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.