Some reflections of my trip...

Since my return from Kenya, I have been asked constantly and consistently: “How was Africa?” which I basically interpret as being similar to the greetings: “How are you?” or “How’s it going?”. So I invariably answer with one word, depending on how I am feeling at that moment. Words such as: “Great!” or “Fine.”, like I would answer the typical greetings. Like the greetings, there are so many other words that describe my trip: “beautiful”, “interesting”, “difficult”, “wonderful”, “incredible”, “stressful”, etc… However, for me Africa was all of these things, sometimes all at once.
I went to Kenya with a purpose. I went to take a course on sustainability with 35 other young people. Half of the students were from different regions in Africa and the rest were from other various countries as far away as Brazil and Japan. Being a course on sustainability, there really weren’t many of us from so far away (since flying is an extremely unsustainable practice). Despite the unsustainable nature of my transport to and from Kenya and the guilt that accompanies coming from a country with the largest per capita carbon emissions, I learned valuable lessons in sustainability. For example, I learned that sustainability is not just about environmental conservation and stewardship but also about the inter-linkages between the environment, the economy, and the social aspects of societies. Importantly, I learned that sustainability to Africans is about poverty relief, education, health care, and electing a government that is not corrupt. Carbon emissions are the last thing on the mind of the average African.
After the course, I spent two weeks travelling around the country observing the vast beauty that Kenya has to offer. The climatic, physiographic, and geological differences in this small country are nothing short of incredible. This, of course, includes the amazing wildlife that I, thankfully and unfortunately, viewed from the safety of a bus.
Unfortunately, the other thing that is vast in Kenya is the difference between rich and poor. This, for me, was really the most difficult aspect of my travels and may well be a reason for the electoral chaos that is currently happening in Kenya. Even while I was there it was apparent that Kenyans are extremely passionate about political reform. I could not imagine many Canadians fervently discussing their political choice and how that party would eradicate corruption.
All in all, it was a “great” and “fine” trip. Hopefully, you can see that it was also so much more than that!

transport and all that.

I'm back in Nairobi. I spent this week trekking around Mt. Kenya. It was really beautiful... I would recommend the trek to anyone. I, unfortunately, did not make it to the top because I had crazy blisters that were infected. From boots that I've had for 3 years. Sad, but I'm getting over it. I actually feel that I've matured a little. In the past, I think that I would have gone anyway despite the searing pain on my heals. I also attribute most of this maturity to Petey, who is my voice of reason... Does it really matter if I make it to the top? In any case, the region was absolutely incredible. I loved hiking on a volcano... so many cool rocks and beautiful vistas. And it was quiet, really quiet. I spent the days hiking with 4 jongens from Holland. They were really nice people with a great sense of humour. It makes me wonder if I get my sense of humour from my dutchie parents.
Speaking of dutchie-land, I'm leaving for Holland tomorrow night! I'm quite excited to come to a wet, cold climate. Just like Mt. Kenya :).
I've had quite a lot of time to think on this trip (like all my trips) and this country certainly gives me a lot to think about. I find that Kenya really, really makes me think about the differences between rich and poor. Hanging out in Nairobi with a lovely crowd that works for the UN, makes me see what rich really is... when it so closely borders the absolute misery of the african shanty towns. I've been staying with Jason in Runda, a neighbourhood in Nairobi that compares to Rockcliffe Park in Ottawa or Rosedale in Toronto. Jason even says that parts of Runda are like Rosedale on steriods. And then there are the shanty towns... How, what, where, why?? I don't know...
I feel that my only real connection with this other Kenyan world (the poor one) is taking public transportation. I absolutely love it. I take matatus (14 seater toyota mini vans) that are each completely different. Some have dvd players, almost all have music blaring. There are almost always more than 14 passengers. They are reputed to be owned by the mob... It costs 25 cents to go many kilometers... My friend Peter was just hit by a matatu so hard that he hit the car in front of him and so on (4 cars were smashed in total). On the way back from Mt. Kenya, we had a near miss with a goat. It seems that most people who work at the UN would never, ever take a matatu... Many of these folks own Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, Subarus, etc... Apparently a Toyota is not a good car to own since it mainly shady characters own them (like the matatu drivers :)). Peter told me this, of course... he tries to explain the real Kenya to me. The other part of transport, is the roads. Once you leave Nairobi, the roads are a bit of a nightmare... except the road to Mt. Kenya, which I just learned is Kibaki's (the Kenyan president) neighbourhood. They are currently resurfacing the main highway across Kenya. It seems that the roads people unsurface ALL the road before they resurface it. For example, the ride to Mombasa... about 2 hours outside of Nairobi is basically a hayride of swinging back and forth. On the way to Mombasa, on the night bus, there was a traffic jam, at midnight... where our bus driver decided to take things into his own hands and off road on the Savannah for while. It was slightly absurd, from a Canadian perspective.
I'd better get going... I'll see many of you soon. There are a few more things that I'd like to talk about... so maybe I can post soon.

