encounters from africa

i ate my way through this past weekend, which is surprisingly easy to do in nairobi. grace was visiting from kigali and arrived on thursday night. i had a ceremonious little going away dinner, where i cooked pasta and salad (can't claim to be a creative cook). the rest of the weekend we walked around kibera and markets and downtown nairobi. it was fun to be get out and do all these things my last weekend in nairobi.

"yay, Lauren, you have friends!"

feeding giraffes

still feeding giraffes

federico loved the giraffes

an upper view of kibera

i'm starting to get a bit nostalgic, as happens when i'm about to leave. this is the last time i'll eat githeri, the last time i will walk to this place, the last time i will see this person, etc. it's emphasized by the fact that i don't know when i'll be back. laabda baadaye, nitarudi kenya. becoming settled in a new city happened without much fanfare, just one day everything felt comfortable and content. now, i'm gearin' up for the next adventure!

this past week has been easy. last day of work on monday where i turned in my CDC laptop and said my goodbyes. tuesday i went to a cultural orientation class for urban refugees, a mix of burundian and congolese about to move to the U.S. i observed the teacher talking about winter clothing, "you will need a hat, scarf and gloves. life does not stop in winter, you must go to work anyway. and there is this clothing, they call them long johns..." an older man with 1/2 inch thick glasses was shocked he couldn't physically discipline his children. and a promotional video was shown, which read just like an obama campaign ad, with sweeping views of mountains and autumn leaves and the grand canyon, people of all ethnicity stood in front of a brick wall and said "Welcome!" there were cheerleaders and bikers and jazz musicians and little african american girls playing in water from a hydrant and LOTS of cowboys and people rebuilding homes in new orleans and skiers. it choked me up and it also made me yearn for america. i was waiting for the follow-up video to be of long lines at the WIC office, and snow at the bus stop, and overcrowded schools and 1-bedroom apartments and gang violence, but there was no such thing. maybe they show that video on day 3.

last night as a final hoorah (no, really, this is REALLY my last night..) a bunch of us went to karaoke. i, naturally, sang 'leavin' on a jet plane' and simon sang 'give me hope, jo'hanna' about johannesburg....although the lyrics were a bit awkward:

Well Johanna she runs a country
She runs in Durban and the Transvaal
She makes a few of her people happy, oh
She don't care about the rest at all
She's got a system they call apartheid
It keeps a brother in a subjection
But maybe pressure can make Jo'anna see
How everybody could a live as one

[chorus:]
Gimme hope, Jo'anna
Hope, Jo'anna
Gimme hope, Jo'anna
'Fore the morning come

'total eclipse of the heart' was sung, there was ample dancing and lots of smiles (and i may have found an enjoyment in karaoke..)

deb, josh, ashley, simon and i

...and everyone danced

.....and debby and i sang

....and everyone eventually helped

group shot

i have dinner tonight with miss hartstone and her mom (yes!) then i leave nairobi tomorrow, stop in eldoret, then kampala then fly on to johannesburg and then around s. africa, where i'll be clueless and lost for the next three weeks. nairobi treated me well, asante sana.