I'm ready to be done with Kenya time.

The road coming up to the border of Kenya and Tanzania is not good. We made it to immigration, got stamped out of Kenya, walked across the border, and thoroughly enjoyed the immigration officer yelling "Three Americans! Three Americans!" when he finalized our passports and stamps in Tanzania. We got back on the bus and the bumpy road continued until we got to the Tanzanian city of Arusha. Arusha and the next town over, Moshi, are very nice. You can also see Mt. Kilimanjaro from this area, but it was cloudy, so we could not unfortunately see it.

Our bus stopped in Moshi, and all three of us went to the bathroom. When I came out, I heard a bus driving away, and I had heard some horror stories from people I know here about buses leaving people at stops. So I ran out and saw another bus leaving the station, but it was not ours. Well, I thought it wasn't ours. Julie and Maggie came running off our bus with our stuff, yelling at me that our bus had just left. Supposedly they told the front of our bus that we were transferring buses in Moshi, but we did not hear it sitting toward the back. So I grabbed my bag quick from Julie and started running after the bus. My bag was still open, so things were falling out and people were yelling at me to stop. Fortunately, the lady at the bus station called the bus back and we got on, along with another lady they left. Maggie was on her a-game, grabbing my jacket off the other bus!

So we went for a while, a long while. And while this part of Tanzania is beautiful with long stretches of savannah interrupted with small mountains with rock faces and fields of aloe plants, we had another problem. It started raining. At one point, I felt like the bus drove through a small river on the road, and we passed an accident where a semi flipped on its side. Luckily, we made our way safely through the rain. But according to the bus line, our ride would be about 14 hours....it was definitely over 16.

So, after midnight we finally came into Dar. We were confused, however, as to which bus stop we should get off at as there are two. So luckily, Maggie has internet on her phone, so we could call the hostel, make sure we could still come in at that time and what stop to get off at. We got off at the right stop, found a cab and made our way to our hostel.

When we walked in, the place looked a bit sketchy. But our room was more than suitable for the night. It had recently been refurbished, so when we walked in, there was an ok bathroom, three beds, a pretty big flat screen tv, and our favorite part, AIR CONDITIONING!!! We were more than excited to sleep after the long day.

We woke up the next morning, and met the travel agent for the hostel. He was super helpful all morning, taking us to breakfast, an ATM, and then by cab to the bus stop, and finally the port where we booked our tickets to take the ferry from Dar to Zanzibar.

We got on the ferry, and that was another fun adventure. The ferry was pretty big, and could probably carry a couple hundred people. Maggie and I watched this ridiculous movie they showed while Julie went up on the deck to catch the view. This was all while the lady across the aisle from me got motion sickness and vomited twice, and then for some reason ate chips, and then vomited again. We finally got into Zanzibar a couple hours later.

After going through immigration at Zanzibar, we met a guy who we could rent a car through. Maggie has her international driver's license, so we were able to get a car instead of taking a taxi, saving us money as the the drive was about an hour from the port at Stone Town to our hotel. Unfortunately, Maggie didn't have her international driver's license on her, so we had to go to the Zanzibar license place, and she got a driving permit for a week. After getting that, we finally were on the island, ready to go.

We made our way first through Stone Town, an old city that's the hub of Zanzibar with a strong classic European feel to it with small roads and three story buildings providing walkways to people going from shop to shop. As we moved out of Stone Town, we got to see the beautiful landscape of the island. Palm trees were everywhere, with small villages along the way. We also found out that A TON of people bike or moped their way around, and they're mildly insane.

About an hour later, we found our way to the little village of Paje on the east coast of the island. We made our way to the hotel, checked in, and went out to the beach. Here, we met up with some of the people in Julie and mine's program who came to Zanzibar from Mombasa. It was great to see them.

When we walked out on the beach, we were amazed by the beautiful ongoing white sand beaches, bright blue water, old wooden boats offshore and relaxed feel of the island. O yea, and there was a rainbow over the water!!! Not a bad way to be greeted to tropical paradise after a long trek. We swam for a while, showered, grabbed some dinner, and then we fell asleep early after a long day of travel.

We woke up Sunday morning and made our way down to the beach. After a bit of journaling, I grabbed breakfast with some other people, and then my friend and I made our way to a restaurant/resort next door where we had a great little drink in their pool that was surrounded by green plants with these beautiful white flowers. Then we made our way back to the beach and hung out until about noon. The water here is protected by coral reef a few hundred yards offshore, so Maggie and I swam out about 1/4 mile from the beach, and because of the low tide could stand up.

After noon, Maggie, Julie and I got ready, said good bye, and made the hour long drive back to Stone Town. We bummed around the city for a while, doing some shopping and seeing the old city. After a quick lunch, we made it in time for our ferry back to Dar. The dock was INSANE, filled with people trying to get on boats.

The boat we got on back to Dar was a bigger ferry than our original, and that meant more people. But also, the waves were worse, so I started getting a bit of motion sickness. Luckily, I made my way to the back of the boat, where I stood for almost the entirety of the ride, watching the sun set over the expanse of ocean. It was absolutely beautiful.

We docked in Dar, and Maggie was not feeling well, so we made our way back to the hostel we stayed in two nights before, and then Julie and I went out for dinner. Being Easter Sunday, most places were closed, including Subway! When getting money from an ATM at a mall in Dar, I saw a sign for Subway, the first American restaurant I've seen in Africa. We tried to make it for dinner Sunday night, but it was already closed. So Julie and I ended up at this hotel restaurant in the same building that served: creole/New Orleans food?!? In Dar es Salaam?? Anyway, we grabbed dinner, made our way back to the hostel, and fell asleep.

We woke up at 4:15 yesterday morning to catch our 5 o'clock bus. Unfortunately Maggie was not feeling better, so she won my "Keep Fighting" award for the weekend, enduring the bus ride despite being fairly ill. We left at 5, went to the second bus stop, and left Dar at 6:30. We made our way across Tanzania, and this time, got to see Mt. Kilmanjaro!! This was one of the three things I wanted to do in Africa: Visit Mombasa, go to Masai Mara and see Mt. Kilimanjaro.

While we could only see the peak as the rest of the mountain was covered with clouds ,it was an absolutely beautiful sight. I would love to hike it, but the cost is a bit high..about $1000. So, I decided that at some point in my life, I'm going to come back and hike that thing. But the view of the snow covered peak rising above the clouds is amazing (and seeing snow in Africa is a bit odd...)

We drove the rest of the way through Tanzania and went through immigration, and made our way back into Kenya. As we drove about 5 minutes from the border, I looked out, and could see Mt. Kilimanjaro in its entirety. I was so excited to see the whole thing, and that's how we closed our trip, seeing the sun set over Mt. Kilimanjaro.

This trip taught me a lot, mostly to trust in God. I am someone who wants everything finalized way ahead of time, and when things don't go well, I tend to stress out big time. That happened more than enough times this weekend, but it seems like every time that happened, I saw a rainbow. We saw three on our drive through Tanzania and then two when we arrived at our place in Zanzibar. I repeatedly heard God telling me that I need to stop being so concerned and worried about everything, and to just slow down and trust what he has in store for me. As we closed our trip looking at Kilimanjaro, all I could think of was Bebo Norman's "Walk Down This Mountain" and what God taught me this last weekend. So I'll leave you with the lyrics God left on my heart last night "So walk down this mountain with your heart held high. Follow in the footsteps of your maker. With this love that's gone before you and these people at your side. If you offer up your broken cup, you will taste the meaning of this life." When we offer up our lives from the stress and whatever challenges we have in our lives and simply enjoy the beauty around us, we can truly taste the meaning of why we are here.

To Dar and Zanzibar

Hello everyone! I'm sitting in my room after another long, but good week of internship. This week, we got some work done on our web site, as well as other multimedia work that I need to get done before the semester ends.

Why I'm excited though is for the weekend that's coming up. Tomorrow morning at 7 am myself and a couple friends will be making our way through the country of Tanzania with a final destination of the island of Zanzibar. The trip will definitely be interesting, but I'm excited to go have another adventure.

