Day 5: Nakuru

It's quite humorous how synchronicity works. I had talked to Phanice about music the night before, asking if she liked Prince. She had no clue who he was, and so I stated his more well-known songs - she couldn't remember having heard them. I also work at Mystic Lake Casino, where we have a Ribbons Restaurant that is primarily a steakhouse. So..

That morning we entered our hotel's restaurant - Ribbons. The song playing was "When doves cry" by Prince.

We decided to eat on the deck outside, overlooking the street. We ordered undazi and tea, undazi are a single giant mandazi. Big enough for a breakfast. I also ordered some toast with eggs. Our waiter was VERY nervous serving us, primarily because of me. He would joke with other patrons but would be stark faced and serious when dealing with us. He was literally shaking when giving us our plates! Was I the first white client he had ever served? Quite possibly, but I honestly LOVED this city and the view of the street.

The weather was to die for! It is so amazing there, with a cool breeze from the lake further outside of town. Though, honestly I can't remember many times in Kenya when the weather wasn't perfect! ( I think this makes sense, as mankind first evolved from what is now Kenya )

We went to Nakuru National Park, after Phanice found a taxicab that would take us there. ( She price compared with many drivers ) When we got to the park, we found another issue. The ticket issuer would not allow us entry using my American money. It seems that any US Dollars dated before 2004 are considered possible counterfeit. I had the some problem with banks in Nairobi. So, we took the taxi back into Nakuru and stopped at a bank - which took bills they wouldn't have even taken in Nairobi! I wish I had had more of my money on me, for I would have exchanged them all at that point!

( Note to visitors to Kenya: bring NEW and crisp bills only!)

We returned to the park, and I paid my fee which was over 10 times what Phanice would have to pay - because I am a visitor I pay a lot more. It's weird how that works, but I suppose most tourists will pay it. There were students from Nairobi at the park, but because their homelands were not Kenya, they had to pay "visitor" prices. Hopefully all the money is truly used to preserve the land there.

Nonetheless, Lake Nakuru National Park is beautiful! Being from Minnesota, it was vital that I see a lake, and man was this a nice one. It's not gigantic, but larger than artificial Lake Calhoun ( should be Lake Wellstone ). I saw zebra, monkeys, vultures, gerbil-like creatures, lizards, and dueling rhinos! The rhinos dueled the entirety of my time there, several hours. Not sure what their issue was, but whatever. Maybe it was practice?

Anywho, I LOVED the view overlooking the lake! It was breathtaking! Phanice felt the same I am sure. Such an amazing place, and quite cooler than in town. But it was still so fun! We stayed for quite a long time, but it was nice. Most of my photos taken in Kenya were taken on this day - including the best of myself and Phanice I think. It was here that I asked Phanice out, and if she would, to come back with me to America. She said yes, but wasn't completely sure about coming to Minnesota, so would let me know before I left. Does that mean it was a 'maybe?'

We got back to town and dropped of most things at our hotel. We went to a nice restaurant, which I cannot remember the name of. But again, I was the only caucasian patron. I think I may have seen one other group of tourists there - at Nakuru Park. I was able to get a nice meal there, italian at that I believe. With wine even, I believe. We walked to a nearby park and bought some candies from someone peddling them.

At one point some man walked near us lying on the ground and was staring at us. He wouldn't just leave, so I asked Phanice to take a photo of him. She did, and the man decided it was time to go. :)

Later that night we went to club across the street from our hotel. It's name was Mitwamba or Mituamba Club. We danced and had dinner there. I had more to drink there than I should. 2 tuskers, and like 3 flavored drinks - I want to say Smirnoffs. This was over several hours, but still had its effect on me. We danced to songs I had no clue what they were saying. Some Phanice took offense too, as they were dirty.

I also saw my first pairs of lesbians there, which Phanice was not surprised about at all. And here I thought Kenya was a conservative place, but perhaps it is the Kukuyos who are not. Not a big deal to me, as before the British invaded some tribes were more accepting of other sexual orientations.

Other dancers included an older gentleman, who in America would be told to leave the dance floor. He was still dressed in a business suit, and danced slower than one my age. Yet no one took issue with his presence. I was amazed at such tolerance, which makes America's agism much more apparent.

They did NOT have vegetarian options, so for the first time in 5 years I orded chicken because I was starving for non-salad. But I did say a prayer for the creature whose life was lost due to my hunger. It probably lived a better life than those in American factory farms. But it died for me still the same.

After dancing until LATE - I'd say past 2 AM - we wandered back to our hotel. I am glad that Phanice was still somewhat sober, because I honestly was a bit out of it. She had thought I was rather humorous in my position - even laughing when stating the obvious "You are drunk!"

