I spent most of the day at Chat 'N Chino just chilling on the Internet for most of the day. Then I got on the bus. It was quite hot until even after the border. The border was an experience. They unload the bus and you go in a building and check out of Uganda. Then you have to walk across the border into Kenya. It's kind of confusing to find the immigration station. But I made buddies with a nice guy and some ladies from my bus and walked over with them. Then you check into Kenya. For US citizens you have to pay $50 for the visa. At the Kenyan station I was intrigued by a box with a sign reading "Suggestions Compliments Anti-Corruption Box". No photos...I think they'd frown upon that. The nice man waited for me, and we all walked to the bus together (I never would have found it on my own). Outside the bus there were people selling water and sodas and bananas and other stuff, but I didn't get anything. Then we finally got underway only to stop again. You get off the bus and they separate you into men and women and search everything on the bus again. Then finally we went. The bus was still pretty hot, but ok. Around 11 we stopped somewhere for dinner. Just a little restaurant on the side of the road. One of the bus guys (works for them) helped me change some money so I could buy dinner. After dinner, the bus was SUpER cold! The windows were shut but there's lots of cracks and they don't seal shut. Scout was cold. My seat wasn't exactly comfortable, so I really didn't sleep much. Just outside of Nairobi, around 4, the bus broke down and we were stopped for about 45 minutes. Finally got to the bus stop around 5, and I called Lucas, the cabbie Alix had told me to call, and he came for me. Got to Alix's apartment a little after 5 and just passed out for awhile.
The next day was Friday... It still feels pretty crazy that I only met Alix yesterday! We took a matatu (2 of them actually) to Kibera, the biggest slum in Nairobi (and all of east Africa for that matter). Where she works is called Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). We walked through the slum for about 10 minutes until we got to their projects site. They have a school (Kibera School for Girls), a clinic, and a community center/micro finance group for the women. They also have a water tower, and so really the only source of clean water in Kibera. The slum has about a million people by most estimates, and people lack access to toilets and clean water. Most don't go to school, and life expectancy in the slum is 30, compared to about 60 years for the rest of Kenya. Their school is entirely free for the girls who attend, and they currently have pre-k to grade 3. Each year, they'll add another grade, eventually to go up to grade 8. I got a full tour, including seeing the new playground that a visiting group just built. it's on the roof of the school building, since obviously space is hard to come by in the slum. The playground on the roof:
We observed the pre-k math class (they just are starting a new curriculum so Alix was videotaping to send it back to the states for feedback. Then we ate lunch with the second graders (beans and rice) and then too smoke pictures with the girls outside during recess. They nearly rioted over who'd get to be in The first picture. it's also super adorable (and a good hygiene practice!) when they all brush their teeth after lunch. I think part of the reasoning for this is that there is guaranteed clean water at the school but at home they probably don't have it.
The kids are just adorable, and they're really great girls. In the afternoon we watched the other pre-k class (there are two) play dress up. This meant they read a book (I think it was Arthur gets the chicken pox, or something) and then they dressed up and basically acted part of it ou. Their costumes were just adorable. The clown has the green boa, Arthur's dad has the hat on and his mom has on the gold dress. They were all just too cute!
After school, we walked some of the girls to the safe house where they live. It's run by SHOFCO and is for girls who have particularly bad home lives. Man of the girls have been raped or sexually abused or other problems at home, or have lost parents, so the safe houses super important. They are hoping to add more rooms to it I think they currently have too. For about 7 girls or so. The house is more on he edge of the slum, so is cleaner and in a better area. Walking through Kibera, you are literally stepping in shit constantly. Like any wet patch on the ground should be avoided. It has a certain smell... You can just tell how unclean it is. And that was walking on one of the main paths through it - where there are not paths and houses as even more on top of each other I'm sure it's worse. For more on all of this check them out at shininghopeforcommunities.org. Me with some of the girls:
After we dropped off the girls, Alix and I walked toward her place, going through the Toi Market - just open stalls with anything and everything for sale. We looked at the place that has tons of dresses just in random piles for 200 shillings each - or about $2.40 apiece. Didn't find anything though. Seemed to be a lot of size XL and US reject items.
Last night we went to dinner with about 20 other expats (it was so many people, Alix didn't even know all of them) to Chowpaty, an all-vegetarian Indian restaurant. We were going to go out after, but I tried a bit of something Alix had ordered (stupid! I ordered my own dish and didn't want to share with other people to avoid this...) and turned out it had nuts in it and I had a reaction, and ended up calling it a night. Alix ended up not going out either and she and her two roommates ended up hanging it up shortly after I did.
So I slept SUPER well last night (really, not sarcasm, her couch is actually really comfy!). And then this morning we called Martin, a cabbie, and he drove us around all day. We went first to the elephant orphanage. It was pretty cool. They're all elephants that were found abandoned by the others or hurt somewhere and rescued by this group. You can only g there for. 11-12 everyday so it was pretty crowded. We got to see two groups of elephants get their feedings (they each get 2 huge bottles of milk), and splash around in some big mud ponds. It was pretty cool.
It was a pretty cool place. Next we got lunch... We went to KFC. Haha I feel funny coming to Kenya and going there but anyone who knows ,e knows my feelings on fried chicken, so I don't care. It was awesome. Martin had never been, so we bought him lunch, and we all got ice cream there too. Incredible.
Anyway, then we continued on our way and went to the giraffe center. It's also very cool, you get to let and feed giraffes, and you can even hold the food in your mouth and they take it and like kiss your face. Of course, being a good little tourist, I did it. There was even a baby giraffe. He was SO adorable. I didnt really get a good shot that shows how much shorter he is. But the giraffes were awesome. We got back to Alix's place a little bit ago. And I skyped with my dad for his birthday... so happy birthday rich!! Tonight I think we are going out for ethiopian food (we want some meat tonight!) and then to a bar close to her apartment, so if we get tired we can crap Out easily and go home! I leave on my Masai Mara safari tomorrow, and come back into Nairobi Tuesday afternoon, so the next post will be then!
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