Kenya Trip - Day 3 (pm)

Dated: August 6th, 2010 (pm)

Location: Ewaso Nyiro River Camp, Mpala Wildlife Conservancy, Laikipia Valley

So . . . we're here.

After several more hours in the LCs and several more mysterious stops at various tourist shops and grocery stores (apparently the drivers get a cut from the vendors for bringing us places), we've made it to Mpala. And it's gorgeous . . . and a little bit terrifying.

We saw oodles of wildlife on our way into the conservancy: giraffes, zebras, gazelles, impalas, baboons, and dikdiks (small antelopes). And we're told that the conservancy is home to nearly a thousand elephants and--with the amount of elephant dung laying around--I believe it.

And then we got to our camp and realized that there are no fences so all that wildlife we saw out there will be in our camp every day. It's for this reason that we are required to have an escort to and from our tents and even the bathroom. The escort is called an "ascari" (pronounced ah-scar-ee). There are no guns allowed in Mpala, so the ascari carry forearm-lenth sticks with knobs on one end. They don't speak much English--they understand the word "tent" and numbers and we say "cho" for the bathroom. We haven't had to test it yet, but I'm hoping they understand the word "lion" too.

The professors are staying at the research center and Ranch House farther north of us. River camp is beautiful--we got the quick tour before the sun set. There's no electricity and the "bathroom" is hole in the ground--having been a frequent camper as a girl scout--this is nothing I'm not used to; however, the shower is definitely something different. The water is heated in an oil drum. An ascari will mix the hot water with some of the cold water from the river in a bucket to make sure it isn't scalding, then he takes the bucket into the shower tent and lets down a canvas bag, which he fills, then hoists back up. There is a little spigot on the bottom of the hanging canvas bag which you have to turn and let trickle out--you only have a couple of gallons to use and then you're left with whatever soap is left in your hair. I'm kind of worried because I think I have the most/thickest hair of the group. Would it be gross if I didn't shower the whole time? Itchy scalp is the worst.

We got an introduction by the research center director Margaret and the camp manager Tuni. Tuni went over again the importance of being alert and aware of the wildlife around us and reminded us of the safety precautions available to us, mainly the ascari. Then he warned us about the river; "If you are feeling like going for a swim, please let us know. So that we may say good-bye." Apparently the river is swift and full of hippos and crocodiles. Gulp.

We had dinner in the mess tent--which is basically a 3-sided structure with a thatched roof. There was some soup--we think it was a root of some kind, possibly potato--baked potato, some mystery "miama" (means "meat" in Swahili, but also "animal" interestingly enough), green beans, rice, kidney beans, and boiled cabbage.

Got back to my tent and there was an earwig in my bed. Other than that, the tents are really nice inside. I'm grateful that they're completely enclosing so that no critters can crawl in. My roommate Jody and I share tent #4.

Kenya Trip - Day 3

Date: August 6th, 2010

Location: Fairmont Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya


We landed last night at 7:30pm Kenya-time--and I've already lost track of what that is in Michigan-time . . . maybe noon?

On the way to the hotel from the airport (after spending nearly an hour unsuccessfully trying to find one member of our group's bag--she will just have to hope it makes it to the research center somehow), we got a flat tire. The spare turned out to be flat too, but by that time the cars carrying the other students had made it to the hotel and they just came back to pick us up. It was funny because while the driver was trying to change the tire, the Professor J's 4-yr-old son, A, was playing with one of the student's headlamps and put it on strobe and then I figured our how to open the roof hatch of the Land Cruiser and R was kind of freaking out about drawing attention to our vehicle parked on the side of the road. Her fear is founded though, for a while we weren't sure if the trip was going to happen because Kenya was voting on a referendum to their constitution and it wasn't sure how the result would be received and after the 2007 election violence, there was reason to worry. The votes were actually being counted as we drove from the airport and by the time we got to the hotel, the word was out that Kenyans had voted yes on a revised constitution. Not sure what that means yet, but I'm sure we'll find out soon.

We finally made it to the hotel at about 11. We had a very late dinner and quickly retreated to our rooms, which were amazing. Everyone in the Country Lodge (half of us were there and the other half at the sister hotel the Fairmont) had their own room with a bed, a desk, tv, sink, and bathroom. The room was seriously bigger than my double dorm room back in Ann Arbor at East Quad. The bed was comfy and the shower was wonderful and hot. I had a brief freak out after I realized I had brushed my teeth with the tap water (I almost started taking Cipro this morning just to make sure I didn't spend my first week in Kenya dealing with parasites and whatnot) but this morning the hotel staff told us their water is treated which I guess means I'm ok--the next 24 hrs will tell.

