Mombasa

I had been wanting to go to Mombasa since I arrived. The coast and the Indian Ocean was calling my name but I didn't think I was going to end up going there since no one wanted to go with me and the first thing people would say when I mentioned it wasn't, "Its so gorgeous," it was, "Watch out for all the prostitutes!" Just when I had given up I got the opportunity of the lifetime Rebecca had a training to go to in Mombasa and she invited me go along with her. Since my budgetary situation is not what it used to, to much time in the Masai Markets, Natasha even said she would pay for the hotel. After only a 45 minute plan ride, which included a close up look at the peak of Kilimanjaro, I landed in Mombasa. The air as soon as you walk off the plane feels completely different so humid and fresh a complete change from polluted Nairobi. I had to wait for Rebecca at the airport since my plane arrived early and I didn't want to pay for a taxi. We got to the hotel just in time for dinner and I went to my room and watched a little World Cup before heading to bed.

On my first day I decided to just spend some time relaxing at the hotel. After getting my nails done which took 2 1/2 hours for just a manicure and a pedicure (I hope that doesn't say anything about the state my nails were in) I headed to the beach with my book, If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin. The book was so good but I kept on getting interrupted. A Nigerian guy asked me if we could be friends and take a picture of me, I answred with a resounding no! An Indian guy tried to talk to me in some language I didn't understand and finally walked away when he realized our conversation was going nowhere, people were offering to take my out on their boats and buy jewelry. Despite the distractions I finished my book and then went back to hang out with Martha who did my nails since Rebecca wasn't back yet from the training. When Rebecca came back we walked on the beach. The beach is so beautiful. The water was blue, the sand white and palm trees lined the beach, it looked like a postcard. After the walk we took a matatu to a shopping center for dinner, can you believe Rebecca never had quesadillas before?

On my second day I decided that I would be adventurous and go into town. I got directions from Martha and the front desk and headed out. It was surprisingly easily all I had to do was catch the matatu right in front of the hotel and take it straight into town and take a tuk-tuk straight to Fort Jesus. When I got to Fort Jesus, a fort the Portuguese built where slaves were transported and where they kept watch of the coast, it had started raining. By the time that my tour had just gotten under way it was pouring and I waited under the tree with my guide trying to wait it out. After the rain had been steadily getting worse we decided to make a run for it back to the museum. The museum was just okay it had a lot of artifacts that were left over from the Japanese and Chinese from trading but the best parts were the views and these drawing Portuguese soldiers did from 300 years ago. Being in the fort made me feel like I was in Cutthroat Island. I could just see Gina Davis saving Matthew Modine from pirates and running to their ship in the harbor. When the tour was over the guide asked me if I wanted a tour of Old Town and some of the other Mombasa sites. I said okay and we headed off. Old Town is really interesting with old buildings and winding, bustling streets. We walked around for like 40 minutes and he decided to take me to this nice restaurant so I could try some Swahili food for lunch. I sat down to eat and he asked if he could get some of the money for I said I would give him for the tour for lunch promising he would be back in 20 minutes. I didn't even give him all the money I said I would give him because I didn't want him to run off but after 35 minutes finishing my huge feast of rice and spiced vegetables I knew he wasn't coming back. I headed back to the street lost having no clue where I was but luckily a tuk-tuk came and took me where I could catch a matatu back to the hotel.

On my last day I had planned on going snorkeling with Martha in the morning but I woke up completely sick from the disgusting dinner I had eaten the night before at the hotel. So I had to cancel with Martha which I hated to do. I finally got up at 10 took a shower and called Martha to see if she wanted to go shopping instead. She said yes and we left. Our first stop was Bombalulu a workshop where handicapped people make different crafts. We got turned around and lost even though I got directions but luckily Martha was there to ask for directions. Bombalulu ended up being really nice they had a ton of stuff and everything was a super nice quality. I got a couple of things and we headed to Biashara St. On Biashara I read they had really beautiful fabrics. Every store had a huge selection of fabrics in every color imaginable. I felt like I was in a fabric wonderland, every kikois or kangas you could ever want was there. I was able to get a couple of really nice things and we headed back to take a swim in the ocean. It was already my last day and I hadnt gone in the Indian Ocean yet and that was the main reason that I wanted to go to Mombasa so I had to take a dip while I had the chance. It felt so nice in the water I couldn't believe it the sun was out and it wasnt nearly as cold as the Pacific. The water is was so salty it splashed in my mouth and tasted so gross and it burns your eyes when it get in them but not even the fact my eyes were constantly on fire could diminish how relaxing and fun it was. After a three hour swim I headed back to meet Rebecca for dinner. I was so sad that my stay in Mombasa was winding down I wish I could have stayed there for at least another week but next time I am in Kenya going back to Mombasa will be at the top of my list.

A Photo Update

Sorry I have updated in a long time. Here is some pictures of what I have been up to.

I went with Rosa Maria back to the Elephant Orphanage. It was so much fun!

