Alive and Well

After more hours of travel than i thought humanly possible we arrived in Nairobi. It was Tuesday the 2nd of September when we arrived, and i have never wanted to change my clothes more. Once everyone collected their luggage we boarded a bus that took us to the Methodist Guest House in the outskirts of Nairobi. It is here that we will be staying until Saturday when we meet our host families.
On the way to the Hotel we got stuck in unbelievable bumper to bumper traffic for atleast an hour. Kenyan freeways are very different than American ones in that their shoulder lanes are covered with people walking from place to place. As one looks into the distance people seem to be coming from every direction. Ofter emerging from behind a building with only a dirt path connecting it to a road.
After an hour and a half of driving we arrived at the Hotel and ate breakfast. I feasted on the baked beans, hard boiled eggs, and fruit. It was a nice change from the airplane food i had been eating for the bast two days. Once we finished eating we got matched up with our roommates for the next three days, and had the rest of the day to get sleep and recover from the jetlag.
Adreneline from finally arriving in Kenya prohibited me from going to sleep right away. I headed into Nairobi with a few other students from my group. A taxi driver by the name of Ezekial (Kikuyu name Kazima) picked us up and drove us to the Hilton Hotel in the center of Nairobi where were me up with the rest of the group who were heading into town. Once we arrived I headed to buy a SIM card for my cell phone. After buying the card we walked around Mama Ndiyo road and got a taste of the capital city.
As we walked around we quickly learned which side of the sidewalk people walk on, as well as who has the right of way when crossing the street. As you make already know, Kenyans drive on the left side of the road. Walking patterns are much the same. AFter zig zagging through people for the first couple of minutes I picked this up and walked with the crowd. When crossing the street pedestrians definitely don't have the right of way, one learns this quite fast!
After about an hour of walking around we decided to take a break at a Kenyan version of a Starbucks, called Java House. Once inside i felt like i was in a cafe back home. Voices in the cafe cold be heard speaking a combination of; English, Swahili, Bantu and Nilotec tribal tongues. The mix of tribal cultures is quite apparent when walking through Nairobi. AS we walked down the streets it wasn't uncommon to see a man with a walking stick, large guage ears and a tribal wrap. As well as people walking around in suits and ties as well as skirts and blouses.

My internet times running out, love you all.

September 3rd