okay... so lauren is pretty frickin amazing, not gonna lie. she makes me laugh so hard, and she and i and michelle (and now ina) have soooo much fun together. we're getting to be a close knit little family after a few days together.
the second day in kitale, we went on our first trip to town, and lauren was our guide. something she told us we had to learn really quick, is that when outside, the bigger the vehicle or bike, that's the one that has the right of way. a semi and a matatu will literally play a game of chicken until the matatu driver realizes that he will NOT win, if the semi driver isn't bluffing. either way, mini van does not trump semi truck.
the same can be said for people (even white people), and boda boda drivers. boda bodas are bicycles with seat on the back... kinda like the bike every kid wants, because he can transport kids on the little seat on the back.
the first trip to town, here are a few things that happened:
- i crossed the road near the most busy turnaround in kitale, and a boda came out of nowhere, and i had to take a big step to the other side of the road to avoid getting hit. no sooner did i take the step, but every black person around michelle and lauren and i shouted "eh! MAZUNGU MAZUNGU!!" (hey! white person, white person!)just in time for me to avoid being flattened by the matatu i had just stepped in front of.
- a man shouted "eh! obama family!" at lauren, and she explained that here, americans are thought to know president obama personally... and he's a celebrity here. so if someone asks you if you know obama, you say yes, and they say "oh... me too.he is my best closest friend!" and then apparently you are the coolest thing on the PLANET. it's really histerical.
- my first visit to a kenyan store was eventful, as a man was getting bodily dragged from the store by five grown men who honestly looked like they were having a HARD time of getting him out of there.
- while touring shop building, a drunken man walked up to me and looked at lauren and tried to barter for me to be his wife. seriously? little lauren is going to sell me to him? puhLEEZ.
- five minutes later, we were taking pictures of the scenery from that same building's top floor, and a man walked up to me and told me "i like your body" straight to my face. yeah... no joke.
- i walk down the street, and matatus slow down, bodas nearly collide with each other, men click their tongues at me, women shout "oh..oh wow. wowowow." at each other, and watch me pass by with jealous eyes. what i didnt truly understand upon coming to kenya is that white people are celebrities here, but tall white girls who are overweight like me are pretty much considered SUPERMODELS. its so funny.
- we went to the market, and five market ladies stood up and started cackling until one shouted "FAITH! FAITH!" and not until i was in the midst of all of them, was i able to get my hand free enough to grab a picture of faith and say "no... no faith is my TWIN... we are sisters!" and they just thought it was the most amazing thing theyd ever heard or seen. rosemary, a markey lady next to me, says faith is much better at swahili than me, and lauren had to tell her i'd only been there for two days. rosemary also says faith is her "very best good friend". then of course michelle and i got swahili lessons from the women around us. they just loved it, and i fell in love with their weatherworn smiles and loud cackling laughs when i messed up a word. seriously, i think i probably end up cussing at kenyans in their language like 20 times a day just because i have no idea what the crap i'm saying half the time. haha
- when we met dan and a few people for lunch later, i asked lauren if kenyans used napkins, and she looked at me really funny for a couple seconds and then it registered what i meant. she shouted out "eh... serbiettes?" to our waitress, and then whispered to me that napkins are feminine products here. ugh... ive never been so thankful for lauren in my life. i probably would've sad it outloud for the whole restaurant to hear if she wasnt around.
life here is an adventure, and i am so enjoying it all. for now it is new and exciting, and there is always something new to do. the TI team never seems to tire of the endless outings and checkups they do. my entire first two weeks has already been planned out. phew.
Showing posts with label traveling in kenya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traveling in kenya. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
TIA (this is africa)
daniel has a saying: TIA
it means "this is kenya", and it's his way of saying life here is very unpredictable. he is soooo right.
michelle and i are here safe and sound, and our travels were super safe. i've never been overseas, so it was a great time to experience even the sucky parts of traveling, like waiting... and waiting... and waaaaaiting for flight, baggage, etc. good times for sure, and always fun meeting new friends.
on the ride from SFO to London, i sat by a girl named kate, and she was going home to london after visiting her man in san fran... he just moved. she and hit it off, and she became my first friend in london. she heard i was gonna travel around the city for a day when we landed, and wanted to show me around, but her parents already had her day scheduled since she missed Christmas, so she and i and michelle are going to have dinner together on our return layover in london. she was a doll, and so fun to talk to! i love all the different accents of people we heard and talked to during our travels.
i'm in an internet cafe in kitale right now, and it costs around 1 shilling per minute for internet. keep in mind that 78 shillings equal one american dollar, and you get around 78 minutes for one dollar. super cool!
to make the most of this email, i'll give you little TIA (this is africa) blurbs from my travels:
- zebras, baboons, goats, dogs, pigs, and cows are only a few of the animals you will see along the road here
- men do relatively NOTHING compared to women here. they sit on their butts and the women are like little flies buzzing around doing everything. its really interesting, and makes me want to throw rocks at the guys until they at least shift over a few inches on their well-worn patches of sand they keep indenting with their butts. ugh.
