Kenya - That Was Close!

It was my second day in Kenya and eager to get my feet wet in this far away land, my new friends and I decided to hire a driver for the day to take us to sites on the outskirts of Nairobi. Little did I know that by the end of the day I would be drenched in Kenya. This capital city really does not have any major sites, but there is a Giraffe Center, baby elephant orphanage and this cultural dance center (where I had hoped to see the African Ant Eater Ritual). We found the driver through the Hilton and he told us he would pick us up out front at 10am. So we were there promptly, not yet understanding what “African time” means. So for about an hour we watched the cars get checked for bombs as they pulled in front of the hotel, and waited for Bob the driver.

Once he picked us up, and totally unapologetic for the tardiness, he proved to be an informative and friendly driver. He even took us to Carnivores for lunch where I had my first sampling of Ostridge balls and crocodile (dining on Zebra has been outlawed in Kenya so we didn’t get to push to the outer limits of the African exotics). And while the giraffe center doesn’t really have anything to do with the story, it is worth pointing out that I did put a piece of giraffe nibble between my lips and this giant giraffe licked it right out of my lips. It was tongue unlike any I had ever experienced. Okay, so back to Bob. After a long day, we headed back into Nairobi where he was going to drop us off at a local Massai market (recognizing it would violate a cardinal tourist rule by buying souvenirs at the beginning of a long trip). It was rush hour, or as they say – jam. The jam seemed to clear up and we started very quickly picking up speed. “Watch out!” screamed Jodi from the backseat! Boom. Too late, we slammed into the truck in front of us. Bob looked over at me in the front passenger seat and says in a typical Kenyan English accent, “Whoah,that was close!” Close? Did he just say close? This word must not have universal meaning, because where I hail from, if you crash in to the car in front of you, and the hood of your car is smoking, that is beyond the threshold of close. We all just sat there, a little shocked at the turn of events. Then the instincts kick in and we quickly discussed which was more likely to result in our demise, staying in a smoking car or getting out of the car and standing on the side of the road in the most dangerous city on the continent, in which case we may as well put some kind of “rob us” target on our heads. So in the car we stayed. Bob swiftly put a orange flag on the road behind us to deter anyone from having a close call with us. In a matter of minutes Bob bribed the driver of the truck into not calling the police and settled the matter. Now if only our car would start…

Traveling in a third-world country is guaranteed to put you in the type of situations that your parents warned you about. Stranger danger, wreckless driving, drugs and thugs. Pretty much the full gamut. To survive, the key is to keep your wits about you and evaluate the situation quickly, then make the best decision you can based on the information you have. It’s not just about surviving, but about turning these experiences into a new adventure. After Bob pushed our smoking car to a place that was reasonably safe (so something along the lines of hanging at the El train tracks at 4am around the most dangerous stops in Chicago) we were able to go on foot. We gave Bob an extra big tip that day; after all, he just gave us a great story.

Kenya - Howdy! (not nearly as cool as Jambo)

i re-entered the world yesterday and it sucks! stay in Africa!

I got home Sunday and about 3 hours after i got home was in the emergency room getting fluids and morphine. my whole body was cramped to the point i couldn't stop crying. There has to be a small animal in my intestines. it had to be that meal in the slum with my sponsored boy. i knew i was in trouble as i swallowed each bite. i slept 32 of my first 36 hours home.

so i gained 9 pounds in my 4 weeks there, definitely should have put some exercise on this trip. The scoopfuls of lard were more than I could metabolize!! Only i could go to a third world country and gain wait. i can't fit into any of my clothes so i'm in all knit. it is so special.

i'm thinking it best to ease back into work so i'm headed to the pool, gotta get some color before the big 3-0 festivities this weekend so I'm not fat and pale : )

stef

Kenya - Earthquake

hey there, just in case its made news there. we had a 6.1 mag yesterday, pretty nuts. but there is no reason to rush out, not that i could leave sooner than tomorrow anyway. but i did get a note from the embassy.

jodi and i are having dinner at hassan and naheed's house tonight, we are at a shopping center in the nice part of town where they live.

today meeting kennedy was really neat, can't wait to tell you about it.

my latest ordeal is that i was alone in a cab this morning going to the compassion center -which should have been totally safe - and this whole scene happened with my driver and the police and my taxi driver got arrested and his car towed and there i was on the side of the road with a cop screaming at me too. it was scary. but i managed to get him to call me another cab...i'll fill in the drama details later. i'm okay, it just sucked and i was nervous bc they love to arrest or extort money from americans, the police are so corrupt. they had no reason to arrest my driver. it was just nuts. anyway, it's like what else...car accident, earthquakes, driver arrested. maybe i am ready to get the heck out of dodge!

xoxo

Kenya - In the Mara, the Mighty Mara, the Lion Sleeps Tonight

sasa friends! thought i would drop one last note as my time in kenya is coming to an end - can hardly believe i left home over 3 weeks ago. we got back to what we have affectionately named Nairobi Rob Kenobi today from four amazing days in southwest kenya at the masai mara reserve.

before i say a few a words about that - just a couple things about the first couple weeks. working in the school in the slum were pretty insightful. i'm really going to miss a few of the kids, especially the little Ndugu (About Schmidt fans) that i would like to bring home. the one thing i won't miss is the way the teachers beat (literally) the kids, it's so hard to watch. I had my share of wooden spoon swats on the butt as a child, but watching a 5 year old get struck all over his body and screaming in pain, all for missing a math problem, is too much for me take. i did manage to get through without falling into the great wide stinch - if the olympics ever add long distance sewage jumping as an event i think i can medal in it.

so just when i was getting used to not having hot water and having to remember to move the toilet paper before showering, we flew to masai mara, the huge game park that people come to kenya to experience. Four of us spent the last few days in utter luxury in these amazing tent bungalows at a brand new lodge and were waited on like royalty. at night after a four-course dinner we'd sit around the bonfire and discuss important things like did Johnny and Baby end up together, or was it just a summer fling that never really lasted. The stargazing was incredible and I got to see the Southern Cross.

The game drives were a lot of fun - especially with our goofiness. Jodi and I have fun talking to the animals like they're supermodels when we take their photos - you're fabulous, work it, amazing. We had an intimate encounter with 14 elephants that surrounded our jeep and saw just about everything else there we could see animal-wise. Yesterday I jokingly asked our driver, Vulture, if I could drive our massive 4x4 Land Rover open air jeep as and he said yes - so for about 30 minutes I off-roaded through the Mara on the bumpiest trails - it was so fun...although my friends may say it was terrifying! we were also INCREDIBLY fortunate in that the annual famed wildebeest migration started while we were there as they crossed over from tanzania (which we went into) and into kenya. it was such a sight - thousands of them everywhere. by far the coolest thing we did was a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the reserve, it was such an unparalleled view of God's wild imagination on display through His creation!

wow - just had ANOTHER earthquake literally as i write this. That is number 4 in the last 3 days. last night's in the mara was so bad it woke me up! it's been two years since they've had these and are speculating a really big one may be just about to happen....hopefully not in the next 48 hours while I'm still here.

One of my friend's and I got a room in town for the next couple days and tomorrow I'm spending the day with the boy (and his family) that I sponsor who lives about 30 minutes from town, then thursday night I'm off to London for a couple days before returning home. My diet here consists of the 4 C's, carbs, coffee, chocolate and cookies so it will be good to get home and back to normal and healthy eating!

thanks for all your fun emails and prayers - this trip has been amazing for me in so many ways and I feel like I have a new and much-needed perspective on many things.

Stefani (just like from Bold and the Beautiful as every Kenyan says to me)