Travelling from the United States to Kenya

May 17^th 2011

So… I made it to Kenya. The journey was pretty long, about 24 hours. There was a lot of red tape along the way, and a little bit of frustration during travel, but I made it. Still hasn’t quite set in that I’m here.

The first leg of travel was from the United States to Accra(AH-crah), a large City in Ghana, East Africa. I had a nine hour layover in Accra before  Along the way to Accra, my keys were somehow gobbled up by a security checkpoint, but it’s something that I’ll deal with when I get back home.

The Accra airport was pretty crazy. It was really busy and chaotic. It took a while to get my ticket to Nairobi , which mysteriously had disappeared from the airport’s database. I got sent to an office for ticketing through the humid chaos outside the airport. Then I had to wait until I was called, and got a new ticket issued. Of course, in this whole process, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Luckily, Ken, a security guard there helped me out, navigating the chaos.

I also met a couple other interesting people of note.  One, a Liberian refugee wanted to go to the United States. He wanted to council people with substance abuse and mental issues. He thought somehow I could get him visa sponsorship to the U.S. The reality of course, being more complicated than that. I also met two Indian guys going to Dubai, and we communicated mostly though gestures, but it was good to have folks to communicate with. We waited in the only air conditioned area of the airport to present our tickets board the plane. After boarding the plane, and takeoff, I was rewarded with a tin of beef stew and vegetables, which was delicious.

I have never been more grateful for airplane food in my life. Slept most of the way on the five hour flight from Ghana to Kenya.

Arriving in Nairobi, I had to navigate through customs, filling out the required papers for a visa. Of course I had to go up twice because I forgot to fill out a form. Americans are definitely spoiled by our lack of borders and need for bureaucracy in navigating between Mexico, Canada, and the United States, which are the only other places I’ve been.  As a final step in the visa process, you are required to scan your finger prints. My hand was shaking so badly from exhaustion I had to get it done several times.

  After navigating through security and the visa process, I got my bag, but didn’t know who would be there to meet me. I eventually met Evans, the driver for KEFRI. Getting into the car, I tried to get in on the right side of the vehicle. This is the driver seat. Kenyans drive like the British. Um.Right. The American strikes again.

 Evans and I talked about a variety of things, ranging from politics(people in Kenya are obviously very proud of Barack Obama, the U.S. president), and music(Michael Jackson played on the radio) . Of course the important topics of Beer(Tusker is a popular brand, a lager similar to PBR/Budweiser heavy) and Pool playing were also discussed. We also listened to a very popular radio show called “busted” in which spouses call in to complain about their philandering spouses. This show has been a source of  common amusement and will be discussed in further detail in later posts.   

The drive was pretty crazy, like navigating a war zone. We definitely saw a few near collisions. There’s a lot of disparity and variation in the areas around Nairobi. There are areas with shacks, next to opulent shopping malls. The roads are a combination of dirt pathways and paved roads, all in varying condition. Finally upon arriving, I had breakfast with Leah and Bryson, the other two students who are going to be working here with me. Breakfast was a little different. Everything is served with warm milk. Sausage, Corn Flakes, Bananas and eggs. After eating and some discussion, I fell into a deep coma for most of the day, waking up at repeated intervals as my body was not calibrated to the fourteen hour time difference.

So far, that’s it for now. More next week, same time, same channel.