This Is Africa.

Day –3 thru Day 0 (July 17-20: Getting to Kenya)


We boarded the plane in San Francisco on Tuesday evening around 10:30pm and had planned to arrive in Nairobi on Thursday afternoon at 2pm local time. We learned early on that improvisation would be a necessary skill on this voyage- as “plans” don’t always go according to schedule.
Our first deviation came in the morning when our Delta airlines redeye flight began circling New York’s Kennedy airport in hopes of an improvement in the stormy weather below. This ended with an emergency landing in Philadelphia where we refueled and waited for clearance to continue on to JFK. We eventually arrived 5 hours later than scheduled and therefore missed our Emirates airline connection to Dubai. Who knew that a summer rainstorm on the east coast would be the first travel obstacle in this odyssey? At the Emirates ticketing desk in the JFK International Terminal we found very little help and were told the next flight was not only 12 hours later at 11pm but also overbooked. We quickly and selflessly worked as a team to determine that Karl should be given first priority on the wait list and even managed to get him confirmed on the last available seat on a Friday flight from Dubai to Nairobi. Sam and Zac were willing to do whatever it took to navigate the standby lists in New York and Dubai and somehow make it to the Tuesday morning meeting at the World Health Organization office in Nairobi. That willingness soon faded while the three musketeers napped away the afternoon (and their Panda Express breakfast) on the tiled floor near the Airtrain entrance. After taking in a number of strange looks from the arriving international travelers (who stared in awe at Sam who maintained a solid fetal position throughout the afternoon) we focused our determination on doing whatever it took to get on the next flight. We had been told to return to the Emirates check in at 7pm to get on the wait list. We got there at 6:30. So did the rest of our flight, who seemed to understand the importance of checking in 4 hours early. Lucky for us we managed to secure the number two spot in the express check in line (people with no baggage- ours was hopefully still in a container somewhere enjoying the pleasant weather that had returned to New York shortly after our arrival) behind an older couple who, like everyone else, seemed to understand the urgency of securing a boarding pass while they still lasted. Enter our check-in agent, a young Indian woman in her early twenties who called us over before we or she realized that she was unable to log in to the ticketing system. She informed us for the first of many times that this was her last day and of course this kind of thing would happen and that there was nothing that she could do until she found Mohammed and got him to log her in. While she felt it most important to explain to us that she was leaving the US to return to India to get married and start a life that would not involve working, we decided that we would certainly find Mohammed faster than her (Mohammed had earlier been frantically trying to set up the ropes for the check in line and had been yelling at a crazy man- let’s call him Mr. Bling- who wore lots of gold on his wrists and a Lexus baseball cap studded with rhinestones and would not move back or cooperate). After we fetched Mohammed and waited with anticipation for Ms. Last Day On The Job to look for availability we soon learned that we would be waitlisted and have to return at 10pm for the boarding pass lottery. In the meantime we were instructed to return to the ticketing booth to validate the e-tickets. Working again as a team Karl secured a spot in line at the ticket booth while Sam and Zac finished the passport paperwork with Ms. Future Desperate Housewife. Enter Emirates Airline Employee with magical powers and a much better understanding of the ticketing system. Whilst working hard at the ticket desk to consider all possible travel scenarios over the next four days, and still ensure that Karl would be the first to arrive to meet our Kenyan hosts in Nairobi, the adventurers found to their surprise the Ms. Emirates Super Employee had managed to book all three of them on the 11pm flight as well as the same connecting flight on Friday afternoon from Dubai to Nairobi. In all the madness, including a return trip to our favorite check-in hostess, we all received two boarding passes and somehow Sam alone managed to get a hotel voucher for The Millennium Hotel in Dubai. A celebration ensued in the food court involving purchases at both KFC Express (not as good as the real thing) and Sbarro’s Pizza.
