In the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro

The town of Loitoktok is super close to the Tanzanian border. I did not bring my passport however, because I did not think I would need it! Apparently Tanzania has a pre-order check point within Kenya and about 10 feet before the 'street' we needed to turn on to get to the bungalows where we were staying. It took some quick talking by the directors but we we it through--and back for that matter!

We visited the elementary school that our professor attended as a young boy. Elementary levels are called "standard." Our professor was asked to give an inspiring speech to the entire school. In a mixture of English and Swahili (so the little ones could understand), the professor encouraged all the kids to work hard and make it to higher education. The fact that the professor attended that very school, made it all the way to law school, Harvard, and was standing in front of all the kids with a bunch of Americans as his students was pretty awe inspiring. And for some, just super entertaining because they had never seen that many white people!

Here is Professor Ngugi speaking to the kids


Some of the kids are boarders and we were able to see their dormitories. This piece of luggage holds all the possession of one little girl.



The sign over the administrators office


As we were leaving the kids swarmed around and shook as many 'mzungu' hands as possible. They could then go home and tell their mom's "Nimeshika mzungu!" (I touched a white person!)

We were also able to visit a highschool, or secondary school, which was strictly a boarding school. Here I am with my student guide, Michael. He wants to eventually be an electrical engineer. He did a great job showing us around and answering questions. I taught him some vernacular English so he can now say "What's up?" and "that's awesome!"


On the 4th of July, some of us went on a hike on the bottom slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain has a satellite peak and another small connected peak called Kibo. I had no idea! This is the satellite peak.


The hike took us to the border of Tanzania. Here are Meri and me on the Tanzanian side!


Colorful laundry. oh, and a tree. :)


We also went on a tour of a hospital. It was very interesting but also uncomfortable. In the US, we are so conscious of hippo laws and privacy, but not so here. We were led into patient wards, with patients! While being told their ailments!

Some other thoughts:

While it was so amazing to visit the Maasai community, it is an odd breed of tourism. Clearly, this particular community is offering themselves to tourists. Not many people visit the particular community that we did, so the community was very receptive and excited to host us. But it did feel weird to show up and literally observe their lives and have them perform for us. I don't know that it is a bad thing, but still odd nonetheless.

The supernatural. Kenyans so readily accept it. I find it rather refreshing. I am reading the book Miracles by CS Lewis which discusses the natural vs. supernatural. I didn't even know what the book was about when I picked it up! While I certainly am often confused about the supernatural, I do find it easier to believe than not. And now I am surrounded by people who think that way but even moreso! While there still are many different ideas of God, the concept of there being no God is unfathomable.

It is cold here. I did not pack enough warm clothes. I have not taken off my leg warmers in 2 days. We are in the middle of Nairobi winter. So although I have a pool in my backyard, the 55-60 degree weather is not conducive to swimming!