Just a quick update. School’s been pickin up and I’ve got a paper to write. Here’s what’s happened since my last post:

The boys went to Mt. Kenya. It was real lonely without them here. Pretty much everyone was gone that weekend. John and I hung out a lot and talked about how we are sometimes the same person. We have the same life goals and say the same thing at the same time a lot. Who knew I would get along with a frat boy. Me and three of my boys went to Carnivore (my first time) one of the nights. It was a “Stop Light” party; you got either a red, yellow, or green wristband depending your availability. Danced a fair amount. (Its nice being the only girl…you’ve always got someone to dance with!) There was a surprise performance by some Kenyan artist that everyone there knew. Met some other USIUers, such as Jackson, aka “Senator”… he’s a rapper and is a big deal. I like to think were best friends, but we probably aren’t.

Anyway, our boys are superheroes and finished climbing great Mt Kenya a day early and we had a big reunion when they got back to campus. Mike and I looked at his pictures. Mt Kenya looks like another planet. They saw these huge rodent-like creatures that are apparently related to elephants. Who knows. They kind of creep me out. It felt good to have everyone home. I was nervous Josh wasn’t gonna make it. But he did.

Then all last week I worked on a paper for my Ideologies class. It was the first paper I ever started more than a day or two before it was due. Not bad. Started my humanitarian law paper on Friday and finished Saturday. Sunday (today) I started my development paper that’s due tomorrow at 5pm. Im gonna do it up real big and pull and all-nighter to get it finished. John and Sadie already gave up and went to bed and are just gonna turn it in late. Im a pro and am just gonna get it done. I hate procrastinating.

Earlier this week Catherine and Mike had a watermelon seed spitting contest. Their target was Jaydon’s face. (His suggestion.) I don’t think there was a winner. Also, another time we were eating outside, a praying mantis was on my neck. Ahhh! Only in Africa.

So, this week I have a paper due tomorrow, and mid-terms on Tues, Wed, and Thur. After that I’m pretty much done with school cept for one more paper, a group proj, and finals. Other than that, these are my travel destinations that will occupy nearly every weekend left here in Afrika:

- Uganda road trip
- Amboseli National Park (KEI safari at Mt Kilimanjaro)
- Dubai (hell yes.)
- Mombasa (beaches!)
- Egypt (riding camels and seeing the ‘mids)

Things I miss most right now:
Sydney bean
High-speed, reliable internet
Having internet that’s in more than 3 places
Food, glorious food. Someone send me a package with a burrito, a sandwich, pasta, an egg sandwich, and a huuuge salad. Please.

Travels

October 11, 2007

I’ve been neglecting my journaling pretty bad. Lots of catching up to do. This is what’s happened since the last update:

A few weeks ago I went out for the first time. Thursday nights are the crazy party night here since not many people have classes on Friday. We all got ready and took an 11:30 bus from the gates of campus to a club called Galileo downtown. The bus we took was one of the “disco” buses that have black lights and are blaring music. Lots of fun. When we got to the club, it was totally dead. We decided to wait for a while cause things don’t really get going until like 2am and we all were pretty sure most of USIU would be there. So, we hung out, we danced a little, and then we found out most everyone was at another bar in Westlands. So, we all piled into Ladu’s car and drove to Black Diamond. This place was awesome. The other half of our friends were already there. The bar was on the roof of a building and half of it was inside with a really good DJ and the other half was on a balcony. Very nice. So we stayed for a while then eventually left around 3:30.

Later that weekend I needed to go to Nakumatt to withdraw money from the ATM to pay for the Masai Mara trip. Josh and I missed the bus by like a half an hour so we decided to just walk. Maybe 5 minutes after we got onto Thika Road (the major road that Nakumatt is on) we passed by a street kid. Maybe 10 minutes after walking a few feet in front of him, we realized he was following us and he told us he was lost. Josh asked where he needed to go and he said “anywhere.” So, pretty much from then on we ignored him and he pretty much stayed quiet and walked a few feet behind us. When we finally got to the ATM he waited in line with us. Then he followed us into the Nakumatt and waited in line with us there. By this point it was just ridiculous but kind of funny cause he wasn’t asking us for anything, he was just hangin out. So, we left Nakumatt and got on a matatu to go home. The kid follows us. Gets off when we did (and didn’t pay.) Then we get on the college van and he gets on. Gets off at the campus gates and again didn’t pay. So at this point were figuring he’s gonna stop cause he wouldn’t be able to get passed the guards. But no, somehow he gets through the gates. Josh and I were freaking out a little cause he was basically gonna follow us all the way to our rooms. So, when we got to the hostels and turned the corner we just ran to Josh’s room and slammed the door so he wouldn’t know where we were. We told Aaron what happened and Aaron pretty much went and told a guard to tell the kid to leave. We found out that when he got to the gate and was asked what he was doing, he just pointed at us like he was with us. Afrika!

