My Summer at ICIPE in Kenya: To the Market!!

It has been quite and exciting day here in Kenya! We have finally begun to set up the hives to get ready for research. We cut out some of the comb, and laid a piece of glass snugly inside with a thin wooden board so the outer glass would not get covered with combing. Tomorrow I start preliminary observations and then on Monday we start the real deal! J I am very excited!

I am glad I was able to tour campus yesterday. I recognize people so much easier now! Plus I have a general idea what they are working on so it makes conversation flow better.

I was able to speak with my mentor today about some activities I would like to do. He has been able to help me set up a church that I may attend on Sundays (I am currently scheduled to go to a Baptist church nearby this Sunday, then move to a church that is a member of the ELCK), we are planning to go to Kakamega forest sometime around July 5^th, he is helping set up days to go to town and go shopping, and he will also see about me working children sometimes. Even if it is just playing with them at recess.

After I mentioned that I hadn’t yet been out of icipe campus, DeDe (my mentor) I asked if I would want to go tonight. Of course I jumped at the chance. We walked from icipe to a mall that is very close. There were security guards at the door that scan you before you walk in. When I asked why, he explained that terrorists from Somalia are a threat to Kenya, therefore, special precautions must always be taken. Thika Road Mall is a new mall that is still in the process of building. It is three stories high. The first floor was mainly done, along with part of the second floor. Inside the mall they had jewelry, men and women fashion stores, hair salons, grocery stores, restaurants, and an everything store similar to Walmart.

The store similar to Walmart is called Nakumatt Thika Road. Now, firstly I want you to envision a Walmart store. Now double all the items in the store. Now shrink the store to half its original size. That is how this store felt. It was so fun to look around though! I only bought one thing though. (My mom will be shocked). I wanted to get another converter to use for charging my American electronics. If my guess is right, it cost less than 10 American dollars. I think it was quite the steal J

DeDe bought us both ice cream and he got a pizza for dinner. While I was waiting for my ice cream I noticed a little boy talking to his dad about my hair. Ha being blonde really stands out. We then left and headed back to icipe. We went through a street market. It was filled with people! They seemed to sell everything! There were so many shoes! Fancy shoes at that! They had jewelry, food, you name it they had it. I chose not to buy anything, and tried to walk without looking at too many people. I didn’t want them to think I wanted to buy. DeDe ushered me along quickly, not letting me stop and making sure he could always see me. As we were walking, he told me that a lot of people were trying to sell me things. I was confused for a moment until he said that they were trying to sell me thing, while speaking Swahili!! I looked around for a bit and suddenly I understood. Everywhere people were yelling prices to me in Swahili. “Mia Moja! Mia Moja! Mia Moja!” “100! 100! 100” It was overwhelming, but so fun at the same time! (FYI: 500 in Kenya shillings is close to $10 in America (I believe)).

We then walked up this huge flight of stairs to walk across the roads. I did make it to the top; I just didn’t look down very much. After the bridge there was another market. We made a few shortcuts and finally arrived on the road to icipe. The whole time, DeDe was giving me instructions on how to walk in the streets, and how to handle myself.

It was quite an adnevture, and one I am happy I was able to experience!