I have arrived in Kenya! After 25 hours of travel Christy, the other volunteer I am here with, and I arrived in Nairobi. We spent Friday in Nairobi with Fr Emilio. He is an Italian priest who runs the hospital. Friday evening we went to a lavish Italian restaurant. We had a candlelight dinner of lasagna and barracuda. Afterwards we all had some lemon cello to drink! This was definitely not what I was expecting to be eating in Africa!
Saturday we made the 8 hour journey to Karungu, my town for the next year. It was a beautiful and extremely bumpy ride to say the least. We drove through the rift valley which was breath taking. No sightings of wildlife, other than the cows that are everywhere. When people are dying of starvation in a country the condition of the roads is low on a governments to do list. I was bouncing out of my seat like a rag doll some of the time. Also, I’m still getting use to driving on the left side of the road. However, sometimes we drive on the right side of the road when there are less potholes. Dodging potholes, stray dogs, and cows are a frequent occurrence. I’m glad I won’t be doing any of the driving here!
I am 90 minutes from the nearest paved road. So in the rainy season we will probably won’t be doing any traveling because the road is impassable. The area surrounding the hospital is very rural. The standard house is a mud hut with straw roofs, or shacks with tin roofs. Electricity lines have yet to be installed in Karungu. The poles are in the ground but no lines are up. With that being said, the area within the gates of St. Camillus hospital are very nice. Its like a palace compared to its surroundings. Our accommodations are very comfortable. Christy and I have our own separate bedrooms, and a bathroom with running water. The whole compound has a generator. So we have power, a few hours in the morning, a few hours around lunch, and its on continuously at night. I’m in the African bush, but the ritzy part of the bush! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I can see Lake Victoria from my bedroom window! The sunsets over the lake are amazing!
Well, I got to head to bed. Tomorrow is my first day at work! Wish me luck!
1 comment:
Mama Ama-
I am SO JEALOUS!! Oh my goodness, Meis, it all sounds incredible (from that brief little clip I just read). Are Kenyan drivers at all comparable to our Michael Mensah and the Blue Bus (I'm betting not...). And running water?!! Woah!! You're not in Ghana anymore.... Hahaha. I'm so glad to hear everything's so nice (nice view, too. wow). I can't wait to read more updates. Stay safe, anyome adom! -Ama Cass
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