So far so good on the job front. This past week was a lot of planning for the upcoming year. From what I have heard from some friends, people around town are pretty excited about me working at the organization, which makes me feel good. I still feel really confident about the work we are doing and I think I’ll be able to help a lot of it get done.It has just been a difficult transition to adjust to the work atmosphere here. Things that are so important at the work place in the US like efficiency, effectiveness, timeliness, productivity.... none of these exist here. There is a lot of sitting around, a lot of talking/gossiping and not a lot of actual DOING. This will take some time to get used to and things will still get done, just not as quickly as I would like or am used to.

My sister left last week so for the past few days I have had no family members here with me… first time in a month. It is still hot here every day. Three days ago it rained for the first time in literally two months. It was starting to get horrible. It was just so dusty and dry everywhere, but it’s rained a little in the past few days so it’s a little better.

The inauguration was pretty exciting here. Even though it wasn’t declared an official holiday like election day, people pretty much stopped working around 1 pm and celebrated the rest of the day and night. It was quite the event. There was a big get-together in town here in Kisumu with music blasting all day. There is a popular reggae song here with a chorus that just repeats “Ba-rack O-bama, Ba-rack O-bama.” We heard that song all day long…

UGANDA!

So I started my new job last week. The first week went really well. I think everyone is receptive to me being there and they are excited to work hard this year... hopefully. My week ended short because we left for Uganda Thursday afternoon.

My sister, my friend Elizabeth, a family of 7 I know from Portland and I all decided to make the not-too-far trip to Uganda for the weekend. We left Kisumu in the afternoon and took a matatu (14 person van) to the border town, Busia. Immigration is quite easy to pass through.. especially after you have to pay USD $50 on the Ugandan side to enter the country. We then took another Matatu to the town of Jinja which sits right on Lake Victoria and the source of the river Nile. The family we were with had contacted a rafting company and already set everything up for us. So we arrived at the camp at night and relaxed at the bar/restaurant before bed. In the morning, we were able to see the place in the daylight... pretty sweet. The bar overlooks the Nile and it's absolutely beautiful. We left in the morning around 10 for our white-water rafting trip. There are two options for the trip: wild or mild. Of course, we did wild. Our guide was Canadian and pretty experienced on the river. The water was so warm and the sun was so hot. We went through 11 rapids, 4 of which were class 5 rapids. Our boat flipped three different times. It was such a fun day, but also scary. Some of the rapids were huge and you're basically guaranteed to flip. In which case, you either hold on to the boat or get rescued by one of the ten rescue kayakers who follow the boats. Two different times I was trapped under the boat when we flipped, yet I cam out fine. We stopped on an island for a great lunch during the middle and there was plenty of calm water where we could leisurely swim. Overall is was an awesome day, but there were plenty of scary moments. The family we were traveling with were doing a 2 day trip so they continued on when we came back to the camp at night.

We went into Jinja town to a restaurant for dinner and had REAL pizza and burgers with ACTUAL Heinz ketchup... quite the gourmet meal for us. In the morning, my friend Elizabeth and I had decided to bungee jump. The company has a bungee jumping option so we had decided when we arrived to do it. The platform is 145 feet over the river. I was definitely scared but it was absolutely worth it. They wrapped a towel around my ankles and then fastened a cord around that. I hopped to the edge of the platform and they told me how to jump out. After 3, 2, 1, BUNGEE... I don't even remember how I jumped. I just remember falling, but knowing it wasn't like a free fall. I could still feel some resistance and slowing as I fell. I was AWESOME. Swinging back and forth over the river and dangling from my ankles... quite a rush! Then they lowered my into a raft below and brought me to the shore. I watched my friend jump from down there. Kenzie filmed us from the lookout at the bar and had a great view of everything. We left for Kenya soon after.

Overall, our two days in Uganda were great. It was only about a five hour trip to get there so not too bad. I had quite the thrill-seeking weekend and it was totally worth the money (lots of money haha). Back to work tomorrow...

more from the Moore's

Today I have not left the house. It feels quite good to do absolutely nothing for a whole day. The last week has been the exact opposite. Last Saturday morning, I left Nairobi with the fam on the bus. I had complained many times in the past about the bumpy ride from Nairobi to Kisumu, but it has gotten a little better and plus, I totally think everyone should experience it and appreciate how awesome our roads are at home. The ride started out pretty good. There were only a few places with some bumps. As we were about 2 hours outside of Kisumu we stopped for 30 mins and had to wait to see what had happened. There was a major traffic jam on the only two lane road across the country (figures). A bus had tipped over onto its side across the road leaving only room for one lane to pass by it. Needless to say we did a little off-roading on our huge coach bus and my mom almost had a panic attack haha. We arrived safe in Kisumu and took it easy the rest of the night. Sunday we went to the field near my house and Dad helpeddo a training session with 14-16 year-old boys. Kenz, Mom and I sat on the side and played with the little children around the area. That night we came to the place where I stayed and they experienced some local food (scrambled eggs!).

