So long... farewell!

So tomorrow at approximately 3:00 am my father will be arriving to Kenya...this means that my semester has come to an end :( . It has been such an incredible experience and I am foreseeing a trip back here very soon. The group flight (that a majority of the students are on) is leaving at 11:00 pm on Thursday and so everyone has to be off the compound at 6:00 pm...NO LATER. (The SLU summer Kenya group is coming on Friday morning at 8:00 am...quick turn around) I will be meeting up with my dad at some point tomorrow and I am excited to be his personal tour guide in Nairobi for a few days.

We are leaving for our Tanzanian adventure on May 18th and start hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro on the 19th and are making our way to Zanzibar island on the 25th! There is so much that awaits me between me and the end of this month...I CANNOT WAIT!

This will probably be my last blog post...I am thinking there will not be much internet access on the mountain...hahah. Wish me the best of luck--I've heard ginger is a great way to conquer the altitude adjustment, any other suggestions?

See you all back in the sates on June 1st. Stay tuned for a follow up blog post when I get back!

Kwaheri from Kenya!

You know you're in East Africa when...

1. the power is out more then it is on (currently it is out)
2. you have to stop to let cows and animals cross the street in the city
3. the smell of burning trash is very familiar
4. the public buses are decorated with religious sayings
5. a school bus is stopped on the side of a road with the driver syphoning gas into his tank
6. you cannot walk anywhere with hearing "mzungu" or being cat called at
7. you walk by a group of children and they all either touch your arm or shake your hand
8. the morning it is sunny and then come 4:00 pm it is down pouring rain
9. a question word comes at the end of a sentence versus the beginning (eg. you are going where?)
10. there is a security guard at every gate entry
11. it takes 50 minutes to get to a 20 minute destination because of the traffic...(real life)
12. you can pay $3 for chapati, curry and a salad
13. the vendors say things like: "its so cheap its almost free" and "touching and looking is free"
14. you say meet at 2:00 which really means 2:30 aka Africa time
15. you have to clarify "bottled water" or else you'll be sick for days
16. people assume a white person equals a rich person
17. people thinks that Japan is next to Texas
18. people assume you are fluent is Kiswahili when you say "asante"
19. at chai time the entire city shuts down
20. you can send a friend as much money as you want via your cell phone
21. you are walking down the street and end up saying "hi" to everyone you pass
22. you should not pet a dog in fear of contracting flees
23. dinner is served at 10:00 pm
24. a paved road is like heaven
25. a police can stop a car randomly in order to receive a bribe
26. if you want to keep driving as you're being stopped by the police its okay...they're on foot, they can't stop you!
27. you can't find a bed without a bug net...anywhere
28. you are required to take a de-worming pill before you get on the plane to go home
29. it is very normal to see a guard carrying a large AK/47 around...very casually!
30. you're driving on the highway and pass by a zebra and giraffe

It's the Final Countdown

I just got back from the independent study in Tanzania and am now back in Nairobi. Although it rained the entire time (okay, only 18 out of the 21 days) that I was there I still managed to have a great time. Kate, my IDS partner and I really enjoyed our time exploring Usa River, Arusha and working at the center. My actual work at the Seeway center was somewhat limited because we were not really needed. The center was very efficiently run and they do not rely on volunteers so they did not have much for us to do. (Good and bad, I suppose) We spent the mornings observing the methods and techniques, or perhaps lack there of, of the teachers. We ultimately were able to teach a few lessons which was a great and fun time but also a learning experience. Its very difficult to try and mimic teaching styles that are not what you would necessarily do yourself. Regardless, it was a great experience and I would not take it back.

The rest of the SLU crew here in Kenya had great experiences--the general consensus is that no one wanted to leave and they all really enjoyed their placements. Here are some cool things people did: went bungee jumping, went rafting in the Nile river, was the primary care-giver to orphaned baby monkeys, made art sculptures, worked closely with sea turtles, conducted helpful research, ran in an actual competitive running race (DANNY!!), watched a live birth of a child and started children's programs that are going to continue!! Here we go Saints!

Last night was a lot of fun catching up with each other here in Nairobi. We are all sharing the same mixed emotions about the program wrapping up--its very bittersweet. On Monday and Tuesday we have group presentations (?) and we have to finish our final IDS papers by Thursday before we leave--guess this is what finals week looks like? Crunch time.

The program officially ends on Thursday the 16th and all the SLU kids fly out then (besides those whom are staying for a longer time...there's only a handful). My dad will be flying into Nairobi at 3am on the 16th and we make our way to Tanzania on the 18th to start our quest up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Here's what our itinerary looks like:

May 16 - Rob arrives and stay in Nairobi
May 17 - stay in Nairobi
May 18 - go to Arusha and stay at Marangu Hotel
May 19 - start climb six days and five nights
May 24 - arrive back to Arusha and stay at Marangu Hotel
May 25 - go to Zanzibar
May 29 - back to Nairobi
May 31 - fly out of Nairobi at 3:30(?) am.

I'll attach a few pictures from my IDS...sorry the picture selection is limited! 

Gorm (recently learned the Dogs name...prior to that had been calling him God)

Roasted maize that Kate and I would eat occasionally 

Our bed/drying rack for all of our laundry...thank you rainy season

We've come a long way from our first night of yogurt, granola and avocado to this! 

We forgot about the lentils in the fridge and they started to sprout...oops!

Managed to watch 1/4 of the Julia Roberts collection! 

A DollaDolla...$.60 to get into Arusha town (40 min drive)

Waiting to get picked up at Rotterdam in the morning--checking out the fresh veggies

Teacher Kate examining our newly drawn wall hangings and painted black board!

The nursery school going crazy with the chalk we brought

Sports day

Kate serving up the Ugii (porridge--we call it ewgie)

Singing and dancing on sports day

The office

The road to the center...with a river in the middle of it due to the rainy season

This was THE WORST part of the road...straight up rocks

Singing and dancing to Kiswahili songs

Hope everyone a great few weeks...congrats on completing all your finals (if you had them)! It's almost summer time!!!

I met the next Lance Armstrong

Yesterday, Friday, Kate and I were waiting to get picked up by our supervisors like normal when we are introduced to the most peculiar sight we have seen yet. A tall, muscular, white man pulls into the parking lot of where we are, hops off his bike and says hello. Mind you--he is decked out in hardcore biking gear and covered in dirt. He goes inside the store and comes outside with some ice cream (breakfast of champions). We get to talking and it turns out that this guy, Andrew and Australian, is biking from Cape Town, South Africa to Cape Horn, Somalia. Not only is he doing that, but he also intends on biking from Alaska to Russia after this. Yupp, crazy.

Andrew is a pretty hard core guy--he hiked Mt. Kili in one day...seriously one day. Yes, that means he legitimately ran up it and ran down it. Please note Dad, this is now what I plan on doing our Kili hike...
Overall Andrew was a bit full of himself, he may have mentioned that he "climbed Kili in a day", but hey if I had done that then I think I would be fill of myself too.

Heres his blog if you want to give it a look!
http://globalcheyne.blogspot.com/

The rest of this week went well--I am really enjoying the independence that this component has provided for me! One more week then I'm back in Nairobi to wrap up my semester abroad.

In ONE MONTH from now I will be back in the States!