Moved Into A New Apartment

Note that the title of this blog post is meant to be sung to the tune of "The Old Apartment" by the Barenaked Ladies!

It’s official - I have new digs in Kenya.  I made the move to a new apartment a few weeks ago - kind of a hectic time to be moving, considering I had to move the day I left for my big trip across the United States for the Convening.  Of course, “move in” is a loose term as it really amounted to me frantically throwing things in bags and depositing them right inside the door of my new apartment, then rushing off to the airport with Vicky.   Seemed like a reasonable way of achieving the goal at the time (after all, I had to get it done before I left, since my old apartment was already rented to someone else), but walking in to that mess wasn’t the best way to reduce my stress level when I arrived back from the trip.

Nonetheless, I am settled in now and really enjoying the new place.  The apartment itself is definitely much nicer - it has hardwood floors, more closet space, two bathrooms, and a (tiny) outdoor patio.  In addition, the amenities are great - there is a gym right in the complex, a pool, and a shared outdoor area with tables, chairs, and umbrellas.  Plus, Vicky and Emma (who are my two closest pals here) live in the complex as well, so there’s always someone cooking dinner...and it’s usually not me!  The only downside is that it’s a bit further away from the shops and restaurants - what used to be a 5-10 minute walk is more like 20-25, which means we need to call cars more often, which means a bit more coordination/pre-planning when we want to go places.  This is a little frustrating to me, because in the States, I’m so used to getting in my car and going when and where I want - it makes me feel claustrophobic to have to “plan” how I’m going to get out and about.  But, I am MUCH more used to this than when I first arrived, so it’s definitely not as big of a deal as it would have been five months ago.  Having the gym right here will also help me stay on track with my recommitment to fitness, and since Vicky and I have no official workspace, it’s great to have a bit nicer “office” (complete with poolside seating, of which we take full advantage!)

The other amazing thing about this complex?  There’s a turtle that lives in the common outdoor space!  That little bugger is FAST - sometimes we’ll see him on one side of the garden, then what seems like 5 minutes later, he’s on the other side!  He drinks from the pool and often sleeps under Vicky’s window...sometimes she can hear him shuffling around at night.  Hilarious. We’re trying to decide what to name him - suggestions welcome!

Below are some pics of the new place - it’s definitely first class!

My bedroom - note all the pictures of friends and family - and the American football!  I'm not having much luck convincing everyone here how great football is - but I'm not giving up yet!

One of the two bathrooms, but the only one that has a shower (the one in my room has a tub).  Scarily, the shower door has a lock that flashes 'vacant' or 'occupied' depending on the position.  Since the door is clear, it's pretty easy to tell if it's occupied or not!

Kitchen - outside is a small second patio with a washing machine, sink and drying rack (still no dryer - I miss those!)

Family room, with sitting area behind

The (tiny) patio - but it's definitely an improvement over the (no) patio of my last place

Views from my bedroom window/the patio

Outside of the complex - I'm the second floor in the back building.  That's the gym on the first floor (with the windows), so I walk by it every day. Now I really have NO excuses to not run!

Photos of the outside sitting area - also known as our new 'office'.  Quite lovely!

Last but not least, the office "pet".  He's a turtle (or as Emma insists, a tortoise).  His name is Tarquin (which is VERY British, and given to him by Emma) but I call him "Bear" for short. 

Stateside

Whew, I’m jet lagged, yet as excited as ever - Vicky and I just got back to Kenya after an amazing trip around the USA.  When we started this phase back in February, one of the foundations that provide the funding for our project offered to hold a Convening for us in Seattle in late March.  The very fact that they offered to host a Convening is a big deal - I wasn’t aware, but apparently Convenings are held for big initiatives that they think will become major implementations - it’s a way to get key experts and project stakeholders together to discuss the progress made to date and agree on the path forward.  For Vicky and me, it was a chance to bounce all the ideas we’ve been working on since November against some really great brains/experts in this sector, and continue to build on the momentum that has become the WIND project.  Another neat aspect was that the foundation also flew in some of our key Kenyan stakeholders - it was a great way for them to get to experience some of my culture, since I’ve been living in theirs for the past five months.  It was good to play “hostess” for them - a little bit odd, as I could see many of them were way out of their comfort zones -  makes me realize how much of a “fish out of water” I was when I first came to Kenya!  The Convening went very well - there were definitely some contentious parts, as there are things that some of these partners fundamentally disagree on, but by the end, everyone in the room had optimism that we can come to a model and solution that is going to be beneficial for everyone.