This past weekend we went to Masai Mara National Park near the Tanzanian border. It was absolutely amazing. We left on Friday morning at like 7:30. We had 3 safari vans for all us. Our guide’s name was Peter and he did a great job. After we piled in the vans we drove for like 6 hours to the park. I wasn’t bored at all cause its just so great to look out the window at the scenery. We drove through a really rich neighborhood outside Nairobi and then after an hour or so we stopped at the Great Rift Valley to take pictures. The valley is so unbelievable. It looks like it goes on forever. So beautiful. Then we kept driving and actually drove right across the valley. We saw so many Masai herders and their goats/cows. Made another stop at Narok for gas and eats. Finally we got to our campsite in the early afternoon. It was sooo nice. We paired off and each got a huuuge tent with real beds and our own bathrooms and showers. All our meals were provided as well and the food was real good. Around 3:30 we got back in our vans and went for our first game drive. We drove about ten minutes away to the park and started our drive. Right away we saw elephants and zebra and antelope. The park has a few main roads (dirt) and smaller pathways that go through the savannah. There were a lot of other safari vans everywhere which was kind of disappointing. I never thought about seeing so many people on safari. It was kind of sad too cause you would see a line of like 15 vans and you’d know there was something cool there. Poor animals are followed everywhere, especially cool ones like lions or cheetahs. All of us were nervous that we wouldn’t see lions, but we saw lions pretty quick. We even saw a dude lion take a huge dump. Very funny. Anyway, we went out for a few hours and got to see the sunset. Oh yeah, these aren’t just any vans. The tops of the vans lift up so pretty much the whole time you’re on safari you’re standing up and holding on for your life. Much better views though. It was a great time. Went home, had dinner, then had a bonfire. The stars were sooo amazing here. So bright. We could see the Milky Way real clear and we saw shooting stars every few seconds. We could also hear hyenas makin noise all night. Baboons were in our campsite too.

Next day we woke up at like 7 and took nice warm showers and ate a great breakfast. Got back in the vans for a full day safari. Again, right away we saw lots of great animals. We were able to see the end of the great wildebeest migration. Cooooll!! Around mid-day we made it to the Tanzanian border and were able to get out and walk across the border. I’ve been to Tanzania now!!! For about 5 minutes. Then we drove across the Mara River and saw literally thousands of rotting corpses of wildebeest that didn’t make it across during the migration. Worst smell of my life. Then we ate our packed lunches at the Hippo Pools. Apparently a few days earlier a woman got too close to the water and a croc came out and ate her. We stayed away from the edge. Hippos make real funny noises. It also seemed like every other safari group that was there had personal guards armed with AK-47s. It’s interesting to see a group of guards eating lunch with their huge ass guns hanging in the trees. After lunch we went back out for safari again. At some point Shannon got the great idea to listen to the Lion King soundtrack on my ipod while driving around. Let me tell you, listening to Circle of Life while there are thousands of wildebeest running across the savannah in front of your van…that is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We all took turns and we were pretty much all laughing cause you can’t help but just get goosebumps. Nearing the end of the day we were all exhausted so at one point we all took a short, bumpy nap in the van while Peter trekked across the savannah. After our nap we got to see a whole group of lions and lion cubs sleeping and playing by a pond. That was cool. Anyway, eventually we went back to the camp, ate, bonfired, and went to sleep.

