Earth Dance was definitely not what I expected, but it was still really fun! When we first got there, the band was just setting up. The singer was an African woman that looked like she was at least 60. She was wearing a really sweet white African gown and head wrap that was embellished with jewels and gold fabric. She started out by saying that we were going to dance for peace and it was all about peace and love and what not. That band kind of had a reggaeish sound to it and then there was a Swahili hip hop artist. I really enjoyed that a lot! Then there were circus performers! I have never seen anything so impressive in my life that the human body can do. One of the acts was a group of 6 men that were crazily flexible. They could spin themselves all the way around from a stationary position and they made a pyramid balancing only on their hands. After that, there was just a dj playing music. On the way home we could see what the land was like in Tanzania as it was dark out when we went through the first time. There were rolling hills of sand with a mountain in the background. Its a really dry area. There were also grass hut homes with sheep and goats around. Along the side of the road, were children begging for water, it was so sad, they looked like they really could have used the water! Going back into Kenya was interesting. Two of the girls that I went with didn't get Visas b/c they didn't want to pay the money. At the border, officers actually came onto our bus and counted how many of us there was and made sure we all gave our passports. One of the men came back a while later with all the passports in one hand, except for two in his other hand. He came onto the bus and said "Kaitlyn and Rebbecca, You have committed an offence!" Right then I thought they were going to jail for sure, but he just told them not to do it again and we were on our way! They didn't even have to pay for the visa! I had my first exam today, Swahili. I think it went pretty well. It was an oral test and all we had to do was pick a topic and then talk about it for 10 minutes in Swahili. The rest of my day was definitely more stressful! On Monday, my ATM card got sucked back into the ATM, so I had to go retrieve it at the main bank of the company. Unfortunately, the bank was KCB, which is a government owned bank here. It was quite a process! When I got to the right window, I saw my card in a folder with some other cards and then the guy took it away and came back and said that I would have to get it from the 4th floor in 3 hours. The MSID staff person that I went with spent 1 hr. talking with people until I finally got it back! The issue was that the person that takes cards to the 4th floor wasn't there and that's why I was going to have to wait 3 hrs!! I'm just glad its over with and I have my card safely with me :) It's a really good example of how the government here is very unorganized and there also isn't a lot of checks and balances in the system. I don't know if its been in the news at home, but the Kenyan gov is really not happy with America right now. They are threatening to send the American ambassador back to America. A few days ago, the US gov. banned some top officials in Kenya from traveling to America, which is a big problem for them b/c they have kids that go to school there and they also have money and investments stashed away in American banks. The US is doing this b/c they see these officials as not working out the issues that led to the post election violence in 2007. My professors have said that the gov. has done nothing to solve the ethnic relations and land issues that people were fighting over, so after the 2012 election, there could very well be much worse violence than in 2007. It's really sad because Kenya has so much potential and resources that everyone could live here comfortably, but instead, the leaders have squandered huge pieces of land and tax money from the Kenyan people. I learned in class today, that if just the money that Kenyan leaders have stashed away could be recovered, Kenya wouldn't need to receive aid for 10 years! The good news though is that younger Kenyans are getting tired of the corruption and they are very optimistic about the future of their country.

Greetings from Tanzania!

Yesterday, we only had one class, so a group of 12 people from the MSID program and I went to Arusha, Tanzania for the weekend! It was quite a bumpy ride! There were some parts that had really good roads, and then others were really rocky dirt roads. The bus ride took about 7 hours. It was great to get out of Nairobi and see the countryside. It was beautiful! There were green mountains, and giraffes right next to the road! Along the way, there were also some small Masai villages, which was really interesting to see. The Masai are an indigenous group in Kenya that were traditionally pastoralists. Many of the Masai there had a lot of piercings and were wearing traditional Masai clothing. The trip kind of got off to a shaky start at Tanzanian border. We were told that the visa would cost $50, but when we got there we found out that it was actually $100. Many of us didn't even have $100 with us and the only ATM there was only for local use, so we were really concerned about what we should do. The bus driver told us to just forget about getting visas and we'd keep going. Luckily we all pooled our money so that most of us could get visas. It feels good to be here legally! ;) We're staying at a really nice hostel here. It has toilets and hot showers and even real pillows! Many of us staying in our home stays in Nairobi just have a piece of foam in a pillow case for a pillow. All for only $15 for 2 nights. There are a lot of European tourist here, mostly from Germany and Britain, Mt. Kilimanjaro is pretty close, so I think that's why there are so many tourists here. Tonight we are going to Earth Dance, which is a Reggae Festival, apparently it doesn't end until 6 am! so that should be interesting!

Me and the Cheetah!

