Ok, I think I'm addicted to climbing! It is so fun and challenging! After going out on Saturday night to camp with a bunch of Mountain Club people- we got an early start Sunday morning. Elise (my best climbing buddy) and I were excited because we were promised more "intermediate" climbs and that we would get to learn a lot more today. We were kind of thrown in the deep end when Jason and Langdon (2 really experienced climbers - Langdon is actually the owner/instructor of a climbing gym & team-building enterprise here in Kenya) invited us to do a longer 2-stage climb early on Sunday morning. We head out at 7 and started up the mountain around 8. It was huge! The first part was fairly do-able and then we reached half-way about 55 metres up and were all standing on a 1 metre little ledge attached to some ropes while Landgon and Jason tried to figure out the best way to get the rest of the way up. After Jason lead climbed (basically just climbing with little protection - you put the nuts/bolts in the mountain as you climb it so that if you fall you have something to hold you up) and once he was up there and secured the rope at the top it was our turn. This was a really tough climb and I fell once (but that is what the person who is belaying you is for) and my arms were killing but I managed to get about a metre from the top before my arms started to cramp up and I went down. I wasn't even afraid of the heights and we were a good 100 metres up barely hanging onto anything!We climbed a bit more that day and I felt SO good! I really feel like I have improved a lot. It is such a fun sport and what a place to be doing it! Surrounded by giraffes, eland, impala, gazelles, baboons...
There has been a recent initiative in Nairobi to "clean up" the streets which has resulted in painting the lines on the streets and curbs, more garbage cans around the city and the latest aspect of this has been the removal of stalls. They went into the HUGE area that Mutumba occupies late last night and flattened the whole thing.
I UNDERSTAND that they are illegal means of generating income, that they don't OWN the land on which they have the stalls. But I can't get over the people who worked there. What are they supposed to do now? Where are many of the locals going to be able to buy such inexpensive clothes - the market was always packed and most of the people I knew shopped there? Why couldn’t they have just set up a licensing system or something so that they government can get their cut and then these people can still keep their livelihoods rather than join the other 35% of the population here that is unemployed. Or maybe they could actually patrol for the vast number of car-jackers instead of regular people selling clothes. I know to some extent that I am being irrational and overly emotional about this but there just has to be a better way.
Sorry. Long post about something most of you are uninterested in. Tomorrow I'll write about my GREAT climbing day that I had today. Elise and I kicked ASS on the mountain and did some REALLY hard climbs.
The orange (NO) team won the referendum. No new constitution for you Kenya – not yet anyway! Back to the drawing board.
Cell Phone Etiquette in Kenya: There is none. If you are at a conference having a round table discussion you will often find people's cell phones ringing and them leaving to answer the calls. Or even worse sometimes people will remain at the table and talk. We have been in the middle of several staff meetings where at some point in the meeting almost half of the staff is off talking on their cell phones while the meeting continues without them. Obviously this is just a cultural difference that I am not used to but it still shocks me when people do that here.
Breaking News: Kenyan President Kibaki has just fired his entire cabinet. Maybe he is a little pissed that he lost the referendum (and that many in his cabinet didn't support his new constitution)? This could lead to some reaction from the people. I wonder what will happen...
It has been an interesting weekend here with the preparation for today’s vote. On Saturday there were 2 rallies in Nairobi (the Yes - banana and No - orange camps) that were smartly placed at a reasonable distance from each other and heavily policed. There have been clashes in past rallies where hundreds of people were injured and 7 people killed. Being downtown during this was strange because it was completely deserted. This could have something to do with the fact that the police would arrest you if you were in a “large group” which I heard could be as few as 6 people. Car dealerships and many shops were emptied out and some even boarded up for fear of looting and riots. Surprisingly, nothing has happened - yet. I think sometime tonight they will announce the results. Interesting times here.
