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....