Sunday morning we packed up and then walked to a Masai village nearby. They Masai men danced for us and then we danced with them. Soooo cool. They can jump real high. Then the women danced and lead us into the village circle. Apparently the Masai boys can’t be circumcised until they’ve killed a lion! The village is basically a circle of huts made of cow poo. At night they keep their cows and goats inside to protect from the wild animals. All the little kids were practicing the dancing and playing with poo. Interesting. They showed us how they make fire. Then we went and were able to buy Masai-made jewelry and stuff. Mike got a knife to go with his spear. Hahaha After we all finished buying stuff we said goodbye and got in the vans for another long drive. I slept most of the way. What a great weekend.

While we were on safari, Mike and I each got texts from a friend of ours, Sanyu, that she had something for us when we got home. We went to pick up our “somethings” and found out she had invited us to a celebration at the Holiday Inn in Nairobi for Uganda’s independence day! So, Tuesday night Mike and I got all dressed up and went with Ladu to the really nice hotel where probably a few hundred diplomats were. There were speeches made by the Ugandan ambassador to Kenya and the Minister for the East Africa Community. Then there was greeaaattt food and Ugandan music/dancers. It was really amazing. When I went to the bar to get a drink, two different guys told me they were looking for a “friend” and asked for my number. The first guy who asked me just confused me so I gave him my email, and by the second I got what he meant and I was like… uhhhhh yeah I’m uhh here with my boyfriend and pointed at Mike. Haha then he asked if I had any friends “from where I was from” that were looking for “a friend.” I told him I didn’t have any friends and left. Oh boy.

Yesterday was Moi Day so we didn’t have any classes. Catherine and John and I went to get Indian food at Diamond Plaza. John got confused and directed us to a matatu that took us to Village Market instead. (Completely wrong side of town) We had to take a taxi all the way back. When we finally got there, we ordered from the wrong vendor and got the completely wrong food. So we decided to do it up and just get another plate of the right food and share. Then I got a milkshake. Yum!! Then a taxi home. Then Catherine and I cleared out my meal plan account and got mashed potatoes! We are fatties.

So that brings us to now. Mike and Josh and Owen are at Mt. Kenya this weekend. The other half of our group is in Mombasa. Catherine/Aaron are going to Naivasha tomorrow with some pro skateboarders or something. Should be a real quiet weekend. Perfect to finish all my papers.

Next weekend I have free, then we have Mid-Terms, and the next weekend 7 of us are going on a road trip to…………. UGANDA AND SUDAN!!!!!!!! Yes, everyone, I’m going to Sudan. Be jealous. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Uneventful

September 25, 2007

So, Africa continues. Not too much has happened since the last entry. We’re now into Week 3 of school. I have had no homework yet. Not even reading. So, pretty much, I go to class then bum around all day. Classes are still frustrating as everything we do is so inefficient and the teaching style here is so different. Pretty much a professor will read his notes and expect you to copy them word-for-word. I don’t really like any of my professors and the classes aren’t very intellectually stimulating.

After going to Kibera the first time, Mike and I got sick with this cough. The first week of coughing wasn’t too terrible. The worst of it was trying to fall asleep at night. The second week of being sick, things got bad. Around Wednesday of the second week Mike and I went to the medical center on campus and they pretty much just gave us drugs. On Thursday I was really, really sick and pretty much stayed in my room all day except for classes. Our RAs kept asking us how we were and telling us if we weren’t better the next day, they would make us go to the hospital. Now, yes I was really sick, but going to the hospital seemed a bit excessive. By Friday we were still really sick and were a little scared about having TB so we decided to hit up the hospital as suggested. I realized I left my insurance card at home, so I had to jump through so many hoops to arrange to get another copy and then work with the woman at USIU who is in charge of international students since we didn’t get USIU insurance and yeah it was just a lot of time wasted. But we figured it out. Then we went to see a different doctor at the medical clinic, and after talking to him, he said we really didn’t need to go to the hospital and just gave us different drugs. So I went back to sleep. Mike and I missed the first weekend of partying in Nairobi. Oh well. By Monday I was feeling better but still had a bad cough.

Things get pretty boring here so on Wednesday Mike and I decided to catch the USIU bus downtown and do whatever we could down there. Mike wanted to take some pictures too. We pretty much wandered around and got to know the city better. We also bought the first and second seasons of Scrubs for cheap. (Instead of Season 1, the disc we got had like 10 war movies instead. Oh well. This is Africa. Season 2 works just fine, thankfully.) It feels good to know I can find my way around the city now.