As we boarded the plane that evening we assumed all the chaos would be left behind us and we would continue only 30 hours later than planned. But maybe karma would not allow that (probably because, after a short debate over chicken strips and pepperoni slices, we had decided to push our luck by adding Zac and Karl’s names below Sam’s on the hotel voucher in Dubai). Or maybe it was just fate that somewhere over Acadia, Maine the monitor showing the flight path of the Boeing 777 indicated a U-turn was taking place and the plane was heading back to the black hole that we call the JFK International Airport. Apparently a passenger had gone into an epileptic seizure and required medical assistance. Actually, the doctor sitting next to Zac had tended to the patient and claimed that it probably would have been OK to continue but the airline kept to protocol and turned the plane around. An interesting fact one might not know about emergency landings early in a flight:
In order to land, an airplane must have the calculated mass that it would have landing at the planned destination. Since we turned back to JFK only 1 hour into our 12 hour flight, the captain announced that passengers should not be alarmed by the jettisoning of the remainder of the jet fuel that we would not be using. Amazing waste… and not too green neither. So it goes, and it ended up only adding 4 hours to our flight bringing our layover in Dubai from 19 hours to 15 hours.
It turns out Dubai is rather empty in July short of a couple travelers and unknowing tourists. The main reason for this is because it is really freaking hot. We landed at midnight into a cool evening breeze of 95 F. The forecast for the next day was in the 120s. Needless to say, our 15 hour layover consisted of a shuttle ride in AC followed by a late night snack in AC followed by a jet lag fighting nap in our hotel room (two singles and a cot) in AC. We woke rather early at 7:30ish after only 4 hours of rest and had a feast of a breakfast in the air conditioned restaurant. With 4 hours to kill until our shuttle back to the airport we decided along with a 30 year old high school teacher from Denver who was on our flight to attempt to explore the local area in Dubai. We made it two blocks before we gave in to the heat and sought sanctuary in the AC of the next hotel lobby. Sadly we returned to the AC of our hotel room and spent the remaining 3 hours in the United Arab Emirates watching CNN, Aljeezra and Bollywood re-runs.
The Friday 3pm flight from Dubai to Nairobi was surprisingly uneventful. The approach into the capital city took place around 7:15pm local time as the sun was setting. The right side of the aircraft had an incredible view of the sunset behind a sea of flat clouds through which the peak of Mt. Kenya poked out.
With each flight (SFO-JFK, JFK-Dubai, Dubai-Nairobi) the demographics of the passengers began to change quiet dramatically. By the last flight there were many more burkas, and many fewer US citizens. It was the first time that we had used a restroom with flushing instructions in Arabic. It was interesting that the standard silhouettes for Men’s and Women’s restrooms were used as many passengers both male and female traveled in single gown attire. I guess we weren’t in Kansas anymore. An interesting cultural difference in the plane landing involved the complete disregard of the “please stay in your seat” request from the pilot. As we taxied to the gate everyone got up and grabbed their bags and began jockeying for position to deplane first.
Customs and visas were rather easy and we even obtained 4 of the 5 bags that we had checked. Zac’s bag of Kilimanjaro stuff was no where to be found (but he wasn’t the only one on the flight with that problem. Meanwhile Sam won the award for bringing the least amount of stuff. He is so Zen. Karl’s family friend Vasanth and his driver picked us up and brought us to the Nairobi YMCA. We made it to our two rooms and settled in. We have a triple and a single each with their own bathroom/shower. The rooms are the same size the only difference is the triple has three beds and the single has one. Karl Zac and Sam are very cozy.



