Tropical Paradise

Well we left Nairobi and have since traveled to Mombasa, Malindi, Zanzibar, and Pemba... all of which are on the beautiful Indian Ocean. It is super hot and humid, but I have been having a great time.
We had an eleven hour journey to Mombasa that was pretty interesting. We drove through Tsavo National Park, famous for man-eating lions, which was really beautiful. I only saw two giraffes, but I am sure I will see plenty of cool animals on my soon approaching safari. The bus ended up breaking down so we had to kick it on the side of the road for a couple hours waiting for a new bus that was supposed to arrive in a half hour. It is now a running joke that "Africa time" means at least double any estimated time of arrival of departure.

We stayed in Mombasa for a night and went to Fort Jesus and Biashara Street where we bought some kangas to use for appropriate Muslim dress. Mombasa was pretty cool, but definitely more tourists than Nairobi. I became so used to knowing all the wazungu I would see that it is now hard to adjust to seeing other wazungu.

We next stayed at a beach resort for a couple nights, which was so nice. I woke up to watch the sunrise both mornings to enjoy the nice cool morning air and because I can't seem to sleep past six on this continent. Each morning there were little monkeys scampering around the resort. It was so surreal to have class while geckos crawled along the walls and having an amazing view of the beautiful ocean.

We then went to Malindi and Mambrui where we went to a mosque college. They spoke to us about Islam which was interesting, but the headmaster of the school would speak for several minutes in Swahili and then a student would translate very briefly. During this time I was also had my head wrapped and an extra kanga over my already hot skirt. I was melting, but everyone at the college was very appreciative of us dressing appropriately. This was the first of what is now many times that I have dressed like a muslim and I felt like it made me act more reserved. Overall it was a good introduction to Islam, before our homestays with Swahili familes in Pemba.

We to Zanzibar last Friday and have been pretty busy since. We are in Stonetown now which is cool because of the Arab influenced architecture and the many winding small streets. After a long day of trekking around Stonetown, we took an all night ferry to Pemba. Arriving at the port in the dark with so many people bustling about trying to get on the boat, I felt like I was trying to illegally immigrate or something. From the time we arrived I could tell that it was going to be a crazy experience. To get on the boat it took at least a half hour of herding and pushing. We then made it to the first class cabin that was luckily air conditioned. We got to sit in airplane like seats, but the cabin was filled over capacity with people sprawled all over the floor. The entire boat was filled with people and random cargo. I saw on man trying to carry a door amid a sea of people searching for a small square of ground on which to spent the long nine hour ride. Unfortunately right when we got on I had to use the restroom... I have never been so hot and sweaty while being pushed from all directions as when I journeyed to the restroom. Thankfully I survived and made it back to my seat where I spent the remaining nine hours trying sleep and not think about the severe safety code violations of the ferry. I remember waking up at 2 am suffocatingly hot and thinking I would not make it the next four hours while the boat was rocking back and forth. Luckily I fell back asleep and we made it to Pemba at 6 am. Needless to say we did not take this crazy boat back. It was definitely an experience that I am glad I had, but I am very thankful that I did not do it twice.

Once we finally arrived in Pemba we went on a little Spice tour. It was so fun and cool to see everything from cinnamon and cloves to starfruit and pineapples growing right next to each other. The guide would just casually point to a tree that would end up being nutmeg or vanilla and then list all the different homeopathic uses each plant has. It was really fun.

We then went to meet our homestay families in a small village called Tumbe. The homestay was only two nights and it was a great experience, but at times it was challenging because most people spoke little to no English. The small all Muslim village was a amid a tropical paradise where almost everything the community needed was right there. Most everything seemed at the subsistence level except for cloves and maybe a few other spices. Most of my time was spent getting paraded around to various houses where I would do the same 10 Swahili greetings and then not be able to understand much else. During my stay I also got henna all over my arms, hands and feet. The process took several hours as many people gathered to watch while I stuggled to keep my arms out and feet up while it dried. The henna apparently is actually for marriage ceremonies or those who are already married so for the rest of the stay everyone asked me if I was married. When I would tell them how old I am and that I am not married they were always very surprised and would ask why not. It was hard to explain in Swahili, but I usually ended up saying I wanted to finish school first. The whole stay was crazy and it was so amazing to see this rural village and to be welcomed into their homes. I would love to explain more, but I really should get going.
The flight back from Pemba was only 35 minutes but it was gorgeous to fly over the lush island and beutiful ocean. This week have just been in Stonetown and we finished up our history and Islam courses. Free week of travel has now started and I am going to head up to the northside of the island and relax on the beach for a week! I am so excited to not worry about any school and just read and go on long walks. Next week we start our reefocology unit and go snorkling all week.

Well I better go, but I will try and write again after my relaxing week on the beach.

Goodbye Nairobi!

Well today I said goodbye to my host family which was sad because I will certainly miss them. Jamaa yangu wakenya (my kenyan family) was so hospitable and great. I can't believe I have been here a month. Everything is going great and I am looking forward to the beach tomorrow. We are taking a bus to Mombassa and then we will fly to Zanzibar on Friday.



The past month has been fabulous! Yesterday we had a party with all the host families. There were lots of people, tons of delicious food, and jugs full of homebrewed honey beer. Everyone's favorite bartender, Freddy, even made a guest appearance at the party. Friday we finished our Swahili class with a very long written test, but it wasn't too hard. Although we are now supposed to be Swahili masters I somehow doubt that I will be able to understand all the fluent Swahili speakers along the coast and in Tanzania because my family's helper, Jane, said that she even has a hard time.



While staying with my family I have learned how to cook a few African dishes, become an expert at hand washing laundry, and become very good at taking basin baths. I always helped Jane with the dishes while she talked to me about different Kikuyu traditions, Kenya, America and usually ended up laughing at me and making fun of her crazy mzungu. This morning she said she was going to be lonely without her mzungu assistant. I also spent a lot of time playing with the two little boys, Koki and Steph. This morning I gave them both little pairs of sunglasses and they loved them. The way they strutted around the house was adorable. I will also miss chatting with my host mother because she always gave me excellent advice as if I was her ninth child.



Besides getting to know the wonderful Munogoki family and learnign some Swahili and history, I have also got to travel a little outside of Nairobi. Last week we went to Embu, Meru, Isiolo, and Nyanuke. The trip was excellent because we got to see so many different sides of Kenya between the towns and the changing landscapes. My favorite parts of the excurison were going to see a small rural secondary school where we played volley ball with a buch of kids who had never seen so many white people in their life (it was a very interesting but fun expereince) and seeing the sunrise over Mt. Kenya.



Another one of my favorite experiences was going up into the Ngong Hills to eat Nyama Choma (grilled delicious goat meat). My host brother, Ricky, took Rachel, Steph, Koki, their mother and I out for a nice Sunday afternoon. That was the first time I really got out of the city and it was lovely.



I have way too many stories and experiences to explain right now, but I have had an excellent stay in Nairobi and will try to update soon about my adventures on the coast.