Our bus leaves downtown Nairobi at 7 am, and then in a couple hours we will cross the Tanzanian border. At this point we'll have to go through immigration and pay the entry visa fee before a stop in Arusha. From Arusha we drive past Mt. Kilimanjaro (hopefully well enough that I can take pictures) to Moshi and finally we'll arrive in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania around 9 pm. Yes, that is a 14-hour bus ride in a developing country. Hence when I went to go buy the tickets this morning for the bus, the first thing I asked was whether they have air conditioning on the bus (which they do).

We'll spend the night in Dar es Salaam and then Saturday morning, take a ferry from Dar to Stone Town on the island of Zanzibar! Once here, we'll be meeting up with some of the other people in my program who currently intern in the greater Mombasa area. Basically, we'll be chilling on the beach on an island in the Indian Ocean for a couple days...not a shabby way to spend your Easter Break. We'll have to head back to Dar Sunday night to stay in a hotel so that we can catch the Monday morning bus back to Nairobi to report back for work on Tuesday.

One thing I didn't realize was that Easter holiday is a BIG deal in Kenya. I found out Monday that I have this Friday and Monday off from my internship, so I asked some of my friends what their plans were. Originally, I thought we were going to fly to Ethiopia, but those plans didn't end up working out as it was too expensive. So, we had to come up with a plan last minute. The problem is that because of the holiday, EVERYONE is traveling and EVERYTHING is booked. So, for example, when we stopped at a travel agent yesterday to see what the cheapest flight out of the country was to anywhere, it came to just under $300 for a flight to Kampala, Uganda, which is about a 50-minute flight.

So, after looking everywhere for flights to Addis Ababa, Kigali, Kampala, Lamu, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar and not finding luck, we finally decided to take a chance and go for the bus ride. We'll see how this will all go, but while a long trip, it will also give me the opportunity to see a lot of Tanzania. I'll try to update when I come home. Have a great weekend everyone!

America, Kenyan Style

So this post is a bit late, but I thought I'd share a bit about my weekend, and how amazing Saturday was. I woke up and met a friend of mine in my program for breakfast, and then we made our way downtown to meet up with some others before heading to Village Market.

Village Market is a westernized upscale mall that is toward the UN and US Embassy area of Nairobi. Upon walking in, we were greeted by a small waterfall/river thing that ran through the very nice food court area of the mall. We sat down for a few minutes and just took in what we were seeing, America in Kenya. It was a bit overwhelming.

After a soda, we made our way to the pool area. And when I say pool area, I mean the pool area with 5-6 decent waterslides, a kid's pool, a lap pool and a "lazy river" which I will explain why it's in quotes later. I felt like a little kid going to Noah's Ark for the first time. I went down some slides, and proceeded to almost ruin my friends' iPhone as they tried to take pictures of me sliding.

My sliding experience took a little stop when I went down a slide which was closer to the steps than the others were, so when I slipped on the bottom of the pool, I fell thinking I had more room. Unfortunately, I hit my shin pretty hard on the step, so I got to make a little visit to the first aid station. After getting my cut wrapped up pretty well, I made my way down to the lap/regular pool.

We swam for a little while there, and then my friend Maggie and I decided to go down the "lazy river". Ok, this thing was nothing like we're accustomed to in the U.S. We were confused why there was a sign telling us to keep our arms and legs inside the tube, but as soon as we went, we figured out why. The water pressure got us moving fairly quickly, and I had to cross my legs and pull them up to my chest so I wouldn't smash them on the wall. It was fun, but the second time we went, Maggie's tube got under mine and I flipped over, hitting my head on the bottom. Regardless, swimming was amazing!

After swimming, we continued our little day of America by getting some pizza. We had some problems here as we ordered a pizza with just cheese in the crust. Normally they put meat and cheese in the crust, but we specifically asked for just cheese. SO, when they brought out the pizza, what was in the crust? Just meat....think like a hotdog.

After finishing our pizza, we walked around for a little while and then wanted to get some ice cream, building off our American eating fest. Let's just say the ice cream I bought was my best food purchase in this country. I got this dish that went from the top down: whipped cream with chocolate sauce, chocolate ice cream, espresso ice cream, real espresso, whipped cream...THANK YOU!! It was AMAZING and after not having real ice cream for a long time, it was glorious.

Completing our day of American fun, three of us decided to go mini-golfing. The course was actually really nice and fairly challenging. I unfortunately did not win, but still had a great time, feeling a bit like I was on vacation in Florida at Goofy Golf or joking with my friends at Vitense in Madison.

All in all, it was a great day. I got to do a lot of fun stuff for actually really cheap. The slides cost 350 shillings (about $5-6) and the mini-golf cost 200 (about $3-4). Ahh the joy of childhood fun....

Appreciation

Hello everyone!! I hope you're all doing well and looking forward to the warm weather I hear you're about to get in Wisconsin. Actually, it's not that much warmer here than what it's supposed to be there, so hopefully the adjustment will just be continued warmth when yI come home in May.

I'm finishing up my second week of internship this week, and I'm excited about the stuff I'm working on. First of all, I'm continuing to work with the kids in Kibera, helping oversee them make ads and other video stories. Secondly, I'm doing some advertising and promotion activities for a couple groups. The first is for a guy who is from Kibera but sells these AWESOME sandals in the Prestige Market. He takes used tires and uses them as the soles for the sandals, and then covers them with nice leather. They actually look pretty good, are generally eco-friendly and supposed to last a long time. So for him, I will be making a video and print ad over the next few weeks.

In addition, I'm helping out with an art group in Kibera called Maasai Mbili. They're a group of guys who make varying kinds of art, and I will be helping them with promotional activities. In particular, I have a hard time thinking advertising is a useful way to promote pieces of art. So instead, I will be hopefully making an online video for them, teaching them the use of online social tools such as Facebook and other basic promotional activities they can do to get their name out to a larger audience.

Now a little update on me personally. I'm writing this post on a sunny afternoon in my favorite coffee shop/restaurant, Java. While I frequent Java, something about today's visit is different for me. As I sat waiting in the Prestige Market for the guy selling the sandals this morning, I got a few minutes (well 30 minutes. When they say a 10 minute wait, that's what they actually mean) where I could just sit and watch people. Some people were working and trying to sell their goods to customers in the market, while others were just making their way through.

Moments like these are incredibly simple and simultaneously amazing. These are the moments where I see true connection with my life here and my life back home. I see things like two men greet each other with a smile and a handshake, reminiscent of my Dad and his friend Bob when they go out for coffee. I see a woman with a small restaurant in the market joking with a lady who sells vegetables, reminding me of my sister Elise when she's grabbing Starbucks with her friend Nicole.

In those small moments, life offers you the opportunity to just slow down and look at the world around you. While I'm somewhere new, that doesn't mean life is really that different. There are definitely differences between living here and living at home, but I think you can just stop in those moments and notice the commonality in humanity. You see yourself and friends in those you don't know.

I really appreciate these moments as I think since I've adjusted to living here, I forget that I'm living in KENYA!! I do not always grasp the amazing opportunity God has placed before me, and how much I need to take advantage of that.

To be sure, this trip is not exactly what I expected. But maybe that's a good thing. Some things have been amazing, some things incredibly difficult. But just because something is difficult does not make it bad. I think I've truly learned a lot about who I am and how I need to grow as a person through this program. It is in the beauty of finding something good out of something bad that I truly appreciate the life and people I have here and back home. God has blessed me with these people and opportunities for a reason, and it is up to me to decide how to live in these moments. I do not always look for the best in every situation, but some times you've got to just stop and look at the beauty around you and truly appreciate the life you've been given.

Kenyanisms

So I figure that since I've picked up a Kenyan accent (which I have to turn on and off depending on who I talk to) and my parents commented on my how I speak a bit differently when Skyping earlier in the week, I thought I would share a bit about "Kenyanisms" or things Kenyans say and do that I probably will have when I come home and you won't know what to do with.

1). The inability to say yes or no: I've found many Kenyans who, rather than saying yes or no, will simply respond with an "mhmm" to mean yes or no. If it goes up, that means yes, and if it goes down it means no. So if you ask me a yes or no question when I come home and I respond with this, tell me to clarify if you don't understand.