OK jet lag must be overcome…off to bed –(Sat 7/21/07 12:32am)

Day 1 (July 21: First (and hopefully only) robbery in less than 24 hours in “Nairobbery”, Kenya)

We woke up this morning to the sound of a knock on our door at about 8am in the morning. Fatima had arrived a day early by bus and showed up at the door. Her journey included a 16 hour bus ride (originally 12 hours) filled with a wide selection of the local Kenya insect population. We managed to make it to breakfast, which runs until 8:30 in the morning, and were pleasantly surprised with the selection to eat. When we returned to our rooms, we left our room door open for literally 2 minutes to transfer our work materials next door to cent-com (aka Fatima’s room), against the urgings of the staff, friends and the general public. Learning a valuable lesson the hard way, both Zac and Karl had their cameras stolen from inside the room during those 2 minutes. While disappointed about not being able to take pictures during our trip, we have chalked it up to a lesson learned. For the rest of the trip we will be relying on Sam as our photographer. Jeramiah the local security guard is on the case trying to find our cameras, flashlight in hand.
About an hour after our robbery, Daniel the security officer who works for Vasanth came to brief us on security in Nairobi. We told him to skip the part about camera’s. We decided we were good on that account. Zac is still working to decipher his Kenyan English, but we think he generally said to be alert, walk in groups, and not to be out too late. Which leads into a good reason why these blog entries are so long. We are under house arrest everyday basically after 8pm. Fatima seems to be the only one who wants to stand up to potential robbers and criminals, and has said that she will challenge anyone who tries to rob her. Not to worry Sam has said he will subdue her in that case, while Zac hands out extra fake wallet and credit cards..
With access to a car for most of the day, thanks to Karl’s family friend Vasanth, we decided to check out central Nairobi, purchase a cell phone, and also procure some goods at the supermarket. While Peter (our driver) showed us the local sights, we found out Zac’s weakness. Apparently “Superman” has trouble with car rides on bumpy roads while inhaling diesel fumes from the middle of the back seat. Who would have thought? However, after switching seats with Karl, and sitting in the front of the car, Zac regained that twinkle in his eye, and seemed to be okay. It was during this time that the group made an executive decision that any trips to remote areas will involve flying instead of bus rides, so that Zac does not throw up on any hospital workers or administrators that we are trying to talk to.
While driving through Nairobi, we came across a very brand new looking hospital called the Karen Hospital. Those familiar with the book and movie of the same name “Out of Africa” may remember that it chronicles the experiences of Karen Blixen, a Danish woman who lived in Kenya. She moved to Kenya, and made a large amount of money by way of her coffee plantation. However, more importantly she fell in love Kenya and did a lot of humanitarian work helping people from the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya. We decided to be bold and stopped in the hospital, to ask about the possibility of meeting with hospital administrators regarding our project. Hoping for the best, we were pleasantly surprised when the acting head matron, came to meet us, and suggested we come back on Monday and meet with various people. She was extremely friendly, and demonstrated the warmth and kindness characteristic of African people.
On the way back we stopped for lunch at a restaurant aptly named BP Karen behind the back of a BP petrol station, where we had some more traditional African food, including beef stew, and Ugali. It was much better than the standard US gas and sip ARCO or AM/PM stration. While Zac and Sam seemed to like the Ugali, Karl and Fatima did not feel the same way. When we got back, the three guys decided to go for a swim in the freezing pool at the YMCA. While Sam and Zac were comfortable with the pool, Karl found it extremely cold and almost froze. Vasanth dropped by and chatted with us, and Zac and Karl sat embarrassed as he delivered the ‘I told you so’ speech regarding the stolen cameras. During our tour of Nairobi, Peter, the driver kept telling us that he was taking us to the orphanage, but since we ran out of time we did not get a chance to go. All the while, the 4 of us were wondering what was so appealing about going to an orphanage. While interesting, we thought it was somewhat strange, but did not want to be disrespectful. Also, Zac did state that he was potentially interested in adopting, so we decided not to deny him the opportunity. Only later when we were talking to Vasanth, did we realize that this orphanage was in fact an animal orphanage, which doesn’t seem so strange anymore. Zac and Karl have vowed to guard Sam’s camera with their lives. Something may happen to Sam, but nothing will happen to his camera.
While Sam and Karl have adjusted to the time difference, and are considered to be fairly coherent during the day, Zac continues to be jetlagged and chooses to take naps at random hours of the day. It’s almost as if this is the twilight zone. Sam and Karl have energy, while Zac has no energy. Even coffee has no effect on him. Something is clearly amiss. Meanwhile Sam is fighting the urge to spend his time at the internet café with a per minute rate of 1 Kenyan shilling. Also, while Karl thinks that Sam couldn’t kill a mosquito if his not getting malaria depended on it, Sam thinks he is a big fat liar face, and took a picture of two dead mosquitos that may or may not have been in the room prior to our arrival.
Dinner was at the YMCA today. Our lodging consists of half board, which means that we get breakfast and lunch or dinner (Zac still continues to be fascinated by this concept). So when we go down to eat breakfast at the godforsaken time of 8am, we have to tell the staff whether we want lunch or dinner for that day. The dinner today was quite good, and we were all definitely impressed by the food. The best part is that the board is $75 per day for the 4 of us. Using Sam’s “calculator watch” we have worked that out to be $18.75 per person. That’s a steal, and if you include our lost camera’s it literally is. Lastly Zac is complaining about a sore throat and thinks he is getting sick. He may or may not have malaria.

