Last Day in Kenya
Trip Start
Mar 18, 2009
1
8
11
Trip End
May 14, 2009
Nairobi,
Kenya
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Anne had forgotten that there was construction work at her office today. So, she returned shortly after leaving for work. We made our way to the Yaya shopping center together. She had stuff to do at the Barclay's Bank there while I had to go online.
It turned out that I had to fly out to Cape Town tomorrow if I wanted to get the tickets with my miles. So I had to tell Emanu (Anne's husband) that I was not going to be able to join him on the flight to his hometown of Kisumu tomorrow. Damn! I really wanted to visit his "home-squared", as Barack Obama calls such places in "Dreams from My Father". Next time...
Had a few productive meetings about the International Humanity Foundation (IHF)
Langatta Giraffe Center
.Bought some gifts and a card for my host family. I usually send Turkish goodies for my host families, but this was just more convenient.
After having a bad fish and chips at the Java House cafe, met Anne at her hair saloon. She took me to the Langatta Giraffe Center where we fed these animals of pure grace. They didn't enjoy being stroked like horses and there were signs warning us of head-butts.
At home, I started packing, while Anne took a short nap. Then, we met Henry (my Kenyan friend from university) at a stylish lounge at the ABC Place, called "Mercury". I could not have imagined that such top-quality places existed in Kenya. Having been stuck in traffic, Henry was 45 minutes late. We shared a pitcher of sangria and talked about a random array of topics ranging from the new frontiers of music to the logic behind hiding my credit cards inside my underwear, from the dating scene at college to the sedentary work life...
I was proud of myself. Courageously, I had stood up against IHF. I had used my contacts; figured out the Kenyan system; made the best use of my time, thereby making a change significantly more probable. The rest of my work will be carried out from a distance...
