the dusty and bumpy road

Jambo! Hello! So much to say I don’t even know where to begin! I arrived in London on Monday morning with my travel companion Lindsey, a biology major at UW who is also here in Kenya with me. We had about 14 hours to burn before our flight so we ventured into the center of London via “the tube.” With little direction and a free map from the airport, we decided to “just go and explore.” Indeed we did! It took about 45 minutes to get from Heathrow to Green Park (I think?) where we walked to see Buckingham Palace. (yes I got to see the guards). It began to rain so we ducked into Café Mario for some Greek yogurt and Americanos. Then we went up to Picadilly Circus, which reminded me of a very mini Times Square. Now after living in Madison for the past 3 years, I have gotten accustomed to the “pedestrian has the right of way” idea. Not so in London! Lindsey nearly was run over by a bus at one point and it showed no sign of slowing down at all! And of course looking at traffic from the other direction took some getting used to. We really didn’t have any destination so we just walked aimlessly, which in hind sight probably wasn’t the best idea for a few reasons. First, we were exhausted from the flight and jet lag as neither of us slept on the plane. Second we had our carry-on luggage, which was a pain (literally on my collarbones because of my backpack) to carry around. Third, we ended up in an area comprised mainly of adult bookstores, sex shops, and peep shows. Good thing it was 10:00 am! After that adventure we made our way to Trafalgar’s Sqaure and rested our bodies on the pavement. Lindsey fell asleep sitting up and I was in what I assume was a state of delirium. We decided to go to a pub for some sustenance in hopes it would rejuvenate us. Although I wanted to get some fish and chips, I settled on a burger and a beer. You can take the girl out of Wisconsin but you can’t take Wisconsin out of the girl. We then made our way back to the tube because we heard it gets really crowded around 5 and we didn’t want to risk missing our flight. At Heathrow, we waited for about 4 hours before our flight boarded. I have to say, I really didn’t like Heathrow. They have it set up so that you have to wait by all the shops and stores to see what gate to go to for your flight and don’t show what gate you go to until about 20 minutes before the flight boards. There weren’t many places to sit and it was terribly uncomfortable. I guess that’s the way they get you to buy stuff. Sorry, I don’t think I need Prada shoes where I am going. Lindsey and I met with several other SFS students at the gate and we boarded the plane. I was sitting in the “premium economy” and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The meals were great and the seats were so much more comfortable. They really try to satisfy one’s alcohol tooth! Champagne before dinner, beer and wine with your meal, and then Bailey’s after dinner. Don’t worry, I didn’t indulge in all of them. I saw the most stunning, bright, beautiful moon when we were flying over Italy at about 1:00 am with all the clouds below us. I slept very well and woke up excited to arrive in Kenya. We were picked up in Land Cruisers and made our way from Nairobi to Kimana. Though the distance isn’t far, it took a long time to travel because the roads (if you can even call them that) were so bad. Everything is two lanes (but no lane lines). Someone called it “a constant game of chicken” because people pass other cars constantly and drive 80 miles an hour at you head on to pass. Also, there are people standing everywhere on the sides of the roads waiting to be picked up by the public transport. There is lots of road construction going on (more so than in Madison right now). Workers don’t wear construction hats, bright yellow vests, and no one is there to tell you to slow down for their safety. After talking with some locals, I found out that people have been handing money over for the past 10 years for the construction of roads but corruption prevails and they pocket the money. The danger of driving became real when we passed a semi truck toppled over in the middle of the road. There are no guard rails here, just rocks on the sides of the road and many roads were blocked by piles of rocks to signal that they were having construction being done in that area. Saying it was a bumpy ride is being modest. We stopped at an open air shop in a village about half way to our destination where we were greeted warmly by about 6 men. They tried their hardest to sell us anything possible. Wrote down our names and tried to get lots of information from us offering a “special student discount.” I don’t quite have the exchange rate down and I have zero bartering skills so I decided not to buy anything, but assured them that we would be back in a few weeks. Word must have spread that we arrived because I turned around and there was about 30 staring at us. They waved and smiled and we exchanged “jambos.” The second time I turned around they were signaling the international symbol of money by rubbing their thumbs against their index and middle fingers. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t break my heart to see children as young as three begging for money. The store owners chased the kids away and we hopped into the Land Cruisers to make our way back on the “road.” The kids waved and chased us as we drove away, leaving them literally in the dust. This was a “very real” moment for me. Speaking of dust, there is a lot of it here. Nearly all of Kenya is dust. This poses serious problems for the agriculture, wildlife, and people of Kenya. The main source of water is from the melting glaciers of Kilimanjaro, but it is not nearly enough for survival here. Herders walk their cattle for eight days to Nairobi to find grass for them to feed, sometimes longer. On the plane ride from London, I sat next to a man who lives here and makes a living off a growing roses in Kenya. At first I found this interesting, but then I came to the sad realization that a portion of the small amount of water here goes toward growing roses to be sold in Europe. What a shame. After nearly 5 hours of travel in the Land Cruiser, donkeys, zebras, hippos, baboons, and giraffes, we finally made it to our final destination, Kilimanjaro Bush Camp in Kimana. I can say with full confidence that this is the most beautiful place in the world and it is my home for the next 5 weeks. We have landscape that puts others to shame, with towering Acacia trees and Mount Kilimanjaro in plain site. The staff was waiting for us as we pulled up and greeted us warmly. The cooks had chai tea ready to serve and we settled into the chumba. The chumba is an open air classroom/dining room connecting the kitchen and the library. We received our banda assignments and began unpacking. I am living with two beautiful girls, one a nursing student (Stacy) with a personality to boot and one a nutritional sciences major (Sarah). Stacy warned us that she is a snorer and she brought ear plugs for us (bless her heart). After unpacking we had dinner, which was absolutely delicious--soup, lentils, fried beef, fruit, green beans, and salad. At dinner we were warned to wear closed toed shoes at night and long pants because of snakes and scorpions. It was a nice heads up. Everyone hit the hay as we all were exhausted. I had a great night’s sleep, it was the longest I had in 4 days. Today was mostly orientation stuff and some getting to know you activities.A word about the wild: This is it. We really are in the wild here. There are wild dogs and wild cats that roam through the chumba, baboons walking across the field between bandas and monkeys along the running path. I took a run with some other girls and we were sprayed on from above, assuming that it was a monkey peeing on us. I feel very safe here. There is always an ascari (guard) at our gate and we are surrounded by a fence, though I am told we have been broken into by elephants in the past. I don’t know how to describe how I feel except that I am perfectly content here. Hope all is well on your side. Kwa heri! Goodbye!