This is actually a long weekend here because on Monday there is the vote for the new Constitution! So far there have been 4 deaths due to the rallies for or against the new constitution with fruit being the symbols of the sides that you can vote for (Bananas = Yes, Oranges = No). This is about the most bizarre thing I've ever heard of. Not only that but apparently it has had a real impact on the banana and orange market in Kenya.
I am just looking forward to it being over and done with and hope that there are no more casualties due to the rallies. I am just avoiding the downtown core on Monday. I might host a referendum brunch on Monday so we can eat delicious breakfast foods and watch the news to see what is happening in this crazy country!
"I smell burnt Kat" - I am feeling a little burnt out lately. I have a hard time saying "no" to invitations to go out and do fun things. When I was a Rotary Exchange student back 10 years ago we were told that the best way to have a great experience in another culture is to always try new things and accept as many invitations as possible. Don't get me wrong - I am having a complete blast - I am just exhausted. Good thing my job doesn't require any kind of operation of heavy machinery.
Passion! - I love passion fruit. I eat at least one a day. The fruit here is so bloody good. A few months ago it was mangos (now they are out of season) and bananas (I am holding off on those until after the referendum next week because they hold too much political significance).
Another weekend out of town - this time to Lake Naivasha to the Naivasha Yacht Club for an open house for the MCK (Mountain Club of Kenya) people who wanted to come check out the club and do a little sailing. Who am I to say no to something like this? First of all, it was gorgeous out there - and wildlife kept wandering onto the property and walking around us as if we weren’t there. Secondly, sailing is fun! We did training on and about a 45 minute sail (acting as a one-man crew for a more experienced sailor) on 2-man Fireball sailboats and got to use the trapeze contraption things where you are strapped to the boat and get to hang off the side of it in order to balance out the boat! Seeing as it has been 15 years (calculating this made me feel really old) since I last took lessons I was initially a little unsure but it is such an exhilarating and yet relaxing experience (very different sensations than the rafting I did last weekend).
That evening we had a huge barbeque and sat around the clubhouse playing cards and drinking beer before we retired to our tents out in the field. Can you see why I love my life here so much??
Happy Birthday Dad!!! I hope you have a good one!!
Something I forgot to mention about Uganda:
Country Music – they love it there! Walking down the street upon my arrival I was met with the voice of Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson and Shania was all over the place. I must have heard 'The Gambler' three or four times when I was there – just being played in a matatu or blasted from speakers in a store to benefit those walking by on the street.
I don't know what to write about. Too many thoughts in my head. As much as I want to I am unable to completely share my experiences. I am glad that Karen (and possibly Dez) are coming to visit! It will be nice to have someone KIND OF understand what it was like here once I am back in the big country. Although I am kind of afraid to see their reactions because I want them to love it like I do.
I wonder sometimes if I like things here a little too much - like I am just really excitable and am just getting wrapped up in Kenya like I would a hockey team or something - for the sake of it rather than for good reason. You know what I mean?? I mean, usually people only really like things this much in retrospect right? When you look at the glossy photos and can't experience the pollution burning your lungs and the people harassing you and the fact that you can't walk around once it's dark out?
Friday
After arriving into town early in the morning by bus my first task was to find my way to Dominik's office. This required me navigating my way through down town Kampala (which I noticed was very clean and less busy/more spacious than Nairobi). There were lots of vendors selling bibles and rosaries on the side of the road. Interesting. Made it to the taxi park (pictured above). In Uganda they really like to screw you up by calling a matatu a 'taxi' and if you want to take a taxi then it is called a 'special'. The taxi parks are also much more insane than Nairobi because first of all the taxis don't list where they are going on the side of them. There are no numbered routes. You just have hundreds of similar looking vehicles and you have to figure out which one will take you to the right place. The payment system also seems a little more flexible – which means the mazungu (that's what they call foreigners here too) usually pays more than the locals. I have to say this was the one thing about Uganda/Kampala that really frustrated me. But the city itself is gorgeous – it is situated on 7 hills and is lush and green. Finally arriving at Dominik's office I dropped off my bag and we went for Eritrean food in a nearby stall (made from an old billboard). Then we went to check out the Baha'i temple (one of only 8 in the world). At dinner we met up with Rebecca and enjoyed some Ugandan food including matoke (a type of bananas that is unripe and mashed) with g-nut sauce (ground nuts), pumpkin stew, chicken, chipatis, and Ugandan beer (Nile Special). Good stuff. I head to Rebecca's to spend the night and get a good sleep for Saturday's adventure.
