Shangilia moments - the video
The song "The beautiful ones" is performed by the kids at Shangilia mtoto wa Afrika... I simply love it!
I've made this video with some of all the special moments spent at Shangilia!
Enjoy!
I've made this video with some of all the special moments spent at Shangilia!
Enjoy!
2009-05-04: Bye bye Africa... :(
This morning Dakota and I woke up at 4:15am... Gathered my things and then we went downstairs to take a cab to the airport...
I was as sour as a lemon, if not worse... (Sorry about that Dakota)... It was so incredibly hard to leave... and I just couldn't realize it... I didn't want to... :(
Dakota dropped me off at the airport... Then he went back to the Y and I checked in...
Walked around at the airport... My flight wasn't until 8:40am...!
And what did I find, if not a Java House!
They didn't have pancakes, so I had to settle for a raisin scone and a Malindi Chai latte...
And as I was about to pay I say a CD with Shangilia mtoto wa Africa(!!!) So I bought that one too! It's sooooo good! Can't stop listening to it! Brings me back to Shangilia... To the kids... The amazing Shangilia kids... NAKUPENDA!!!
I also bought a bottle of wine to bring for Tomas and his family....
It made it all the way to Amsterdam... then they confiscated it.. CURSE them!! It was no cheap wine... And I had to leave it by the carry on luggage control..
"Enjoy the damn wine then!!!" ... And then I left... Jerks.
The nice thing with the plane from Nairobi was that it was sooooo few people!
I had 3 seats to myself! I slept for most of the trip! Sooo nice!
I arrived in Gothenburg at around 7.40pm... It was cooooold! :(
And I spent the evening telling Tomas and his family about all the craziness I've experienced! :)
The next day I took the train at 9:42, with Sahel! :) It was really nice to see her again! :)
And yeah, I have to admit, it was sooooo good to see Anna again!! I have missed my lovely room mate so so much!
And well... Not even 5 minutes after I turned on my Swedish cell phone number, work people called me and asked if I wanted to work extra tomorrow (6/5-09)... And yeah, I'm low in cash and vacation days, so, yeah! why now?! :)
Since I had slept on the plane I think I was a bit jet lagged! Cause I had such a hard time going to sleep!
I think I went to sleep at 12.30!
And I started work at 4:57 the following day! Greeeeeat! :P
I MISS AFRICA!!!!
I was as sour as a lemon, if not worse... (Sorry about that Dakota)... It was so incredibly hard to leave... and I just couldn't realize it... I didn't want to... :(
Dakota dropped me off at the airport... Then he went back to the Y and I checked in...
Walked around at the airport... My flight wasn't until 8:40am...!
And what did I find, if not a Java House!
They didn't have pancakes, so I had to settle for a raisin scone and a Malindi Chai latte...
And as I was about to pay I say a CD with Shangilia mtoto wa Africa(!!!) So I bought that one too! It's sooooo good! Can't stop listening to it! Brings me back to Shangilia... To the kids... The amazing Shangilia kids... NAKUPENDA!!!
I also bought a bottle of wine to bring for Tomas and his family....
It made it all the way to Amsterdam... then they confiscated it.. CURSE them!! It was no cheap wine... And I had to leave it by the carry on luggage control..
"Enjoy the damn wine then!!!" ... And then I left... Jerks.
The nice thing with the plane from Nairobi was that it was sooooo few people!
I had 3 seats to myself! I slept for most of the trip! Sooo nice!
I arrived in Gothenburg at around 7.40pm... It was cooooold! :(
And I spent the evening telling Tomas and his family about all the craziness I've experienced! :)
The next day I took the train at 9:42, with Sahel! :) It was really nice to see her again! :)
And yeah, I have to admit, it was sooooo good to see Anna again!! I have missed my lovely room mate so so much!
And well... Not even 5 minutes after I turned on my Swedish cell phone number, work people called me and asked if I wanted to work extra tomorrow (6/5-09)... And yeah, I'm low in cash and vacation days, so, yeah! why now?! :)
Since I had slept on the plane I think I was a bit jet lagged! Cause I had such a hard time going to sleep!
I think I went to sleep at 12.30!
And I started work at 4:57 the following day! Greeeeeat! :P
I MISS AFRICA!!!!
2009-05-03: Last day in Kenya :(
I don't want to leave, I don't want to leave, I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!!!
This morning I had breakfast with Mary at Java around 9am... And straight after I went to Shangilia and spent the whole day there!
The kids wrote me letters, and they were just so sweet... And none of us wanted to think about the fact that I was leaving....
But the kids asked me over and over again if I could stay... "please stay with us, don't leave us"...
You have NO idea how much I wanted to just... "Hell yeah I'll stay here with you! You are my kids and I don't ever want to leave you!" :'(
I was crying rivers inside....!
Today I got to spend a lot of time with Cyntia, Bonniface and Sunday as well! Which I'm really happy about!
Cyntia asked me for earrings.... Since I had given to the older girls.... So I took her out in Kangemi and went to a stand that sold earrings and she could pick out a pair :) She was really happy about them! :)
When I told the kids I had to leave.... OMG... It took me over an hour to say good bye... And we didn't leave Shangilia until like 7pm!
I was standing hugging the kids for a long time... They hugged me over and over and over... And we were crying... It was so so so hard!
They thanked me for visiting them, bringing them all those things, teaching them how to make the bracelets, taking the older girls swimming...
I'm gonna miss them all so so so sooooo much!!! It's crazy!
I felt like I was being pulled back... I didn't want to leave!!! :'(
I LOVE this pic!!!
But we had to... Before it got too dark...!
Dakota, Jorien and I went to the matatu station, but it was pretty dark already and late, so we decided to take a cab to the city to meet up with Mary, Mary Java and Flo at Java House.
We got there pretty late... And they were closing at 8pm!
So we ordered right away... And we didn't leave until like 8.30... (they couldn't tell us to leave once we'd ordered) But they were being really sweet about it! We got to have our last dinner together!
The Nairobi Javaholics! :) We decided to create a facebook group just for us! All who met here in Kenya... :)
It was so so so hard to say good bye to everyone AGAIN... :'(
I'm gonna miss them all so so much! I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Mary: I am so glad I met you! And I'm so glad to finally visit you again! It has been so so great! 1000 times better than last time! You are amazing girl! Such a strong woman! An inspiration! Nakupenda wewe!
Mary Java: Girl! You are so great! I'm glad I met you! And all thanks to my hair! Hehe, otherwise I don't think I would have met you! You are such a cool person, and I hope to see you again SOON!
Flo: I'm so sad I didn't get to spend more time with you! But I sure had a great time the night we went out to Black Diamond and Red tape! Giiiirl you can move! Love you! :)
Hannah: Montanaaaa! Girl! We've know eachother for like, what? 3 weeks, but it feels like forever!!
I'm never gonna forget the night on the train from Mombasa to Nairobi. THAT was freakin hilarious!!!
I'm so glad we met and I can't wait for out Dirty Dancing night! :D Nakupenda wewe pia! :)
Jorien: Girl! I'm gonna miss you so much! I've had a blast hanging out with you! And I can't wait for you to get over to Sweden and for me to visit you in Funny Brownie land! :D
Oh, and I love your dreads! You're awesome!
