Kisumu is Calling

I apologize for the delay in posting anything. We have been super busy and traveling around a bit, so our internet has been quite sporadic.

After Jacob arrived we spent a few days in Nairobi. The very first day, we visited the giraffe center and ate dinner at Carnivore, a huge all-you-can-eat BBQ meat restaurant. We ate lamb chops, pork, beef, chicken wings, honey glazed chicken, sausages of many varieties, ostrich, crocodile, ox testicles, and more. Scott, another friend from our class at LSE is doing an internship in Nairobi and joined us for the festivities. I'd actually never been to the restaurant part of the compound, so it was a good experience.

The next few days Kyla and I had various appointments, of which Jacob attended some and fended for himself in the city during others. I'm really enjoying having him here because he provides a perspective on things that I either have never noticed or no longer notice since I have been here before. One example is bargaining. I remember not being very good at bargaining when I arrived, but the inefficiency of bargaining over $0.10 drives Jacob crazy. I say it is a matter of principle...you want to ensure you are getting the best price and the correct price even if it takes a minute longer. He sees it as wasted time over an amount so small. Needless to say, we have many discussions about the different ways in which we each engage with the same surroundings.

School children at Lake Nakuru playing with the monkeys.

We spent all day yesterday on the bus from Nairobi to Kisumu, on the western border of Kenya. We made a pit-stop in Nakuru to see the lake filled with flamingos, but the park fees were outrageous and we decided we would see the same animals while on safari in a few days, so we took a pass. The ride from Nakuru to Kisumu took six hours on unpaved, pothole ridden, rock roads because there is soooo much construction. On the positive side, we were able to see some of the Chinese construction projects in action outside Nairobi AND it was almost as if you were in a massage chair for several hours. But, we made it unharmed and were welcomed very warmly by my friend Andrew and his family.

An example of our six hour journey....

Andrew works for World Bicycle Relief in Kisumu and unsurprisingly took us on a great ride through the city today. We know each other from the University of Rochester, particularly from the cycling team and it has been great to catch up! We ended our tour at his parents-in-law's home, which is a very traditional Kenyan farm home. They provided a great lunch of fish, ugalii (a polenta-like, playdough-like corn meal staple), sukumawiki (cooked greens), and beef stew. Susan's mother and sisters are very fun and hospitable and for me, it was nice to be back in a Kenyan home, not just a hostel or hotel. There is something about being in a home, even a home with dirt floors and an outhouse, that is more cozy than a hotel. And I think it was great for Kyla and Jacob to experience something you absolutely cannot experience if you are just traveling through places. So that was great!

Our bike ride through Kisumu countryside

We are staying in Kisumu until Monday, trekking down to Arusha, Tanzania for safari and to stay with our classmate Bekka for a few days after, and then heading to Mombasa for a few days to sit on the beach and look at the ports (mix a bit of pleasure with work). I am not sure how reliable our internet will be during that time, but I will try to post again before we leave Kisumu. One of the problems with blogging is that once some time has passed, you feel like you have to write only about the immediate events, not about things that occurred a few days ago.

Interesting happenings:

-The unpaved, rock roads we traveled on from Nakuru to Kisumu had speedbumps. Yes, though we could only go a maximum of 15mph on these roads because they were so bumpy, someone thought it necessary to add speedbumps to the mix.

-Andrew and Susan's daughter Adelhi is ADORABLE! She has Andrew's crazy hair and everyone should visit Kisumu just to see her :)

Adelhi sweeping with her aunt! (sorry I cannot figure out how to flip the picture)

-The Garage Pub in Ayani, a neighborhood of Nairobi that borders the Kibera slum, is still as hopping as ever (for those of you who have gone). This bar is not a touristy nightclub and is very much local...complete with tin walls, no roof, dirt floors, and power outages. Scott, Jacob, Kyla and I met our newly-established friends Josephine and Tom (from our Chinese adventures) for drinks and had a great time.  

-Jacob and Andrew cooked a wonderful BBQ, Kenyan style tonight. The meat was tough but tasted delicious. Though I know the American corn-fed cows do not live as fulfilling lives as long-lived grass-fed cows, the meat is sooo much more tender. I've never really noticed the difference before tonight!

Jacob, Andrew, and Susan at the BBQ