Surprises

Surprises

Things I did not expect-

The colorful variety of birds.  I am not a birder by any means but have found it fascinating to see the colors and shapes.  I’ve learned to identify some by call and others by nest design.

Fishermen and hippos in the same section of lake.  Some of the hippos near the resorts are so tame that our guide said we could ride them if we wanted.  We did not want, thank you.

Distinctive smells.  The Kenyans smell different than the Ethiopians who smell different than Europeans.  I don’t mean that judgmentally, it is merely an observation.  Americans really are obsessed with cleanliness.

Eating with my fingers in Kenya.  I knew that we would eat injera and wat in Ethiopia with our hands.  I did not know much about Kenyan food and have enjoyed the discovery of ugali and chapatis and the lack of silverware.

People asking directly for money.  I was expecting the beggars on the street but the security guard in the hotel asked if we would buy him lunch.  The barman asked for help with his children’s tuition.  The woman selling crafts refused to give change.  The pastor of a church asked if we would pay for one of his members to attend secondary school.

The variety of modes of transportation on the streets- trucks, SUV’s, buses, cars, motorcycles, tck-tck’s (three wheeled- enclosed motor bikes) bicycles, mules, foot.

The youth.  People are young here.  The average life expectancy in Kenya is only 52.  There are not a lot of older people.  They die of HIV/Aids, Cholera, Malaria, or accidents.  Even in the churches the people are very young.

The pride all Africans and particularly Kenyans take in their “son” Barak Obama.  Everyone asks about him.  There are pictures of the first family everywhere.  They name shops after him.  They lecture the school students about how he came from a poor family with only one parent and became president.

How much fun I am having.  Today we took a boat ride on Lake Victoria to see hippos and birds and a fish market.  I enjoy just walking the streets.  I can draw huge crowds by taking photos of children and then showing them the photo in the digital camera.  Even adults will line up to have their photo taken.  Of course shopping at the craft stalls is right up my alley but we have about reached our limit of bags for the flights home.  Today we shopped at the fair-trade stalls where widows and orphans are trained to make local handicrafts for sale.

How quickly the time has gone.  I cannot believe we are more than ½ over.