Theresa, Cathrine and Mama Maria: Eeeeyyyy! You made me feel like family right away! I had such a great time with you! Too bad I couldn't stay for longer! But I'll be sure to do it next time! :) Can't wait to see you all again!
Dakota: Sweetie, I'm so glad the train broke down in Maji Ya Chumvi, otherwise we wouldn't have met like that and end up spending that weekend together in Diani! I've had a blast with you and I'm looking forward to you coming here and for me to visit you in the states later this summer! MISS YOU!
Bo: Dude, your woody-wood-pecker-hacker-laugh is still ringing in my ears! Thank you so much for everything! You've made me feel like one in the family and I appreciate that so so much! I'll see ya soon in Texas, yeah! ;)
Diana & Sam: I'm so glad we finally met! And sorry about the mix-up Diani-Nyali ;) hehe. But I had such a great time with you on the Snorkling trip! Next time we'll be sure to see more of each other! :) I'll miss you so much!
Shangilia: This is for everyone at Shangilia... You make me feel like I'm part of the Shangilia family... There are no words for how much I love you all and I'll miss you terribly!! Shangilia in my heart - forever! NAKUPENDA!
I don't want to leeeeeeave!!! :'(
...After Java House, Dakota, Jorien and I went to Fridays to have a beet before we parted...
It was nice to just sit there for a while... But I couldn't help but to feel miserable... Knowing I won't be seeing these people whom I've come to love so much, in a long time... :( Heartbreaking!
Then Jorien took a cab to Kangemi and Dakota and I went to YMCA...
I had to pack everything... I haaaate packing... especially when it comes to leaving a place after a trip... Packing to go somewhere is...better! :P
But then we went to sleep cause we had to get up at 4 am to go to the airport... Don't want to get stuck in traffic...!
Nighty night!
This morning I had breakfast with Mary at Java around 9am... And straight after I went to Shangilia and spent the whole day there!
The kids wrote me letters, and they were just so sweet... And none of us wanted to think about the fact that I was leaving....
But the kids asked me over and over again if I could stay... "please stay with us, don't leave us"...
You have NO idea how much I wanted to just... "Hell yeah I'll stay here with you! You are my kids and I don't ever want to leave you!" :'(
I was crying rivers inside....!
Today I got to spend a lot of time with Cyntia, Bonniface and Sunday as well! Which I'm really happy about!
Cyntia asked me for earrings.... Since I had given to the older girls.... So I took her out in Kangemi and went to a stand that sold earrings and she could pick out a pair :) She was really happy about them! :)
When I told the kids I had to leave.... OMG... It took me over an hour to say good bye... And we didn't leave Shangilia until like 7pm!
I was standing hugging the kids for a long time... They hugged me over and over and over... And we were crying... It was so so so hard!
They thanked me for visiting them, bringing them all those things, teaching them how to make the bracelets, taking the older girls swimming...
I'm gonna miss them all so so so sooooo much!!! It's crazy!
I felt like I was being pulled back... I didn't want to leave!!! :'(
I LOVE this pic!!!But we had to... Before it got too dark...!
Dakota, Jorien and I went to the matatu station, but it was pretty dark already and late, so we decided to take a cab to the city to meet up with Mary, Mary Java and Flo at Java House.
We got there pretty late... And they were closing at 8pm!
So we ordered right away... And we didn't leave until like 8.30... (they couldn't tell us to leave once we'd ordered) But they were being really sweet about it! We got to have our last dinner together!
The Nairobi Javaholics! :) We decided to create a facebook group just for us! All who met here in Kenya... :)
It was so so so hard to say good bye to everyone AGAIN... :'(
I'm gonna miss them all so so much! I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Mary: I am so glad I met you! And I'm so glad to finally visit you again! It has been so so great! 1000 times better than last time! You are amazing girl! Such a strong woman! An inspiration! Nakupenda wewe!
Mary Java: Girl! You are so great! I'm glad I met you! And all thanks to my hair! Hehe, otherwise I don't think I would have met you! You are such a cool person, and I hope to see you again SOON!
Flo: I'm so sad I didn't get to spend more time with you! But I sure had a great time the night we went out to Black Diamond and Red tape! Giiiirl you can move! Love you! :)
Hannah: Montanaaaa! Girl! We've know eachother for like, what? 3 weeks, but it feels like forever!!
I'm never gonna forget the night on the train from Mombasa to Nairobi. THAT was freakin hilarious!!!
I'm so glad we met and I can't wait for out Dirty Dancing night! :D Nakupenda wewe pia! :)
Jorien: Girl! I'm gonna miss you so much! I've had a blast hanging out with you! And I can't wait for you to get over to Sweden and for me to visit you in Funny Brownie land! :D
Oh, and I love your dreads! You're awesome!
Theresa, Cathrine and Mama Maria: Eeeeyyyy! You made me feel like family right away! I had such a great time with you! Too bad I couldn't stay for longer! But I'll be sure to do it next time! :) Can't wait to see you all again!
Dakota: Sweetie, I'm so glad the train broke down in Maji Ya Chumvi, otherwise we wouldn't have met like that and end up spending that weekend together in Diani! I've had a blast with you and I'm looking forward to you coming here and for me to visit you in the states later this summer! MISS YOU!
Bo: Dude, your woody-wood-pecker-hacker-laugh is still ringing in my ears! Thank you so much for everything! You've made me feel like one in the family and I appreciate that so so much! I'll see ya soon in Texas, yeah! ;)
Diana & Sam: I'm so glad we finally met! And sorry about the mix-up Diani-Nyali ;) hehe. But I had such a great time with you on the Snorkling trip! Next time we'll be sure to see more of each other! :) I'll miss you so much!
Shangilia: This is for everyone at Shangilia... You make me feel like I'm part of the Shangilia family... There are no words for how much I love you all and I'll miss you terribly!! Shangilia in my heart - forever! NAKUPENDA!
I don't want to leeeeeeave!!! :'(
...After Java House, Dakota, Jorien and I went to Fridays to have a beet before we parted...
It was nice to just sit there for a while... But I couldn't help but to feel miserable... Knowing I won't be seeing these people whom I've come to love so much, in a long time... :( Heartbreaking!
Then Jorien took a cab to Kangemi and Dakota and I went to YMCA...
I had to pack everything... I haaaate packing... especially when it comes to leaving a place after a trip... Packing to go somewhere is...better! :P
But then we went to sleep cause we had to get up at 4 am to go to the airport... Don't want to get stuck in traffic...!
Nighty night!
2009-05-02: Back to Nairobi - Swimming at the YMCA - Karen
Jaaambo!
This morning the alarm went off at 5:45am... Uuuaaaaah! Eaaarly!
We were catching a ride to Kiserian with some friends of Mary's mom. They were going to church this morning.
I was so glad not having to walk that distance again! :P
Then Mary and I took a matatu to Nairobi... We got there pretty early, so we decided to go for breakfast at Java!
Since the matatu dropped us off by the station we went to the smaller Java, close to the station... Can't remember the street... Just note that it's NOT the one at Koinange lane (Very important!)
Cause the service at this Java SUCKED!!!
