Wanted: Type A personalities

The weather has been really great for the last few days. I got to church without needing to wring out my shirt and have done the same going to and from work so far this week. I love that this seems like a real accomplishment. The most recent dilemma we’re running into at work is not the conventional problem we face in the US where our bosses are usually far too pushy. We are consistently looking for some superior figure to start cracking a whip around the office. We have a lot of ideas about changes we feel could make the companies we intern for more successful, but no one is accountable to ensure that the changes we enact will remain in force after we leave. It seems paradoxic but I’m longing for a pushy authoritative boss to whip everyone here including me into shape. We went to an orphanage this weekend. It was the first time that I’ve really stopped and thought about how unfair the world seems. I’ve heard thousands of explanations and theories, but as I stood in a home smaller than most apartments in the US which housed 35 children, I really was at a loss for words and reasoning for what seems somewhat unjust. Despite how poor the conditions seemed, the kids were really happy and upbeat. In other news, I’m looking forward to the 3 day weekend that starts Friday. We may head up to a nature reserve or something. I’ll keep you posted.



This is me holding a puffer fish at the beach - I assume that whole is its ear.


We helped make dinner at the orphanage


The Mirror on the roof of the matatu was entertaining. I like how creepy the picture looks.


A couple of days ago I wrote about E-lite Cafe. This guy wanted to show my friend grace "what Kenyans do". Whatever that means


Turns out that what we made for the kids was good. The flies liked it anyway.


20 People on 1 matatu was a record. You can see 3 people standing in the background just inside the sliding door

by the way...

You can see my friend Grace's Blog by clickingHERE

Pirates of the Caribbean: A Case study in the Sacredness of Marriage

Yesterday was a very busy day. As it turned out, I didn’t work nearly as much as usual. One of the other interns and I went into town for one thing and ended up accomplishing three or four- mostly shopping. I love being able to bargain with a store owner on prices. I bought a jump drive and a cell phone. The cell phone is a Linux based Motorola phone called the “Motofone”, which I may have told some of you about a few months ago. It’s a phone that’s designed to cater to, and be sold in lower income markets (i.e. most of the world). It claims 300 hours battery life on standby and 50 hours of talk time. The best part is that although the casing and some of the features are as modern as you can find right now, it only cost 37 dollars with activation. Because everyone here uses prepaid, I have no contract to honor. Its awesome. Sorry to geek out for a minute, I’m pretty excited though. We went and got lunch around four and then our boss said he wanted to go see Pirates of the Caribbean. It only cost six dollars and was honestly one of the nicest theaters I’ve ever been in. We were all taken by surprise when the 20 minute intermission started midway through the movie. I liked it for the most part as far as big blockbuster movies go. My favorite part was the fifteen minutes in the middle where you wonder if you were suddenly watching a Kubrick film. I should end here. I think we’re going to the beach today. Awesome.



Grocery Store - Sort of



Matatu Drivers make New York Cab drivers look like wimps. This one decided it was safe to drive FULL SPEED down the sidewalk.



This is the Cell phone I bought. Its ghetto but in the good way.

Settling In

I’ve been in Kenya for a week and a half now and most things are starting to make sense. The process is slow but sure. I now know that none of the restaurants have menus and 90% of them don’t have signs either. Given that there is no menu, we have figured out-as a group- that we should just look for any type of caged enclosure because this is typically where the person who will take your money is sitting. It’s a bit of a farce really, considering that the cage is usually no stronger than chicken wire and will only surround one or two of the sides of the cashier; Not terribly secure(assuming security is the intention). Yesterday we went out and ate at the “Elite Café”(which the locals pronounce E – Light caf), which is just down the street from two schools. It was filled high school age students and all conversation ceased as we walked in. Although the novelty of Kenya is wearing off for me, its nice (kind of) to see that the novelty of me is not wearing off for Kenya. It took us an eternity three or for minutes to figure out how to order and was the experience yielding the lessons learned outlined above. The food was great and people were mostly friendly. Just after we sat down, this Kenyan came and sat at the table next to us. Conversation quickly went from where we were from to propositioning our friend Grace who was a little to naive to realize what was going on. At first it was comedic but we decided we should rescue her before the guy got too attached. Last night was the first night that I’ve actually felt cold while I slept. I ended up turning off the fan, which sits at the foot of my bed but under the mosquito net. This wasn’t enough so I’m actually sitting here in a long sleeve t-shirt that I put on last night to stay warm. This is notable because the sensation of “I’m cold” has been a luxury un-enjoyed the entire time I’ve been in Kenya - cold liquids, cold showers, cold breezes, and cold rooms all seem to be a huge luxury. That’s all for now.


This is me getting all super butch style hanging a nail for my mosquito net(which is to my left)


Notice the "student center" sign. This is at a polytechnic school near my office


Enough said - it was the size of my palm

It's Hitting me

I've been living here for five days now and slowly its sinking in that I'm living in a third world country. The novelty hasn't really worn off yet. I've gotten used to being sweaty all the time. The first thing that really hit me about Kenya is how the complete chaos that is everyday life here is somehow amazingly cohesive. All of the videos you see on youtube of people driving in India etc. pretty much illustrate perfectly how driving here is. Chaos - total and complete chaos. Everyone here (or at least the ones that can afford it) ride in "Matatus"(pronounced with long u sounds and the a is like the o in hot). Imagine 1980's Toyota minivans that are completely stripped then re outfitted with new seats. they have 9 seats in them and I've seen over 15 people packed into cars smaller than a Honda odyssey. pictures will follow... I promise.
This is me in a semi full Matatu

Everywhere we go we are a minority. Its interesting to see how different members of our group respond to that. Some people act like royalty trying to please the peasants by their benevolent kindness. It comes off extremely condescending as they speak louder and slower to the black native English speakers than to the white ones. Other people take a much more liberal "hey we're all people" approach. I hope I'm more the latter than the prior. People here always expect that you're rich and you just have to keep a close watch on your change at stores. A lot of merchants just assume you won't tell them when they've tried to give you less than adequate change. Its been my experience that they do this too the locals too. but its worse with us. What fun right?


Our office is nice. The politics that go into choosing and assigning offices are much different than the US as it turns out. We have a corner office on the top floor with the MOST amazing view. Check out this picture.

This is the view out of our office. Rough life eh?

It Begins

When I got to the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, I thought that I had walked into a David Lynch movie. Pale lights, silent extras. It was all there. I was one of 2 white people waiting for my connecting flight to Mombasa. As we sat waiting to board the flight, four men that looked like they had been cast as a terrorists in a bad American action movie. They seemed unconcerned that we were there. I never felt scared as much as out of place. When my friend Grace and I got off the plane in Mombasa it became clear that my life between now and August is going to be far stranger than any Lynchian epiphany. I'll Keep you posted and pictures will soon follow.

It's not this old anymore... but almost

I'm not pale its just the lights