2) Ehhhh?: Think about how we say that Canadians say "eh" at the end of sentences, elongate it and make the sound go up at the end, and you've got a Kenyan "ehh". This is how I respond to people when they call my name or when I don't hear someone say something. It's basically equivalent to "what?" without saying it.

3) Raising my eyebrows with a slight nod: The Kenyan way to say yes when you're too lazy to feel like making "mhmm" sound.

4) Tisking: Kenyans tisk a lot, but it can mean different things. First off, you can tisk at something to say that it's bad, and this is how it's usually used. For example, if a tout (conductor) on a bus calls you over to get on a bus and then tells you the bus is full, you can tisk. OR, tisking can be a good thing. If something is VERY nice and people don't comment, you can tisk to mean something is good. Logical, right....?

5) Hissing: This is actually a bit rude, but a way for people to get each others' attention. For example, I've been walking in a market and a guy behind me with a wheelbarrow has hissed at me to get my attention so I could get out of the way.

6) Clicking: This is a Kenyan habit that I'm not happy I've picked up on, and probably will be the most confusing for people when I come home. When someone does something you don't like, you can click at them. Think of the clicking noise you would make to call a horse, but only do it once. I don't like this one, but unfortunately have picked up on it. So if you do something I like back home, watch out for that click! It's happening!

7) Me, I....: This is the one that always cracks me up, and I have yet to pick up on. Kenyans like to say, "Me, I something...." For example, someone might say "Me, I didn't go to school yesterday." Or "Me, I'm thinking I'll leave at 5:00." My favorite response to this to ask if they can do or not do something twice. For example, if someone says "Me, I didn't like the food last night," I'll respond with "You didn't like the food twice? You, you didn't like the food? How does that work?" I hope to not pick up on this saying.

So yea, these are a few of the things that I've noticed and picked up on in the past few months. So if you hear me say or do something and don't get it, let me know. It's probably just Kenyan.

Coffee Drinking Culture in Kenya

If you know my family, you know that we love to drink coffee, a lot! Some of my best family memories revolve around us sitting and talking over a cup of nice coffee. When we have guests over, we've been known to put down a few pots of coffee in one morning. So when I realized Kenya's drink of choice was chai (tea made with whole milk), I was not sure how I would handle the transition.

In all honesty, I'm not sure I've made much of a transition at all. When my mom asked me if I've been drinking a lot of tea here, I told her no as the whole milk has kind of turned me off. Kenyans, however, drink a lot of chai. I know people who drink it more than four times per day. But there's something about chai that just doesn't do me right.

So, instead I've resorted to the Kenyan coffee world. My two main hubs of coffee are at Java and Dorman's. Both are not what we would consider "coffee shops" as they offer more of a restaurant feel with coffee as a key aspect of the menu. But as I'm in Kenya, they are my best option.

My first visit to Java, I got laughed at by my previous host sisters as I starting walking toward the register to get my coffee. I didn't realize that Kenyan coffee shops are like restaurants, so you sit down and coffee is brought to you instead of ordering, waiting at the bar and then finding a place to sit.

While I love my coffee, and have found a couple places to go, finding coffee is actually a bit hard to find outside of tourist centers. Coffee is too expensive for the average Kenyan to drink, so I've only seen it in affluent areas of Nairobi. A cup of coffee can run from 90 shillings to 130 (about $1.20 to about $1.75), but those costs are too high for many Kenyans. So often times going to a coffee shop surrounds you with the middle to upper classes in Nairobi and other tourists or business people.The other option for some Kenyans is instant coffee. When I'm at home, this is what I drink, but ugh...instant coffee...

Because there are few coffee shops, those that exist are often crowded and too loud for me to get a lot of work done. I love doing homework in coffee shops back home. It's a good place for me to have enough peace to focus but also enough distraction to not zone out. So unfortunately, coffee shops here are not as useful for getting work done as they are back home.

However, I've also noticed the coffee here in Kenya is AWESOME! Again, like chai, places will make the coffee with milk instead of water unless you request it. It's actually pretty good, and at Java, they make it dark! So good!

While I've found my coffee fix at Java here in Kenya, let's just say I'm ready for some good American coffee!

Internship Day 3

So I'm now three days into my internship. After a couple of talks with Ken, we have my plan for the next few weeks more finalized.

As I said before, I will be doing advertising in Kibera as well as teaching youth in the slum. This week, we are doing the basics of advertising and strategic communication. After my introductory class on Monday, we discussed the basics of background research in reporting and advertising yesterday, and then I sent them out on assignment to go interview a local business as if they were to go advertise for them.

This morning they came back and presented on their findings. We then went into strategy of planning for advertising. I had them create mental webs about the companies they interviewed and come up with ideas. I then had them go back into their groups and answer some questions on strategy like who are they trying to reach, why, how will they reach them, what are the one to two key points their audience needs to know, etc.

The rest of this week, we'll talk about ad placements and also about how to write a lead. Even though we're doing advertising this week, I want them to be able to come up with ideas on how to engage an audience. Then on Monday we'll do creative work.

While this is going on, Ken will be teaching them about video shooting and editing. So next week after they've learned about these aspects of advertising, they will go out to a business in Kibera and create an advertisement for them. I'm excited to see where this goes.

After the next couple weeks, I'm going to transition from advertising into story writing. We want to give the kids some skills to maybe get a job, so I want to help them with their ability to tell a story and their writing ability. So that whole week we'll learn different aspects of writing a story.

The fourth and fifth weeks of my internship, we will be overseeing them making multiple projects. At this point, they should know more about video work from Ken and the basics of writing a story and advertising for me, so we'll have them do a couple stories and advertisements as projects over these two weeks. My final week, we hope to teach them how to do basic web work and to upload their videos to a web site.

While doing this teaching work, I hope to also make a couple advertisements of my own. I'd like to have some for my portfolio and be able to have them for when I go home.

All in all, I think this could be a great few weeks. I'm excited and simultaneously a little overwhelmed with what we're going to do. I've had to frantically go back through my journalism notes to remember topics to address with the kids and how to properly address them. In fact, I've spent half of my work hours this week doing lesson plans...not exactly what I was expecting from a communications internship. But I'm excited to see what these next few weeks bring and hope you're all doing well!

My Internship

Today I started my internship, meaning I'm over halfway done for the semester. I am working for a film group in Kibera called Filamu Juani that teaches youth how to use film equipment to tell their story and gain skills to get out of the slum. I actually met the head of the program, Ken, last year when he worked in Madison.

When I met with Ken to set up my internship here in Nairobi, I told him that in the journalism school I specialize in strategic communications. He was excited about this as he said he wanted some advertising and strat comm work done with his program. I was really excited to get started and do advertising work for businesses and individuals based out of Kibera. I was excited to do something that is entirely new, and would look really good on an application.

This morning, however, added a large unexpected twist to the equation. I found out from Ken as we were walking from the bus stage that I was going to lead a class on advertising today!! So we got there and I basically made up an hour and a half long lecture on the basics of advertising and strategic communications! I was more than mildly overwhelmed! Luckily, I've coached before and have handled kids, so the class actually went ok.

After class, Ken and I went to get some advertisements for the kids to see as examples, and I learned over the course of the day that I basically will be leading and teaching these kids over the next six weeks. So I guess we will be working on advertising projects while I teach them the basics of advertising. I'm not entirely sure how this will go as I don't have too much experience with strategic communication myself...

I have talked to one of my former journalism TAs who is working here in Nairobi and have e-mailed a couple of my former journalism professors asking for some help. So we'll see where this goes. I'm excited about working with the kids and to do advertising in a slum, both of which are unique and amazing experiences. However, this whole teaching thing will be interesting and a way to push me for sure. Let's just say it's another growing experience in Kenya.

Changing Homestays

Just a heads up to all of you following my blog, I changed homestays today. There were some security issues at my previous place, so I talked to staff from our program, and I moved this afternoon.

Now, I'm living with a family in an area of Nairobi called Kilimani. I'm excited about my new place, especially that there's a tree outside my window with flowers on it. A nice break from Wisconsin winters.

I have a host mom, who is a nurse, and three host brothers, of who I've met two. The two brothers are both great and we get along very well. I was excited about the fact that they both swim, so we could talk swimming and we're planning on going later in the week.