It took a long time for them to take our orders, took a long time to get us the food and drinks....
And when I asked for the bill? It took 15 minutes before we got the bill, paid and got the change (!!!) Crazy!
And the thing was that it was REALLY early on a Saturday morning and we were like 3 or 4 tables! That's it! It's not like it was rush hour!
Mary even left them a comment before we left! PULL UP YOUR SOCKS! :P
After breakfast I went back to the Y and Mary went home...
I took a shower and got dressed....
Dakota and Bo were supposed to meet me at Hilton to go to the Maasai market but they cancelled...
But I went there anyway to buy gifts for Dakota's mom and Bo's gf. Niiice stuff!
Mary was impressed my my feminine touch! Hahaha! I'm not ALL tom boy! ;)
Then I went to the Y to srop everything off and then headed straight for Shangilia!
Eventually we decided to go to YMCA with the older girls to go swimming!
We all (14 people) went to the matatu station and got our very own matatu that took us all the way to YMCA!
We also exchanged numbers so we could call them when we needed pick up! :) Perfect!
The girls had so much fun! I'm so happy we could make it happen!
...I couldn't go in today tho cause of the damn period....
It was HILARIOUS though! Hahahaha!
The life guard asked me why I'm not swimming...
''Oh, you know... female problems?"
If he was white he would be as red as a tomato! But I could still see how embarressed he was... He gave an uncomfortable smile and walked away.... And I started laughing along with another lady who heard and saw it all!
It was hilarious! :P
Then I went to the restaurant to set up... I had bought cookies, candy and lemonade.
The staff at YMCA were so sweet! They lend me cups and plates free of charge!
But I paid 200 Ksh anyway, cause they were so sweet about it! :)
Then I ordered the matatu to pick the girls.
"Yes yes, we'll be there in 20 minutes!"
...20 African mminutes = 50 real ones! :P
Mary told me some of the things the girls were saying in Swahili... Things like:
"Can you believe you almost missed this fantastic day? Aren't you glad I made you come??"
"Yes! Thank you so much for making me come! This has been so great!" 
They are all so sweeeeeeet! I'm gonna miss them all so so so much!
They hugged me and thanked me over and over! :)
The hard part about today was of course the fact that the boys were jealous.... But maybe Jorien will be able to make it happen for the older boys as well... I hope so...!
At 5:40pm Mary and I took a cab to the Maasai Market cause I wanted to buy a birthday present for Dakota.
I found a cool game... I can't remember what it's called but it's really cool! :)
And he started at 3500 Ksh... But well, I'm not gonna say what I got it for... But lets just say it was less than 1000 Ksh! ;)
Mary: "Guuuurl you're giving me a run for my money! You're haggling like a true Kenyan!" ;)
Hahaha, Asante sana, mpenzi ;)
After, we went to Uchumi to buy wrapping paper and have it wrapped....
Only when we were standing in line to get it wrapped we found out that they charged 50 ksh to wrap it!
So we just took some tape and said we'd do it ourselves!
But Mary stopped by at the customer services first to ask WHY they charge to wrap.
And they freaked out! "WHO is charging you?!?"
The guy who was charging had left.... VERY quickly, so we couldn't tell them who it was... But yeah... Some people will try to make money any way they can... Just think of the bartender at Red Tape! Sick!
Then Mary and I went to Java at Koinange lane :)
We were served by Geoffrey, as always! :) Hehe, he's the man! :)
He knows by now what we want, we didn't even have to say! ;)
We shared a pollo quesadilla and I also had a chai latte :)
Afterwards we took a cab to the station and then a matatu to Nakumatt Karen.
Dakota and Bo picked us up and we hung out for a bit... But poor Bo man wasn't feeling too good, so eventually Mary and I took a cab back to the city.
Now I've been packing a bit :(
I don't want to leave....!
Gotta sleep... Getting up early tomorrow to spend my last day at Shangilia!
Nighty night!
2009-05-01: Kiserian here we come!
Today I got up really early! Around 6 am! Yaaaawn!
Went down for breakfast and then I walked over to the train station to meet up with Mary!
I feel sooo at home in Nairobi now! It's a huge city but I know it so well already!
Mary was surprised I had walked all the way from the Y to the train station :P
Darling Mary was going all Africa on me... "I'll see you at 9am"... Mmmmhm... 9 in African time is like 9:30 :P
Hahaha, nakupenda wewe and you know it! ;)
Anyway! At 9:30am we left for Kiserian and arrived at about 10.30am (?)..
And lets just say it's not that common for a mzungu to visit Kiserian... I was rare in Kiserian :P Haha, imagine if I still had my lovely dreads? ;)
We met up with Mary's mom at the market and then we walked to a junktion to take another matatu...
Yes, it's quite remote! :P Cause it was about another 30 more minutes in a matatu...
And it dropped us off in the middle of no where, and then we had to walk for like another 30 minutes or so in craaaaazy heat!
Mary's mother's house is so cute though! :) I liked it!
But like I told you before, no running water and no electricity!
When Mary and I got in the house we both threw ourselves on the beds and fell asleep. That heat was just so exhausting!
We just rested for an hour or so, but well needed!
Then Mary and I went to visit a (quite modernized) Maasai family.
They insisted to take a picture with the mzungu! And basically told Mary to take it... Cause she didn't have to be in the picture! Gosh! :P
On our way back we took a bunch of pictures and had a lot of fun! :) And it was still crazy hot!!
Then we visited Mary's child hood friends Theresa and Cathrine. They were soooo sweet and they have such a cool mom! Mama Maria! And she is a fantastic cook! :)
Such sweet girls! Miss you all so so much! :)
Then we went back to Mary's mom's place and waited for the Ugali to be made and then we ate... Yuuuumm! :)
Since there's no electricity it got dark really fast and there was not much to do than to go to bed...
In the same room as Freddie! :)
Haha, that's the lizard we found by the window... We named him Freddie! :P
Nighty Night!
Went down for breakfast and then I walked over to the train station to meet up with Mary!
I feel sooo at home in Nairobi now! It's a huge city but I know it so well already!
Mary was surprised I had walked all the way from the Y to the train station :P
Darling Mary was going all Africa on me... "I'll see you at 9am"... Mmmmhm... 9 in African time is like 9:30 :P
Hahaha, nakupenda wewe and you know it! ;)
Anyway! At 9:30am we left for Kiserian and arrived at about 10.30am (?)..
And lets just say it's not that common for a mzungu to visit Kiserian... I was rare in Kiserian :P Haha, imagine if I still had my lovely dreads? ;)
We met up with Mary's mom at the market and then we walked to a junktion to take another matatu...
Yes, it's quite remote! :P Cause it was about another 30 more minutes in a matatu...
And it dropped us off in the middle of no where, and then we had to walk for like another 30 minutes or so in craaaaazy heat!
Mary's mother's house is so cute though! :) I liked it!
But like I told you before, no running water and no electricity!
When Mary and I got in the house we both threw ourselves on the beds and fell asleep. That heat was just so exhausting!
We just rested for an hour or so, but well needed!
Then Mary and I went to visit a (quite modernized) Maasai family.
