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.