My first week in Nairobi has come and gone, and only with the need for two Imodium pills, so I'd call it a success! Here are some highlights from the week.
When I first touched down on Kenyan soil the official welcoming committee of about 30 zebras was there to meet me from my airplane window seat. What a treat!
Continuing with the animal theme, our first day in Nairobi brought us to the city's giraffe center. Here we spent some quality time with Helen, Kelly, Laura, and their friends and I was lucky enough to get a big kiss from Laura. (There seems to be a theme of kisses from unexpected characters in Africa...) But don't worry, they tell us giraffe saliva is antibacterial.
As part of our orientation activities, we took part in an exercise known as drop off. This is the urban equivalent of a wilderness solo in which you're dropped in the woods and told to fend for yourself (thank you Larry Griffin). On this challenge though, we worked in groups of three and four with the goal of finding out as much about the location we were dropped at until the bus returned a few hours later to pick us up. Students were left at hospitals, local NGOs, historic sights, and in my case, the University of Nairobi. The local students laughed when they found out our mission and the fact that we had only been in Nairobi for a day. But it was a great opportunity to put ourselves out there and begin to learn more about the city. Besides this, we've gone on a few other tours to get ourselves oriented in addition to listening to many endless lectures of things not to do in Nairobi. For example, don't eat the cookies they give out on the bus – they are drugged.
I went for my first run above 5000 ft. They don't lie, the air is definitely thinner up here...it was rough.
After a long week of living in various hostels, we finally moved in with our homestay families. My host sister and I spent our first afternoon together doing chores and listening to American pop music. In addition to my sister who is about my age, I also have a brother who just finished high school and our mother. There are two other kids in boarding school who I won't meet, and our father who works in Mombasa. The house is small, but comfortable and I'm really looking forward to my stay.
I think this just about sums up my first week in Kenya. This week, we start classes in earnest (that's right, I'm getting credit for this...) Looking forward to getting down to work!
And my sympathy goes out to all my fellow Pats fans. Didn't hear the details, but what more do you need....
Ali
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