They insisted to take a picture with the mzungu! And basically told Mary to take it... Cause she didn't have to be in the picture! Gosh! :P
On our way back we took a bunch of pictures and had a lot of fun! :) And it was still crazy hot!!
Then we visited Mary's child hood friends Theresa and Cathrine. They were soooo sweet and they have such a cool mom! Mama Maria! And she is a fantastic cook! :)
Such sweet girls! Miss you all so so much! :)
Then we went back to Mary's mom's place and waited for the Ugali to be made and then we ate... Yuuuumm! :)
Since there's no electricity it got dark really fast and there was not much to do than to go to bed...
In the same room as Freddie! :)
Haha, that's the lizard we found by the window... We named him Freddie! :P
Nighty Night!
2009-04-30:Shangilia - Upper Hill - Karen Blixen - Another job offer :)
Hey hey!
The morning started at around 7am...
Went down for breakfast and then headed straight for Shangilia at around 8:30am.
(The bucket is for washing clothes...FYI) :)
Jorien wasn't able to help me with the hair... I thought to use the dreads end just put in a few... But the hair was too short... Darn it! Maybe I'll just do it when I get back to Sweden ?
But no matter, I had such a great day at Shangilia with the kids! :)
And! Today they served Ugali with cabbage! :) Me liiiikey!
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I also had the idea of taking the older girls swimming at YMCA on Saturday! I'm still waiting on the green light from Mr Njenga! :) But I hope I get to do it!
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At around 1.30pm I took a matatu to Nairobi and then Will, the nice cab driver from the Y picked me up and drove me over to Upper Hill to meet up with Mary at her job. :)
I got to upload some pics to my USB memory... But Mary, guuuurl! You've been braging about your high speed internet... Muahahahahaaaaa! Zzzzzzzzz.....! ;)
When Mary got off work she followed me to a matatu station and I went to Karen to meet up with Dakota and Bo.
We had such a great time! Bo told me about the movie script he's working on... Can't wait to see that one! :)
At around 8pm we drove off to Karen Blixen café to have dinner.
I met a woman named Rachel and she basically offered me a paid internship if I start studying...Like development studies or such... And later on get the opportunity to work with her...
OMFG! Africa sure is asking me to stay :D
She also told me about how she might be able to help the kids at Shangilia by sponsoring them to learn how to grow their own organic food! Healty food for the kids AND teaching them how to grow it! It's perfect!
Whyyy can't I stay longer in Africa!? I would love to make it happen and see it through...!
I'm gonna call Njenga first thing tomorrow though!
Now I'm soooo tired! And I'm getting up at like 6am tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to bed!
Gooooood night! :)
The morning started at around 7am...
Went down for breakfast and then headed straight for Shangilia at around 8:30am.
NEW! Video from Kangemi!
(The bucket is for washing clothes...FYI) :)
Jorien wasn't able to help me with the hair... I thought to use the dreads end just put in a few... But the hair was too short... Darn it! Maybe I'll just do it when I get back to Sweden ?
But no matter, I had such a great day at Shangilia with the kids! :)
And! Today they served Ugali with cabbage! :) Me liiiikey!
/>I also had the idea of taking the older girls swimming at YMCA on Saturday! I'm still waiting on the green light from Mr Njenga! :) But I hope I get to do it!
820620.jpg" onclick="showPic('https://cdn1.cdnme.se/cdn/6-1/824916/images/2009/img_0773_37820620.jpg');return false;"> 
At around 1.30pm I took a matatu to Nairobi and then Will, the nice cab driver from the Y picked me up and drove me over to Upper Hill to meet up with Mary at her job. :)
I got to upload some pics to my USB memory... But Mary, guuuurl! You've been braging about your high speed internet... Muahahahahaaaaa! Zzzzzzzzz.....! ;)
When Mary got off work she followed me to a matatu station and I went to Karen to meet up with Dakota and Bo.
We had such a great time! Bo told me about the movie script he's working on... Can't wait to see that one! :)
At around 8pm we drove off to Karen Blixen café to have dinner.
I met a woman named Rachel and she basically offered me a paid internship if I start studying...Like development studies or such... And later on get the opportunity to work with her...
OMFG! Africa sure is asking me to stay :D
She also told me about how she might be able to help the kids at Shangilia by sponsoring them to learn how to grow their own organic food! Healty food for the kids AND teaching them how to grow it! It's perfect!
Whyyy can't I stay longer in Africa!? I would love to make it happen and see it through...!
I'm gonna call Njenga first thing tomorrow though!
Now I'm soooo tired! And I'm getting up at like 6am tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to bed!
Gooooood night! :)
2009-04-29: 15 000 Ksh fine for sitting on a concrete wall ?
Today I got up at like 7:30 am... Then I went to the cyber café to check some addresses so I could send those damn post cards!
Don't be disappointed if you don't get one... I AM thinking of you I just don't have the energy to send more than to the grandparents (who are in fact expecting) :P
Then I went downtown and walked around ... Went to the post office...stamps and all that...
And then I just walked around, waiting for Hannah to arrive.
I went shopping at Hilton Arcade... They still have the 20% off and mainly just cheap stuff!
Then I made the mistake of sitting down on a concrete wall at the opposite sidewalk of Hilton... As I was still waiting for Hannah...
She came and we just sat down for a while...
...Then this man came up to us:
The guy: Hello, I'm working for the city counsil.... I must tell you it is not allowed to sit here....
Us: Oh, sorry, we'll move! We're going now anyway...
The guy: No, no, sit, sit, relax....
Us: Okaaaay...
The guy: (pointing) You see those benches overe there, those are for sitting, not here on the concrete wall...
Us: Yeeees... We'll just go!
The guy: No, see now you must pay a small charge, because you're sitting here...
Me: How much??
The guy: Only 15 000 Ksh (=1500 SEK = 150 Euro)
Us: Oh heeeeell no...
And then we got up and walked away!
I called Mary right away and she said it's true and we could even have gone to jail for it, that is if we would not have paid! (DAMN!)
But she also said that the guy should have had a yellow jacket on (which the city council dudes have), but this guy didn't...!
Then we realized that the guy was following us, so we just started walking faster...
Eventually we decided to go to the City Market... And as we were asking a police officer for assistance the man showed up again(!!) And went up to the police and shook hands with him...
I just yelled out ''stop following us!'' And we went away again... Decided to get in to a cab to go to the City market to lose the guy!
....Aaaand we were just one block away! :P Hehe, and the cab driver sooo took advantage of that and charged us 200 Ksh for the trip!
We didn't care though... We lost the guy!
Then Hannah and walked around at the city market for a while... and I bought a new necklace, a bracelet and a kikoy! :)
Damn I'm good at haggling ;)
Then we went to Capital Centre for the tattoos!
Hannah got her Maasai warrior on her foot and I decided to wait since I'm at Shangilia, and it's dirty, and I'm going to Kiserian on Friday where there is no running water... So I wouldn't be able to clean it... :/
Hannah's tattoo looks awesome though! She made it herself, which is even cooler! :)
The tattoo artist is from England and he was really nice, I can really recommend this place! They spent 30 minutes cleaning the place before we could enter. They really take the clean-ness seriously!
We also ate at an African restaurant at Capital Centre.