I think it will be interesting to stay here to also get another perspective on Kenyan life. While still in Nairobi, I think there are things that will be both similar and different that I will hopefully be able to see from my new home. My time in Kenya has been a growing and learning experience, and I think that will add to that.

I hope you're doing well, and to hear from you all soon. I also hear the snow is melting, so enjoy the green!

Markets and Bargaining

Open-air markets are the key shopping source for many Kenyans. The markets can have such things as clothes, food, jewelry, bedding, bags and potentially furniture. This is a great place to go buy things at a fairly cheap price.

There are two main markets that I've been to, Toi and Adams. Both primarily sell clothes and food, and are close together. The clothes that most stands have is actually donated from the western world. The clothes come into a center in Nairobi, people buy the clothes in bundles and then take them to their stands to sell. There are markets literally all over the city.

As I said, markets are a great place to guy buy clothes. But part of going to a market in Kenya involves bargaining. My main experience with a market prior to traveling to Kenya is the Farmer's Market in Madison. There, if someone gives you a price, you generally pay that price. In Kenya, it's a different story.

In Kenyan markets, bargaining happens with almost every purchase. The sellers expect you to bargain, and you have to get good at bargaining to get the price you want. I have been able to bargain for a couple items in some broken Kiswahili, but most people speak English fine. The Kiswahili gives the impression that you know what you're doing.

But bargaining also takes some practice. I've learned the general method of taking the first offer and going under half of that price. For example, I bought a pair of almost new Abercrombie and Fitch jeans at the market today. When I first asked the price, he wanted me to pay 1450 shillings. So I started at 600. We worked our way back and forth until I got him to 1100 shillings.

At this point I used my favorite bargaining move that also worked with the bracelet I bought today. You just walk away. At this point they realize that either you can buy it and they can make a profit or they can make nothing. So the guy came out of his stand after me, we continued bargaining and I finally bought the jeans at 950 shillings. It was a bit more than the 750 that I actually wanted to pay, but $12-13 for an almost brand new pair of brand name jeans is not too bad.

I've learned to like bargaining. While I get a bit mad that I often get initially offered the mzungu price, I like the game of trying to figure out who's actually willing to give more. And no matter what, someone won't sell you something if they won't make a profit. The problem is that I'll have to remember to keep my new bargaining to a minimum when I come home.

My Classes

I figure that since this is my last week of classes, I should probably do a little post on what I've taken so far this semester.

First off, I've taken first semester of Kiswahili. Ninapenda Kiswahili kwa sababu lugha ni rahisi (I like Swahili because the language is easy). We know it as Swahili in the States, but it's called Kiswahili as the "Ki" denotes a language. For example, Kiswahili, Kikamba, Kingereza (English), etc. Luckily, there is little you have to change between verb tenses, making the language pretty easy to pick up. On the other hand, using it in the city is a little different. For one, Sheng. Sheng is the slang language of Kenya with a mix of English and Swahili, hence its name. Despite this, I've been able to put together sentences pretty well and can do basic things like bargain, order, etc. in Kiswahili with a little Sheng thrown in so I can pretend like I know what I'm doing.

For example, the normal Nairobi greeting involves either "Mambo", to which you respond "Poa" or "Habari gani/leo/etc." to which you respond "Mzuri". However, Sheng is "Sasa", to which you respond "Fit" (pronounced feet). That and using the word "bao" which means 20 shillings is helpful when using the matatus.

In addition to Kiswahili, I've taken a class on development and another on country analysis. For development, we've looked at how Kenya has developed since colonialism, and how modes of development have played a role in Kenya. For country analysis, we've studied the country of Kenya as a whole, learning about the people, politics and history of the country. For this class, we have a professor named Dr. Jonyo who is one of the funniest people I've ever met. He has his name monogrammed on all his shirts, and he also loves to tell outrageous stories.

Another aspect of our class time has been having guest lecturers. We've had guests come and talk on such varying topics as women in Islam, community development and my personal favorite who we had today, a ethnomusicologist. He talked to us about the basics of Kenya singing, dancing and instrument playing. We learned about the basic instruments of traditional Kenya music, as well as a few songs and even got to get up and learn how to dance a few moves. It was fun!

I hope that you are all doing well, and enjoying a Wisconsin March day!

Masai Mara, aka Most Amazing Weekend Ever!

This weekend can simply be put as the most amazing experience of my life. Myself and seven other students from my program went to Masai Mara National Reserve, one of the best places to go on safari in the world. The reserve is in the southwest corner of Kenya, and this weekend, it lived up to its expectations.

Friday morning, we left Nairobi in a private matatu and left for “the Mara”. We drove for about an hour, and made a stop to oversee the Great Rift Valley and Mount Longonot. We then drove another couple hours to the last actual town before Masai Mara, Narok. Along the way, we saw zebras, gazelles, giraffes and had to stop because of goats and cows crossing the road.

After eating at a buffet in Narok for lunch, we kept driving, eventually hitting an extremely bumpy road about 30 minutes outside of Narok. Luckily we had 4-wheel drive because after 45 minutes on that road, we had to drive another 45 minutes on another “road” that was the bumpiest road/track of dirt I’ve ever been on in my life. But as we kept driving, we made our way closer to the Mara and got to also see wildebeest!

We stopped at our campsite right outside the reserve to put our things down. We stayed in tents that were raised a couple feet off the ground with an outer roof and two big beds in each. It was nice to have a decent sized bed on safari.
We left our camp and went out for our first safari. We got into the park, and unfortunately, it was raining. We could kind of make out zebras, Thompson’s Gazelles and wildebeests. After a bit of a drive further, we got to see our first lions! We sat and watched two females for a while, and eventually the rain stopped, so we could pop the top off our matatu and take better photos. The females walked literally two or three feet in front of our vehicle!! We watched them for about 20 or 30 minutes.

We drove off and got to see our first of many elephants over the weekend. A group of 16 was walking in the valley we were in, so we got to get about 30 yards from them. After watching them, we drove back to the lions we saw before and a male joined them! We again got very close to all three.

On our way out of the park, we got to see a female cheetah and her baby! They walked through the bush, right in front of our vehicle and stopped about 30 yards from our car. We then made our way back to camp, had some dinner and went to bed.

I woke up early the next morning, at around 6:15 am. I went to go take a shower, and was a bit sketched out by the shower’s cleanliness. Looking past the outside appearances, it was probably the best shower I’ve had since I left home. It was a hot water shower, probably my third since I’ve come to Kenya, and there was actual water pressure! The window in my shower also let me see the sun gradually rising.
We got back into the matatu and went out for our second day. We again got to see wildebeests, zebras, gazelles and a giraffe as we got into the first part of the park. We drove a little ways, and got to see two male lions sleeping in the morning sun. They seemed to not mind too much that we were so close to them while they napped.

We drove a further into the park, saw a lone male elephant, and then a group of ostriches. Our guide then drove us to go see a female lion nursing her baby cubs! It was cool to see, but we left a little sooner than we were expecting.
We were not sure why we left the lions so early, but in the long run, it paid off. Our guide informed us that we could go see a couple cheetahs. We drove over to them, and got to watch them clean themselves and play with each other from about five to ten feet away. They then went to the other side of our vehicle, and what happened next made me feel like my life was “Planet Earth”.

One of the cheetahs had their ears back like they were ready to hunt. Further out in the valley we were in, there was a herd of topi and Thompson’s Gazelle. We hoped that we could watch something happen, and something definitely did. The cheetahs gradually closed ground between themselves and the gazelles, and we moved along with them. After a couple minutes of following them, we saw the first one take off!! We got to see a cheetah run at full speed and go after prey!! We unfortunately did not actually see the first cheetah kill the gazelle as we drove next to the second one, but we did see the first one walk later with the gazelle it killed. Overall, it was amazing. To first off, see a cheetah take off at full speed, have our guide race us to go see the kill, and then see the cheetah carrying the gazelle later was probably the most amazing thing I have seen in nature!