We were away from Kenya for a total of 10 days - we first stopped in NYC to do a presentation on our project to one of our other donors.  We got to spend the weekend in the city - I took the opportunity to watch a LOT of college basketball and catch up with some friends.  Then it was off to Seattle and the Convening - it was my first time to Seattle, and I’ll definitely be going back!  I didn’t get to experience much of the city (we spent most of the time working), but I enjoyed what I did see and I also appreciated the opportunity to meet some of our project sponsors face to face (it might sound strange, but most of these folks we’ve only worked with remotely up until now, so in my mind, they were headless voices coming from a speakerphone!).  After the Convening, I got a few days “leave” in Dallas, which was great.  Being far away makes me really appreciate the time that I do get to spend with my family and friends.  There’s nothing like going home.  Then it was back to Nairobi via Heathrow - and of course, I bumped into Miss Vicky Easterbrook in the security line - she was looking a bit flustered, as she had overslept (by this time it was Sunday morning in the UK) and just barely made it to the airport for our flight!  Thereafter began our quest to find her a shower in the BA lounge - the hijinks never seem to end with the two of us.

We’re back now and staring down the belly of a very busy week - the trip was amazing, and we gained so much good input, but as is often the case when traveling and in meetings, not much actual work gets done, so we have a bit to catch up on.  But, I’m feeling recharged and encouraged by all the positive feedback we received, and am ready to put pen to paper!

Life in Nairobi

Since starting this new phase of work, I’ve been doing a lot more Nairobi-based activities.  This is partially because now that I have been in Kenya awhile, I’ve done a lot of the ‘easy’ weekend getaways, and partly because work has been busy - it’s been a bit much to have big weeks AND try to get away on the weekends.

However, one does not need to get out of Nairobi to have fun - not by a long shot.  I’ve put together some short synopsis of some of the events my friends and I have been up to lately, and included photos where I could.  Hopefully this gives you some insight into my “normal” Nairobi life:

Black Diamond Dancing - Black Diamond is the name of one of the local bars/clubs in Westlands, which is the area where my apartment is.  There is karaoke in Black Diamond every Tuesday night, and once that is over, they start playing a really good mix of Kenyan and “western” hip hop and dance songs.  It’s always a blast, and whenever we go, we end up staying out wayyyy too late.  With all this fun going on, Wednesday mornings can be a bit painful.  Karaoke here is hilarious - the Kenyans seem to have a penchant for very slow love songs, while our group tends to the “Ice Ice Baby” or “Semi-Charmed Life” types of songs.  It’s an eclectic mix, that’s for sure!

Blankets and Wine - this is a music event that happens the first Sunday of every month.  Basically, a new venue is chosen each time, and African artists from Kenya and the surrounding countries are booked to perform.  They set up tents for shade, and sell food and wine, plus have play areas for kids.  It’s a very “ex-pat” thing to do, but the music is great, and it’s a wonderful, relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  I’ve only been once, but the music was awesome, and I’ll definitely be going again if I can!

Pancake Day - In the States, we celebrate Fat Tuesday (the day before the start of Lent) with Mardi Gras, parades and beads.  Apparently in England, Fat Tuesday is known as Pancake Day - everyone gorges themselves on pancakes (what we Americans would call crepes).  As most everyone knows, I love any excuse to eat pancakes.  So, we invited some folks over and cooked pancakes (both the American and the English versions).  I was a little worried about how they would turn out - purchasing ingredients here is a bit of a “luck of the draw” situation, and I wasn’t sure if the altitude would affect them.  Turns out my fears were for naught - the first batch of English pancakes was a bit of a disaster (who knew what a difference leaving out an egg would make) but we recovered nicely and had a great meal.  There were even chocolate chips (semi-sweet, of course) for the American pancakes.  Nothing says happiness like breakfast foods.

St. Patrick’s Day - I’m slowly starting to learn that not everyone goes as crazy about St. Patrick’s Day as Americans.  Green beer, and wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day, while perfectly natural to me, is looked upon by my (mostly English) friends here as...well...weird.  This year, I had two St. Patrick’s day celebrations - the first was on the actual date and was kicked off by our own homemade green beer (thanks to Laura the Legend who went out to procure Tusker and green food coloring).  It was VIOLENTLY green - I was the only one who really drank it, but I loved it!  We went out to an “Irish” bar with live music and “Irish” specials (not very Irish at all...but they did have Irish Car Bombs on special) and finished the night out at Black Diamond.  Then on Saturday night, we went to a St. Patrick’s Day Ball put on by the Irish Society of Kenya.  It was held at the Hilton downtown, and it was a very hoity toity event.  Black tie, and your ticket got you a sit down meal, plus lots of drinks and dancing.  Since it was more of a mature crowd, the “disco” portion of the evening started out tamer (think Fleetwood Mac and Don McLean) but quickly transitioned into the “music of today” as the younger crowd took over the dance floor.  I have to admit, it was a great time - really fun to get all dressed up for a change, especially when our lack of an office means I spend a lot of time in gym clothes.