Hannah had Ugali and chicken... and I had samosas (yuuuuum!!)
Then we went to Capitol Hill Towers to meet up with Bo...
Hannah had to leave for Thogoto though... She's going home tonight :'(
Nakupenda wewe safiii! :)
Then I followed Bo to Karen ...
We played some Uno and had a really nice time!
We also went to Nakumatt Karen and I stocked up on tea....!
Later we went to oh-so-famous-Carnivore!
It sure was amazing and the food was great!
But the only exotic meat they had on the menu was ostrich meat balls.... And yeah, they were ok...!
We ended up ordering from the á la carte... Cause otherwise it would be like 2200 Ksh per person, and that would be ''all you can eat'' price...
But we weren't really that hungry, so we just went for the menu.
And I had a wonderful pepper steak! Medium rare :)
Now I'm back at the Y and I'm about to go to bed... I'm so tired!! :)
Nighty nighty!
Don't be disappointed if you don't get one... I AM thinking of you I just don't have the energy to send more than to the grandparents (who are in fact expecting) :P
Then I went downtown and walked around ... Went to the post office...stamps and all that...
And then I just walked around, waiting for Hannah to arrive.
I went shopping at Hilton Arcade... They still have the 20% off and mainly just cheap stuff!
Then I made the mistake of sitting down on a concrete wall at the opposite sidewalk of Hilton... As I was still waiting for Hannah...
She came and we just sat down for a while...
...Then this man came up to us:
The guy: Hello, I'm working for the city counsil.... I must tell you it is not allowed to sit here....
Us: Oh, sorry, we'll move! We're going now anyway...
The guy: No, no, sit, sit, relax....
Us: Okaaaay...
The guy: (pointing) You see those benches overe there, those are for sitting, not here on the concrete wall...
Us: Yeeees... We'll just go!
The guy: No, see now you must pay a small charge, because you're sitting here...
Me: How much??
The guy: Only 15 000 Ksh (=1500 SEK = 150 Euro)
Us: Oh heeeeell no...
And then we got up and walked away!
I called Mary right away and she said it's true and we could even have gone to jail for it, that is if we would not have paid! (DAMN!)
But she also said that the guy should have had a yellow jacket on (which the city council dudes have), but this guy didn't...!
Then we realized that the guy was following us, so we just started walking faster...
Eventually we decided to go to the City Market... And as we were asking a police officer for assistance the man showed up again(!!) And went up to the police and shook hands with him...
I just yelled out ''stop following us!'' And we went away again... Decided to get in to a cab to go to the City market to lose the guy!
....Aaaand we were just one block away! :P Hehe, and the cab driver sooo took advantage of that and charged us 200 Ksh for the trip!
We didn't care though... We lost the guy!
Then Hannah and walked around at the city market for a while... and I bought a new necklace, a bracelet and a kikoy! :)
Damn I'm good at haggling ;)
Then we went to Capital Centre for the tattoos!
Hannah got her Maasai warrior on her foot and I decided to wait since I'm at Shangilia, and it's dirty, and I'm going to Kiserian on Friday where there is no running water... So I wouldn't be able to clean it... :/
Hannah's tattoo looks awesome though! She made it herself, which is even cooler! :)
The tattoo artist is from England and he was really nice, I can really recommend this place! They spent 30 minutes cleaning the place before we could enter. They really take the clean-ness seriously!
We also ate at an African restaurant at Capital Centre.
Hannah had Ugali and chicken... and I had samosas (yuuuuum!!)
Then we went to Capitol Hill Towers to meet up with Bo...
Hannah had to leave for Thogoto though... She's going home tonight :'(
Nakupenda wewe safiii! :)
Then I followed Bo to Karen ...
We played some Uno and had a really nice time!
We also went to Nakumatt Karen and I stocked up on tea....!
Later we went to oh-so-famous-Carnivore!
It sure was amazing and the food was great!
But the only exotic meat they had on the menu was ostrich meat balls.... And yeah, they were ok...!
We ended up ordering from the á la carte... Cause otherwise it would be like 2200 Ksh per person, and that would be ''all you can eat'' price...
But we weren't really that hungry, so we just went for the menu.
And I had a wonderful pepper steak! Medium rare :)
Now I'm back at the Y and I'm about to go to bed... I'm so tired!! :)
Nighty nighty!
2009-04-28: No more dreads :( - Ethiopian food at Hebesha.
....Yeah, so this morning I got up at 7-ish am... Ate breakfast and then I headed for the YMCA hair salon to remove my dreads... I was so disappointed! I didn't want to remove them! :(
Not only that... The people at the salon toom advantage of me...
I asked how much she charged to remove the dreads... She said 300 Ksh... Fine!
...But then she asked me if I wanted to wash the hair too, which I wanted, to remove the spray properly...
And this is where I made the mistake of not asking how much extra it would be...
And afterwards she wanted me to pay 800 Ksh(!!!)
...I was told that I should not have paid more than 300 in total.... Bitches!
...And then the lady had the nerve to give me her business card! PAH! Nooooo thank you!
...Oh! And she put ''hair food'' in my hair! Unless you have afro hair... don't! It's a freakin' grease that will stick in your hair for a long time... and make your hair look dirty as hell... I think it took like 4-5 showers before it all was gone.
Then I went to Kangemi... and I spent the day making bracelets with the girls and talked to Njenga...
He basically offered me a teaching job at Shangilia.... (!!!) Can you imagine!?
It's like a dream come true... My head is spinning! In a good way! :)
In the afternoon Jorien and I walked together to the matatu station... She went home and I went to the city...
Later on I met up with Dakota and we went to Java together.
We were later on joined by Hampus and Toby (Hampus is Hannah's travel mate and Toby is -THE- German guy from the train to Mombasa). Hannah also came eventually.
Then we all went to drop Hannah and Hampus at the matatu station... What's up with those guys always going to Thogoto in rush hour?! :P
We had to wait quite a while before the got in to a matatu!
And talk about knowing how to pick em', huh?... Hannah was robbed in the matatu - again :(
Then Dakota and I walked back to the Y and waited for Bo to pick us up... We were going to a place called Hebesha to eat Ethiopian food! And it was awesome!!! :)
Spiiiiiiicy! But I loved it! And I love eating with my hands! Haha Who needs knife and fork?
After Hebesha we made a pit stop at Casablanca and that place sure was incredible! Sooooo cozy!!
We had a cup of tea and relaxed for a bit...
Then they dropped me off at the Y and I went to sleep like right away....!
Not without updating my journal of course ;)
Mwuaaaaah!
Not only that... The people at the salon toom advantage of me...
I asked how much she charged to remove the dreads... She said 300 Ksh... Fine!
...But then she asked me if I wanted to wash the hair too, which I wanted, to remove the spray properly...
And this is where I made the mistake of not asking how much extra it would be...
And afterwards she wanted me to pay 800 Ksh(!!!)
...I was told that I should not have paid more than 300 in total.... Bitches!
...And then the lady had the nerve to give me her business card! PAH! Nooooo thank you!
...Oh! And she put ''hair food'' in my hair! Unless you have afro hair... don't! It's a freakin' grease that will stick in your hair for a long time... and make your hair look dirty as hell... I think it took like 4-5 showers before it all was gone.