Observations and News

Some random observations that I have noted while here:
-The people in Nairobi dress really nice, the men usually wear suites or at least button up shirts with dress pants
-When I and the rest of the students walk around we here the following: Mzungu! (white person), Hakuna Matata! or Obama!
-Muslims are very dedicated to their religion! There’s a mosque behind my house, and there is always people there praying and talking with each other. I spy on them from my window! It’s really interesting to see what goes on there. There is also a tower next to the mosque with megaphones on it, so the whole neighborhood can hear when they pray I think it’s 5 times a day. The 3 a.m. prayers are definitely NOT my favorite!! A few nights ago, a man prayed for 45 minutes! I think he was just trying to be obnoxious, seriously, who does that?
-Newspapers are the valued literature here. The newspapers are like mini novels! They’re way thicker than American newspapers.
-people generally go to bed pretty early here. I’m usually in bed by 9:45. It gets dark here at about 6:30, so it’s not really safe to be roaming around much past that, I think that has something to do with it.

Some newsworthy events happening here:
-There is a severe drought going on in Kenya. Because of this, the electricity goes off quite a bit because the power is hydroelectric. Many of the people of Kenya are really suffering from the lack of water, especially the pastoralists. Many of their cattle are dying and some communities have even begun raiding other communities for cattle. A few days ago, 32 people in one pastoral community were killed when another group came in to steal their cattle. Some of the Massai herders have even come to Nairobi to graze their cattle on the sides of the road. It’s quite a site! The crops are also not doing very good here and food prices are increasing. Many kids have even had to quit going to school to try to earn money for their families in order to buy food.
-I’m sure this may have been in the news at home, but a few days ago, an important Taliban guy was killed in Somalia by US forces. He organized the attack on a hotel in Mombasa, which is on the coast of Kenya. I didn’t even know that this happened. Normally, if I were at home, I wouldn’t have thought much of it, but now those the man was leading have vowed to retaliate. It’s kind of scary to live in the country where the group would probably attack.

Hi there!
Last weekend wasn’t too eventful, but it was relaxing and I got to go shopping! On Friday night, I helped mom cook a vegetarian dinner. I just cut up the vegetables, and she did the rest. It was delic! On Saturday, I went with a few friends to downtown Nairobi. The traffic was really thick as usual, and instead of just waiting with the rest of the cars, the bus drove on the median like it was no big deal! As we continued bumpily along, I was a bit concerned that we were going to tip over, but we made it to our destination safely. We first went to a khanga shop. Khangas are large colorful and decorated pieces of fabric that have a saying on them in Swahili. They can be tied to be worn in many different ways and many women also use them to carry their babies in. I couldn’t find a khanga that I really liked, but I bought a pretty sweet African dress and shirt. I was really excited about my purchases! From there, we went to the Massai Market. The Market is a fenced in open space where people can go to sell stuff on Saturdays. There were a lot of handmade jewelry, purses, sandals, paintings, and khangas. It was really overwhelming! There were a ton of people selling stuff, and because we looked like tourists, we were bombarded with sellers asking us to look at what they were selling and asking for way more money than their products were actually worth. Luckily, one of my friend’s host mom came along with us to make sure that we were getting fair deals. I bought a beaded belt and a bracelet. There were so many interesting things there, I wanted to buy everything! On Sunday, I had my first encounter with washing clothes by hand. I have a new found appreciation for washing machines!! It was a beautiful sunny day and playing around in the water was kind of fun, so I didn’t really mind it. Later on, Mom and I went for a walk and then went to a restaurant that had live music and got mango juice. The band that was there was an accapella group. They were really good! They sang all Swahili songs, so I didn’t know what they were singing about, but it was still enjoyable to listen to. The route that we took on our walk was gorgeous! We passed by palm trees, trees with purple flowers on them, and vine type bushes with pink, orange, and red flowers on them.

Weekend Adventures

I have a big message saved on a zip drive, but the computer that I am at doesn't have a place to plug it in, so hopefully tomorrow I can post that one! This weekend has definitely been interesting. On Friday, we only had one class, so a group of some of the MSID students and I went to an animal orphanage. We saw a lot of baby animals that had been abandoned, mostly monkies and leopards and other cat type animals. I got to pet a cheetah!! My group got to go in the cage with 2 cheetahs, I'm not exactly sure how safe that actually was, but we all made it out alive. That night, we went out dancing, which was really fun until about half of the people in my group realized that their phones were gone. Pickpocketing is a big problem in Nairobi. Luckily I was really careful with my phone, so I still have mine. Then, the next morning, I found out that that night, my host family's store was robbed! There are some really great people in Nairobi, but unfortunately, there is a lot of crime here as well, because of the large disparity between the rich and poor. There are so many people struggling to survive day to day. Yesterday, I went downtown with some of my friends to do some shopping and today I went to church with my host dad and then have just been doing homework, nothing too exciting. Tomorrow we have the day off! because its a public holiday for the celebration of the Muslim holiday Ramadan.

