Day 1

For all intents and purposes, today was the start of study abroad.

Yesterday was Eid, a Muslim holiday, and due to the high Muslim population of Kenya, it was also a state holiday. As a result, yesterday was pretty mellow, I pretty much spent the day at home, getting to know the family. I went for a walk with my two host brothers to scout out a good running route (Karen Loop, See map for further references) and along the way we had a good conversation, I told Don about my family while refreshing my Kiswahili. My nightcap was watching a crude rip of the ABC Family Channel movie Teen Spirit kwa ndugu wangu (with my brothers) (american media, even our drivel is really big here).

Today started much earlier, we had to be on campus by 9am to meet our program director and get a tour of the campus. Although home is only about 18K from campus, it is necessary to budget the better part of two hours to drive in during rush hour. This wake up call was totally irrelevant, however, because I woke up at an ungodly hour thanks to my dear friend jet lag; as a result I am almost halfway through Again To Carthage. about 7, Emily and her host family showed up at my house so we could carpool to campus. Once there, we played some Icebreakers, even though we all at least kind of know each other (K is small). After a brief campus tour, we all went to the American Embassy to register. After spending an hour waiting to be received, and an hour of talking to the Director of Political Diplomacy, we discovered that registration has been entirely put online. The visit was far from a waste though, as it was a good primer on recent Kenyan history and USAID activities in the region. Finally, at four we were done for the day. Emily's host mother showed up on foot, and the three of us began walking through the city, Emily and I trying our best to follow her mom through the crowded sidewalks. Finally, Emily's mom pointed across the street and explained that we were headed for the Ambassadour hotel (actually the sidewalk in front of it) where we were catching the #26 bus back to Karen (the suburb where we live).

The public transit system in Nairobi is, oddly enough, entirely private. The two forms of public transit are buses, and Matatus. The buses really lack a good counterpoint in the states, you have to go up a flight of stairs to get in, and then once inside you are presented with essentially a dingy , old-skool charter bus with plastic windows that slide back and forth, and three bucket seats to a side. The Matatus (which service the areas between the bus routes) are run down 15 passenger minivans, occasionally tricked out in hilariously useless ways, but rarely with matching wheels. In both cases the drivers have no fear, and the price is pretty much determined on the spot. When asked today about our apprehensions and fears regarding the program, we mentioned traveling on the roads, to which Lillian (the program director) responded, "Our roads are very safe, but our drivers are not." All told it cost 90 shillings to get home today, basically $1. For reference, a sizeable and flavorful lunch at school was about 150 shillings (+50 for a bottle of water).

When I got home I went out for my first run at altitude, and due to the fading light, and my long-day/jet-lagged tiredness and the quickly fading light, I did the Ndege loop, which, as it turns out is about 30% longer than I thought it was, and now I am wiped. I'm about to sit down for dinner, after which I fully anticipate passing out, hopefully till almost 7am.