Kenya at Last!

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  Nairobi, Kenya
Sunday, July 20, 2008

Greetings from Kenya! Yes, I have arrived.

As some of you may know, British Airways is in the process of transferring its operations to Terminal 5 - a new, multi-million dollar complex. They were originally supposed to transfer everything in April, but there were some real snafus (for example the baggage handling system worked so well the workers couldn't keep up with the volume, and lots of people lost their bags) and they had to change the schedule for occupation of the terminal. As a result, some flights fly into and out of Terminal 5 while others fly into and out of Terminal 4, the old BA terminal. From LA to Stuttgart I went through Terminal 5. For Kenya, however, I flew out of Terminal 4. Since everything is shifting to Terminal 5, all of the outside connections (bus and rail) have already been moved. On Friday evening it had been a simple matter to walk out of Terminal 5, wait for a bus, and go to the hotel. Getting to Terminal 4 was a different matter.

When I asked at the hotel lobby about getting to Terminal 4, they told me to catch the "Hotel Hoppa" to Terminals 1,2,3 and then take the Heathrow Express to Terminal 4 (between the terminals it's free). The bus driver told me it was better to take a different "Hoppa" to Terminal 5 and then transfer to Terminal 4. There was a large group at the hotel, and they were all outside waiting for a bus. Luckily, it was a private coach rather than the hotel bus. They were English high schoolers and chaperones headed to do adventure travel in Asia, so they were also headed to Terminal 5. At last my bus came, and we headed to the airport with a stop at another hotel. There was another bus in front of us and a group of people having difficulty deciding what they were doing and getting their luggage on. Eventually my driver backed up and went around the Terminal 1,2,3 bus - so I was glad I hadn't taken that one. Once we got to Terminal 5, I had to catch the transfer bus to Terminal 4. The two terminals are essentially at opposite ends of the airport, so I had a wonderful tour of the perimeter.

Eventually we arrived at Terminal 4. I didn't have any suitcase to check (already checked through from Stuttgart the day before), and I had my boarding pass and seat assignment, so I strolled to Security. By this time I had been through several security checks and, while each airport does things a little differently, the one consistent thing had been that I needed to take out the little plastic bag with liquids (no container larger than 4 oz.) and my computer. As a result, I planned ahead and took out my computer. Then I got into the line and read the announcement: Please do not take computers out of the bags. So, I had to put mine back in. I told the guard at the end of the line that they had tricked me and how - she laughed. Getting through security went pretty quickly, and I had plenty of time before my flight left. It was so nice not to have had to cart my suitcase to the hotel with me.

The flight to Nairobi was wonderfully uneventful. I watched the Spiderwick Chronicle (twice) and Batman Begins on the way. At the start of the flight they announced that the crew would be distributing landing cards for Kenya, but 8 hours later they had not done so. When we began our approach to Jomo Kenyatta Airport, they announced that landing cards would be available before we got to immigration. I think the crew forgot to load them in London. Since I had gone to the consulate in LA in April and already had my visa (You can wait and apply at the immigration counter - which a lot of people were doing), going through immigration was once again easy. Then I waited for my bag. When it finally came, I headed out the door and saw my brother and nephew waiting for me.

On the way to the guesthouse where we would spend the night, we stopped for pizza, my first Kenyan meal on this trip.

The next morning we checked out of the guesthouse but didn't leave immediately. My brother had some errands to run before heading out. There was one sad piece of news. A recent graduate of the school my nephew attends had been back for graduation and alumni weekend. Then he and some friends had gone to Mombasa. While there he became ill, called his father and returned by bus. Somewhere during this time he had a stroke and was in the hospital in Nairobi. Things didn't look real promising, and his father asked my brother to buy some groceries to take to the family.

After all the errands were run and we had eaten lunch, we headed to my brother's place. Once we were there I got to unload the suitcase and give out presents: a headset for my brother for his iPod, a soccer jersey and the reed shaving kit (the one I found in Stuttgart) plus a bunch of candy from his best friend for my nephew, a T-shirt for my niece (she had already gotten her "big" present, a graphing calculator, when my mother arrived a month earlier - thanks to all of my students for their advice on which calculator to get; my niece said it was a life saver), an Austrian teddy bear and Parmesan Cheese (her request) for my sister-in-law, and the clothes she couldn't fit into her suitcase for my mother. I had lots of fun playing Santa Clause.

