Now this is Kenya...

First things first, I've heard from a couple of newer readers requesting info on why I'm in Kenya and what I'm doing here. A brief intro to that can be found here. But I will write more on that another day so keep watching (and asking questions, it gives me material for the "boring" days)

But today! Oh my head. It started out early because I was told we were leaving at 8am for Diane & Ibrahim to meet with the regional leaders in Ukambani to see the progress of the wells that were dug there. We were to meet up with Diane's niece Debbi and her husband Aram because I was going to spend the day with Debbi and Aram would go along with the Omondi's to Machakos. We ended up leaving about 9 after waiting to get vegetables to sell from the greenhouse, and (I can't believe I'm typing this) putting "naughty puppy" in the trunk. Yes, you read that correctly. We put a dog in the trunk of the car. She is permanently moving to Machakos to live with friends there.

So Diane, Bouvince, and I leave to meet up with Ibrahim and Ruth who sells the veggies. Then we did the car swap - Ruth to the Toyota w/ Bouvince; Diane, myself & the dog to the Land Rover with Ibrahim. We filled up and were on our way. Next thing we know, all the windows are rolling down because Naughty Puppy decided to live up to her name and release her waste (hmm, I found a tactful way to say that!) inside the car and we were in no place to be able to pull over & clean it out. So I spent the next 30 minutes or so with my face close to the window regardless of the dust & truck exhaust pouring in. I now know that I prefer the smell of diesel fumes to dog-doo.

Finally we arrive at the meeting place & Diane and I go in to find Aram & Debbi while Ibrahim got to clean up the car & the dog. SO happy that job didn't fall to the personal assistant! After some tea, the others headed south and we headed to the game park next door.

Swara Plains is a 20,000 acre private game reserve for non-predatory animals. There is also a small B&B inside with cottages for people who'd like to stay overnight. A little pricey, but not too bad. You can learn more about them here.

We had a lot of fun and saw quite a few animals - Thompson Gazelle, Vervet Monkeys, wildebeest, zebra, Masai Giraffe, a wart-hog, and lots of birds. I posted the pics on my FaceBook page if you want to take a look. On the way home we also saw camels, vultures (obviously something must have been dead out on the plains) and some storks.

Other 1sts today - I ate sugar cane for the first time & got a sunburn because of sitting in traffic.

Hmm, I guess life in Kenya can be interesting!

hectic but good

Last week, there weren't a lot of posts. Why? Because my life is not all that interesting. Really. I get up, do my daily B90x reading & have breakfast, then I get dressed and go back to the laptop broken up by the occasional trip to Nakumatt or the kitchen. See, VERY boring... so I don't feel like there is anything to post.

But today made up for it. I got up, normal routine, and because its Monday that means leaving by 8:45 for staff meeting @ the DOVE office. When I got home, the first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was the smell of BLEACH! This is what I saw when I walked around the corner from the lounge (living room for the Americans) into the kitchen:

Yup, Irene & Mercy had emptied every cabinet & were scrubbing everything down with bleach water. What prompted this you may ask? Me. Yup, yours truly. See last week I casually mentioned to Diane that I'd seen some cockroaches when I went in at night to make my tea before bed, & that the kitchen could really use some organization. I didn't know we had measuring cups until Mercy found one for me while I was making some soup (how else could I figure out how much 850ml of water means in english?) So, she said something to the girls & boy howdy did they get busy.

Now, this means that tomorrow afternoon, Mercy & I get to go into the kitchen & put it all away in a lovely organized fashion. Makes my heart happy... I'm sure this doesn't take my mom by surprise at all because I tend to do this to her kitchen whenever I return after a prolonged absence. (especially corralling the plastic lids & containers, they breed like bunnies!)

BUT that is not the end of my day. Nope, Diane came over a little after 4 and asked if I would go w/ Bouvince to the FOREX office & cash a check and run a few other errands. As a bonus I got to drive! (well at least while it was daylight - no one likes to drive after dark!) So we went to Karen & the FOREX office, then back toward the house to the feed store (gotta fatten up the chickens!), and then back toward town & the Junction shopping mall/plaza to meet Debbi's bus. Just to make life interesting, that meant driving through a 4-way intersection that doesn't line up 3 times. And if that wasn't enough, there was a cow in the middle of the road. Ahh, life in Kenya.

However, there was a VERY big upside to waiting for Debbi at Junction. That is where JAVA HOUSE is. JH is a very western style coffee house/restaurant. That means I was able to get a large iced vanilla latte & a fruit salad. SO yummy... Take a look for yourself:

So, all in all a good day. Tomorrow looks promising too.

airing some dirty laundry...

Real quick before I start this post... I'm endeavoring to post 5 times a week, well at least here at the beginning of this adventure so I can introduce you to my crazy new life & the people that help me survive it...

One of the things that I have to learn to live in Kenya is how to properly do laundry - by hand. In the past the closest I've come is washing out someunmentionables (but did I just mention them?) in the sink while I was traveling. Here, there is NO washing machine, except for the two that God gave me on the end of my arms.So today Irene, Ruth, & Mercy offered to teach me. As I said, I've never really done anything like this before so I decided to start small with only a few things & nothing big. Suffice it to say there was much laughter at my expense. Though they promised that I would be an expert by the time I leave.

And, I even took a few pictures & I'm willing to share them with you. Why? Because I dare any of you machine owners to get outside & do this... Perhaps I've reached a new level of domestic diva-ness. Just wait 'til its time to do sheets & towels...

This is the laundry area... those are my clothes in the smaller blue tub

Here I am filling the laundry tub w/ water...

Now I move the tub over to the concrete so I can wash & not make a larger mess by making mud...

Finally, its all done & hung on the line... should be dry in just a few hours thanks to the abundant sunshine here...

of walks, hills, and sunshine...

Everyone is asking for pictures of my life in Nairobi, so I took a few during my walk today. I went for a walk because Ibrahim prompted me this morning about getting out and enjoying the sunshine. I'd spent most of the morning working in the main house because I'd needed to talk some things over with Diane. And seeing as there aren't any outlets (or tables for that matter) I don't think I'll be working outside too much. Thus, the walk.
I didn't go very far, just to the local corner market, mostly because 1. I'm afraid of getting lost, and 2. I'm not very acclimated to the elevation yet (5,000 ft is pretty high up for a coastal girl like me).

My first realization? Oops, I forgot to put on sunblock and its 2:00 in the afternoon. I live near the equator now. I am most probably going to regret that unfortunate memory lapse.




Our street - Lamwia Rd. - just outside the gate. Yup I have to go down & up the hill to the left if I want to get anywhere.


And this is a GIANT agave plant that I saw as I was walking up Twiga (Giraffe) Hill Rd. If I'd had my tripod w/ me I might have tried to get one of me in front for scale. Trust me, its taller than I am.


And around the corner from the agave plant I found a cactus in bloom, I think it might be prickly pear, but don't quote me on it.


This hill seems much steeper on the way back than it did going to the store. And it continues up beyond where you can see. We live at the very top of the hill, just before it starts to go down again... I really need to learn how to drive...


So this is the last picture I took before I walked in the gate & into the guest house to collapse & write this post. Its the jacaranda tree at the neighbor's. They're in bloom all over & have a really nice spicy scent in the evening.