After the cheetahs, we drove back and saw the mother lion with her cubs for a few minutes, and then made the long drive to the Mara River. We stopped at a very nice hotel to use the bathroom quickly and kept driving. We got to see a couple giraffes and then our guide drove us to the border of Kenya and Tanzania. Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Masai Mara run up to each other, so we got to see Tanzania.

We then made our way down to the river to see some more animals. We got out of the vehicle and met a park guide who took us down to the water. We got to see a crocodile and hippos lounging on the banks of the river. In addition, the Mara River is the famous location of where the wildebeest cross into Masai Mara from Serengeti during their migration.

After stopping for lunch on the river, we started making our way back to the gate. On our drive, I stood up in our vehicle as we drove across the savannah. Masai Mara is absolutely beautiful in an entirely unique sense. By the gate, there are large hills and there are more trees on the savannah. This part of the reserve, though, is a mass expanse of plains with the occasional rolling hill. There is a tree or small group of bushes every once in a while, but mostly it is green and golden grass as far as the eye can see. It is land untouched by humans where animals can roam free. It’s absolutely beautiful.

On our way back, we ran into a group baboons, and later elephants. We stayed on the road and watched the elephants eat in tall grass about 15 to 20 feet from our car. They are amazing to see in the wild. They gently move across the earth with their HUGE bodies, picking up chunks of grass and dirt on their way. We even got to see a baby elephant! We stayed and watched them for about 15 minutes.

We kept driving and saw a couple more solitary elephants before running into another group. This was a scary little moment in our safari. We saw some elephants in a tree/bushy area, and so our guide drove us up to go see them. We drove up next to them, and then got surrounded on three sides with a watering hole on the other. One elephant got in front of the vehicle on the road and another got behind. Both stood up like they were going to charge. The one in the front of the vehicle stuck out its ears and started trumpeting. Our guide had to turn his lights on and off and then drive at the elephant so it would not charge us! It was scary, but a fun story either way. We pulled around and watched the group, including a MASSIVE male elephant. We drove back to the road, saw a herd of about over 100 cape buffalo, and then kept driving.

We went back to the two male lions we saw earlier, and this time got about three feet away. They were both napping, so we got some great photos. I did get a bit scared when one of them stood up, but it laid back down, and we were ok. Our guide drove us out of the park, some people in my program went to a local Maasai Village, we went back to the camp, ate and went to bed.

We had an early rise this morning at 5:30 am. We got ready, got in the matatu, and made our way into the park right before the sun rise. We got some great shots and then drove for a while. We saw some similar animals, but closed out our safari experience with a bang. We drove up over this hill and watched a cheetah drink water from a watering hole. It was a peaceful way to end our trip.

Basically, this weekend was amazing. I apologize for the length of my post, but I don’t even feel these descriptions do this weekend justice. I hope you’re all doing well, and to hear from you soon.

A Day Representing Kenya

Yesterday was probably the best day embodying my time in Kenya that I can describe. The day started out well as a friend and I went to hike the Ngong Hills and then were to meet up with some other people to go camping.

Ngong Hills are these large hills/small mountains that are about 45 minutes outside of Nairobi. We got an early start and met up with a friend of ours, Sam, in Ngong town after a bus ride. Instead of taking boda bodas (motorbikes) from the city to the entrance of the hills, Sam decided we should walk. So we started our hike.

It took probably 20-30 minutes for us to get from the town to the entrance, uphill. As you transition out of Ngong into the hills, the countryside becomes hilly with small homes and lined rows of crops with the occasional tree. It is beautiful.

Upon coming upon the entrance, we had to pay an entry fee and guard payment as to make sure we were ok on our hike for 1700 shillings. Some things like this would not really be necessary in the States, but are necessary here. So we continued our hike up to the top of the first hill, and it was difficult.

According Wikipedia, the base of the hills starts at 6765 and the peak of the hills is 8070. When you climb to the top of the first hill there are a number of windmills and your first good view of Masailand. Here, I got my first view of a pine tree in Kenya, and the air smelled fresh and clean, a nice transition from Nairobi.

Over the next three hours, we hiked six of the seven hills. We stopped along the way at numerous points as the hills come in succession, so you climb one and go down the other side and then have to go up the next hill. Some of the hills were particularly steep and my body was not used to the elevation.

The views were absolutely beautiful. You could see out for miles and see more small mountains in the distance. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy, but the hike was wonderful for my soul. There’s something about hiking that makes you feel accomplished and appreciative of the world’s beauty.

On our way down, it started to rain. At first it was not a big deal as we stopped under some trees to stay under cover until it let up. In fact, the smell of the rain was an amazing scent as we stood and watched the storm go over the rolling tropical hills. The storm let up a little and we finished our hike into the outskirts of town when it started pouring again.

We are in Kenya, and that means improvising with something random. So we stopped at this large overhang of an old house that a man, some kids and a rooster were under. They were nice enough to let us stay until it stopped raining. When the rain let up a while again, we finished our hike into town on muddy trails.

Once we got into town, I realized the problem rain has on transportation in rural Kenya. Almost all of the roads in Ngong town are made of dirt, so when it rains and the roads aren’t flat, it creates a literal small river down the middle of the road. Everything was covered in mud and I almost fell numerous times. We stopped at a little restaurant for lunch, and the rain continued, creating a bigger river down the road.

One of the advisors for my program has a campground near his home, which was where we were supposed to go camping. Sam is his brother, so he called to let us know that we were going to cancel because of the rain. After lunch, we were bummed that we could not camp, so Sam suggested that we just go out to the camp site to see what we think.

From Ngong town we had two options of transportation: boda bodas or a tuk tuk. I do not actually know what tuk tuk stands for, but I’m pretty sure it means little vehicle of death. Imagine a golf cart propped a little higher off the ground with a bit more seating and a canvas roof, and you’ve got a tuk tuk. Because the roads were muddy from the rain, we decided it would be safer to take a tuk tuk.

We left and immediately, the tuk tuk just bounced over every little bump in the road. By no means was it comfortable. One of my friends who I was with was not feeling well to begin with, and this ride did not help as we were bouncing all over.

About two minutes from the campground, the tuk tuk then slid into a ditch because of the mud and got stuck. We then spent the next 10 minutes trying to push the tuk tuk out of the ditch and get it started. After finally getting it out and pushing it to a head start, the tuk tuk started.

We then rode to the campsite to find out that everyone else who was coming later in the day decided that they were not going to come at this point. Our advisor was there waiting for us, and luckily was able to call a tuk tuk to come pick us back up. While waiting for the ride, we got to sit in on a random birthday party where we drank some soda. We were filthy and smelly from hiking sitting there with people in nice clothes.

The second tuk tuk came to pick us up, and this one was meant for three passengers. At this point, it was just my friend Liana and I, so we fit fine. However, we did not realize we would be getting so many other passengers into the tuk tuk along the way. A vehicle meant to carry four at the most was now carrying seven. Let’s just say it was a little cramped and the bumps made everything uncomfortable.

After another bumpy ride we got back into town, caught a bus, and made our way back to Nairobi.

I think this day best wraps up my Kenya experience. We do something fun, something random, something not so fun and something unexpected. Basically very little goes to plan, and you always have to be ready for something new. O what a day….

Downtown/Elephant Orphanage/Giraffe Center

So this last weekend I got to go see some of the sights around the Nairobi area. We didn't have class Friday, so I was to go to the National Museum with some friends just outside of the city center, but unfortunately things got messed up, so I was in the city by myself.

I love cities, particularly the downtowns. Because I was by myself Friday, I got to do my own little tour of downtown Nairobi, which is growing on me. After wandering around one side of downtown, I made my way to the area around the Hilton Hotel, which is becoming one of my favorite areas of the city. Wanting to waste a few hours, I found a bookstore, bought "The Divinci Code" and went into a coffee shop and read for a while. This is one of my favorite things to do. Walk around a downtown area and people watch, find a nice coffee shop and escape for a while in the comfort of a book, chair and coffee. I went home after coffee and we still didn't have running water (for the third day in a row) and during a thunderstorm we lost power (a common occurrence).

Saturday, I woke up and made my way downtown again to head out to the Elephant Orphanage Center in Nairobi National Park. I don't get coffee at home, so I stopped at a Java downtown and got an iced coffee. Walking around the nice parts of downtown Nairobi with an iced coffee made me feel back at home.