–(Sat 7/21/07 11:24pm)


Day 2 (July 22: Lost and Found)

The case of the missing cameras continues into day 2 of Team Kenya’s adventure in Nairobi. After breakfast this morning, we came back to find both digital cameras returned to the scene of the crime in different places from where they were last seen, but spots that had been previously checked nonetheless. Telling the YMCA staff that we had recovered these lost cameras required a degree of humility, but still seemed like the right way of handling this sensitive and very strange situation. Sounds like a mystery for Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, and the mystery machine.


To add to our good fortune, breakfast came with the good news that Zac’s bag had been located by the airline and was now waiting for him at the airport. After a trip to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with our good friend/driver Peter (and some waiting around), the team was reunited with Zac’s climbing gear and we set off to try drop-in visits at Kenyatta National hospital, Nairobi Hospital, and the local Ministry of Health. Because it was Sunday, these visits were less productive than yesterday’s trip to Karen, but it was still good to scope these places out. We are hopeful to make contacts with people at each of these places early this next week

After completing our morning errands, we went out to Nairobi National park for lunch and a visit to the animal orphanage. We saw some funny monkeys and Fatima took a picture of a warthog’s butt, but perhaps the best part of our day was the cultural exchange of speaking with two Kenyan businessmen and the experience of riding on a crowded matatu (bus) back into the city center.

The businessmen whom we had struck up a conversation with after lunch were very interested in our opinions of east Africa, and shared their ideas on the Kenyan healthcare system, Barack Obama, gun control, and life in America. Perhaps it is a bit of a cliché when dealing with Africans and other people that we perceive as foreigners, but it is surprising how warm many of the people here are and how knowledgeable they can be with American political affairs. After our conversation and a lunch that included our first taste of Tusker (Kenya’s national beer), some dessert (finally) and a failed attempt at ordering an Avocado milkshake, we went to go see the animals. Here is a picture of an ostrich, a cheetah, a sleeping lion and a warthog’s butt:


To conclude our tourist thing, we were able to catch a matatu (costing 20 shillings per person) out in front of the park, which brought us into the railway station, and we were able to navigate our way back to the YMCA with minimal difficulty. This worked out much better than calling a cab, (an option that Peter had suggested) which would have set us back an estimated 1000 shillings. It was refreshing to ride on public transportation and to walk through the streets of Nairobi for the first time unattended. Another first - for the first time this afternoon, we drove past Kibera, Nairobi’s biggest slum (and perhaps the largest one in the world) on the outskirts as we went into the city center. Although we didn’t go in, the immense scale of poverty that was hinted at stands in stark and sobering contrast to the 3000 shilling lunch bill that we had accumulated that day, and the Massai tribesmen dancing for tourists at the park restaurant.

After dinner, Zac was able to get on the phone with some UC Berkeley contacts working out in Busia. We have decided to try and get out into the more remote regions of Kisumu and Busia, in the Nyang province on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria as early as the beginning of next week. After seeing some of the nation’s finest healthcare facilities, we are eager to get out into the more rural areas of the country where shortages of supplies and inequalities in access to medical care present greater challenges (a sentiment that was reinforced this afternoon while talking to our new Kenyan businessman friend, John).

Its our second full day in Kenya but still, its hard to get over that initial urge to just turn to each other and say “Dude, we’re in Africa!”

–(Sun 7/22/07 11:53pm)