Day 4: Nakuru

Day 4 - Traveling to Nakuru

We decided to go to Nakuru to relax a bit outside of Nairobi. We went to what I would call an elitist place called “Nakuru Club”. I had my first Tusker there and attempted to play pool/billiards - which I have always sucked at. Phanice was no better or worse than myself. I felt like I made a fool of myself, but whatever. Every girl I have been with for an extended time has somehow played this game with me before we officially were going out.

We had lunch at a restaurant that was confused that I would want a vegetarian meal. I had a semi-veggie meal - but was quite disappointed that it was only a salad. The waiter was practically a member of the city’s visitor bureau. He waxed on and on about how wonderful Nakuru is.

A friend traveled with us, and was taking a bus to Kisumu from Nakuru. We stayed with him for several hours at a restaurant next to a gas station. When we got our chips ( known in America as french fries ) they were exceedingly greasy. I was more than a bit disgusted at this. It even got a bit cold and chilly there, so I am glad I had a jacket with at the time.

After Evan’s bus arrived, we left for a hotel in downtown Nakuru. I cannot remember the name of the place, just that it was so dark walking into the place. I believe there was a power outage, which would explain why the man at the counter was using a lamp.

When we got to our room, I was surprised at how familiar it felt. It was about the same size as one in New York City, with a small bathroom and one bed. It even had a mosquito net for the bed. Outside of Nairobi, the threat of malaria was much higher. And I am glad that we were able to get pills for them.

We stayed up and talked for a bit. It was the first time we had been completely alone together in such a situation. It was nice, but we were both terribly shy - still it was nice to be as close to her and find out how similiar we are though our lives have always been so far apart.

Day 3 in Nairobi

Not your typical Tuesday for me. I awoke early to clean Phanny's [ pronounced FA-Knee-Z ] dishes. She awoke to clean much further - that is after we had some Wheatabix and chai ( Kenya Tea ).

It was very loud outside, as there was some construction across the alley/road. Men were pounding and chipping giant rocks into more square-like shapes. Phanice and a friend had to go on what was initially a quick errand, but the car broke down. It took 3 1/2 hours out of the day, but I just relaxed at her place. Listened to my MP3 player and enjoyed a siesta.

Phanice made dinner after going shopping alone this time at the nearby farmer's markets. She was concerned I didn't like ugali and made rice and tomoatoe/veggie based meal. Later that night we went out for pizza and ice cream. I had a mediterranian style pizza and ice cream known in America as the Peanut Buster Parfait.

It was fun riding in the matatu, though always too loud! Crowded, yes, but okay. I believe we sat in the very back.

After ice cream, she decided to take a taxi back home. But would have to haggle for one without me there. They would charge a ridiculous price if I were there, because they think caucasians are made of money somehow. After we got back, Phanice played some solitaire on the computer.

After Phanice went to sleep, I had noticed there was an excessive amount of bugs - primarily cockroaches - living in the kitchen of her apartment. I hated them. Probably not a good feeling, but I wanted them gone and her kitchen to be as sanitary as possible. So I went to sleep after eradicating a fair amount of them, but would bring up the issue with Phanice at some point. A friend would eventually use a bug spray that would requiring us to stay out of the kitchen for several hours.

To City Center we go

Phanice needed to go to city center to take care of a few things. She had to take care of some paperwork to get her driver's license. She had already passed the necessary exams to get one, just needed to pick it up and fill some form out.

We took a Citi Hoppa, which actually costs 20ksh versus 30ksh to ride a matatu. They are quieter and obviously more spacious.

I tried using their internet, which is fairly slow compared to Minneapolis wi-fi. But I had to schedule meetings for my Green Party Meetup and check my e-mail. Getting my American Express payment out of the way also made me feel better!

I was done online around the same time as Phanice. She bought herself and me a pop. Had my first Stony Tangawizi - which is a ginger beer. ( it is nearly as good as Reed's ) It instantly became my favorite drink in Kenya.

Then we traveled to the outskirts of town, not far from the Tea Board of Kenya. I met Phanice's sisters Beatrice and Maureen. Beatrice has a baby daughter named Angel. We stayed over for dinner. They had a TV in their sitting room blasting American rap music. Not my favorite type of music, but I enjoyed the fried cabbage and ugali. Though I tried eating it differently and got a lot of weird glances.

When leaving and crossing the street, a Citi Hoppa nearly ran us over! Another interesting note is that the children in this neighborhood all stared at me. It is likely that whites rarely visit this part of town. It is something I had to get used to while there, but never fully felt comfortable with. I don't think of myself as any better or worse due to the color of my skin. I don't want better or worse service, but people treated me different anyways..

Arrival in Nairobi

I arrived in Nairobi, to find no one waiting at the airport for me. Of course there is no reason for Phanice to wait for me there if she doesn't know exactly when it will be there. And I find out that she moved just a few days prior, so her home wasn't as tidy as she wanted it.