At the Giraffe Center.

At the Nairobi National Park.

I have no idea what animal this is but it was huge and crazy looking.

At a Cameroonian Gala dancing with Harriette.

We got to meet the performer Sam Fran Thomas, he's a famous Cameroonian singer.

Amboseli Day Two

Rosa had never been camping before and the luxury tents we were staying in was the most wilderness-ey experience she had ever been in. All night she was waking my up, freaking out about all the sounds the animals were making outside. I am no camping expert but I had been enough times in my life to able to ignore all animal sounds and go to sleep. I felt a little mean telling her to stop being a baby and go to sleep because they are not going to come in our tent and eat us then promptly going falling back a sleep but hey what am I going to do, I need my beauty rest. In the morning we woke up and got ready to go out for our 6:30 am game drive. We saw a bunch of elephants and zebra but for the next hour and a half we just drove around looking for lions and we were not able to find anything. There was a lion spotting but by the time we got over to where we were we just missed them. The rocking of the van going over the bumps roads even lulled me to sleep for a while which is kind of embarrassing. Who goes to sleep during a safari?

We then headed back to the hotel for a quick breakfast and checking out so we could go on another game drive before we had to be out of the park. You only pay for 24 hours in the park and if you go over at all they charge you. So after eating way to much at the buffet again and packing we went out for the game drive in record time. Luckily for us the game drive was much more successful. We didn't see any lions but we saw tons of monkeys, ostriches, zebras. I saw my first hippo! It was really far away and I had to use binoculars but it was so huge and cute, they are so incredibly round. That wasn't event the best part of the day though. Right after we left the hippos we came across the hugest herd of elephants I have ever seen. The day before I saw a herd of 200 but it was so far away that it almost doesn't count but this one was a herd of over 100 elephants that walked right past us! There were elephants of every size tiny babies, ones with giant tusks. One elephant that was walking with a tiny baby turned and looked straight at us as all angry. I felt those elephants tiny beady eyes pierce my soul but after staring us down it just walked off. Some of the elephants were marching together in a straight line and I couldn't help but think of the elephant marching song from The Jungle Book, they looked exactly like that. I could have watched them walk in to the distance forever but we had to head back to Nairobi our time had run out. I have to say from the two safaris I have been on in terms of animals the Mara is the best but in terms of the scenery and landscape Amboseli is the nicest. It was a very successful and fun safari I think that I want to do one more before I leave maybe just to a park that is close by though.

Amboseli Day One

This weekend I went with Rosa to Amboseli. She had wanted to go on a real safari while she was here because honestly how often are you in Kenya or Africa for that matter you have to take your safari oppurtunities while they are there. Harriette planned the whole safari for us which was nice and above and beyond what I had initially thought she was going to do. We used the same safari company that we used last time and we even had the same driver. So we left a little before seven and were off. First though we stopped at the KWS headquaterers (Kenya Wildlife Service) to see if we can pay a student rate for our park fees. When we got there we kindly and politely asked and I gave them my I am just a poor student and volunteer please help me look but they said no. To get the student rate which is $20 as opposed to the adult rate which is $60 you have to apply at least two weeks in advance and have a signed note from your school about why you are here and want to go to the park! That is just crazy they should encourage more students to come not make them have to jump through ridiculous hoops. So we paid the $60 and hit the road. I always sleep on road trips and as soon I got in I fell completley asleep. I didnt wake up for about 2 and a half hours and by then we were already more than half way there.

As we were pulling up to the park gate we could see a glimpse of the top of Kilimanjaro and it was so beautiful. It was huge and you can see the whole montain from where it starts to the peak, it was amazing. When we finally got to the hotel they gave us a nice glass of passion fruit juice and hot towels to clean our hands. After checking in we went to see our rooms, which turned out to be so nice. It was like a big tent and with two nice sized beds and even a shower, toilet and sink inside! It was like the fanciest camping ever. Rosa and I then went to eat some lunch before the first game drive. The food was so good we singlehandedly ate half of their apple crumble type dessert. We were able to rest for a little while then got ready to head out for the drive. We saw tons of elephants. Amboseli is elephant country and they were everywhere. There also were tons of zebra, ostriches, vervet monkeys, baboons, wildebeests. I saw my first hyena. They are not very cute though they look like dirty homeless dogs. The whole day we were driving around all Rosa could talk about was seeing a lion and as the day was winding down they were finally spotted. When we finally got to where they were there were like 6 or 7 cars all around. But from where we were we couldn't even see anything. They were hiding behind like 5 bushes and were super far away, there isn't any off roading at all in Amboseli. So we waited around and finally were able to get in a better position and with the binoculars you could only see the sleeping lions outline camouflaged in the grass. So we decided to keep ourselves busy by taking funny pictures and after a while when they still weren't waking up headed back to the hotel hoping to try our luck the next day. Our evening was pretty relaxing eating a huge dinner and watching Glee episodes on my computer till we went to sleep.