I hopped on a matatu and made my way out to the Elephant Orphanage. I "alighted" at the center and met my friends Maggie and Sarah who are both from Madison and go to Blackhawk Church. We got up to the center by a nice worker who drove us up to the gate, and after a little waiting, we paid our 300 shillings ($4) we got in.

We stood by a thin rope, waiting for the baby elephants to come out. A little after 11 am (they're open to visitors every day from 11-12) the first group of elephants came out. The first group was the younger elephants the center has. There were 10 of them, and they walked up expecting their bottles of milk about four feet in front of me. After being fed, they played around with each other (including some soccer) and we got to pet them! They were really fun to watch. After 30 minutes, they left and the next group of nine came in. They are the older elephants at the orphanage.

We stayed for about the full hour and thoroughly enjoyed watching the elephants. Each had their own "attitude" and were fun to see. The Elephant Orphanage, formerly known as the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, is a very cool program, is cheap to visitors and a great way to save orphaned elephants survive after losing parents before returning them to the wild.

After the seeing the elephants, we made our way to the Karen Giraffe Center. Here, you can feed giraffes from your hand, or as I did, from your mouth! You walk in and the keepers either give you hay or pellets and you can walk right up to the fence and feed the giraffes. After hearing stories from friends, I decided to go ahead and go about the feeding with my mouth. I can now say that I've kissed a giraffe. Not the cleanest thing, but the pictures and story are now at least a conversation starter.

I hope you're doing well, and to hear from you soon.

Mother's Love Feeding Center

It's about time that I did a blog post on my host mom's feeding center. My family lives close to Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world, and my host mom runs a feeding center for orphans who are from Kibera called Mother's Love.

Every Saturday, my host mom and other adults from the area chaperone the kids, feed the kids and help lead them in singing.

When I showed up the first week, I walked in through the gate to see a dusty little soccer field with kids running around. Within a few seconds I heard the first "MZUNGU!!" shout from one of the kids, which caused the rest of them to run over to the fence.

After going inside, I don't think I had a free hand unless I was playing soccer until I left. The kids repeatedly wanted to hold my hand, play soccer with me or try to talk with me. They are absolutely amazing.

Basically how the day works is that the kids show up and play for a while until the food comes. After lunch the kids have a bit more time to play before they group up and sing and recite Bible verses. After that time, they play group games like duck-duck-goose.

I feel amazingly blessed to be a part of these kids lives. They show me the beautiful simplicity of laughter. They basically have nothing and still find joy in the basics of life. They repeatedly bring a smile to my face.

While I'm blessed to have them in my life, I also feel called to encourage you to potentially get involved with my host mom's ministry through support. I don't want to pressure you into giving anything, but ask that you just sit back and pray about it and see if God is calling you to give. Please let me know if you're at all interested, and I will give you the contact information to my host mom. Something as simplistic as the soccer ball I bought for them last week makes a difference.

I hope you're all doing well and have a great weekend. And remember how difficult times may be, there's always some beauty in the life around us.

A tour of Nairobi

Today, I got to go on my first field trip since high school! One of the classes I currently am taking is on the development of Kenya, so our professor took us on a bus tour around the city and showed us development of the region since independence. It was an interesting few hours.

We got to class, and then got on a bus and our first stop was at Uhuru Park. Uhuru Park is a large park right near downtown Nairobi where our professor showed us various buildings in downtown and how that part of the city has developed. After there, we drove to the formal business sector of Nairobi. This is where some of the large businesses are and where many people work.

After driving through this area, we made a stop at the informal working sector of the city. In the particular area we stopped at, we got to see the metal working district. At this area we got to see metal-based products being made from the start. We got to go back and see basically blacksmiths working on the metal. This was hard to watch as an outsider as we come in and watch these people basically smashing metal repeatedly to form it to the basic objects that shops closer to the road would sell such as jikos (little charcoal cooking grills that many families use in the home for cooking), wheelbarrows, shovels, trunks, etc. It looked like an intense process and something that made me feel extremely priveledged as an American.

After that area, we drove by one of the slum regions of Nairobi, and stopped at a market. One of the things I want to bring home from Kenya is a djembe (a big handdrum you place between your legs to play). I unfortunately didn't realize we were going to the market today as I got a guy to offer to sell me one for 450 Kenyan shillings (about $7). If I were to buy one in the States, it might run for over $100.

In addition to showing us this part of Nairobi, our professor wanted to show us the development of upscale parts of Nairobi. We then drove to a very nice area that included a mall with a slide and the American Embassy. It was a drastic difference to what we saw previously on our tour. After our tour, we went to an Ethiopian restaurant and had some lunch.

I think the thing I struggled the most with today is the amount of poverty and need, something I also see everyday living so close to Kibera. I really struggle with this. I feel that I'm here to learn how to help people help themselves, but at times the task seems so overwhelming that I don't know where to start. I think over the course of the semester, I'm going to have to learn how to make a difference one person at a time.

This is a mindset about the world that I think is maybe the best to take. The task of fighting against poverty, hunger and disease is daunting. But only if you take it on by yourself. If every person does their part, trying to help a few other people at a time, it seems less overwhelming. There's a lot of need in the world, but we need to decide if we're going to be overwhelmed by it, or try to tackle the things we can. It's up to us to decide, and I hope we decide to act. We can make a difference in the world, and I hope we do.

A couple days of firsts

Hey everyone! I hope that you're doing well. I thought I'd just give you a bit of a heads up on me over the past few days. I've had a few "firsts", so I thought I'd share.

1st #1: I went to my first Kenyan movie theater yesterday, and it was VERY nice. Myself and some other students went to go see "Valentine's Day" because the theater has a deal every Monday. While the movie was pretty cheesy, it felt like I was in America for two hours. The theater could basically compare to most American theaters with nice seats, a big screen, air conditioning and very nice bathrooms.

1st #2: After seeing the movie and having not the best weekend, I got really homesick for the first time last night. I wrote about a page and a half in my journal about the people and things I miss from home. I'm much better today and appreciating my time, but APPRECIATE THE THINGS AT HOME THAT MAKE LIFE EASIER! And always, appreciate the people around you. They are a blessing.

1st #3: I got my first haircut in Kenya today. While it was a bit more expensive than I hoped to pay for, it was still cheaper than what I'd pay in the States. The lady did a nice job, but I couldn't understand about half of what she said because she had a Northern European accent, and I thoroughly enjoyed her multi-colored dyed hair. I would assume she had 4 colors.

1st #4: I went on my first run in Kenya today. I didn't make it far, only about 3 miles, but it felt great to go on a run. I got stared at a lot, but I really missed running, so going out was nice. I wish I could have gone farther, but a combination of heat, dehydration and breathing in exhaust and dust probably didn't help.

Otherwise it was a pretty normal start to the week. Some class, some hang out time with friends and family. I, again, hope you're all doing well, and to hear from you soon!

One Month Update

Hey everyone!
I hope this post finds you well. Even though Monday was technically the marker for me being gone for a month, I thought I would post this today since I left on January 11th.

I thought I would just give you a heads up on me and some things about me so far:
Currently, I’m living with an amazing host family in Fort Jesus, a neighborhood in Kibera, in Nairobi, Kenya. I’m loving Nairobi more and more, and find myself truly enjoying my time here. It has been an adjustment, to be sure, but it has been a good adjustment.

Here are some things that I’ve learned to adjust to:
-Kenya time: Kenyans are not always on time, whereas back home, people are generally punctual. When someone says they’ll be somewhere at 11 a.m., that means 11 a.m. Here, however, can be a bit of a different story. There are some Kenyans who run on time. On the other hand, people may keep you waiting for a while. Yesterday, myself and other students in my program went to play soccer with some local high school kids who showed up an hour and a half after we were informed they were supposed to. I’ve learned some patience.
-Garbage: There are not really garbage cans in my neighborhood, so there’s kind of just garbage around, on the ground, in the street, in the ditch, in random places, and occasionally on fire.
-Being stared at: This is one of the more difficult things for me to adjust to. People will blatantly stare at me here, and while I’m better at dealing with it, it still is a bit weird.
-Cleanliness: Of food, clothing, stuff…

Here are some things I miss:
-Family and friends: You are without a doubt, the thing I miss the most. There are so many times every day when I think of one of you and wish you were here with me.
-Being outside after dark: Back at home, I could get home from work at 8 pm, leave my apartment for the library at 9 pm and walk home from the library at 1 am and be fine. But here, I have to be home before dark, or take a cab, which is very expensive. I miss being able to walk around at night, and I especially miss running at night.
-Coffee: Coffee is a rarity here, and even more so if you don’t drink instant. I miss my mug of coffee at class every morning.
-Drinking water and food: I miss being able to get drinking water out of the tap and not having to be so concerned with what I eat. Especially with water, I miss not having to treat everything that I drink or buying bottled water.