That’s just the high level overview - there are dinners, and brunches, and events I could go on and on about.  There’s something happening just about every day, should one fancy it - I never lack for social things to do here!

Out and about on St. Patrick's Day!  Notice how I'm pretty much the only one wearing green - except Lidia, who pulled out her Ireland football jersey in honor of the day...and of course, we're all doing the infamous bear claw...my legacy in Kenya.

Blankets and wine...a relaxing way to spend a Sunday..thank goodness for the shade though...it was HOT!

Pancake Day!  This is the second batch of English pancakes...the one where we actually put all of the right ingredients in the mixture!

Black Diamond karoke - and we were joined on stage by a special guest star :)  I think at this point we were singing Backstreet Boys - much to the amusement of the Kenya crowd.

All dressed up for the St Patrick's Day ball!

Lamu

A couple of weekends ago, Emma, Laura and I took a trip to Lamu.  Lamu is a island (and a town) on Kenya’s coast - for those of you keeping track, it is north of both Mombasa and Malindi/Watamu.  The area is actually an archipelago of islands, with Lamutown on one of them.  Like most areas on the coast, the culture is heavily Muslim, but Lamu has another twist - there are no cars on the island, only donkeys.  The donkeys are used for transport and manual labor (for example, carrying bricks for construction).  The buildings and architecture are definitely influenced by the Muslim culture and there is not much in the way of air conditioning, which leaves yours truly pretty hot and sweaty.  But, it is a beautiful place, and definitely feels Arabic and a bit mysterious.

We arrived on Friday night at the ‘airport’, which was basically a landing strip with a cart that was the ‘baggage service’.  The airport is actually on a different island to Lamu, so we were met by our hotel staff for the ride over to Lamu Island.  After welcomes and handshakes all around, we were led on a short walk out to a jetty, and then we boarded a boat for the 30 minute ride across the water.  Our hotel was actually in Shela, another town on Lamu Island, about 40 minutes walk from Lamutown.  Upon arrival, we checked in, dropped our bags off in our room, changed into our lightest/airiest clothes, and headed over to the Peponi Hotel for sundowners and the prospect of dinner.  The Peponi had a beautiful deck overlooking the water and the sunset.  We had a few drinks and then decided to stay on for dinner at the hotel restaurant.  The food was amazing - some of the freshest seafood I’ve had while here - and we had a great time just chatting and enjoying being away from the hustle and bustle that is Nairobi.  After dinner we went out to the patio to continue our evening - we forgot, however, that the heavily Muslim culture means no alcohol easily available - so we had to buy beers off one of the “beach boys” hanging out around the hotel.  We paid him and about 20 minutes later, he came back with 3 Tuskers - all warm - that he said were part of his ‘special stash’.  Oh well...a Tusker is a Tusker!

We decided to call it an early evening, as Shela shuts down pretty early and we had to get up early the next morning.  Thereafter followed what I can only describe as a very restless night of sleep.  There was no air-conditioning in the hotel, so it was VERY hot (and I really can’t complain as my bed was under the one fan in the room), there were donkeys braying at all hours (they just run around loose on the island) and there was a mosque right next door...and the speaker for the call to prayer was pointed right at the hotel.  There was also an interesting screaming incident - it’s best told in person, so ask me about it sometime.  Needless to say, we all rolled out of bed feeling less than refreshed, but ready to go out and spend a day on a traditional dhow boat.

The trip was a lot of fun - our motley crew of 3 guys took us on about a 2.5 hour ride to another island, and we got to do some snorkeling while they cooked lunch.  Lunch was fresh fish grilled on the boat, plus salad and mangos for dessert.  They also had chipati, so we made what basically amounted to fish tacos - very tasty!  Then we did a bit of fishing - I didn’t catch anything, which is typical - and then it was time to head back.  The trip back was a lot of fun - we didn’t need the motor, so the crew put up the sails and it was a proper sail back.  Emma, Laura and I were all relaxing in the shade in the front of the boat...very peaceful...until a VERY strong gust of wind came up and the boat nearly capsized!  Emma got the scare of her life as she nearly tumpled out of the boat - I swear the crew did it on purpose :)  But, it was all in good fun, and we could all laugh about it later - after our hearts stopped beating out of our chests, of course.  We got dropped off around 5, and gave our crew the last of our cash - a small move that would come back to haunt us later.  

Hereafter is another lesson learned - never become too complacent while traveling.  Case in point - never assume that things are going to work the way you expect them to.  Getting cash definitely falls into this category.  We knew there was an ATM near our hotel, so we headed there to get money for dinner and the rest of the weekend.  Upon arrival, we were informed by the guard that the ATM was ‘finished’ (read:  not working).  Uh oh.  We currently have ~1500 bob ($17) between the 3 of us.  This isn’t good.  There’s an ATM in Lamutown, about a 40 minute walk away...but we’re tired from the day, sunburned, dehydrated, it’s getting dark, and we are in no mood for an “adventure”.  I think the ATM guard got a kick out of the dejected looks on our faces - we were truly befuddled on what to do.  You know that feeling when you are tired and hot and just want things to work themselves out?  That’s where we were.  Thankfully, Laura kept her wits about her - we decided to go back to Peponi (where we knew they took credit cards) and have drinks (that always helps a bad situation) and just have dinner there again, rather than trying to find someplace new.  It meant less exploring, but at least we knew what to expect.  It was another early evening as we were exhausted from our day at sea.

Sunday we had a nice sleep in (all the same noises / heat were there, but it’s amazing what you can sleep through when you are coming off a night of NO sleep) and breakfast at our hotel.  It was about this time that we all realized that we were feeling a bit “dodgy” (British speak for pretty terrible).  Nonetheless, we still had our cash problem to sort out, so after a half hearted attempt to see if the ATM near our hotel was working (it wasn’t, of course, although the guard remembered us from the day before), we set out on the walk to Lamutown.  Looking back, taking a 40 minute walk...at noon...in the sun...when you are feeling a bit ill...was not really the best idea, but we were worried that getting on another boat would make us sick(er).  The walk...let’s just say it was like one of those movies/bad vacations where someone says “let’s walk!!” and sure, it sounds reasonable, because you can SEE the town, but you keep walking..and walking..and it doesn’t seem to get any closer.  Details aside, we finally made it...got cash, and made the executive decision to take a boat back to Shela.  We rested in the hotel, still feeling pretty ill, until it was time to go.  We were all pretty poorly for a couple of days after - we’re still not sure what it was.  Probably a combination of dehydration, questionable food, heat, and sunburn.  I have to say, this is the first time I’ve been really sick while in Kenya since I’ve been here, which is pretty much a miracle.  That fact didn’t make me feel any better the days I WAS sick, but we’re all feeling better now and back in fighting shape.  Even with the sickness, Lamu was a really wonderful place, and I enjoyed the experience!

The Lamu "airport"...oh, excuse me...airstrip

The check-in counter at the airport

View of Lamutown from the boat during our ride from the airport to the hotel

The private balcony at our hotel - we were tempted to sleep out here, since there was a chance of a breeze

The courtyard of the hotel - viewed from the third floor (where our room was)

View of our balcony (exact opposite of the other balcony shot)

View from our balcony down to the lobby of the hotel

Our breakfast table - right outside the hotel proper, next to a lovely little garden - I love that nearly all Kenyan hotel stays come with a freshly made breakfast

View from our day of sailing - this is the the traditional dhow boat of Kenya.  Ours also had an outboard motor - good thing, b/c there was no wind on our sail out!

Emma and Laura enjoying the sun and sail

Our "motley" crew

Emma reliving her near death experience of falling off the boat

Views from our hotel room...that building on the right is the mosque...can you see the speaker that is pointed RIGHT AT OUR ROOM???

Here we are looking very very upset because the ATM is "finished".  The guard was getting a pretty big kick out of us.

In times of duress, take photos of the architecture.  These shots are of the area around our hotel.

These shots are the patio at the Peponi Hotel

Here are some photos of the walk between Shela and Lamu (also known as the quest for cash).  The beach here is lovely, but it's less "beach" than Diani or Malindi - it's more of a rocky coast

Right about now, we are realizing that the walk was a bad idea

Boat ride back to Shela, cash in hand - boat ride is MUCH smarter

View of the Peponi Hotel from the water

The "baggage cart" at the airport

Boat ride from the airstrip to the hotel - glad to be back in warmer temperatures!

I got to steer the boat!  Not sure what those wooden pegs were for, but they were a fun accessory!

Laura and I before the fateful walk to Lamu

One of the (many) donkeys on the island

Here comes the plane to pick us up!  And not a second too soon - we're all pretty tired and not feeling all too great (see below).  You know when you "hit the wall" and just need to get home?  That was us!