I called her. After being asked by several tourist guides to go on a safari with them, she arrived. I gave her a big hug, but she seemd quite timid.

The air was warm and the sky was sunny. Quite a contrast from a dreary winter in Minnesota. I was skipping to summer early! Or at least the illusion of one - as the rainy season had just ended a week prior in Kenya.

We got to her place via taxi. The roads surrounding her apartment building were unpaved! Just muddy from the rains, and off what is called "outer ring road" in Nairobi. The road is not far from the airport, and just south of downtown. It is busy with foot traffic that I rarely see in the USA. But it was actually slower than most days, as it was Sunday.

After getting baggage situated at her place, Phanice went straight into making me breakfast. She was trying to make me pancakes, and proud that she had practiced several times prior. But when she dropped the batter on the skillet, she smoothed it out with a spoon - thinning it. So I decided to help her out in making true American pancakes. :)

She had never had something as fluffy as our pancakes, and since maple trees are scarce in Kenya, we made do with jelly.

Phanice did not have a refrigerator, so foods like butter and jelly were made to not be.

We also went out for further shopping. She seems to be in a rush all the time, but that is what most people in Nairobi are like. You have to walk fast and aggressive or get run over and stuck at a standstill. Just down the road from her house was a market where we bought vegetables. We even stopped at a place and bought ice cream - not comparable to that in Minnesota ( home of Dairy Queen and Princess Kay of the Milky Way ).

And I also took a matatu for the first time! That was interesting, though I hear it used to be worse when they crammed people in over the van's limit!

We had dinner, and I realized that ugali is not something as desirable in my diet. I prefer rice or pasta - even grits - to ugali. But perhaps there is a way to make it palatable or get used to.

Trip to London - chaotic security rules

I left Minneapolis on Friday,January 5th to find myself in London's Gatwick airport the next day. I didn't know my way around London, though I did check out the whereabouts of the airport which is south of London. I needed to get to the Heathrow airport for my transfer to Nairobi.

Now why was I going to Nairobi? I wanted to meet Phanice and see Africa for the first time. So it was for personal reasons - vacation and relational. Though the fact that the World Social Forum was going to start before I left was icing on the cake.

Second, I have many friends who are from East Africa. Some who had lived in Nairobi before coming to Minnesota as refugees and others who had never touched foot in Kenya. But even those who had never been there sometimes had relatives living there. So, when they heard I was going gave me gifts to bring their relatives or in one case husband. Which ended up going well, except the Oromo husband was bit mean( and the fact he had a female driver and two women in the backseat makes me think he also has 3 additional wives).

I enjoyed who I sat next to on the way to London. It was a gal from South Carolina who turned out to be a Democrat. We had a fun discussion about politics, the Iraq War, and the Presidential Race. She was all for Edwards, too bad he is a hypocrite living fully in Rich America rather than Working Class America. Nonetheless, she is reading Obama's book The Audacity of Hope and will consider him in the primary. So far I like Obama and Kucinich.

I also enjoyed a movie on my way to London - Lage Raho Munnabhai. It was hilarious! It's about this guy who works for a mafia type thug who falls in love with a very nice woman who is a famous radio personality. He has to learn about Gandhi to enter a contest and ends up seeing him! It just gets crazier from there - but the movie is amazing! A must see for any fan of comedies or independent films!

Getting to Gatwick I tried finding a way to get to Heathrow. There were the subways. So I tried that. It cost me £10, or $20 to ride. I ended up going to King's Cross and then walking with all my bags to another linkup that would take me to Heathrow. It would have been okay, except I had a LOT of luggage - max capacity from the US - and was sick. I had a bad cold, and it wasn't getting any better. Not to mention how confusing the map for the transit system was compared to Minneapolis - click on the image to see it clearer!

London was still Green. I wished my layover had been longer for I wished to see more of London. Yet, it would have been very expensive and cost me a day with Phanice - so in retrospect glad it went as it did.

Anywho, it seems that traveling to London one can bring 2 carry ons and 2 luggage. When leaving England, you can only have 2 luggage and ONE CARRY ON. Which leaves Americans struggling to consolidate 2 carry ons into one - not easy. In fact, there were garbage bins FULL of "extra" carry ons. Somehow, we were flying safer from England than the US due to this rule. Whatever, the terrorists are beginning to win is all these rules mean.
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The flight to Nairobi was packed with British students who would be studying at in Nairobi. One thing I noticed about British women - they don't care about their looks or their hair like American girls do. They just wear it however - not even trying to look nice. The guys have long hair too, reminding me of a cross between 80s and 70s styles in America. I actually looked more normal among them than I do in the states! :D