The first couple of days we relaxed and planned what we would do while I'm in Kenya. We have a safari planned to Amboseli National Park, but other than that the dates are all flexible. If we don't plan, though, the time will go by and we'll say, "We wanted to do this and this and this, and now we don't have time." My sister-in-law and I set up the calendar. We've planned a day trip of some sort, then a day or two at home, then a day trip followed by time at home. The day after the safari is officially "Recovery and Laundry" day.

On Monday we got news that the family of the young man in the hospital had decided to evacuate him to South Africa because he couldn't really get the care he needed in Nairobi. Later came the news that he passed away on the flight to South Africa. The family had to decide what to do about the body. They decided to have him buried in the US but have a memorial service here for all of the people who knew him. The service was on Friday at the school. I didn't go since I didn't know him. Instead I stayed and helped prepare food for the people who would be coming to my brother's afterward. A family that lives in the far north of Kenya was coming and needed a place to stay, so they were spending the night with us. My brother's house was certainly getting full.

In the meantime, before we knew about Ben's death, we had planned a trip to the Nairobi National Museum. It has been closed for several years for refurbishment and renovation. They had just re-opened it on Monday and we visited it on Thursday - so we were visiting on its fourth day after opening. The exhibits are excellent, though there is still a lot to do. Eventually there will be 13 exhibition halls, but right now only four are open. When we were there we saw several groups of schoolchildren. For a while the museum was pretty full. My major disappointment was not getting to see some paintings. The old museum's major attraction was a series of paintings by Joy Adamson ("Born Free"/Elsa the Lion). She painted portraits of people from each of the major ethnic groups in Kenya: Kikuyu, Luo, Kamba, Maasai, etc. We asked at the information desk, and they assured us the paintings would go back up. Alas! They haven't yet been re-hung. Nonetheless the visit was interesting.

Most of the rest of the time I have been relaxing and reading. So far I have finished three books. "Trek" is about a group of four people in 1955 who tried to drive from Kenya to England via Uganda, French Equatorial Africa and the Sahara. They only made it to the Sahara, and two of them died there after being rescued. It's a fascinating story and would make a great movie. Only one of the people had any experience at all, and he was probably the least reliable of the group. They were doing this in a Morris Traveler - a car with only 8 hp. "Camping with the Prince" is about various scientific endeavors going on in Kenya. While not as exciting as "Trek", it was still interesting and sheds light on a number of aspects of life in Africa, as well as showing how and why transferring Western technology wholesale into Africa doesn't work. "The Ghost of King Leopold" is about the Congo and shows how Leopold II's (of Belgium) desire for a private empire led to human rights abuse, enslavement of large numbers of people, murder, and a great many other heinous acts. It also tells of the people who spoke out about what was going on and what happened to many of them. Knowing the history of the continent helps to understand, once again, many of the things that are still going on. Several historical figures, including King Leopold and Henry Morton Stanley ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume") do not look very good in the book. The book also sheds light on the attitudes, ideas, prejudices, etc. of Europe in the 1800s. I will be recommending it to my colleagues in the History department at Pacifica when I get back.

Saturday was another excursion. This time we went to a tea farm. We arrived about 11:00 a.m., met the owners, and had an informative presentation about tea - how and where it's grown, how it's processed, etc. Then we took a walk around the place and learned about some of the local plant species in the old-growth forest that is still standing (though much reduced in size because of the tea plantations). Following our walk we were treated to a formal lunch, much as the original European immigrants must have enjoyed. Then it was finally time to head home.

So, my first week in Kenya is over. Next week we will be celebrating birthdays, doing some souvenir shopping, taking a family portrait (This is the first time the whole family has been together since 2006, so we want to do something to remember it), and working on some projects. I have things to prepare for school in the fall, my brother and sister-in-law also have lesson plans to get ready, and the kids have things they have to do. It looks like only Grandma will be relaxing.

Since my Internet connection here is sporadic, I don't know when I will be posting again. Until then, may the Lord keep you in His grace.