Everything is mzuri (good) in Kenya!

Greetings from Kenya! In the short time I've been here, I feel like I already have a lifetime worth of stories to share. I arrived at 8:30pm Kenya time on Friday, Nov. 28th, and instantly felt the warm, tropical air stepping off the plane. I got through customs after a bit of a wait and, thankfully, both of my massive bags were present and intact. My introduction to Kenya was pretty amusing--after eighteen hours of being on planes, a very disheveled Emily stepped out to the greeting area to a sea of faces (literally) waving signs with various names on them, none of them were mine. I couldn't see Karambu anywhere and did a few walks back and forth looking at the staring crowd. I felt pretty out of place. I didn't have a working cell phone so I was trying to think of my options. After about 20 minutes a woman approached me and lucky for me it was Karambu! She said she didn't really recognize me and thought I was skinnier and more blonde (Which I was in June when we met- haha). She introduced me to her son Andrew and we headed to their apartment in Southern Nairobi. After helping me lug my huge bags up 4 flights of stairs, we ate dinner, had tea (which they prepare with whole milk), and then headed for bed.

The next day, we headed to a party for Karambu's niece Njeri in Kiambu, which is about 20 minutes west of Nairobi. It was Njeri's dowry ceremony, which I guess is an engagement party of sorts, only the elders gather and discuss the dowry being offered. Nowadays a dowry means how much money will be exchanged between families (though in parts of Kenya they still talk goats and chickens). There was a buffet and I noticed just how much Kenyans eat in one sitting. Even the oldest ladies have a plate piled high with food. I tried to compete, but it being my first day in the country I didn't want to overdo it on native food yet. Small steps! Karambu's family members were very gracious and friendly to the strange American party crasher and by the end of the night, I was drinking Tusker (local beer) with her cousins.

Sunday we woke up very early (6:15am, and for anyone who knows me, you know I don't do mornings). We walked to a gas station up the street to meet Robert, who would be driving us up to Muranga, a town about an hour and a half north of Nairobi. Karambu's colleague at the University of Nairobi, Nyuthoa, was holding a memorial service for his parents, who had been prominent citizens in Muranga. We picked up Robert's friend John, who is Head of News for Kenya's 24 hour TV station, and began our trip. They wanted to know all about my thoughts on Kenya so far and how I felt about obama winning the election (I've learned that all I need to say is "I love Obama" and I will instantly be a friend to Kenyans). Then they told me something that I am still laughing about: Kenyans are naming their newborns 'Obama' and 'Michelle' in record numbers. Amazing how one man can have such an impact on the hopes and dreams of people everywhere. After getting past Nairobi and the shocking slums on its outskirts, the drive to Muranga was so beautiful. If anyone has seen "The Land Before Time", I felt like I was in "the valley" at the end of the movie... lush, hilly countryside. We arrived to the church in a rural village outside of Muranga town after going down many windy, hilly, bumpy, red dirt roads. We were in the middle of farm country in the middle of nowhere and I was surrounded by green everywhere: banana and mango trees, coffee and tea plants, napier grass, maize and bean crops. I was quite the attraction at the church. At one point, there were about 10 kids crowded around me in the back of the church just watching my every move. When I would smile at them, they'd giggle or get bashful and look away. I might have been the first mzungu (Swahili term for white person) they've ever seen in person. And my camera has been a big hit, especially with the kids.

One big reminder that I am not in Windham anymore happened when I asked Karambu where the bathrooms were. "Outside," she said and I figured they were probably like an outhouse/portable toilet system. I thought, OK Emily, you've been camping before, you can do this! But nothing could have prepared me for when I opened the door of the dark outhouse and saw a small dirty hole in the ground. I almost died. Since there were people staring at me, I went in and just starting shaking my head and laughing about how crazy this all was. This was probably the fastest I've ever peed in my life just to get the heck out of there. I went back and reported to Karambu about my shock and we just laughed and laughed. Then we had to tell John and Robert of course, and they started dying laughing as well. I'm glad my bathroom story could provide entertainment at least!

When we returned to Nairobi, the guys took us out for some drinks. We went to Veranda, a popular (not so mzungu) bar downtown, and Arsenal was playing Chelsea on TV (ahh the international language of soccer). Kenyans are obsessed with football and the whole bar would erupt when their team was about to score. John is an Arsenal supporter and Robert a Chelsea man, so they were quite funny about it. After a very action-packed and lovely day, we headed back to the apartment to get some rest... our trip to Meru was the next day!

**A brief commentary on what I will from henceforth term "Kenyan patience", which must be its own breed. The traffic in Nairobi is some of the worst in the world (Boston traffic is child's play in comparison) but no one seems really flustered by it. What should be a 10 minute trip can turn into 2 hours of insanity. There are also no lanes painted on most roads (even main highways), so it's kind of a free-for-all. Add people walking in between cars selling all manner of goods and darting across major roads to get from one side to the other and you've got a serious mess. Kenyan patience also applies to every other daily activity. The concept of time seems to not really matter here. You get somewhere when you get there, no questions or worries. Adjusting to this slower pace of life will be a challenge for this antsy gal! So far, though, Kenya has been amazing, beautiful, shocking, and very interesting.

More posts about my trip up to Meru and what I've been doing with IPI to come soon!