Thursday night (the biggest party night of the week) a few of us were bumming around and decided that rather than be losers, we would just go out and do something nearby. All the pool tables at Fifis were taken, so we walked down the road to Safari Park and the boys had a drink at Cat’s Club (C.C.s.) It was only like 1030 so the club was pretty empty and boring. So, we went to the casino. Mike and I didn’t want to gamble so we just hung out outside. Josh and Steven both won a lot of money playing slots. Eventually other friends came back from dinner at the ambassador’s house and were at C.C.s too. By midnight Mike and I were bored so we went back home.

Friday everyone went back to Kibera, but I stayed on campus. I thought Dijana and I were going shopping, but that got cancelled. Boring day. People were going gambling again Friday night so Mike and I watched a few episodes of Scrubs instead.

Saturday was my big adventure. Pach Pach, the Sudanese refugee I brought things to, invited me to come have lunch with him at his home. Mike and Dijana were both going to come, but Dijana ended up going back to Lake Naivasha for the weekend and Mike went to Nairobi National Park with KEI so I was all alone. I was nervous at first, but all turned out well. Pach Pach came all the way from his house to pick me up so I would be safe getting there. Very nice guy. We started walking down the road to USIU when some guy in a pick-up truck just sort of pulled over and Pach Pach acted like he knew him. I thought we were planning on taking a matatu so I figured a friend of Pach Pach’s appeared out of nowhere and was giving us a ride. It didn’t seem like a taxi so I was kind of confused. Very Africa. Apparently Pach Pach had met this dude once before and they were from the same area so the guy was just being nice and giving us a cheap ride to town. For about two seconds I was nervous that I was being sold or something. I lucked out. Anyway, we got to town, then went to the Hilton to grab a bus. I’m finally getting the buses now too. We hopped onto a 46 and took it to the end of the line. Pach Pach lives pretty much in a slum. He has a pretty nice apartment. A feast was waiting for us and we ate lunch with his cousin while watching Congolese music videos. Afterwards we talked for a long time about the U.S. and about various cultural differences. Pach Pach can never get married because in order to get married in his culture, you must pay a dowry of 25 cows and he can’t afford that. He also cannot date because that would be a distraction and could lead to devious things like sex and having kids outside of marriage. It sounded lonely. We ended up leaving an hour later than planned and I was a little nervous about not making it home before dark. Luckily everything worked out and I even got home earlier than planned. Overall, a very good day. I’m sure I’ll go back there.

Sunday Mike and I both woke up late but decided to catch a bus downtown to find the Masai market since we had nothing else to do. We ran into a lot of people on the way. We took the 46 bus to Ya Ya (and missed our stop) but eventually got to the market. We’re learning. I bought some gifts for people at home. I’m pretty good at negotiating prices. Mike bought a badass spear and got a good price. After about an hour we got on a bus back downtown, then only just caught the USIU bus home.

Monday was an interesting day. The new library opened on Monday. The building is sooo huge and looks really amazing. It only cost $1.75 million to build; this if for a building that would def cost like $30 million in the US. To celebrate its opening, Kibaki (the president of Kenya) came to the school for an entire day of celebrations. Unfortunately I still had to go to my 9:00 class. After class we went down to the ceremonies where we sat in the sun for hours. While Kibaki was on campus, we weren’t allowed in the hostels cause otherwise someone could shoot him or something. So we were trapped at this ceremony. I’m sunburnt now. After there was a BBQ and we got free lunch (after waiting in line for an hour.) I guess it was pretty cool to see the president.

Today the library was open for the first time. I waited in a line for nearly 2 hours just to get my fingerprint scanned since that’s how they let you into the building. Thank god that’s over. They don’t have the wireless set up yet and you cant plug into the internet with your laptop yet either. They said this afternoon, which in African means maybe tomorrow it’ll be ready. It’s not quiet in here either. They’re still hammering away to finish the building. It’s pretty cool though. There’s a lot of space. So I think I’m going to finally sit down and look over my notes from the last 3 weeks of school. It’s so weird to not have anything to do, so I’m going to make an effort to try and really make everything I’ve learned stick in my brain. Alright, here I go.