Back on American Soil (briefly...)

Back in Maine, to be more specific! While I had an incredible time in Kenya, and I wish I could have stayed for more than just two months, I have to admit that it’s pretty nice to be back home. The recap of my last week in Kenya is as follows:

Not much happened. Mostly just worked in the office, worked on grant proposals, worked some more on the bike ride project. I did go to Nairobi University, about a three-minute walk, when Hilary Clinton was in town and heard her speak and then saw her leaving the building. It was pretty exciting having her in the city. There were military folks all around, and when we walked by her hotel, the Intercontinental, one night we saw guards examining the engines of cars that were entering the parking garage.

We went to meet with the Member of Parliament from Mituntu/Assistant Minister of Education Honorable Kilemi Mwiria to talk about the Kilometres for Kenya’s Kids bike ride, which has been postponed until February or March. The government building he works in has padded walls, and wherever they had TVs, the channel was set to Kenya’s MTV equivalent I think. Interesting taste.

I’ve gotten much better at crossing the street, and Edward taught me a new strategy that seems to work pretty well: wait until an expensive-ish/nice looking car is coming, and cross in front of that one. This way they’ll either avoid hitting you because it will damage their car, or if they do hurt you they have enough money to pay for it. Don’t cross in front of taxis/matatus/cars that have clearly been in many accidents already, as they’ll all hit you and then probably run out of gas on the way to the hospital.

Last Saturday, Marion, Marla and I went to the Maasai Market. I was prepared to bargain and barter as necessary, but I can’t say I really enjoyed it. The market is filled with people selling their wares, items ranging from bags to fabric to jewelry to bowls. I think I still probably paid at least twice as much as I should have for most things I bought, and it wasn’t worth it to keep arguing to get a lower price. Interestingly they really are attracted to hair elastics. Even the men wanted to trade for them, oddly. I have no idea what they plan on doing with them, or if maybe they just took them so it seemed like I was getting a good deal. Regardless, I’m happy to be back in a society where prices are mostly set!

Marla and I left Nairobi on Monday morning to fly to Johannesburg, South Africa, where we waited for 8 hours before boarding our flight to Atlanta. 16 hours later, we arrived back on American soil! A quick flight to Cincinnati ended that travel saga. We spent two days there to finish up our work. I flew back to Maine on Thursday (of course, after smooth travels all the way from Kenya, my flight to Philadelphia was delayed, so I missed my connection to Portland).

I can’t really believe I was even in Kenya. I met so many incredible people and I feel so lucky to have met them all. I know that I’ve left a piece of my heart in Africa, and someday I will have to go back.

Thanks for reading the blog! It may or may not continue into the fall when I head to France (leaving on the 28^th; culture shock should be interesting!). I might even post a more reflective entry once I’ve had a chance to really think about the last two months! Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

Baadaye!

Addendum to this post:

I am now sitting in Logan Airport in Boston waiting to board my flight to Zurich. I’ll take a plane from there to Lyon, France, then a bus to Grenoble, and then a taxi to a hotel. I’ll be in Grenoble for the semester studying French and hopefully traveling. I have to say my time in Maine was all too short, but adventures never wait!

Feel free to check out my photos from the summer at http://myviewfromafar.shutterfly.com/.

Thanks for reading and keep checking for updates from the Alps!