Monday morning we visited the street children organization HOVIC. In true Kenyan formal, they had a formal meeting with all the kids and staff and introduced us and made us formally present the gifts we brought to the team captains and staff. It was awkward and funny, but they were TOTALLY excited about the soccer balls, shin guards, cones and pinnies we brought. The kids love white visitors.

Tuesday we did a boat ride out on Lake Victoria. We went on a successful hippo search and saw quite a few (just their heads because their bodies are under water). The lake was pretty cool, but would be MUCH more fun if people could swim in it. Wednesday we visited a local nursery school where an American friend of mine works. It was cool for my mom to see a school and she even taught the kids “The Ittsy Bittsy Spider” and “I’m a little teapot.” That night we went to the well known sunset spot, Kiboko Bay and saw the sunset and had a great meal. You know it’s a good place when you can get mashed potatoes, lettuce, boneless meat and Heinz ketchup.

Thursday we spent the day at Pandipieri, one of the other organizations I’m volunteering with. We were given a tour of the whole compound including the clinic, nursery school, and street kids compound. We gave them tons of school supplies that my mom’s class and another class had collected and also soccer uniforms. They were all SO excited (including the staff members). Friday we spent resting and packing up all my parents stuff and they flew out of Kisumu Friday evening.

Now it’s just my sister and I hanging out here, but we won’t actually do a lot of sitting around because I start my job on Monday. Yes, that’s right… job. The organization I have been working with this time and when I was a student, KYFA, has offered me a management position. It’s called “Interim Management Reinforcement” so I will essentially be overseeing everyone and reporting to the director. I am so excited to have a more influential role in the organization. Hopefully, they will be able to learn from me, but I think it will be such a phenomenal learning experience for me and a great way to get experience in the exact field I want to go into. So that starts tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes with me being younger than everyone there, white and a female. Could be interesting….

The Moores in Kenya

So the last week has been great. My two worlds have officially collided now, my American world and Kenyan world, with my parents being here. They arrived last Friday night and we woke up super early on Saturday morning and did a safari for half a day in Nairobi National Park. We saw zebras, giraffes, ostrich, gazelles, impalas, hartebeest, wildebeest, etc. It was pretty sweet. Sunday we spend most of the day at the Maasai market buying crafts, jewelery, carvings... all the fun Kenyan stuff. We had some Ethiopian food for lunch and shopped more afterwards haha. Monday we took a walk through Kibera, the largest slum in East Africa. A friend of the people we are staying with took us and I think it was definitely an eye-opening experience for the fam.

Monday night we took the train to Mombasa, which of course left 2 hours late and took 16 hours. My mom had food poisoning so she threw up most of the way and was really sick, but is totally fine now. Kenzie, Dad and I did some shopping Tuesday afternoon while Mom recovered. Wednesday morning we went to the Akamba Handicraft Center which is a cooperative that employs over 10,000 people from the Akamba tribe who are trained in woodworking and carving. You basically just walk around to all the little pavilions where the artisans are working and watch what they're doing and ask questions and everything. All the stuff they make is put in a show room and sold to tourists. There is also a show room for Kenyan residents which is about half the price of the tourist one, so of course me being a Kenyan, I talked to them and we were able to shop in the residents-only store. Needless to say we bought A LOT of wooden stuff.
We shopped more in town that afternoon. Mombasa has great cloths, materials and leather sandals. We stayed at a great guest house right in town that was recently renovated so it was very nice and clean and had a restaurant/bar/club attached which was so convenient. New Year's was low key because we had to wake up so early the next day.