Here are some things I love:
-The people: The people here are amazing and will do anything for you. My host family is absolutely amazing, and is constantly working to make me feel comfortable. I’ve literally had to force my way into doing the dishes and my laundry because they want to do it for me.
-The weather: Enough said.
Traveling: I’ve always loved traveling. But on my way back from Mombasa, I realized I am so enamored by travel because it forces me to sit in the glory of the Lord’s presence and provides me an opportunity to come before him quietly and listen to what he has to say. It’s often when I’m away from home that I can best hear what he has to say. Traveling gives me this while simultaneously showing me the beauty of the earth.
-Spontaneity: Things can basically just happen, randomly. Is there a goat walking in front of me? Yes. Is there a pile of garbage on fire when I walk to school? Yes. Is that a chicken on the side of the road? Yep. Every day is an adventure with something new to bring to the table.

Here are some things I’ve learned:
-God is teaching me something from every moment: God is trying to teach me something new every day with each situation he places me in. It’s up to me to slow down and try to figure out what that is because sometimes it’s something I don’t want to hear. Every situation is a growing opportunity, and I’ve learned to be more aware of God’s teaching presence.
-Live it up: Coinciding with God’s teaching, I’ve learned more and more to live up every situation. I can either just go through my daily motions each day, or I can choose to take every moment and try to find the best in it. This is something I’m still working on, but feel I’m getting better at.
-Relaxing: Not that I’m relaxing with every moment, but I’m learning to take a more relaxed approach to life.

These are just a few things about me. I hope you’re doing well, and have a great weekend!

Mombasa

Mambo?!? Habari za nyumbani (How's it going? How's home?)

Yesterday I got back from an amazing little weekend at Mombasa, the main city on the Kenyan coast.

Myself and a few other students on our program left Friday afternoon and had our first big trip away from Nairobi. The trip to Mombasa was...interesting. The bus we took was fine, but the roads in Kenya are nothing like home, and once we got outside of Nairobi, there were no four-lane highways, so if we got stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle, we stayed at that pace until we could pass.

The landscape, however, entirely makes up for the drive. The landscape outside Nairobi gradually turns into rolling hills where we saw giraffes and camels. As you drive further down, the highway splits Tsavo National Park into two. Here, it was the perfect example of the "African Bush" with small mountains in the background. It was beautiful, and we even got to see elephants a few hundred yards from the road!

8 hours later, we all got off the bus sweaty (the bus wasn't air conditioned) and ready to get to our place. A 40-minute matatu ride later, we finally arrived. While we got dropped off by the bus in Mombasa, we actually stayed at a place in Diana Beach, and it was amazing. About 50 meters from our rooms was a wall, leading down onto the beach, and then to the Indian Ocean.

That night, we walked down onto the beach and down to the water. Being so far down from Mombasa, the sky was filled with stars. Then I went and put my feet in the water, and being almost on the equator, it felt like a bath. It was beautiful and warm.

That heat, however, translated to a warm night of sleeping. I woke up sweaty, but made my way down to the beach around 6:30 a.m. to watch the sun rise. At Mombasa, there's a sand bar about 300-400 yards off shore and then coral, so the waves are very small coming toward the shore. The water is not only calm, but a beautiful blue coming into the shore, which is made of white sand. I sat there and watched the sun rise until about 7:15 and then made my way to the water and was back and forth between the ocean and our place until noon. There were also monkeys climbing in the trees around where we stayed.

Myself and a couple other people walked about 45 minutes down the beach to go grab some lunch. There were not many people out, and along the way there were beautiful rock structures, old boats just offshore and camels walking down the beach for tourists to ride. We ate at a place called 40 Thieves, where we sat and ate on a picnic table in the sand in the shade of a tree.

Then I had one of the coolest experiences of my life. One of my friends and I went out on a rickety old glass-bottom boat to the reef to go snorkeling for 800 Kenyan shillings (about $10!!). We jumped into the water, and I found Nemo (a Clown Fish), as well as Dory and other "Finding Nemo" characters!! Along with this we saw about 40 different kinds of fish, star fish, sea cucumbers, eels and sea urchins. Fish were swimming all around us, and I even got charged by one. It was beautiful. We snorkled for about 30 minutes, and then the driver took us out to the sand bar as it gets exposed as a small island in the afternoon. As we stood on the sand, the ocean was to our right, the coral to our immediate left and the beach with palms trees were farther out. It was beautiful! Then we got to ride on the front of the boat back to the restaurant with the ocean, beach and coral around us. It was an absolutely amazing and beautiful experience.

That night, we went for dinner and got to see some traditional African dancing. The group performing there did traditional dances from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. It was very cool.

Yesterday, we got on the bus a little tired and made our way back to Nairobi. All in all, it was an amazing weekend, and I hope to return to the Mombasa area soon!

I hope you're all doing well at home, and to hear from you sometime soon! I miss you all! Kwaheri!

My Average Kenyan Day

I had a few requests from people to hear what my average day was like, so I thought I'd give you a little preview.

I wake up at 7:00 a.m. to get ready for school, but I'm often up earlier as the little boy who lives next door seems to like to wake me up. I get ready, and eat breakfast with my host sister Faith. For breakfast we eat something like toast with butter or mandazi (Kenyan doughnuts, if you've ever eaten a beignet, it's like that without the powdered sugar). I'm usually out the door by about 7:45 with a 30 minute walk to school.

I like to walk through the Toi (Toy) Market to get to school as it's on my way, and we start class at 8:30 a.m. Usually, we have three classes a day, two hours each. It may depend on the day, as we only have two classes on Wednesdays.

I only take classes with other students from my program. We are taking classes in Kiswahili, Development and Country Analysis of Kenya. After our first class in the morning, we take a short tea break and then have another class. After our second class, we have an hour lunch break. One of the advisors for our program's wife is a caterer, so we either buy food from her like beans and rice, ndengu (lentils) and rice, chapati (mix between a tortilla and pita), beef and rice, or we go to get something to eat at a grocery store or local restaurant.

After our third class of the day, a group of us students will often go somewhere together to spend some time before going back to our homes. One of our favorites is Java House, a coffee shop/restaurant chain in the city that sells real coffee, a rarity here.

I then come home and will eat dinner with my family, watch some television, do some homework, and then it's back to bed to get ready for the next day.

I hope you're all doing well! I miss you and hope to hear from you soon!

Kwaheri!

Matatus

Hello from Nairobi! I hope this post finds you all well! Yesterday, I had my first experience on matatus by myself. Matatus are the main transportation for the city. Envision old and kind of junky 15 passenger vans blaring hip-hop music, and you've got a matatu!

Basically matatus work like this: You go up to a matatu or bus stage (stop) and wait for your matatu. When the matatu comes up to the stage, there is someone who works for the matatu that gets out and tries to convince people to get into their matatu. They'll yell, talk to you personally, whatever to get you into their matatu.

Once you find the correct matatu, you hop in, and try find a seat, sometimes while the matatu is already in motion. Depending on the distance between stops, the guy trying to convince you to get into the matatu will sometimes hang outside the vehicle :). Then you go!

Depending on the matatu, you'll have up to 15 people inside, potentially with outrageously loud hip hop music playing. Matatu drivers: mildly insane. They'll go really fast and then slam on the brakes to avoid an accident and they drive all over to get where they need to go, weaving through traffic.

