A slow work week and a trip to Nakuru

Last week marked my fourth week working at Mahiakalo CDC.  Unfortunately, I was not able to move forward with my work plan quite like I had planned.  I reviewed responses to a questionnaire I had written and prepared to go on school visits.  But when it was finally time to go visit the schools, a budgeting issue came up, causing me to spend the rest of the next two days only visiting schools within walking distance (there are three) and mending the communication issues regarding my budget.  Even though I progressed to some extent on my work plan, I felt like I was a full week behind.  But hey, this is Africa.  Sometimes things move slower than expected, and a lot of unanticipated obstacles come up.  I’m just glad patience is not a quality that comes in finite quantities.

So after a slow, somewhat frustrating week at work, it was nice fulfill the role of tourist for the weekend.  I traveled with most of the other interns to Nakuru, the 4^th largest city in Kenya.  Nakuru is known for its wildlife and its beautiful freshwater lake, Lake Nakuru, which is considered one of the top 10 most beautiful lakes in the world.  (There are a lot of lakes out there I haven’t seen, but I’ll vouch for the ranking.  Unfortunately the pictures I took don’t quite do it justice.)

Instead of reviewing the excursion in chronological sequence, I’ll highlight my favorite parts and some otherwise memorable moments:

- On a safari around Lake Nakuru in the National Park I saw tons of flamingos, several rhinos, and a few zebras and giraffes.  We were even lucky enough to pass by a lion lounging on the side of the road (lions rest during the day) and later two sleeping atop a stone formation almost resembling Pride Rock.

- We also had a chance to see the gorgeous Nakuru Crater, which is approximately 12 square kilometers.  It seemed a lot to me like a sheer cliff into a vast valley since the other side of the crater wall was too far to see.

- The matatu ride to Nakuru had music/white noise blasting through the stereo to the point of hurting my ears.  Any time we asked the driver to turn down the volume, he would comply for a few minutes before turning it up even louder.

- The matatu ride home from Nakuru was interrupted by my first encounter with the Kenyan police.  Upon seeing a bus load of mzungus, the police jumped on the chance of earning some extra money… One officer noticed that we weren’t wearing seat belts (come on, who wears seatbelts in a MATATU?), attempted to charge us 2,000 schillings each, and threatened to put us in jail if we didn’t pay.  Lucky for us, the other officer was very friendly and liked to chat.  While the first officer was threatening the front half of the bus, i was having a nice conversation with the other in the back seat.  Eventually one of the other interns asked the chatty officer why his friend was trying to charge us so much money, to which he responded with surprise and quickly convinced the first to let us go free of charge.  We all buckled up for the remainder and were relieved to not have to pay the money, which would have surely ended in the pocket of the police. That was a close one.

- Continuing with the matatu theme, the bus that was supposed to take us to the top of the Nakuru Crater faced a few complications. The drive along the steep, bumpy path was going just fine until out of nowhere smoke started pouring out of the transmission.  We all rushed out of the vehicle but were relieved to find that it was steam, not smoke.  After the driver convinced us the bus was fixed, we piled back in only to find the engine wouldn’t start.  It wasn’t until we started rolling backwards down the hill that we had enough and decided to hike the rest of the way up the crater.  The decision was surely for the better; the remaining walk was refreshing and took just under an hour to get to a beautiful view of the crater.

-The hotel we booked had given away our rooms just before we arrived.  So much for reservations?  Lucky for us a security guard from the hotel guided us through the streets in a search for a new place to stay.

- Our hotel ended up being cheap and luxurious… for only 200 /= per person (about $2), we shared double beds and were provided with a single towel, a bar of soap, two left flip flops for shower shoes, a sink in the room, and a communal bathroom with a FLUSH pit latrine and a shower with HOT RUNNING WATER. Mmmmm, it was wonderful. J

- Compare that hotel with the resort we briefly stopped by as a rest point during the safari.  As we got out of our safari vehicle, a doorman handed us steaming hot, mint-scented towels to wipe away the accumulated layer of dust that covered our bodies.  Just past the lobby an array of tea, coffee, and cookies led the way to a huge stone balcony that overlooked the park grounds.  I enjoyed a Pina Colada while looking out into the sunset and feeling totally over-the-top luxurious.  This was a hotel that belonged in Hawaii.  And for just 100x the rate of the other hotel, we could have stayed for the night.

- Nighttime in Nakuru is much livelier than in Kakamega; there were quite a few people out and about.  Lights lined the major streets, and while it’s not bright like cities at home, it’s bright enough to see around.  Our late night outing was to a disco called Dimples.  The dancing was fun!  This disco was a lot more western that the one in Kakamega, as about every other song was American.

- One evening we ate a family style dinner at a Chinese restaurant in town.  At first I thought the idea of Chinese food in Kenya was questionable, but it ended up being delicious- chicken without the bones and fat and flavors other than the usual tomato/onion/garlic combo was a nice treat. 

- We had our first taste of a tourist market, where we browsed through and bargained for animal figurines, decorated plates, and jewelry.  I think I’m getting better at this whole bargain-harshly-so-as-to-not-support-inflation thing; some of the shop owners even called me brutal (which is not an adjective typically used to describe my personality).

- We also had our first troublesome encounter with a group a street boys, who successfully pickpocketed one of the girls in the group (they got off with a small amount of cash, but both credit cards were recovered).  They smelled strongly of glue from the half empty bottles in their hands.  And as they asked for money, food, and water, I did my best to avert my eyes as I still feel completely uncomfortable and unsure of how to act around the street boys.  I was very grateful to get in the matatu and off the street when our driver pulled up.

By the end of our journey, we were arriving in Kakamega long after the sunset Sunday night.  Although it was a fun, touristy, eventful weekend, I was so glad to be home again relaxing with my host family.  I’ve come to feel so comfortable, happy, and safe at my homestay, and how could I not be with a family who cares about my whereabouts and refers to their new daughter as wonderful and brilliant? So it’s off to a short week with my wonderful and wise host family before a new excursion next weekend.  A short work week and a trip to Naivasha.