Then I went to Kangemi... and I spent the day making bracelets with the girls and talked to Njenga...
He basically offered me a teaching job at Shangilia.... (!!!) Can you imagine!?
It's like a dream come true... My head is spinning! In a good way! :)
In the afternoon Jorien and I walked together to the matatu station... She went home and I went to the city...
Later on I met up with Dakota and we went to Java together.
We were later on joined by Hampus and Toby (Hampus is Hannah's travel mate and Toby is -THE- German guy from the train to Mombasa). Hannah also came eventually.
Then we all went to drop Hannah and Hampus at the matatu station... What's up with those guys always going to Thogoto in rush hour?! :P
We had to wait quite a while before the got in to a matatu!
And talk about knowing how to pick em', huh?... Hannah was robbed in the matatu - again :(
Then Dakota and I walked back to the Y and waited for Bo to pick us up... We were going to a place called Hebesha to eat Ethiopian food! And it was awesome!!! :)
Spiiiiiiicy! But I loved it! And I love eating with my hands! Haha Who needs knife and fork?
After Hebesha we made a pit stop at Casablanca and that place sure was incredible! Sooooo cozy!!
We had a cup of tea and relaxed for a bit...
Then they dropped me off at the Y and I went to sleep like right away....!
Not without updating my journal of course ;)
Mwuaaaaah!
2009-04-27: Visit in Karen - Shangilia - Sleepless in Nairobi
Not to give away too much here, let's just say Hanna came to the Y at around 8am this morning.
Don't bother ask where she's been, I won't tell you :P
...And we had breakfast together.
After that we went to Karen (took a YMCA cab to Nakumatt Junction and Dakota's and Bo's cab driver picked us up).
We ended up playing UNO together for a while... I won! :)
We were supposed to go horse back riding, but it was pouring down today!
So, instead we went to visit a friend of Dakota and Bo, her name is Fiona, she's so awesome. She grew up in Kenya and speaks kiswahili fluently and she's a pilot!
Enjoyed talking and drinking tea at her place :)
Hannah had dropped her cell phone on the YMCA cab, so in the afternoon we went back to the Y to pick it up and then we took a cab out to Capital Centre to look up a tattoo artist. We wanted to get tattoos together! :)
...Just to find that it was closed....
Soo, we went back to the Y and Hannah got her stuff together... Then I was going to take a cab to Shangilia, but we dropped Hannah at Backpacker's Heaven on River rd first... (Damn that traffic jam!)
Today I brought 2 Lakers basketball t-shirts to Sammy and Julius, which they really liked! :)
...Before I left Shangilia today they gave me a letter... It was just so so so sweet!!
I'm just gonna leave it at that.
I didn't spend much time at Shangilia today, cause it was already late... And I left at around 5pm to go to Nairobi and meet up with Mary at Java House (of course!) ;)
Oh! Today at Capital Centre I bought this anti-itch hair spray, cause my scalp was quite itchy from the dreads...
...When I came home at night and put some spray in... I noticed it had the exact opposite effect on me...
It started itching so so so bad I only slept for like 2-3 hours that night...
And I had to try and cut off the dreads myself... It was so so so so so so sooooo awful!!! You have no idea! I was going CRAZY!!!
...So did I end up removing my dreads?
Don't bother ask where she's been, I won't tell you :P
...And we had breakfast together.
After that we went to Karen (took a YMCA cab to Nakumatt Junction and Dakota's and Bo's cab driver picked us up).
We ended up playing UNO together for a while... I won! :)
We were supposed to go horse back riding, but it was pouring down today!
So, instead we went to visit a friend of Dakota and Bo, her name is Fiona, she's so awesome. She grew up in Kenya and speaks kiswahili fluently and she's a pilot!
Enjoyed talking and drinking tea at her place :)
Hannah had dropped her cell phone on the YMCA cab, so in the afternoon we went back to the Y to pick it up and then we took a cab out to Capital Centre to look up a tattoo artist. We wanted to get tattoos together! :)
...Just to find that it was closed....
Soo, we went back to the Y and Hannah got her stuff together... Then I was going to take a cab to Shangilia, but we dropped Hannah at Backpacker's Heaven on River rd first... (Damn that traffic jam!)
Today I brought 2 Lakers basketball t-shirts to Sammy and Julius, which they really liked! :)
...Before I left Shangilia today they gave me a letter... It was just so so so sweet!!
I'm just gonna leave it at that.
I didn't spend much time at Shangilia today, cause it was already late... And I left at around 5pm to go to Nairobi and meet up with Mary at Java House (of course!) ;)
Oh! Today at Capital Centre I bought this anti-itch hair spray, cause my scalp was quite itchy from the dreads...
...When I came home at night and put some spray in... I noticed it had the exact opposite effect on me...
It started itching so so so bad I only slept for like 2-3 hours that night...
And I had to try and cut off the dreads myself... It was so so so so so so sooooo awful!!! You have no idea! I was going CRAZY!!!
...So did I end up removing my dreads?
2009-04-26: Shangilia and Shopping with Hannah
Morning glorious!
...Or actually good evening...!
Sitting on the terrace at YMCA with Hannah updating my journal...
The restaurant was unfortunately closed... so we didn't get any late night tea.. :(
This morning Hannah, Dakota and I got up at like 7:30am and went down for breakfast... and at around 8:30am we took a cab to Shangilia.
We had so much stuff for the kids, there was no way we's be able to take it all in a matatu!
Since it's Sunday the kids had like a church gathering with singing and later a minister also came to talk (preach) to the kids... But OMG! The singing... Those kids are amazing!
Found this clip on Youtube! :) Some of the kids are singing Jambo Bwana :)
Later on we showed the matron everything we got for the kids! For example all the princess dresses we found! Snow white, barbie, sleeping beauty! They were so awesome!! :)
Also Sammy and Julius asked to talk to me today... And we had very intense talk...
...Don't want to write about it here though...
Then we decided to get going...
Hannah and I wanted to visit the Maasai Market workshop and Adam's again...!
In Nairobi I ran into Ali (drummer dude) and he told us that the Maasai market was located at Yaya centre today!
So while Dakota went back to Karen, Hannah and I took a bus (no 46) to Yaya!
And the Maasai market was there! Not as big as the one down town, but still awesome! :)
And Hannah and I sure made some awesome finds today too! :)
Then we went in to Yaya centre and found a JAVA HOUSE! And we couldn't resist! ;)
And! On weekends you can order of the breakfast menu all day! So we finally got the Fluffy home made pancakes with maple syrup, banana and strawberry jam!!! :D
Washed down with a Malindi Chai Latte ;)
It was sooooooo good!!!
Then we decided to take a cab to Adam's, cause it was pretty close... But still not walking distance kind of close :P
And today we spent like 10 000 Ksh on Shangilia! Spoons, plates, cups, underwear, bras, shoes, shoes, shoes, pants and sweaters!
...Or actually good evening...!
Sitting on the terrace at YMCA with Hannah updating my journal...
The restaurant was unfortunately closed... so we didn't get any late night tea.. :(
This morning Hannah, Dakota and I got up at like 7:30am and went down for breakfast... and at around 8:30am we took a cab to Shangilia.