Breakfast was great: porrige with raisins and brown sugar, waffles and syrup, pineapple, water melon, passion fruit (see photo above), and bacon.

After a long wait in the parking lot--apparently the professors' families were a bit more jet-lagged than the rest of us--we're on the road in the Land Cruisers on the way to Mpala now. It was dark last night so I didn't get to see any of the city but this morning the city is bustling. There are no sidewalks (just dirt paths on either side of the roads) but it looks like everyone walks everywhere--you see men and women in suits plodding along these dirt paths leading up to the concrete walkways up to massive skyscrapers. Also, another thing to get used to, they drive on the left side of the road here--like in the UK. It kind of freaks me out--I keep thinking we're going to hit something or seeing someone really young in what I think is the driver's seat.

Too much going on! Must take pictures!

Kenya Trip - Day 1

Date: August 5th, 2010

Location: Amsterdam Airport

We landed at 9am, Amsterdam-time--which is something like 3am Michigan-time. (I feel like I'm probably going to be straddling time zones for a while.) I couldn't fall asleep on the plane from Detroit--part of it was that I couldn't get comfortable, the other part was that my mind wouldn't stop spinning.

After just barely making the bus to the airport and the close shave making the plane out of Detroit--not to mention the complete emptiness of knowledge and expectation hanging over my head regarding this trip--it was impossible to settle. Not to mention when we got to the airport, the professor J realized that he and the early-arriving students had forgotten half of the course packs on a table in the hotel where the bus picked up.

On the plus side, not sleeping gave me the chance to watch several popular movie I missed this year on the headrest video monitor. I saw "Kick-Ass," "The Hurt Locker," and about half of "Invictus." Like I said--long plane ride. "The Hurt Locker" was decent, but I don't think it was worth Best Picture--but then again, what do I know?

Kenya Trip - Day 0

Dated: August 3rd, 2010

Location: Northville, Michigan

I've been packed for days and I'm holding my breath. I can't believe I leave for Africa tomorrow.

The packing list was pretty extensive--a lot of camping gear (flashlights, headlamps, hiking pants, waterproof notebooks, high-top hiking boots, etc.). I'll be without a phone or computer for more than three weeks except the occasional session on the research center computer. I probably won't be able to post to this blog during the next couple weeks for that reason, so I'll just have to write it all down--the old-fashioned way :)

As for my mileage count, its going to be hard to keep track of without my handy speedometer--I may have to forego it but I promise to provide at least an estimation by the end of the summer.

Better get some sleep--who knows if I'll be able to sleep on the flight--get this: we take off at 7pm on the 4th and land at 7pm on the 5th in Nairobi! With the time change, it's like a 24-hr flight!

Mile 5, 594

Seven day work weeks were a bad idea, and that's all I have to say for myself.

I realized somewhere around three weeks ago that I had three weeks left in California and soon made the mad dash to start savoring everything so every moment I wasn't working was spent outside walking around, doing yoga in Santa Monica or at the park, and trying to break out of the Culver City bubble. I finally have friends--a good number of them--and now I have to leave. Saying good-bye to the canvasing crew was especially hard--how do you say good-bye to a group of people you feel so strongly connected to but have not hardly been afforded the time to get to know?

It seemed appropriate that I should post today, on the eve of my departure from Los Angeles. They picked up my car today. Not having a vehicle to run errands most of the day put an extra strain on the stress caused by the huge pile of tasks my boss has been loading on me this week; not the least of which was the contracting thing. That's right, she asked ME to hire a contractor to pave her neighborhood. Seriously. It was requests like that that were starting to wear me thin. This morning I stomped out of the house screaming about some battery I had bought that she had bitched to me about it not being the right one, but she had been so vague about what type of battery, how was I supposed to know? I think I scared my roommates, yelling and slamming the door this morning. Now they're probably thinking, good ridance ;)

On Sunday, I went to Ventura with a friend and we hung out at the beach and I bought some stuff at an outdoors store for Kenya. Then we went to a pool party in Bel Air with my office folk. It was sweet. One of my friends came over later to watch a movie "Valentine's Day"--it was really entertaining to see all the places in LA I recognized in the movie :P

On Monday night, I went out to dinner with my roommates. It was a very nice Italian place. I've been racking my brains for months trying to figure out a nice parting gift for them. I was just about to buy them a record player when I noticed the exact same record player in their living room. My mom's convinced me we can just get them something Michiganian when I get back and send it back, but I don't think it will be adequate, they've been so amazing to me.

