Wanawake This Way

Jambo All,

In the event you are ever on a 13.5 hour bus ride from Kenya to Uganda and you want to make sure you go into the right rest stop bathroom - and you are a woman - look for the "wanawake" sign. As I am now in a country where it is not spoken, this concludes our Kiswahili lesson for the day.

I have successfully propelled myself into a new country and have started connecting with other solo travelers, and a bunch of wanawake at that! Yesterday I went with two people I met to Ngamba Island to see the sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees. The people who care for these animals are very knowledgeable and very passionate about promoting chimpanzee survival in the wild. The chimps are very polite, raising their hands when they want more fruit to be thrown their way at feeding time. The sanctuary and community involvement is a good response to a bad situation

Upcoming Interviews for "Dream" Footage

I'm scheduled to go back to Nairobi to interview a woman who is a marine conservationist working with a community of women on the coast of Kenya. The women collect washed up flip flops and turn them into key chains, placemats, jewelry and many other products which are then sold to people like you and me. I will interview the woman who started the company as well as some of the artists. UniquEco

I will also go back to Arusha, Tanzania to interview a man who collects the plastic bags that litter the city, disinfects them and uses them as stuffing for animals he makes. Mazingira Mokey Project

All that and I plan to visit Habitat people in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia! Hooray!

Favorite Shop Signs in Kenya on the road to Uganda:

1. "Democracy Bar And" - and what? it hurts not knowing
2. "God's Will Cafe" - think how much money you save on menus
3. "Modern Fly Cleaners" - for the modern fly

Favorite Shop Signs in Uganda between Kampala and Entebbe:

1. "Hope Medical Centre" - when medicine isn't enough
2. "Wood de Pearl" - better than pearl de wood I suppose
3. "Queen Latifah Beauty Salon" - no sign of her there but maybe it was her lunch break

In two days I leave for Bwindi to go see (hopefully) the mountain gorillas. Will definitely send pictures of those when I'm back.

Lastly, a photo of one of the many kids that see foreigners and shout "mzungu (foreigner) how are you?".

Toodles,
Miss K

Kickin' It In Kenya

Jambo All,

Downtown Nairobi reminds me a lot of downtown San Francisco - people in suits on cellphones, signs in English, coffee shops everywhere - EXCEPT... everyone is African, the cars drive on the opposite side of the road and the homeless people tell you they are refugees from Sudan. Otherwise, same same.

It's Monday now and I'm here through Thursday morning. After meeting with some employees of Habitat Kenya and interviewing them on video, I learned that a Global Village team will be returning from their build on Tuesday night. So, I'm staying at the guest house where they will be staying, essentially stalking them in the hopes that I can get more interviews before heading to Uganda.

I spent the weekend with the friend of a friend of a friend and it was great. Life for the people working at any of the embassies or the UN involves a lot of gates, guards and golfing but is otherwise much like life in the US - driving your kids to their friend's house, going shopping and ordering pizza for dinner. I was shepherded around all the sites in Nairobi... animal orphanages, elephant orphanages, giraffe center, Karen Blixen's house/restaurant, cultural dances. It was fabulous, though now it leaves me with not much to do over the next few days but to hang out at coffee shops.

I'm now at a guest house full of missionaries. It's not laughing hyenas that makes me put my earplugs in but loud evangelizing on the tv in the common area. Oh well. It's right next to a shopping center and certainly seems safe. This morning I was on a bus downtown (so proud of my first use of public transit) when I heard that the police had already shot dead 4 potential robbers in separate incidents in the city this morning. I'm not quire sure how reassured I feel about that.

In any event, I did accomplish my main mission of the day. Getting a bus ticket to Kampala - I splurged for the bus with air conditioning but we'll see. The bus from Arusha was supposed to have it too but they only had air on the condition that you opened the window. I also booked a bed in the dorm at a place in Kampala where I will hang out until my gorilla tour: http://www.redchillihideaway.com/index.htm They help with other sightseeing and I have high hopes of meeting other solo traveler's there.

I'll post this now but try to add the picture of me petting the (tame? drugged?) orphaned cheetah when I get back to the Gracia guest house.

Thanks for reading and I'll try to check in before I head to Uganda.

Miss K

Knackered in Nairobi

Jambo Homies,

I am in Nairobi and I am wiped out (and hopefully not getting sick) from all the early mornings and long bus rides. Tracy leaves tomorrow morning so a quick update before we go out for our last dinner... I'm using my new favorite way of communicating - lists.

Things I Wish I Hadn't Already Lost in Transit:

1. My watch with the alarm in it.
2. My sleeping bag.
3. My extra key to the lock for the small bag where I keep my passport.

Tracy is loaning me her sleeping bag for the duration and her alarm clock too. Good lord. I've been so focused on not losing the video camera - or having it stolen, other items are falling out of my possession faster than I can shout "mother f---er!"

Situations That Can Only Be Explained With "This Is Africa":

1. At a big store in Nairobi which sells groceries, household goods and clothing I can buy a motorcycle, but not a watch.

2. Our bus from Dar Es Salaam to Nairobi lurches to the curb 3 blocks from the station. Instead of sending another bus or having us walk back, the onboard mechanic/flight attendant spends over 2 hours fixing our broken hydrolic brakes.

3. The higher quality buses show bad American movies, while the lower quality buses show bad Nigerian movies. After watching "She Devil" a movie about a gang of mermaids who teleport to the surface of the earth and hypnotize people by shooting lasers out of their eyes only to be undone by the power of Jesus, ala the Exorcist ("the power of Christ compels you") - it is clear, bad Nigerian movies are a higher quality experience.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with the Habitat, Nairobi group and then will visit a friend of a friend of a friend, who I met last night, at the US Embassy where she works before heading to her house to take advantage of an extra bed. Later need to book another 12 hour bus trip from Nairobi to Kampala to see the mountain gorillas.

Pictures I Wish I Had My Camera Out and Ready For:

1. Woman walking down the side of the road outside of Nairobi in a santa hat.
2. Man walking in downtown Nairobi with a Star Wars tie, which featured the faces of the characters.
3. Grocery store security guards with black riot gear helmets.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading!

Miss K