We had so much stuff for the kids, there was no way we's be able to take it all in a matatu!
Since it's Sunday the kids had like a church gathering with singing and later a minister also came to talk (preach) to the kids... But OMG! The singing... Those kids are amazing!
Found this clip on Youtube! :) Some of the kids are singing Jambo Bwana :)
Later on we showed the matron everything we got for the kids! For example all the princess dresses we found! Snow white, barbie, sleeping beauty! They were so awesome!! :)
Also Sammy and Julius asked to talk to me today... And we had very intense talk...
...Don't want to write about it here though...
Then we decided to get going...
Hannah and I wanted to visit the Maasai Market workshop and Adam's again...!
In Nairobi I ran into Ali (drummer dude) and he told us that the Maasai market was located at Yaya centre today!
So while Dakota went back to Karen, Hannah and I took a bus (no 46) to Yaya!
And the Maasai market was there! Not as big as the one down town, but still awesome! :)
And Hannah and I sure made some awesome finds today too! :)
Then we went in to Yaya centre and found a JAVA HOUSE! And we couldn't resist! ;)
And! On weekends you can order of the breakfast menu all day! So we finally got the Fluffy home made pancakes with maple syrup, banana and strawberry jam!!! :D
Washed down with a Malindi Chai Latte ;)
It was sooooooo good!!!
Then we decided to take a cab to Adam's, cause it was pretty close... But still not walking distance kind of close :P
And today we spent like 10 000 Ksh on Shangilia! Spoons, plates, cups, underwear, bras, shoes, shoes, shoes, pants and sweaters!
NEW! Video from Adam's Arcade!
Hannah and I also bought each a suitcase on wheels for the flight home. Well needed!
It was kind of late and Hannah almost got robbed - twice(!) in like 5 minutes.
It was quite crowded and other people around us noticed it, we actually didn't! But the people were protecting us! It was soooo nice of them!
Then we hurried home in a cab, and shortly after we left Adam's they played Dancing queen (ABBA) on the radio! We flipped! :D
The driver must have had a fun ride though...
When we got back we both went through our stuff and now we're here, on the terrace and I'm so ready to sleep! Considering we only slept for like 3 hours last night... And I'm getting up at 7 am tomorrow morning.
Hannah and I will go to Karen to visit Dakota and Bo! :)
Nighty night!
It was kind of late and Hannah almost got robbed - twice(!) in like 5 minutes.
It was quite crowded and other people around us noticed it, we actually didn't! But the people were protecting us! It was soooo nice of them!
Then we hurried home in a cab, and shortly after we left Adam's they played Dancing queen (ABBA) on the radio! We flipped! :D
The driver must have had a fun ride though...
When we got back we both went through our stuff and now we're here, on the terrace and I'm so ready to sleep! Considering we only slept for like 3 hours last night... And I'm getting up at 7 am tomorrow morning.
Hannah and I will go to Karen to visit Dakota and Bo! :)
Nighty night!
2009-04-25: Shangilia - Maasai market - Adam's Arcade - PARTY!
&a
Jambo bwana!
Habari gani ?
"...Mzuri sana... Wageni... Mwakaribishwa.... Kenya yetu... Hakuna Matataaaaaaa
mp;quot;
(That's a part of the Jambo Bwana song... Known by pretty much every mzungu who visit Kenya!) :P
Okay!
So today Hannah came at around 7:30am and had breakfast with me at the Y and then we went straight to Shangilia!
We helped the kids with all the making of bracelets and they're all doing so well! I'm so proud! :)
Gladys is really good at it! And the older girls thanked me today for teaching them how to make the bracelets :)
Today I also met with Sammy and Julius!
They remembered me from three years back! They were so sweet and Sammy gave me such big hugs!
They're both 16 now!
Peter hasn't been here this weekend. He's at home since it's some sort of holiday in Kenya now... Many of the kids are staying with their relatives.
Dakota also came later on and we spent all morning in Shangilia.
But at around 12 Hannah, Dakota, Jorien and I took a matatu to Nairobi to meet up with Mary!
We went straight to the Maasai market by Hilton and spent at least 2 hours there and could easily have spent 2 more! ;)
I love the Maasai Market and I am so happy that I really got to enjoy and experience it this time!
Working on my haggling and made some really awesome finds! :)
Mary literally had to drag us out of there cause we were also going to Adam's Arcade!
...I spent sooooo much money at Adam's!
I found dresses, tops, sweaters, shoes etc. for the kids...! And I had everyone helping me carry everything... And eventually realized we had to take a cab back, cause there was no way we could carry all that on a matatu.
After Adam's Hannah, Dakota and I went back to the Y while Mary and Jorien went home to get ready for tonight!
...Hannah, Dakota and I were looking for an internet café down town cause I needed to transfer money to my Visa account and we eventually found one at Nakumatt lifestyle. They were about to close though, but I begged and begged, and they let me in! :)
Then we realized that we had just had breakfast today and it was like 7:30pm, so we stopped by Java House - of course! :)
I got Pollo Quesadillas with extra guacamole and it was sooooooooo gooooooooood!!! :)
I love Java house! Now THAT place is something I'll miss a lot when I go back to Sweden.
My new friend Mary (Java) also joined us eventually.
I met her yesterday while I was waiting for my other Mary outside of Java. Mary Java really liked my hair and just came up to me to compliment it, and we ended up exchanging phone numbers! She'¨s so sweet! And yeah, I'll refer to her as mary Java later on, so you don't mix her up with my other Mary :)
And as we were heading back to the Y Dakota and Hannah challenged each other in short distance running up State house rd!
Hannah won, and after I realized it THAT kind of think you want on tape so I told them to do it again! :P
...But yeah... this time Hannah tripped and got some nasty cuts and bruises all over her left arm and leg...
I got it on tape! But for some idiotic reason I accidentally deleted it! :(
That's the kind of thing that makes you rich on America's funniest home videos! ;)
Later on at around 10.30pm we took a cab to meet up with Mary, Flo and Jorien at Black diamond and Red Tape over at Westlands. (That's the party area!)
I had so so so so sooooo much fun!!!
I'd found a new t-shirt at Adam's today, with an open back, totally showing off my tattoo and a lot of people commented on it! ...Along with my hair! :)
NEW! Videos from a great party night!
Oh! That reminds me!
Earlier when we were waiting outside of Java House... This guy was standing by the entrance talking on the phone... And all of a sudden he interrupted himself JUST to tell me how great my hair looks!! :)
''Hey, can you hold on for a sec?..."
"Sorry, I just HAVE to tell you, your hair looks soo great!"
I freakin' love my new hair!!
The only real drag tonight was the dumbass bartender at Red Tape!
We wanted to pay the bill in the end of the evening... And he took advantage of this... Adding 5 triple vodka drinks to the bill... 5 x 360 ksh...
And said that we didn't have any proof that we HADN'T ordered the drinks. MAN he pissed me off!!
So yeah, that's a reminder! Always pay your drinks right away!
...Then again, I could have asked to speak to the manager... But I was so tired from everything... And the guy was being such a jerk.
