saying goodbye to nairobi

hello friends!

well today marks the halfway point of my program, but more exciting than that, the last day of classes for the rest of the semester! i just had to take my final exam for swahili, which i studied about two hours for. i'm not sure how i'm ever going to go back to "real" college and actual studying next semester...

anyway, this past week and a half has been pretty low-key and uneventful, so i'll just fill you in on some of the highlights.

-- since my phone got stolen the weekend i went to uganda, i had to buy a new one.. (there's 20 dollars down the drain..) i went to nakumatt (kenyan equivalent to super walmart). i bought a phone, then had to go to a different shop to buy a new SIM card (all phones are pre-paid and you can put in different SIM cards for different cellular providers). after standing in line for 15 minutes, they said i had to go back to where i bought my phone from to buy the SIM card. what a hassle. so i went back and buy the SIM card and airtime. i got home, loaded airtime on my phone, and shut my phone off, only to realize i didn't have the PIN number to unlock my phone. so the next day i had to go back to nakumatt. luckily they remembered me, and gave me the PIN number. they made it very clear to me that it was MY FAULT for forgetting the PIN number, not theirs, even though that is THEIR job. oh kenyans....

-- field trip! last wednesday (october 12) my public health track class took a field trip to KEMRI-- kenya medical research institute. it was pretty boring, as i didn't really understand what kind of research they were doing-- something with malaria. the institute seemed to be largely funded by a university in japan, which i found interesting. we also went into another research institute where they do testing on the nutritional value of foods from across kenya. we all received three or four job offers in a period of 3 hours, so if i'm ever in need of a job, i guess i know where i can look...

--chinese! although this is not exciting at all, last thursday a few of us went to a chinese restaurant for lunch. sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and a chocolate milkshake. one thing i've notice in kenya is that there isn't a ton of restaurants serving specific ethnic dishes (italian, mexican, etc.) but chinese food is quite prevalent. i'm not exactly sure what the reasoning behind this is, but the chinese are starting to become a much larger presence in kenya. unlike the united states and many other european countries, the chinese are practically handing over money and working on large infrastructure projects, no strings attached, and they are not asking to be repaid. according to my country analysis teacher, "kenyans love the chinese."

--blackouts. the rainy season is now upon us, and this means more power outages. i've become accustomed to not having power, although i never like having to break out my flashlight at 7:00 at night to see. my host dad told me that there is only one power company in nairobi, so there is no competition. the power company stopped paying overtime to its employees, so if the power goes off after working hours, it just stays off until the next morning, because none of the workers are willing to work at night without additional pay.

--kuona trust. on tuesday a few of us went to kuona trust, which is an art center where artists can rent out studios, and the public can go in, see the work in their studio, interact with the artists, etc. i'm not much of an art person and don't have a ton of appreciation for any of it, but it was still neat to see a lot of the work.

--after seeing kuona trust, we went to toi market, which is a market located on the edge of kibera (one of the largest slums in the world). i think this has become my favorite place in nairobi. they have so much stuff-- everything you can think of-- shirts, pants, skirts, backpacks, socks, scarves, dresses, pirated movies-- all at ridiculous prices. i ended up buying 3 skirts, each for 100 shillings (less than $1) and a shirt for 30 shillings (30 cents). most of the clothing is in huge mounds and you really have to dig to find good stuff, which makes it a fun experience. i also bought 5 books to take with me to read in msambweni-- i know i'll have a lot of extra free time since i'm done with all my term papers.

-- on sunday, the kenyan government officially declared war on al shabaab, the militant group that controls somalia, as they are blamed for the many kidnappings in lamu, and the government feels they are threatening kenya's tourism industry. i don't really know much about this, but the msid coordinators have assured us the coast is still safe. more information at this link:
 http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenyan+troops+off+to+war/-/1056/1256044/-/jxj2dg/-/index.html


i leave on sunday at 9:00 in the morning to head to mombasa, an eight hour bus ride from nairobi. monday morning i will head to msambweni, another 1 1/2 hours south of mombasa, where i will be staying the next 6 weeks. more about this once i move..

it has been an amazing 7 weeks in nairobi, but i'm ready to leave. i've had enough of the smog, the black exhaust coming out of all the vehicles, and all the garbage. it was interesting to be in a large city to see the contrast between the modern areas and the slums, but i'm looking forward to being in a more rural setting, away from all the other msid students, as i think my understanding and appreciation for kenya will grow immensely.

my next post will be from msambweni. see picture below. it's okay to be jealous. ;)