Thursday morning we got up and went down to the ferry (the city of Mombasa is an island). We crossed the water and got on a matatu to go to Bodo, the village I did a homestay in when I was a student. The ride was about an hour and at one point we estimate there were 24 people in the 16 passenger car... pretty sweet. We got to Bodo and my American family got to meet my Bodo family. It was quite exciting! My Bodo father and brother and friend took us on a boat ride on the Indian Ocean and we also went down some fresh water stream to see some crocodiles, but unfortunately we couldn't find any. The boat ride as awesome though. We also had two meals in Bodo. Chapati, donut type things, coconut beans and team for breakfast... Red snapper in coconut sauce and coconut rice for lunch. The food was amazing. It was cool for my mom to see the Bodo primary school (being a teacher) and we also got to see someone climb the pal tree to get coconuts and we got to drink from the fresh coconuts. We took many pictures....

We got back to Mombasa in the evening and took the overnight train again back to Nairobi today. Were leaving early in the morning for Kisumu, so they will finally be able to see where I live and what I'm doing. So far so good, besides the minor food poisoning.

More from "The Moores do Kenya" coming soon....

Christmas?!?

It is still 90 degrees every day, there is no crazy holiday shopping, no holiday music, no snow, no santa and no Christmas baking! Not quite the same as home... The last week I have just been catching up on everything from when I was on vacation. The organizations I'm working with are closing for the holidays and people will start to travel tomorrow, mostly to the rural areas to be with family during the holidays.

I am currently sitting in the only coffee shop in Kisumu that offers FREE wireless internet. It's so bizarre. It's really nicely decorated on the inside and almost feels like Starbucks. I'm drinking a white chocolate mocha and eating a chocolate croissant... where am I again?!? Yet, on Thursday this week I went for a pre-home visit with one of the counselors from Pandipieri. One of the boys at the center, who is 8, they are trying to place him back in his rural home. So we took public transportation for two hours to the place where the boy says he is from. It's past a town called Bondo which is west of here. So we get off the van in the absolute middle of nowhere near this tiny town and the guy I'm with starts asking people if they know the boy (he has a picture). Someone recognizes the boy and they call the man who is the supposed guardian of the boy. We get this man's phone number and tell the people we will contact him soon to discuss plans for the boy to be reintegrated. After being there for maybe 20 minutes, we turn around and get back into a van to come home... successful trip, sorta... On the way back, the door falls off the van, the lady next to me is holding a box of rotten tomatoes and the man in front of me is carrying live chickens. At that point, I REALLY wished I had the white chocolate mocha.

The football team I am supporting is doing so well! They are practicing almost daily, all the kids have quit sniffing glue and they are really focused on working hard so maybe they can go back to school sometime soon. My friend Elizabeth and I are also helping the organization (HOVIC) to start planning to set up a drop in center for street girls. It will be a temporary shelter where the can sleep at night and also be a place where they will receive vocational training. Right now, we are still working on funding and planning, but I'm really excited about the project.

So basically, I have a lot of projects going on here, but I really feel like I am contributing to all of them. I'm excited for the next two weeks of holiday celebrations and seeing my family!

Lamu

So the last part of our vacation was absolutely amazing. We left Malindi on Wednesday morning and took the worst bus ride ever up to Lamu. It was about 4 and a half hours of literally hanging onto our seats so we didn’t fall on the person next to us. We would hit bumps sometimes and come a foot off our seat. It was crazy and pretty much like off roading on a dirt road in a huge bus…pretty great. Since Lamu is an island we had to take the ferry from the mainland which was more like a small crowded motor boat. We arrived and were immediately swarmed by people trying to tell us places to stay and toursity things to do. We had an idea about a guest house from a guide book and found it and got a cheap rate (think $3.50 each per night). We just lounged the rest of the evening and checked out a local food place. Everywhere we walked we were constantly followed by local guys and not really in a bad way. Lamu is so different than the rest of Kenya because it is actually safe. You can walk around at night with lots of money and not have to worry about getting mugged or anything.

So Thursday we decided to spend the day on the beach. There are two main beaches in the island so we went to the other town on the island, Shela, and spent the day on Shela Beach. I can honestly say Lamu Island is hands down the most beautiful and amazing place I have ever been. The beach was great and no crowded at all and the water was totally warm and great for swimming. At night we would hang out with a lot of the people we met during the day. We met tons of other travelers including some couples from Canada, a British guy, American girls, and Peace Corps volunteers from Kenya and Uganda. It was so fun to meet other travelers and hear their stories.

