I am now officially intercontinental

I'm HERE! I'm at an Internet cafe in Nakuru, Kenya typing away, kicking myself for not bringing my camera with me to upload pictures but hey, more to come later.

The trip over was fabulous. Swiss Air is the best airline ever...not only because they give you chocolate or super-good vegetarian food...but they're nice and tri-lingual and DIDN'T GIVE ME ONE HASSLE about all the overweight cargo I was bringing. They didn't even charge me the standard excess baggage fee! I was so thankful to land in Nairobi and see everything in one piece (thanks again Mom).


Zurich was fairly uneventful but I had a great time riding the buses and trains around (this was my first time in Europe). I poked around at the grocery store and found all kinds of weird stuff...more on this later. The hotel I was at was great and I was the only one there. The chilly weather was great for walking and I did as much as I could so that I would get tired enough to sleep. http://picasaweb.google.com/passionflower24/IAmNowOfficiallyIntercontinental

James and Charles were the 2 Pokots that met me at the airport in Kenya. They are both students at a Christian university in Nairobi and volunteer for IHF. They arranged a cab and after wrestling all 3 of us plus driver plus 2 humongous boxes into a Toyota Corolla we were off to the YMCA for the night. There, we met up with Clarrisson who is Director of the Nakuru IHF center. We walked into town for dinner since the restaurant was closed at the hostel and I got to see downtown Nairobi at night. It was fairly late so most of the bustle died down, but there were still several people out and about. We tried 3 different places to eat, but for various reasons, they weren't what we were looking for. I was happy cuz it meant more exploring time. Finally they guys settled on a chicken and chips place. I went for it and ate the fried chicken and potatoes that they ordered from me cuz hey when in Rome...it was actually really good. http://picasaweb.google.com/passionflower24/Nairobi

The next morning we all had breakfast and then bid adieu to Charles and James. Clarrisson and I grabbed a cab and headed for the matatu depot. Matatus are the primary mode of transport here; they're usually Toyota or Nissan passenger vans that are like multi-people taxis. After some waiting around and haggling, we decided that all my stuff would definitely not fit in one. So plan #2 was a bus ride on a larger, tourist-style vehicle. Clarrisson got another taxi and we went to the bus depot. After unloading again, we found out there were no available seats to Nakuru. Hmm. Plan #3 was with a different matatu company which charged us for 2 extra seats to accommodate our parcels. Thankfully, Clarrisson found a man with a hand-cart to help us bring them down to that boarding area. So, around noon, we were finally on our way!

The road was paved and fast for the most part, except sections where construction was being performed. It was quite bumpy and dusty but that really didn't slow our driver down or prevent him from passing on hills, curves, shoulders, etc. Quite an adventure. The countryside was really beautiful, as it had rained the night before. Everything looks like it does in the movies! At one point, I closed my eyes for a few minutes and Clarrisson tapped me on the shoulder. Baboons and baby baboons right on the side of the road! He said they regularly waited there for scraps thrown from passing autos.

After a refreshment stop we pulled into the center. All the kids crowded around me (they are 70-something in number now!!!) and each one made a point of giving me a hug and looking me in the eyes and greeting me. It was really cool. Carol and the other 4 volunteers were all out doing errands and Clarrisson had to head back to town, so it was just me and the staff and the kids all afternoon. Two of the older boys, Patrick and Newton, gave me a tour of the grounds. It's a really cool piece of property that Carol acquired from former President Moi. There are 4 buildings and 15 acres with plans to plant and grow crops for the center as well as the monthly famine feeds that are carried out in East Pokot. Right now, massive improvements are being made to the property including installing running water and bathrooms, new beds, and a complete kitchen renovation. It's pretty extraordinary.

I'm just trying to catch up and learn every one's names and personalities...the other volunteers have a 1 week head-start on me. The other snag is that hardly any of the kids speak English. They are fluent in their native Pokot tongue and also know Swahili, but until they go to school they are not introduced to English. They are just the most adorable, loving, sweet kids ever. It's really touching to see how they all take care of each other. When a young one starts crying, everyone crowds around him to try and console him.

The plan is to go to East Pokot tomorrow for the famine feed. This is a monthly project IHF carries out in the remote villages of the Pokot people. These areas are extremely arid and they have very little to eat. Food is loaded up in Nakuru and dropped at specific rendevoux points for tribal leaders to distribute among families to supplement whatever they may be able to grow. Tomorrow's journey will be a really special look into this culture which not many people know much about. Carol has really grown close to these people and knows so many of their customs and traditions, I'm really excited to experience it with her there.

Kwaherini (goodbye) for now!