Sigh...

I'm in Mombasa after a couple of days at the beach. I needed a couple of days to regroup, I think but it was hard to stay at a touristy beach alone. I stayed at this lovely beach house recommended to me by Jason (a friend of a friend who works at the UN in Nairobi). As long as I didn't venture onto the beach, it was an extremely relaxing place. Luckily a friend from Israel, who I met on the course, hung out with me on the first day but yesterday I was left to my own demons and the tourist hounds on the beach. All day I was chased down by men wanting to sell me things, tell me how poor they are, ask me where my husband is, and don't I need a man to stay with me since my husband is so far away. NO, NO, NO!! You can probably tell that I was/am going a little crazy. I just wonder what we (as western society) have done to make this kind of behaviour acceptable. On that beach, I am a white woman alone. Which obviously means that a) I am rich, b) I need to be taken care of, and c) want to buy stuff. I realize that I am rich compared to these people. It's just very disconcerting to me. My conclusion is that many white, rich people have come before me and made the local population think that we can help them out of their relative misery. But are we really making their lives better? By flaunting how rich we are? I doubt it. I don't know what the answer is... but thanks for listening to my venting.
I am extremely happy to be back to a city where I am still a white woman travelling alone but I am slightly less conspicuous here. It's really an interesting city - a land of differences. There are many Muslims here, along with the usual Christians. Lots of different clothing styles. Nairobi is extremely formal with most people wearing suits. I felt a little out of place there in my travelling digs. I'm excited to explore the old city a little more this afternoon - lots of interesting architecture...
I had a nice couple of days in Nairobi saying goodbye to the rest of the YES (my course) crew. We ate well at the Java coffee house. Sadly, most coffee in this country is Nescafe. I'd like to start a personal crusade against (Swiss) multi-national companies that keep me from having a good cup of coffee in a coffee producing country (Peru was the same). So far, I've had two good cups of coffee... at the java house and at the Karen Blixen house.
Outside Nairobi, I also had the pleasure of being licked by a giraffe! It was pretty gross actually but a fun adventure. I don't really like it when dogs lick me and I've learned that giraffes have very long tongues!
The course ended on a real high note. We spent the last days working on a group project. I worked with a bunch of scientists and engineers to come up with a project that could be implemented in Africa. It was really cool. We decided to propose a source water protection project outside Kigali, Rwanda. Interestingly, we may just be able to implement the project. I'm quite excited about the idea of using some of my skills in an African setting.
I think that it's time to head back out to the chaos of Africa. I can't hide in an internet cafe forever, I suppose :). I'm going to Nairobi tonight and plan to organize a trek (e.g. go with a group) to Mt. Kenya or Kilimanjaro which ever time allows.
Take care!