Tuesday I went to yoga with some friends from GCI. It felt really relaxing after the week I've been having. Then we went to a cafe to chill and talk and have a little midnight brunch. I will miss those warm summer nights once the school year starts--being able to hang out outside and just chill with friends is so relaxing.

On my last night, I hung out with some girlfriends at Cafe Brasil on the westside. Then we went for one last froyo and a walk on Venice Beach. They had work at 8am tomorrow morning so they turned in early but I've still got a little bit of packing and some loose ends to tie up.

It's been great and I wish I had more time here, but Kenya calls ;)

Mile 4, 237

It's been a hard couple weeks--I came pretty close to losing my canvassing job. Quota's a bitch. I got really caught up in the numbers for a while; luckily I met a couple people this week who reminded me why I'm out in the streets doing what I do. I've been talking a lot about the legislation in Utah--the one that can cause a woman who has a miscarriage to be convicted of murder. Scary stuff. The scariest parts are that a) a lot of other states have legislation just like it now in place and b) the lawmakers in Utah claim to have rewritten the bill, replacing "reckless" with "negligent" in the wording as if that changes anything. Only 4 out of 29 Senators in Utah voted against the "miscarriage" amendment. Here's a pretty good timeline of what's been going on in Utah along with a look at the dismal sexual education situation in the state: http://www.alternet.org/story/145956?page=1

This has been my first of four seven-day work-weeks I'm set up for for the rest of the summer and I'm already beyond exhausted. My room's a mess because I get up early and when I come home--late--I'm too exhausted to clean. All that refined sugar and exhaustion means that I'm cranky which isn't a good way to be when you're trying to ask people for money.

As for my other job, my boss has been out of town for a week and I've been running errands all over town, not the least exciting of which led me to start coaching girls' lacrosse. (Long story short, I ended up at a park with one of my boss's colleagues whose daughter was starting lacrosse camp that day; the coach arrived, saw me tossing a ball around with the daughter and asked me to stay.) I ended up working at another camp later that week and I love it.

Last week was the week of independent films. I went and saw "Tambourine Man", "Ondine", and "Agora". "Agora" was my favorite. It was about a female philosopher named Hypatia who lived during the fall of the Roman empire. She believed in the universe and she believed that there was a pattern to the movement of the planets and the stars. The story of her passion for astronomy and discovery is set against a backdrop of the Pagan-Christian transition of the Roman empire in the Roman city of Alexandria. In the beginning, the Pagans are allowing the Christians (who practice a religion once banned in the empire) to exist within their city walls, but soon, with the emperor's approval, the Christians rise up and slaughter the Pagans, and later, the Jews. A huge theme in the movie is Hypatia's unwillingness to commit to any religion and her obsession with understanding the universe (her own religion, in my interpretation). Hypatia is rumored, in history, to have discovered the elliptical movement of the earth around the sun, but since the Christians burned the library at Alexandria (considered the most important stockpiles of human knowledge at the time), the majority of information we have about her studies is lost. The film chooses to show her making this discovery, only to be stoned to death by the Christians. The film poses as a great reminder for the violence and bloodshed that has served as a beginning for many a religion. I wish more people remembered that killing in the name of any god is still killing. I don't know that I have any more than that to say right now.

Time to start a new week. Good night.

Mile 3,803

I am a terrible blogger.

It's not that nothing has been happening--I've just been feeling very very lazy about it. And now I'm sitting at work doing nothing and I figure--why not?

Canvasing sucked this week. For some reason, I wasn't on my game at all--like, at all. I went from having a $600-day to a $3-day. It was awful and I thought I was going to get fired. I didn't make quota all that week, in fact, so it seemed very possible. They did let me stay, however, they stopped inviting me to Field Manager trainings so I guess I can kiss that $16 an hour good-bye . . .

Canvasing has other perks besides money though and that is truly why I do it ;) Talking to people, enlightening the public about the dark side of our democracy . . . getting free concert tickets and invitations to Kathy Griffin stand-up from complete strangers ;) There were also that one stoned guy who asked me to go see a movie with him, like right now, and the other one who asked me for my phone number, and the Jesus lady who told me I was going to hell because I was gay (that was an assumption on her part based on our tagline "Come fight for gay rights!" . . . nobody said that simply being a Christian made you particularly well-informed.

I have a friend coming to visit this weekend. I took the weekend off work. I think we're going to hit the beach, a flea market in Pasadena, maybe the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and a movie. It will be nice to have someone to hang out with :)