My first African party

On Friday with much trepidation I went to a party with Harritte and Sjoerd. Harriette had been telling me about this Ivory Coast party for weeks and with my trip to Embu postponed I was able to go. When I had packed for coming to Nairobi for some reason it never entered into my mind that I would ever be going out and I didn't pack anything nice enough to go to a party in. Luckily, Rebecca is pretty much the same size as me and she let me borrow a nice shirt and a pair of heels. It was such a huge production to get ready I couldn't believe it. Harriette straightened my hair, I got dressed, Rosa Maria took pictures of me, Natasha lent me some jewelry and as if it could not get anymore embarrassing Natasha took pictures of me as I was leaving like I was going to my first school dance or something. We got to the party over a hour late and I was worried because they were serving dinner too that we might miss something but we ended up being one of the first people there. Everyone was running on Kenyan time so the restaurant where it was at really didn't start filling up for another hour. Everyone was speaking French at the party since it was Ivorian and I felt so left out luckily Harriette's friend was there and she didn't speak any French too. The food was good I had grated cassava which I had never had before, some tomatoes in pepper sauce, fries and rice but the ginger juice that I had was so strong and gross it was almost choking. After dinner Harriette dragged me to the dance floor. I have never danced at a party before let alone to African music and it did not come easy to me. I constantly had to think and be aware of every movement I was doing to make sure that I didn't start looking crazy. I am so bad at dancing, seriously bad. What are you supposed to do with your arms? I was wracking my brain trying to think of something to do with them because if it was up to me I would just leave them hanging aimlessly by my sides. After what felt like an eternity on the dance floor I sat back down and rested my feet. When we finally left the party at around 1 we were one of the first people to leave. All in all it was fun and a completely new experience I decided now I am going to be a fun, dancing, party person with a little more practice I will at least.

Plans and transitons

Now that everyone has arrived I have no idea what I was so worried out in the first place. Sometimes I really do psych myself out for no reason. Saturday I finished cooking and just started the dishes when I heard the door bell ring. I had been expecting a 30 year old Brazilian but Rosa Maria turned out to be a 24 year old Colombian grad student at Berkeley. She is a vegetarian which means that now I am not the only one now who get puzzled and shocked looks when I say I don't eat meat. The food I cooked surprisingly turned out well there were a few minutes there when I wasn't sure, she even liked it. Now I have someone to go to travel with already we were planning on going Nairobi National Park, the Giraffe Center, the Safari Walk, a real safari and a trip to Mombasa. She is only going to be here a month so we are going to try to cram in as much as possible. The next day Natasha came back from California and she is going to stay this time for two months. It does feel very different to have so many people in the house but its nice to just walk into the room across from mine and have someone to talk to. After a nice long talk with Natasha checking in on how things have been since she had seen us last. She entrusted me with taking Rosa around and on Sunday we walked to Ya-Ya to the Maasai Market and got some lunch at french bakery there. I feel kind of strange pretending to be this street street Nairobian but in comparison to her I am and I am sure that she will get the hang of it soon.

Final preperations

Tonight another volunteer is coming and tomorrow Natasha, is coming back. I am so nervous a hundred things are constantly running through my head. I feel slightly overwhelmed as I think of how things will change and all the things that I need to do to get ready. This morning Harriette took me grocery shopping at Nakumatt which was the nicest thing ever because since all the food was thrown out when the power was out there was nothing in the fridge. I spent way more money than I wanted to getting a whole shopping cart full of food but when I put everything away you could barely tell I bought anything, everything still looks empty. When I came back from the grocery store I started cooking some chapatis. I am going to have dinner ready for Rosa Maria when she comes, chapatis and peas. Yesterday at work I asked Rebecca to help me write out recipes for everything so I can make it on my own. The first part of the chapatis went very well I had no problems whatsoever. Janet, Harriette's nanny came and checked them and said they look good which was a relief. Now the dough just has to settle and in a couple of hours I will make them so they will be hot and fresh when she comes. For the past half hour or so I have been trying to decorate Rosa Maria's room. Natasha was planning on being here before the other volunteers came so she can buy beds and desks for their room but because Rosa Maria is coming early nothing was bought. So now she gets stuck with a couple mattresses on the floor. I thought of getting the end table and lamp from the third floor and the chair from my room and putting it in hers but it still ends up looking like a room in a psych ward. So I have been taping some pictures up to liven up the room a little, it helped but not as much as I would have liked. Now all I need to make a big sign that says Karibu which means welcome in Kiswahili and finish cooking. I am trying my hardest to make everything as nice as possible because I don't know her and Natasha isn't here. I hope that she likes everything. I just hope the cooking and everything goes off without a hitch and she ends up being nice. I have never lived with someone I didn't know before and I hope that she isn't mean but then I think how could she be mean she is coming to volunteer in Kenya for three months which not everyone would do. Starting now I am offically starting to think positive, everything will be okay, no everything will be great and this will just make my experience even better. Now I just have to start believing it.