Habari Ako from Kenya!

After crossing the mangrove-lined Takaungu Creek in a canoe, walking along a red dirt road under the blazing African sun for 1 1/2 hours, and greeting about 50 people along the way, Bryan and I have made it to a town with internet access today!

We arrived in Nairobi a little over a week ago, to find out my luggage was still in London lost somewhere... rather than let it get me down, I remained optimistic that it would turn up soon (after all, Bryan had his bag.) After exploring Nairobi for the day, we embarked on a 13-hour train ride from Nairobi to Mombasa- quite an experience!! The train was overnight, so we awoke to the African sun rising over Baobab trees on the horizon- it was a rickety ride, but romantic. Only later, once I saw the side of the track littered with toppled-over rail cars did I learn that Kenyan Railways are notorious for derailments...

Once we arrived in Mombasa, we were greeted by the Vutakaka School Volunteer Coordinator, and driven to the small village on Takaungu where we met our welcoming, warm, traditional Swahili host family. Swahili culture is a blend of Arabian, African, and Indian influences and is a culture all its own. Our host family is Muslim, so I wear conservative skirts that cover my legs, and hear the "call to prayer" echo through the village mosques five times a day. Since my luggage was lost for 5 days, my host mom loaned me clothing to wear- so I looked especially Swahili in my first few days here! Bryan has taken to wearing the traditional male-skirt, the Kikoy, around the village and home.

Although my Kiswahili language skills are improving in very small steps, many people in the village can speak a little English (especially our host-mom, Tuma, and her father Mzee Rashid). We are very lucky to be living with this family- the children (Ryane, Sue, and Baby Umu) are little darlings, Tuma is known as the best cook in the whole village and has been teaching me how to prepare some traditional dishes, Mzee Rashid is like the chief or mayor of the village and knows everyone, our family has a large shamba (farm) so we have a variety of food including fresh milk, and our host-father Khamis brings home ocean-caught fish several days a week. Most of the food is prepared with some form of coconut in it, and we have fresh mangoes and chai tea every day. It seems I'm talking about food a lot, but when you live in a small place where everyone is very poor, life really revolves around food.

Our volunteer work this past week has been at the Vutakaka School- a 30 minute walk from our home. I mainly help with the 7-11 year-old class every day, where I have already formed friendships with many of my students as well as the Kenyan teachers that work there. The children here are so sweet and happy- everywhere I go, I hear little voices calling, "Jambo! Jambo!" Bryan has been helping 3 guys: Katana, Safari, and Kigili, with the construction of a basketball court; although the "court" is only in the bush and coconut-tree clearing stage at this point.

Last night I went with Tuma and 6 other women from the village to a traditional Swahili wedding, which was quite unique! This week should be full of more new experiences, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with our host family.