Intensity

Hi! The course has been super busy. And super interesting. I really came here thinking that sustainability was only about driving less, flying less and living in a smaller house that required less energy to heat. Then I met all these students from Africa - water, corruption in politics, politics in general, electricity, poverty, etc... are the meaningful issues for them regarding sustainability. So we have an entire world who just wants to have as much energy, water, and things as we do. Of course that is completely unsustainable. It seems now, that the question is: how do we meet somewhere in the middle?
Being Canadian, I have been at the butt of many a good joke about sustainability: we are the energy hogs, we pulled out of the Kyoto protocol, we don't plan our cities to save energy, we have more resources than humanly necessary, etc.. Some of the boys from UK, Brazil, and South Africa made up a sign that says: Blame Canada (from the South Park movie) so everyone gets a real kick out of that.
We spend most of our time in lectures learning about all the basics mentioned earlier. There is lots of time for heated debate and exchange of ideas. On Tuesday we went on a trip to the United Nations office in Nairobi. The new executive director of the environmental program even gave us a little speech. The UN was a crazy spot in my humble opinion; a haven of tranquility and production in a world of relative chaos. It's also like that at Egerton University. We are living in this colonialist haven that we rarely leave. When we do, the 3rd world slaps us in the face. Even in these havens, it is apparent that we are not in a developed world. Hot showers are a luxury; internet is slow and intermittent as is the power. Last week, the students here riotted because they couldn't study due to blackouts. Apparently, there is not enough water on campus to sustain the student population. They have 13 wells where 5 are dry and I've been told that some wells are 300m deep.
Nevertheless, it is lovely here. I am happy about the simplicity, the vistas are absolutely incredible, and I am meeting amazing people. With that, I will leave you with one thought: My new friend Peter from Kenya wants to marry a Canadian (not me, a simple Canadian) because he wouldn't need to give 30 cows and 15 goats to her parents for a girl with a master's. He thinks that is a good deal.
Take care!

Made it!

I'm here. I can't believe it really. I was very nonchalant before I left and even on the plane but as the plan was landing, I could feel panic and excitement welling up. My stomach was in dissarray. What if the driver from YES (Youth Encounter on Sustainablity) didn't show up? What if I had to make my way to the YMCA by myself, only to get ripped off by the first opportune cab driver? What if this course wasn't real? This combined with the excitement - Africa! I think I've dreamed of this place since we left Botswana in 1980. What if it didn't live up to my expectations?
I'm not sure yet if it's met my expectations. It's all a blur really. So many hours of travelling to get here, and I met so many people along the way. Lots of adventurers who fly through Holland to get to exciting destinations. Our plane from Montreal to Schipol was delayed by 3 hours, which gave me 20 minutes to make my flight to Nairobi. I made it! But my bags didn't... at least not on that plane. They arrived here this morning, thankfully. For a while there, I thought that I would need to do some shopping... Now I agree with my mother to pack a change of clothes in your carry on. Did I do it? No, but it's a good idea...
The temperature here is lovely... low twenties and sunny. It's dusty, but green. I've met some nice folks from the course... I'll send more on the course later. I think that I need to catch up on some sleep! We are about to embark on a bus from Nairobi to the course location - Egerton University in Njoro. I'm sure that I will be too busy checking out the scenery to catch up on sleep yet!

Ahh!

I think that it's finally hit me... I'm leaving tomorrow. I really had grand plans of having a very clean plate when I return and it looks like there will be a few stragglers on that plate... you know, like brussel sprouts - the ones my mom tried to make me eat, but I really didn't want to. Those are the tasks that are left.

Anyway, the bags are packed and hopefully, I can leave some guilt behind.

I'm going to Kenya!

I decided to start up a blog to chronicle my travels... yes, that's right. No mass emails for you. You get to read at your leisure, if and only if, my adventures are interesting to you.

Count down is on - I leave in 6 days... My to-do list is still long, but the important things are done. Vaccinations, plane tickets, visa, etc. I just need some cash and to pack my bags. Unfortunately, my to-do list is still ripe with work that should get done before I go. I guess that's the beauty of grad school - perhaps it can all wait...