Saturday
We were picked up at 7:30 and head 2 hours east into Jinja – the source of the mighty Nile where we would spend the day white water rafting! There were only 5 of us in the boat (plus the 2 guides) and we set off after a brief intro – most of what we needed to know they showed us on the water. Then we set off to hit the first of 12 rapids! Jinja is supposed to be one of the best places in the world to go rafting – there are 4 level 5 rapids (6 being the highest) but it is nice and deep so you don't have to worry about rocks as much as many other places in the world. We cleared the first few rapids fine but on the first level 5 rapid (Total Gunga) we flipped and it was crazy – I was under water for about 15 seconds and when I came up I was under the boat – then I was sucked under again and came up and the guides were there to help me up on the boat. It was scary but fun. We hit a bunch more rapids that morning and also just jumped in and floated up the Nile in our life jackets for about 2km as well. It was amazing because there were birds diving into the water to go fishing within just metres of us. Just after lunch we managed to get through two more level 5 rapids uneventfully (other than almost flipping on both of them) and on a level four the guides asked us if we wanted to flip on purpose on the next one – so we did. It was a bit more fun to flip when you expect it but still scary. We got to the end of the day trip and there was one more class five rapid that was optional – aptly named 'THE BAD PLACE!' They told us that it was pretty much guaranteed that you will flip. The 2 other girls who were with us took the safety boat and so it was just me and the 2 guys and one guide. Never mind the fact that I was nervous but adding to my tension was the fact that I really had to go to the bathroom! I just wanted to get it over with! There was a large crowd of villagers at this point whose prime entertainment was to watch all the idiots go over the rapids and fall in. We swooped down into the rapid and as a huge wave hit us we tipped completely sideways and just when I was about to let go of the rope to let myself fall in we tipped back the right way – we made it!! But our guide's paddle didn't – he was screaming for us to pass him one of our paddles as we drift into another rapid (that we weren't supposed to hit) – too late – we hit it and once again tipped – this time I was sure we were all going in – I saw one guy fall in and as the boat once again landed flat in the water I panicked – initially thinking that I was the only one left in the boat! But the other two appeared and we paddled to the side – picking up our lost passenger along the way. WHAT A RUSH! That was so much fun. Some beer and food later we head home to collapse. I want to go again!
Sunday
Rebecca and I went to a craft market and met Dominik for lunch before I left on my bus ride. I don't want to get into it but it was such a terrible ride. What was supposed to be a 12 hour ride turned into over 16 hours of hell! Our bus broke down TWICE – once just past the border and then again in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere! I was so happy to get home at 4:30am and collapse into bed. Still recovering...
Speaking of parties I have to say that these past few months I think my social life has probably been better than it has been my whole life. I have this group of friends through the Mountain Club and their surrounding group of friends. I'm not used to this. Usually it is just me and few close friends and if they are busy then I stay home. Now, if I wanted to, I would be at a party every night. Yesterday a new Canadian intern came with me to the Mountain Club meeting and he reminded me of something else that I am used to that I don't think about any more and that is the air kisses. EVERY time you see people (or are leaving people) you do the double air kiss (or triple if they are Dutch for some reason). This is not something I am used to. Initially I found it a bit pretentious but am starting to not think about it anymore. Yes, I think the reverse culture shock will be much more of an adjustment than it was for me to get used to this place.
Tomorrow night I leave for UGANDA!!! Expect lots of photos on Monday!
Now I'm ready to head to Uganda for the weekend. Star Trek Conference. Just kidding - rafting and visiting Kampala and friends.