Kenya: Week 1

Or, Toto, I Have a Feeling We’re Not in Kansas Anymore…

[I had notes on my daily activities in Kenya stored on my iPod, which had been out of commission for the past few weeks due to repair after an unfortunate incident (see Day 3/May 29). Now that it's back in action, I can finally give some account of events that took place May 28-June 22, 2010.]

Day 1/May 27: After a 19 hours of flying, not including layover time, I arrive at Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. My luggage does as well, supposedly, but it’s nowhere to be found. A sign at the airport says “Smile, you’re in Kenya.” My normal reaction would be been to smile, and perhaps take a picture of my travel companion, Safari Pooh, with the sign. Alas, SP is in said MIA luggage, thus I am in no mood to smile. I don’t use this phrase very often, but my only sentiment can be described as “FML”. The upside is that I somehow had the foresight to pack overnight toiletries, some spare clothes (that wouldn’t fit in my suitcase), and 48 kids Clif bars* in my hand luggage. The downside is that, well, I am luggage-less. [*My main thought when packing travels snacks is "What would I need to survive if I were lost in the wilderness?" Apparently kids' Clif bars is my fuel of choice in survival mode.]

Day 2/May 28: Since I am the first of my group to arrive in Nairobi, I spend the day solo wondering where my luggage could be and checking out the hotel TV channels. One channel shows nothing but people dancing 24/7. Not just dancing, but dancing in front of random superimposed (over that blue screen) backgrounds like ones you see in karaoke places. Hips gyrations in a babbling brook? Why of course! Tribal boogie on a giant flower petal? Coming up at 1:15pm! A couple channels over, I find a show called “Desperate Singles”. Is this the Kenyan version of Jersey Shore/Real World? If only American shows were this honest and forthright about their content. The rest of the group arrives in late afternoon; I proceed to introduce them to Kenyan television entertainment.

Day 3/May 29: We visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust where they raise orphaned baby elephants and rhinos. The elephants are pretty darn cute, but an equally interest attraction is the large group of Kenyan kindergarten kids also visiting the center. All neatly dressed in uniforms, they gently push and shove to be in the front, where they are both terrified of and fascinated by the baby elephants only a few feet away. Babies watching babies – I feel old, even by elephant standards. The white tourists (and 1 Asian – yours truly) take as many pictures of the human young as the animal young. Later in the day we also visit a Nakumatt, the Kenyan equivalent of Wal-Mart, to stock up on necessities. While in the fitting room of a nearby clothing store (to remedy my shortage of clean clothes, or any clothes, for that matter), my iPod touch casually slips out of my pocket and onto the hardwood floor. Of course it happens on the only time I don’t secure it in my purse. I am now luggage-less and unbroken-iPod-screen-less. Later, while stepping back into our van, I ram my head into the sharp corner of a horribly placed first-aid kit. I thought first-aid kits are meant to save people, not possibly seriously injure them, but what do I know? I’ll let your imagination run wild on the string of very, very foul language that ensues.

Day 4/May 30: It’s Sunday and we attend church with J, a Kenyan working for our school. Mavuno Church (meaning “harvest” in Swahili) is a large church of mostly young professionals with multiple televised services. I’ve never attended a mega-church in the States, but being one in Kenya is an interesting experience. The programs, the lingo, the music – everything is eerily similar to the typical contemporary American church. The only immediately noticeable difference is the amount of dancing involved. I look towards the back in the AV production area and see a white guy with short, spiky blond hair, black t-shirt, and rectangular dark-rimmed glasses – typical look for an American AV guy. Seriously, where am I?! We talk with someone from the church after service, and she tells us that the church is planning to construct a multi-million Shilling auditorium to accommodate the large number of service attendees. I’m conflicted about this news (as a possible sign of the Western mega-church culture). Nevertheless, I’m glad to have experienced the service and am overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality of everyone we meet.

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