Overall, matatus are overwhelming, insane and simultaneously awesome. For me to get downtown via matatu on off-peak hours is 20 Kenyan shillings (about 27 cents), 30 in the morning (about 40 cents) and 50 (about 67 cents) during afternoon rush hour. It's a cheap way to get where I need to go.

Despite being mildly overwhelming, once you know what matatu you need, it's fairly easy. If you miss a matatu, they often come in less than 5 minutes. I haven't had to wait for more than 3.

Again, I hope you're all doing well, and I hope to hear from you soon.

My Kenyan Home

So today is the second day of my home stay. I’m staying in the Fort Jesus Estates in Nairobi, Kenya. I have an absolutely amazing host family. My mother is Constance, and she helps run a feeding center for orphans in Kibera. She has five children, of whom I’ve met three. Faith is the oldest and works as an accountant, Phyllis is a college student studying software engineering, Yvonne is a college student studying journalism, and the two I haven’t met, Tracy and Emmanuel, are both in high school. I find myself getting along with them very well, and we’re already joking around, dancing and singing together already. I’m trying my best to fit in, speaking the few words of Swahili that I can, and eating sukumu wiki (sautéed spinach with tomatoes, onions and garlic) with ugali (maize flour) by hand. You take a chunk of the ugali and ball it up, and then pick up things with it. It was an interesting first try.

Yesterday, I got to the house for the first time, we had some lunch, and I took a nap. Last night, I got a feel for my neighborhood and then we had dinner and we watched a movie. This morning, Faith and I went to Nairobi Baptist Church, which was a good experience for me to go see a church service in a different country.

I just got done doing my first set of laundry. Moreso than warm showers, the thing I think I won’t take for granted again are washing machines. Here, it is a long and draining process as all of our clothes have to be washed by hand. First you have to soak the clothes in water. Then you scrub laundry soap in bar form on the clothes, then you scrub…for a long time. Then you soak it back in the water to get rid of the soap. Then you move the clothes to a couple buckets to wash the remaining soap off, draining the water at each bucket. After this, you move the clothes to another bucket, take them outside, and let them air dry. It took me over an hour and a half, with assistance from Yvonne, to get my clothes done. In particular, you have to lay jeans down on the ground, apply the soap, and then scrub with a scrub brush. It’s hard work.

I’ve truly enjoyed my last couple days here in Fort Jesus. I’ve already learned a lot, and know I have so much more to learn. I hope that you are all doing well, and enjoy your washing machines!

Nakuru

This post is from January 23rd: My time in Lake Nakuru was absolutely amazing. We left Nairobi the morning of the 19th to head to Lake Nakuru National Park. After a few hours on a bus, we arrived. Waiting to be let inside the park, we were greeted by a monkey who hopped onto the top of our bus, where our bags were, and was looking for food. We also got to see baboons run around and we saw a rhino walking near the lake.

That night, we got into our hostel at the park and just relaxed. On our way to the hostel, we saw a male and female lion. It was an amazing.

The next morning, we woke up and started our orientation work. We had orientation in the morning and early afternoon and then went on game drives. During orientation, numerous animals such as cape buffalo, zebras and gazelles walked by, and baboons even hopped over the fence and walked around as we sat there. On the game drives, we also saw giraffes, a leopard, impala, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, flamingoes and rhino.

One particular drive was absolutely beautiful. It started raining while it was still sunny. A rainbow formed over Lake Nakuru, and we could see the lake with the small mountains and clouds in the background and buffalo eating near the lake. It was amazing. The following morning, we went up to a place called Baboon Cliff where we watched the sun rise over the park. Some baboons stay here at night and were docile in the morning, so we were able to get within a few feet of them. It was beautiful.
One day at the national park, we went to the city of Nakuru to go to the market. It was an interesting experience, and good for me to learn how to buy in the market.
We just arrived into Nairobi today (the 23rd), and I’m currently having some down time at my home stay. I hope this post finds you all well. I miss you.

Habari!

This post is from January 18th: Habari from Kenya! I’m writing this post on January 18th, but I don’t know the next time I will be able to get internet access, so I will post this as soon as I can. I hope that you are all doing well.

I flew into Nairobi this morning, and an adviser for my program was at the airport waiting for me with a taxi. As soon as I walked outside, I immediately felt the heat and enjoyed the fact that everything is green! Parts of Nairobi National Park extend to the road near the airport, so one of my first images of Kenya was seeing a group of giraffes eating and walking in the park as we drove by! It was amazing!

I stopped over at a cyber café to send a quick e-mail to my family to let them know that I arrived in Nairobi safely. After that, the cab driver took me to where I am right now, the Wildlife Parks of Kenya, where my group is staying for the night. Upon my arrival, the host took me to my room, and I set my things up. After not sleeping well most of last week because of time differential and being uncomfortable on the plane ride last night, I took a nap as I have some down time until everyone else from my program shows up somewhere between 8-10 pm.

After my nap, I found the host and she got a student who is studying at the hostel we are staying at tonight to show me where to get some food. As we were walking, I had my first interesting Kenyan experiences. First off, the hostel I’m staying at is near Nairobi National Park. About 5 minutes from our hostel, we walked by a warthog lying in the grass. Trying not to look overly excited like a stupid tourist, I just walked by. Later, I asked the student I was walking with about the commonality of animals in the area, and learned that animals may be around in this part of Nairobi as there is a lot of green space and we’re close to the park.

Dublin

Hello from Dublin! Tonight is my last night in the city, and it has been an amazing experience. Tomorrow I leave to head down to Nairobi!

So Leah and I got here Thursday morning, and arrived at our hostel, which is right on the Liffey River in downtown Dublin! It is beautiful. We went on a very interesting tour of Kilmainham Jail which was formerly used to house numerous individuals, including political prisoners in Ireland until the early to mid 1900's. Then we preceded to go out for a little bit, grab some dinner and then called it a night.

The next morning we went on our first of two walking tours in the city. We saw many interesting things on the first tour. We learned about the history of the city and Ireland as a country, and saw how the city developed over time. We saw City Hall, Dublin Castle, where Handel's "Messiah" was first performed, the river, Trinity College and Irish Parliament. Later that night we went out.

This morning we woke up and went on another tour, this time seeing a few different things. On this tour we saw parts of medieval Dublin, where the Vikings landed, the Museum of Natural History and other parts of downtown Dublin. However, on this tour, we got to go into the Chester Beatty Library. Here, Beatty donated historic religious artifacts for the Irish people. This visit was special as we saw some of the original writings of the books of Mark, Matthew and John as well as Paul's letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, as well as others. It was beautiful and fascinating to see what we read today in its original form.

As I said earlier, I leave Dublin tomorrow to fly to London and then onto Nariobi. I hope this post finds you all well and I hope to hear from you soon! God Bless!

London

Hello everyone! I'm in London in the hostel back from a pub where I had some bangers and mash! So great! My time in London has been wonderful.

My friend Leah who's studying in France picked me up from the Heathrow yesterday and we took the Tube to the hostel. Luckily Leah is with me because she knows how to use the Tube, whereas I was a little lost my first few times, and she's been helping me not look more like a ridiculous tourist than I already am.

After dropping our things at the hostel, we headed over to the Tower of London, which was really interesting, giving me new insight on the history of the city. We then walked along the river and saw the Tower Bridge. After that, we took the tube over to King's Cross and did our best Harry Potter fan pose in front of platform 9 3/4.

We headed over to Picadilly Circus, London's Time Square. We walked from there to China Town, Leicster Square and around the West End. Both being exhausted, we came back to the hostel and fell asleep pretty early.

Today we saw basically the rest of London's tourist sights. We went on a scenic walk along the river, which was beautiful in snow, and saw St. Paul's Cathedral, the Globe Theater, London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament building. We crossed the river and walked into Parliament Square and took some pictures in front of Westminster Abbey. We then walked from there to Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, back to Trafalgar Square, where we had lunch, and then to the National Gallery. At the National Gallery we saw some amazing art pieces, including portraits dating back to the 1500's. After a little rest back and the hostel, Leah and I went to a pub and had some traditional British food.

I leave tomorrow morning for Dublin. These last two days have been amazing. I love the city of London, and have already had some amazing experiences.

I hope this post finds you all well! Hope to hear from you soon.