Arriving at Kenya

I made it! My plane from London landed last night at about 9:30. On my flight, I sat next to a man named John. This is his seventh time coming to Kenya! He is part of an organization that works with rural schools to make them a better learning environment for kids. He told me about Kenya, and when he found out I was going by myself for 8 weeks in Kenya, he offered to help me through the airport. I will always be thankful for that. While Kenya was one of the smaller airports, the smallness almost made it more confusing. He helped me find customs, and then later my bag (which took forever to come out).

Walking out of the airport, I saw my driver very easily and we were able to get out rather quickly. He often asked if I was cold. I think it is rather comfortable here… I can understand why he might think I would be cold though. The US of A has so many different climates throughout the year. The ride to icipe was fairly speedy. Lisa (my World Food Prize supervisor) had told us at orientation in May that we were not allowed to drive. I have definitely figured out why, and I don’t think I would want to drive anyways. Everybody drives so fast and I am fairly certain using blinkers is unheard of. I will be fine being a passenger here!

Once we arrived, I was shown to my room. At the guest centre, there is the main outdoor courtyard, and then 4 apartment style buildings around. I walked into my apartment, then up a flight of stairs to my room. My key is a skeleton key like you see in movies, but are never used anymore. It took me a while to figure out how to use it, but I got it!

My room is very large for just me I feel. It is larger than most master bedrooms, but smaller than a hotel room. I also have a balcony, which is nice because it allows ventilation while I am in my room.

Before I fell asleep, I was able to skype my family and let them know I had made it safely home. Technology is definitely making being so far away from home easier. Now, we just need to make all the electrical outlets the same. I currently only have one converter I can use. The outlets are different than I had expected. So, my Kenyan Phone I was giving will not work. I will have to see if I can find some converters at a market. And maybe I will just buy a new simple ‘prepaid minutes’ phone for while I am in Kenya. I wonder how fast Amazon would be able to ship a power strip for American plugs. That would fix some problems I am sure J

Last night, I didn't fall asleep until almost one, even though I had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep since I left Friday morning. My internal time clock is still in the states. I woke us this morning to the sound of African music. At first, I thought it was speakers at icipe. While walking around this morning though, I found out that a Kenyan Parish is right across the street. And it sounds as though it is coming from there. Either that, or somebody in the guest house has some amazing amps…

My breakfast today was fairly normal, and probably the best food I have had since leaving. It was just simple. They offered me fried eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, bananas, cereal, coffee, tea, milk, bottled water, hot chocolate, and orange juice. I only got some eggs toast and a banana and water to go. I drank some juice while eating though. And it was not orange juice. Not the kind I am used to at least. I can only thank my lucky stars I didn't inherit my mom’s numerous allergies. I am not sure what kind of fruit juice it was. It was something I had never tasted before.

I only have a few housekeeping things to do today before I start work tomorrow. But other than that, my day is free for myself to relax, catch up on some sleep, and look around icipe campus!