- there is a stand selling potatoes, fruit, bottles of recycled tea or soda, or something equally scary, about every 1/4 mile here
- i had lunch at a restaurant (or "hotel) and had my first african meal of somosas, chapati and bananas, which is pretty decent... i'm gonna have to get used to onions being the choice flavoring for food here. its not pleasant to my palate. blecht
- we went throught he rift valley
- crossed the equator (twice)
- thought the shuttle we were on for 3 hours was going to literally vibrate apart from its hinges, but miraculously it did not disintegrate under me (unlike my emotional stability while nearly dying 3,000 times in 3 hours)
- daniel thinks is "rocked to sleep" by his head pounding against the shuttle window, because his tolerance for kenyan travel is unreal
- tailgating is not a word here... it is the way you drive... along with cutting people, semis, and buses off just because you can
- everyone wears beanies, hats, scarf, or sweaters, just because the can
- 70 degrees is cold to africans
- a thin kenyan mattress feels like memory foam crafted by Jesus's very hands after 48 hours of traveling, and only 5 hours of random sleep
thats just a portion of the things i remember from our 9 hour trip on taxi, shuttle, and kangaroo (small minivan), to the TI compound. the compound is beautiful... lush and green, although i want to buy a slingshot and shoot the bird that are obnoxious in the morning.
michelle and i are not alone here. we have company in daniel, lauren, ina (who is in mombasa visiting with her family who came to see her, but should be back in the next couple days), and two families with little wee ones, along with mark and derek, two new TI staff members.
we all sat around and talked and sang this morning for a good hour or so, and it was soooo relaxing and familial. this is my second day, and it's been amazing.
it means "this is kenya", and it's his way of saying life here is very unpredictable. he is soooo right.
michelle and i are here safe and sound, and our travels were super safe. i've never been overseas, so it was a great time to experience even the sucky parts of traveling, like waiting... and waiting... and waaaaaiting for flight, baggage, etc. good times for sure, and always fun meeting new friends.
on the ride from SFO to London, i sat by a girl named kate, and she was going home to london after visiting her man in san fran... he just moved. she and hit it off, and she became my first friend in london. she heard i was gonna travel around the city for a day when we landed, and wanted to show me around, but her parents already had her day scheduled since she missed Christmas, so she and i and michelle are going to have dinner together on our return layover in london. she was a doll, and so fun to talk to! i love all the different accents of people we heard and talked to during our travels.
i'm in an internet cafe in kitale right now, and it costs around 1 shilling per minute for internet. keep in mind that 78 shillings equal one american dollar, and you get around 78 minutes for one dollar. super cool!
to make the most of this email, i'll give you little TIA (this is africa) blurbs from my travels:
- zebras, baboons, goats, dogs, pigs, and cows are only a few of the animals you will see along the road here
- men do relatively NOTHING compared to women here. they sit on their butts and the women are like little flies buzzing around doing everything. its really interesting, and makes me want to throw rocks at the guys until they at least shift over a few inches on their well-worn patches of sand they keep indenting with their butts. ugh.
- there is a stand selling potatoes, fruit, bottles of recycled tea or soda, or something equally scary, about every 1/4 mile here
- i had lunch at a restaurant (or "hotel) and had my first african meal of somosas, chapati and bananas, which is pretty decent... i'm gonna have to get used to onions being the choice flavoring for food here. its not pleasant to my palate. blecht
- we went throught he rift valley
- thought the shuttle we were on for 3 hours was going to literally vibrate apart from its hinges, but miraculously it did not disintegrate under me (unlike my emotional stability while nearly dying 3,000 times in 3 hours)
- daniel thinks is "rocked to sleep" by his head pounding against the shuttle window, because his tolerance for kenyan travel is unreal
- tailgating is not a word here... it is the way you drive... along with cutting people, semis, and buses off just because you can
- everyone wears beanies, hats, scarf, or sweaters, just because the can
- 70 degrees is cold to africans
- a thin kenyan mattress feels like memory foam crafted by Jesus's very hands after 48 hours of traveling, and only 5 hours of random sleep
thats just a portion of the things i remember from our 9 hour trip on taxi, shuttle, and kangaroo (small minivan), to the TI compound. the compound is beautiful... lush and green, although i want to buy a slingshot and shoot the bird that are obnoxious in the morning.
michelle and i are not alone here. we have company in daniel, lauren, ina (who is in mombasa visiting with her family who came to see her, but should be back in the next couple days), and two families with little wee ones, along with mark and derek, two new TI staff members.
we all sat around and talked and sang this morning for a good hour or so, and it was soooo relaxing and familial. this is my second day, and it's been amazing.
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