Friday was the best day. We had heard that the thing to do in Lamu is to do a day trip on a dhow, which is the traditional wooden sailboats made there. So we left around 10 with 3 other American we had met while there. We sailed over to a beach on Manda Island which is right next to Lamu. The three other Americans stayed and snorkeled there while Cara, Elizabeth and I went deep sea fishing with the crew. It was AWESOME! They caught a ton of fish and they would let us reel them in because we weren’t so lucky with catching out own fish. We used fishing line wrapped around a block of wood with a weight and hook on the end. All we did was let the line out and pull it back in by wrapping it around the block. They caught fish like red snapper and leatherjackets. After the fishing we sailed back to the island to meet the others. While we swam and lounged the crew made lunch. They cooked the fish we had just caught, coconut rice, a vegetable mix and also cut up fresh fruit like passion fruit, mango, oranges and bananas. It was the best mean EVER. In the afternoon we sailed back to Lamu and went home to clean up for our evening event which was a beach party also on Manda Island. So we went with a few other people we had met, some Candians and British people. We got to the beach and got to see the sunset from the boat and from the island. It was unreal. We set up a mat on the beach and the local guys we were with made a fire for us and made food. A similar meal to lunch: chapati (like flatbread), fresh fish and coconut vegetables and fruit. After dinner the locals started some drumming and singing, mostly reggae style stuff. We all sat around and drank coconut wine, which sounds delicious but was easily the worst concoction I have ever tasted. The stars were so bright and easy to see, the air was warm and the company was phenomenal. It was such a great night and we even got to sail back to Lamu at night which was quite an experience.

Since we had so much fun, we decided to stay an extra day. Saturday we spent more time on the beach and eating delicious seafood (like crabcakes yummmm). Overall Lamu was absolutely amazing. The people are wonderful, the landscape is beautiful and the island is so rich in history. The bus ride back to MOmbasa was horrible, the train to Nairobi was ok and the night bus back to Kisumu was fine. The 45 hour travel back to Kisumu was not fun, but the whole trip was so worth it.

It’s nice to be back here now and kinda get back into the swing of things…

Yesterday, Cara and I visited HOVIC and brought some American music. We taught all the kids how to do some American dances. We looked so ridiculous, but it was SO MUCH fun. The soccer team from HOVIC that I'm helping out with also go second place in a tournament last weekend, so everyone there is pretty excited.

the coast

So I am currently traveling with my two friends on the coast. We left Nairobi on Friday night and took the overnight train to Mombasa. It was supposed to take 14 hours but ended up taking 20. Oh well, we still got there and found a guest house to stay in right in town. We showered, in cold water of course and chilled for the evening. That night we went out for dinner and drinks and enjoyed a bit of the coastal city night life... very fun. Sunday morning we shopped around it town and bought some cloths called kangas which are brighly colored wraps that Kenyan women wear. Then we headed toward the ferry (because the city of Mombasa is on an island) and crossed the channel. From there we took a matatu, a 14 passenger van t othe town of Ukunda and from there to Diani Beach. We found a place to stay (using the Lonely Planet guidebook which we have been living by!). It was a cottage about 100 yards from the beach and it had a restaurant attached, very very cool. We spent the afternoon on the beach and swam. The water was wartmer than any shower I have take here the entire time....

Monday morning we woke up very early and took a matatu to Bodo, the little village we did our rural homestay in when I was a student here. It's in the absolute middle of nowhere and its beautiful. It was cool for Cara and Elizabeth to see it and meet my family and everything. We drank water from fresh coconuts, walked around the village, saw the beach, ate coconut rice, and relaxed. It was wonderful! Later we somehow got a free ride back to our place, which was nice. We ate at restaurant last night right on the water with our feet in the sand. Diani Beach is pretty touristy but there are some beautiful places.

This morning we headed back into Mombasa and took the ferry to town where we boarded a matatu to Malindi. We got to Malindi, put out stuff in a guest House (thanks Lonely Planet) and headed to the beach where we spent the last 4 hours. It was not quite as nice of a beach but still pretty sweet. Were leaving here tomorrow morning to go to Lamu, an island 4 hours north of here up towards the Somali border. It's supposed to be beautiful, very traditional and awesome. I'm hyped....

The trip has been great so far. We have really enjoyed it and it's been nice to get away from the every day routine. I've seen more white people in the last 2 days than in the last 3 months combined.. haha but still not many Americans.

I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful December weather in the US. It is 90 and sunny and beautiful and hot here EVERY DAY. I'll soak up some rays for you all....