Tuesday, November 14, 2006

All that you can't leave behind


When I was packing for Kenya, I was told to bring everything I thought I'd need, because there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to find it here. As a result, I carried two very heavy bags through countless security checkpoints and have already unpacked in three different homes. But if there's one thing I've learned in the month we've been here, it's that you can buy anything and everything in Nairobi. Street vendors are on every corner, and on each major road dozens of vendors stand in the middle of the road waving merchandise at passing cars. There are dollar DVDs, fresh flowers, stylish sunglasses, handcrafted furniture, giant spears, and even bunnies. That's right, a group of guys sell bunnies, kittens, and puppies from a cardboard box in the middle of Ring Road. . .So, here’s a picture of me with my new pet. . .

Dirty Laundry

A woman at the Card Center told me she could tell where I'd been based on the color of my shoes. Kibera has black mud, Kawangware has red mud, and Kangemi has a reddish-brown mud. There is lots of mud in Nairobi, especially during the rainy season. This means a regular laundry day is essential. Unfortunately, there aren't too many washing machines in Kenya. So, like most people I do my laundry by hand. It's a laborious process involving multiple buckets and giant bars of soap. Somehow Kenyan women are remarkably effective at transforming dirty clothes into fresh, crisp, cleanness. I'm still learning how to get the mud out.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Nairobi National Park


On Saturday a group of us went to Nairobi National Park. We spent the day driving through grasslands in a Mitsubishi Pajero. Half-way through the trip, we realized it was easier to spot animals if we sat in the luggage basket on top of the car instead of in the back seat or passenger seats. It was a bumpy ride, but we saw a pair of lions, a hyena, herds of cape buffalo, eland, hartebeest, impala, and wildebeest, as well as many giraffe and zebras. We also had a close encounter with a black rhino, he was not very happy to see us. . .Here's a group of zebra we spotted near our picnic site.

NEW - watch a video of our safari, complete with charging rhinos: