The day after the Perkins family arrived in Nairobi, we visited my homestay family in Ayany for lunch and a walk around Kibera. This was a place that had become so familiar and comfortable to me that it was difficult to step out of my own perspective and realize how different my parents must have felt while we walked around the neighborhood. This whole perspective deal was something I had to work on throughout the trip. The next afternoon we went to the City Market for some open-air bargaining and procurement of this and that. There are some overly-eager dealers in this market and at first it was a bit overwhelming for everyone, but by the time we left Mom had gotten used to just how different shopping was out here compared to the Galleria in Edina. I would say it’s definitely not the most enjoyable or relaxing experience. We ate at Carnivore one evening. Crocodile meat tastes like leather soaked in a dead walleye stew. Nasty stuff. Three days in Nairobi is plenty of time for a tourist’s satisfaction.
We hit up a 2-day classic safari in Amboseli National Park, just north of the Tanzanian border and situated in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We stayed at a surprisingly swanky place called the Sopa Lodge. The name of the game at most of these luxurious resorts? Never-ending service. This kinda got to all of us by the end of the trip. Every little thing was taken care of and all our needs were met. The pool had some striking views of the mountain, which seems to have lost some snow since I last saw it in March. Amboseli is known for the famous elephante, and boy did we see ‘em. Elephants swimming in the swamps, elephants eating lots of grass, huge male elephants staring us down, yup, we saw ‘em. Very cool. We also saw a plethora of other creatures, namely a whole herd of giraffes (they stared us down for about 10 minutes) and a lone hippo walking around. Then it was back to Nairobi for a night before flying out to Zanzibar the next morning. This group of 50 islands off the coast of Tanzania is collectively known as Zanzibar, though the largest island is usually holds that name. That’s where we went. It’s a semi-autonomous entity of Tanzania and there are some complicated political issues surrounding Zanzibar that I just don’t understand. It’s also one of the birthplaces of the Swahili culture. Though we stayed in a sun-baked resort out of town, we got to go on a spice tour and check out Stone Town (the historic part of the island complete with Swahili architecture and a narrow streets). For those of you who are familiar with Mombasa, Stone Town is similar to Old Town. Makes sense I guess. Zanzibar used to be the numero uno spice production site in the world, so they kinda know how to spice it up. I ate cloves off the tree, black peppers out of the pod (bad idea, don’t do it), and had the opportunity to smell the bark of a cinnamon tree. Spices are where it’s at.
We spent a lot of time on the beach just relaxing. Back in Nairobi last Tuesday, it was time to do some mad packing, eat some Ethiopian delicacies with the homestay and Perkins fam, and then head out to Kampala, Uganda on an overnight bus. All in all, I had spent four months in Kenya. My mind if still a bit of mush about the whole spring, so I really can’t say how this time has changed me or changed how I perceive the world around me. It’s been grand, but I have yet to reflect about my time there in a fully holistic way.
Before I left for Uganda, I thought a lot about how I approached my time in Kenya and how this might be different. I really want to approach Uganda with the same energy, enthusiasm and curiosity that I so cherished this past spring. After a week out here in the land of many a hill, I think I need to make more of an effort. It’s been good, no doubt, but I think I need to recapture some of that energy. On the other hand, it’s good just to be here with Petie. It’s funny being here in a place that is at once very different and very similar to Kenya. I’ve found myself taking note of every little difference or similarity. Petie’s probably hearing a lot more than she wants to about the transportation system in Nairobi compared to Kampala. There are motorcycles (boda bodas) everywhere here. It makes for a bit more alertness when crossing the street, but they’re supa convenient. They also have matatu-like vans out here that are simply referred to as taxis. The drivers aren’t quite as crazy as Kenya and they’re relatively safe at all times of the day.
A few other tidbits about how life in Kampala seems to be different than Nairobi? It’s a bit safer, maybe a lot more safe than Nairobi. I walked and hopped on a boda boda to meet Petie for dinner the other night and it was a surprisingly new and unfamiliar experience to be out and about at night. Living in a hostel near Makarere University adds some youthfulness that I didn’t really experience in Nairobi. Petie is friends with a lot of cool people and in retrospect I think one thing that I could’ve done better in Kenya was to make more university-aged Kenyan friends. But so it goes. Matoke, a cooked banana dish, is THE staple dish out here. Bananas prepared in any way are a hit. There’s also a delightful food called g-nut paste. Odd name, tasty taste. Most of the other food is comparable to Kenya. The currency exchange is something like 2000 Ugandan shillings to 1 US dollar, as compared to 74 Kenyan shillings to the dollar. Needless to say, I’ve yet to master the money. I feel like I’m walking around with a grip everywhere I go when in reality I’ve got a couple of bucks. Kampala is built on a bunch of hills (at least seven) and it adds a lot of landscape to the place. People also go out a lot here with Tuesday and Thursday nights as the primo party nights. I think the Ugandan folks may also be friendlier than Kenyan folks as a whole. Oh yeah, the interwebs here are quite frustrating at times and it looks like cyber cafes with looming time deadlines will be my connection back home these days.
In the newspaper yesterday, there’s was a story about two nuns who had been arrested after a marijuana field was found in their convent. They said it was for the pigs.
I started my internship with the Uganda Debt Network last Friday. I guess I’ve been placed in the Policy Analysis and Socioeconomic Research program, but in reality I just don’t understand this organization well enough to know where I fit in. As of now, it’s been a bit unfulfilling. I haven’t been given many tasks by my supervisor. She’s real smart on fiscal policy stuff, but it’s tough to be a supervisor and I don’t know if they’ve had many foreign interns. I’ve attended a few meetings and perused a lot of readings. It’s a strange situation to be an intern out here. I don’t understand any of the work dynamics and I don’t know how assertive to be or not be in my search for mental stimulation. I guess I’m learning how to approach an internship. I’m not here for very long, so at some point I just need to man up and make some moves.
Word on the street is that Sai Chavali was driving a golf cart all over the Colby campus last weekend. Who in their right mind would allow such a public danger?
I miss the freedom to be ridiculous. There were some times this past spring in Kenya, but Colby and the friends back home just foster an air of pure mayhem that I can’t bring here all the time. There’s a certain mask that I don out here, something that just doesn’t let me wear all the neon I want, or try to read a book while slacklining, or help choreograph a dance to Umbrella with the Sally Bros, or tackle Peter into a huge pile of snow, or climb anything that looks climbable, or just lay down in a perfectly grassed field. I wouldn’t choose to be back home right now, but I do miss that span of absurdness and its ability to just let me be me.
We hit up a 2-day classic safari in Amboseli National Park, just north of the Tanzanian border and situated in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We stayed at a surprisingly swanky place called the Sopa Lodge. The name of the game at most of these luxurious resorts? Never-ending service. This kinda got to all of us by the end of the trip. Every little thing was taken care of and all our needs were met. The pool had some striking views of the mountain, which seems to have lost some snow since I last saw it in March. Amboseli is known for the famous elephante, and boy did we see ‘em. Elephants swimming in the swamps, elephants eating lots of grass, huge male elephants staring us down, yup, we saw ‘em. Very cool. We also saw a plethora of other creatures, namely a whole herd of giraffes (they stared us down for about 10 minutes) and a lone hippo walking around. Then it was back to Nairobi for a night before flying out to Zanzibar the next morning. This group of 50 islands off the coast of Tanzania is collectively known as Zanzibar, though the largest island is usually holds that name. That’s where we went. It’s a semi-autonomous entity of Tanzania and there are some complicated political issues surrounding Zanzibar that I just don’t understand. It’s also one of the birthplaces of the Swahili culture. Though we stayed in a sun-baked resort out of town, we got to go on a spice tour and check out Stone Town (the historic part of the island complete with Swahili architecture and a narrow streets). For those of you who are familiar with Mombasa, Stone Town is similar to Old Town. Makes sense I guess. Zanzibar used to be the numero uno spice production site in the world, so they kinda know how to spice it up. I ate cloves off the tree, black peppers out of the pod (bad idea, don’t do it), and had the opportunity to smell the bark of a cinnamon tree. Spices are where it’s at.
We spent a lot of time on the beach just relaxing. Back in Nairobi last Tuesday, it was time to do some mad packing, eat some Ethiopian delicacies with the homestay and Perkins fam, and then head out to Kampala, Uganda on an overnight bus. All in all, I had spent four months in Kenya. My mind if still a bit of mush about the whole spring, so I really can’t say how this time has changed me or changed how I perceive the world around me. It’s been grand, but I have yet to reflect about my time there in a fully holistic way.
Before I left for Uganda, I thought a lot about how I approached my time in Kenya and how this might be different. I really want to approach Uganda with the same energy, enthusiasm and curiosity that I so cherished this past spring. After a week out here in the land of many a hill, I think I need to make more of an effort. It’s been good, no doubt, but I think I need to recapture some of that energy. On the other hand, it’s good just to be here with Petie. It’s funny being here in a place that is at once very different and very similar to Kenya. I’ve found myself taking note of every little difference or similarity. Petie’s probably hearing a lot more than she wants to about the transportation system in Nairobi compared to Kampala. There are motorcycles (boda bodas) everywhere here. It makes for a bit more alertness when crossing the street, but they’re supa convenient. They also have matatu-like vans out here that are simply referred to as taxis. The drivers aren’t quite as crazy as Kenya and they’re relatively safe at all times of the day.
A few other tidbits about how life in Kampala seems to be different than Nairobi? It’s a bit safer, maybe a lot more safe than Nairobi. I walked and hopped on a boda boda to meet Petie for dinner the other night and it was a surprisingly new and unfamiliar experience to be out and about at night. Living in a hostel near Makarere University adds some youthfulness that I didn’t really experience in Nairobi. Petie is friends with a lot of cool people and in retrospect I think one thing that I could’ve done better in Kenya was to make more university-aged Kenyan friends. But so it goes. Matoke, a cooked banana dish, is THE staple dish out here. Bananas prepared in any way are a hit. There’s also a delightful food called g-nut paste. Odd name, tasty taste. Most of the other food is comparable to Kenya. The currency exchange is something like 2000 Ugandan shillings to 1 US dollar, as compared to 74 Kenyan shillings to the dollar. Needless to say, I’ve yet to master the money. I feel like I’m walking around with a grip everywhere I go when in reality I’ve got a couple of bucks. Kampala is built on a bunch of hills (at least seven) and it adds a lot of landscape to the place. People also go out a lot here with Tuesday and Thursday nights as the primo party nights. I think the Ugandan folks may also be friendlier than Kenyan folks as a whole. Oh yeah, the interwebs here are quite frustrating at times and it looks like cyber cafes with looming time deadlines will be my connection back home these days.
In the newspaper yesterday, there’s was a story about two nuns who had been arrested after a marijuana field was found in their convent. They said it was for the pigs.
I started my internship with the Uganda Debt Network last Friday. I guess I’ve been placed in the Policy Analysis and Socioeconomic Research program, but in reality I just don’t understand this organization well enough to know where I fit in. As of now, it’s been a bit unfulfilling. I haven’t been given many tasks by my supervisor. She’s real smart on fiscal policy stuff, but it’s tough to be a supervisor and I don’t know if they’ve had many foreign interns. I’ve attended a few meetings and perused a lot of readings. It’s a strange situation to be an intern out here. I don’t understand any of the work dynamics and I don’t know how assertive to be or not be in my search for mental stimulation. I guess I’m learning how to approach an internship. I’m not here for very long, so at some point I just need to man up and make some moves.
Word on the street is that Sai Chavali was driving a golf cart all over the Colby campus last weekend. Who in their right mind would allow such a public danger?
I miss the freedom to be ridiculous. There were some times this past spring in Kenya, but Colby and the friends back home just foster an air of pure mayhem that I can’t bring here all the time. There’s a certain mask that I don out here, something that just doesn’t let me wear all the neon I want, or try to read a book while slacklining, or help choreograph a dance to Umbrella with the Sally Bros, or tackle Peter into a huge pile of snow, or climb anything that looks climbable, or just lay down in a perfectly grassed field. I wouldn’t choose to be back home right now, but I do miss that span of absurdness and its ability to just let me be me.
My comments really relate to the last paragraph - I guess a new environment requires one to don a new face (one obviously evolved from previous experiences, but one that HAS to adjust to circumstances or else your interactions with others in Kenya may not have been as insightful). I bet you left some things behind in Edina freshman year to trek across to east coast.
ReplyDeleteSome of your last paragraph strikes a deep chord with me as I had to leave some of my craziness to sports to concentrate more on academic pursuits when I entered the greens and freezing temps of Colby. I can only accept it as LIFE!