Fight the Power!! ;)

Three days of class in!! It's hard to get back into having class like in high school. We have to be at the school at 8:30 and then we have a two hour class, tea break, then a two hour class, then lunch, and then 1 more two hour class, which ends at about 3:30. Today we got to skip the last class period though! We had 4 hours of Swahili class today, it was pretty intense, but I feel like I am getting better at speaking it. I try to talk to my host mom in Kiswahili, but I mess up a lot! Last night, I went to church with the host family of one of my friends here. Church here is really fun! Everyone is so happy to be there and they have a lot of energy. Afterwards, on the drive home, we got pulled over by the police, which was kind of scary b/c we had just been talking about how the police sometimes pull people over and try to bribe them into giving them money, otherwise the police will take them to jail. The officer talked to the host dad for like a minute and then we were on our way, so everything was fine. The host mom thought it was so funny that we were scared, but the police here do look kind of scary, some of them walk around with their guns out even.

Monday Night

Today we conquered downtown Nairobi, and by conquered, I mean survived!! The vehicle traffic and human traffic are intense!! This is definitely not a good place to be if you have asthma. Walking around your lungs burn and it feels like you just ran a few miles because of all of the air pollution from the cars. We walked around all day in the overwhelming flood of people, and when I got home I was completely exhausted. My mom came home soon after me and we had tea together and watched the Tyra show. I just love her! I couldn’t have asked for a better mom away from home : ) It’s really strange: all of my friends in the MSID program keep talking about how different it is here and how much they miss home, but I find myself noticing the similarities to home. I do miss everyone, but I am really enjoying my time here!

Sunday Evening

Well, I'm pretty much all settled in and am getting to know the neighborhood that I am living in better. My host dad is so cute! Last night, I got to meet him after he was done working at their store. He said "So, you're going to be my buddy for the next few months?" I showed John and Violet pictures from home and then we ate dinner. They eat dinner really late here, usually around 8 or 9. Violet is a great cook! We usually eat rice or ugali (a mashed potato like substance made out of sorghum) with a stew of many different vegetables, spices, and some kind of meat. We have fruit for dessert. Fruit is so much better here! The main fruits available here are bananas, oranges, pineapple, watermelon, mangoes, and passion fruit. This morning, John, Violet, and I went to Nairobi Baptist Church, which is right next to the school that I will be going to and is only about a 15 minute walk. I really enjoyed the service! The band and choir there are amazing! I even knew a few of the songs, so I felt quite at home. Later on, Violet went to the store, so I was at home with John, George, and Michael. We all watched soccer together. It's really strange having brothers. I'm not really sure what to talk to them about, but I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. I forgot to write about this earlier, but I found out what i will be doing for my internship!!!! I will be placed in Meru, which is in the Mount Kenya Region. There, I will be working with a christian organization called Ripples International that rescues and rehabilitates kids from babies to adolescents who have been abandoned for various reasons. The internship is exactly what I wanted, but I know it is going to be very challenging. I know I'm going to want to take all of the kids home with me!

Hi there! I'm back in Nairobi now. It's really nice and sunny now, but today it was freezing! After 6:00 pm and before 7:00 am its pretty chilly here! The temperature is atually really close to Minnesota summer temperature, but its winter here right now. My host family is great!! My mom is so cute! When she arrived at the pick up place she said "Where is my girl?" and then gave me a big hug. When we got to the house, she prayed for us and then showed me around the house. I have my own room, which is really spacious AND I have a queen sized bed!! Upgrade from my own bedroom at home, haha. We then had tea and chatted while listening to American rap music. Kanye West came on and it was so great to hear something familiar from home! One of my host brothers came home and we watched some show that was like sports center together and awkwardly made small talk. Violet told me that he doesn't talk much, to which I said, "That's ok, I don't talk that much either, and I'm scared of boys" She thought it was hilarious...She also thinks its really funny when I talk about Jackson (my dog). Violet and her husband own a small stand that sells credit cards and they also own a small grocery shop. Both of my host brothers live at home too. George is going to college and studying business, and michael works at a bank. I think that's about it for now :)

LAND!!

Hi everyone! I made it to Nairobi last monday at about 7:30 pm. The plane ride was great, but waaay too long! We stayed at a hostel just outside of Nairobi the first night and then went into Nairobi to go to the immigration office and see the city a bit. The traffic is crazy!! Crossing the street is kind of scary b/c there aren't many traffic signs, but in a big group it isn't too bad. From there we went for a 2 hour very bumpy bus ride to Nakuru Park where we have been staying all week. It's beautiful here! The compound is fenced in from the wildlife around the park. The babboons like to hop the fence and try to get into our rooms and the kitchen to get food. They're very amusing! At night, we go for game drives to see all of the animals in the park-giraffes, monkies, rhinos, zebra, water buffalo, snakes, etc. At night, we have also been playing a lot of intense mafia games. There are 32 students in my program, and I am really enjoying spendign time with all of them! Tomorrow, we're going back to Nairobi to meet our host families! I'm really excited, but a little nervous. School starts on Monday... We're at an internet cafe, so I have to make this short. I'll write more details soon!