He eventually lowered the price on the bill, and I just paid it and then we went... (which I regret... I should have talked to the damn manager!) Cause there's no way he was right if he offers to lower the price... unless he's wrong!!
JACKASS!!!
That was kind of a mood killer, so we went home after that around 3am...
YAWN!
Getting up at 7.30 tomorrow to go to Shangilia!
Nighty night!
2009-04-24: Dreads, dreads and more dreads!
Hello there,
Okay, so this morning I got up at around 6:30 am!
The cab picked me up at 7:15 to take me to the hair dresser's.'
And 2 hours? Paaah!
I was done at around 11:30 (!)
I paid a total of 5550 Ksh, cause I ended up getting a pedicure while getting dreads!
But it looks soooooo cool! Don't ya think?
I now have the biggest 'fro a mzungu can have! :P
People were looking at me before... But now? This is ridiculous! Hahaha!
Oh! And since the dreads are sooooo incredibly tight... It was like getting a free face lift at the same time!
And whoooosh, the hair is heavy! :P Or so it felt like when I first got up! Hehe.
Okay, so this morning I got up at around 6:30 am!
The cab picked me up at 7:15 to take me to the hair dresser's.'
And 2 hours? Paaah!
I was done at around 11:30 (!)
I paid a total of 5550 Ksh, cause I ended up getting a pedicure while getting dreads!
But it looks soooooo cool! Don't ya think?
I now have the biggest 'fro a mzungu can have! :P
People were looking at me before... But now? This is ridiculous! Hahaha!
Oh! And since the dreads are sooooo incredibly tight... It was like getting a free face lift at the same time!
And whoooosh, the hair is heavy! :P Or so it felt like when I first got up! Hehe.
NEW!!! Put together a video from when I got dreads! ヅ
Right after I was supposed to go to the Y to pay for my room but this guy commented on my hair and wanted me to chech out the Maasai market work shop... And I left the place with a scarf, earrings and some yarn for the kids!
....Oh! And a dinner proposal from the guy who ran the place... Noooooo thank you!
I also met an Australian guy at the work shop. His name is David and he had just arrived to Nairobi and didn't have a game plan for the day so he tagged along to Shangilia!
First I had to go to the Y to pay for my room... And they told me that apparently someone was robbed yesterday... someone stole their laptop from their room(!) so they wanted everyone to check their valuables in the reception.
Aaaand then we were off to Kangemi!
They had an Anti-Corruption campaign there today, and it was soooo crowded!
...We got to Shangilia when the kids were having lunch so I also got some githeri (mix of corn and beans) and right after we started making bracelets! I taught the kids how to make them! :) And maaaan was it popular! Especially among the girls! They learned so fast! Totally awesome!!
I'll be sure to buy more yarn! I've already been requested to buy many other colors! :P
It felt really nice to teach them something!
We had such a good time together today! And the kids loved my hair! :D
I made a bracelet with Gladys... She is such a sweet girl! 12 years old and sooo beautiful!
Oh! And I saw Peter today! Maaaanm has he grown! He's 17 now!!!
...I went back to Nairobi at around 4.30pm today... And maaaan people are looking at me! Haha, I'd better get used to it! ;)
Then I went to Java house, Koinange lane, to meet up with Ali (the drummer guy from last night at Sherlock's den) and Mary.
Apparently he didn't speak English fluently... just French and Kiswahili...Soooo he was pretty quiet at times... And Mary and I had so much fun pointing that out to eachother just with eye contact... Haha. Smooth with the cell phone tho' Mary! ;)
Brandon, the guy I sat next to on the plane to Nairobi also joined later on, about the same time as Ail had to split, he had a gig somewhere in Westlands.
Brandon had to go back to the States, so he just joined in to have some food before he had to leave.
When it comes to partying in Nairobi... daaaaaamn! People here like to party I'll tell ya!
And that's what we'll do tomorrow!! Yaaaaa aaay!
Then Mary and I went back to the Y and hung out for a bit... She left about 30 minutes ago...
And I've been doing laundry (= washing clothes in the bathroom sink with Shampoo). Good times! ;)
...They charge you by number of items here at the Y if you want them to do laundry for you!
....Naah! this works for me! Smells good with the shampoo too! Hahah!
Never feel very clean over here anyway! At least not after a day at Shangilia! :)
Well, I'm off to bed now... Another early day tomorrow!
Nighty night!
....Oh! And a dinner proposal from the guy who ran the place... Noooooo thank you!
I also met an Australian guy at the work shop. His name is David and he had just arrived to Nairobi and didn't have a game plan for the day so he tagged along to Shangilia!
First I had to go to the Y to pay for my room... And they told me that apparently someone was robbed yesterday... someone stole their laptop from their room(!) so they wanted everyone to check their valuables in the reception.
Aaaand then we were off to Kangemi!
They had an Anti-Corruption campaign there today, and it was soooo crowded!
...We got to Shangilia when the kids were having lunch so I also got some githeri (mix of corn and beans) and right after we started making bracelets! I taught the kids how to make them! :) And maaaan was it popular! Especially among the girls! They learned so fast! Totally awesome!!
I'll be sure to buy more yarn! I've already been requested to buy many other colors! :P
It felt really nice to teach them something!
We had such a good time together today! And the kids loved my hair! :D
I made a bracelet with Gladys... She is such a sweet girl! 12 years old and sooo beautiful!
Oh! And I saw Peter today! Maaaanm has he grown! He's 17 now!!!
...I went back to Nairobi at around 4.30pm today... And maaaan people are looking at me! Haha, I'd better get used to it! ;)
Then I went to Java house, Koinange lane, to meet up with Ali (the drummer guy from last night at Sherlock's den) and Mary.
Apparently he didn't speak English fluently... just French and Kiswahili...Soooo he was pretty quiet at times... And Mary and I had so much fun pointing that out to eachother just with eye contact... Haha. Smooth with the cell phone tho' Mary! ;)
Brandon, the guy I sat next to on the plane to Nairobi also joined later on, about the same time as Ail had to split, he had a gig somewhere in Westlands.
Brandon had to go back to the States, so he just joined in to have some food before he had to leave.
When it comes to partying in Nairobi... daaaaaamn! People here like to party I'll tell ya!
And that's what we'll do tomorrow!! Yaaaaa aaay!
Then Mary and I went back to the Y and hung out for a bit... She left about 30 minutes ago...
And I've been doing laundry (= washing clothes in the bathroom sink with Shampoo). Good times! ;)
...They charge you by number of items here at the Y if you want them to do laundry for you!
....Naah! this works for me! Smells good with the shampoo too! Hahah!
Never feel very clean over here anyway! At least not after a day at Shangilia! :)
Well, I'm off to bed now... Another early day tomorrow!
Nighty night!
2009-04-23: Shangilia mtoto wa Afrika
Hello hello hello!
Okay!
So, this morning I got up at like 6:30am and went down stairs for a lovely breakfast with toast and zesta red plum jam and eggs... And tea and mandazis.
Then I went back up to my room and got ready for the day. I brought about 3000 Ksh to shop for Shangilia today.
And as I was about to leave I saw one of the forever-smiling-mega-Christian people I met on the train TO Mombasa!
They were also on the train yesterday, apparently, and now they were here! Leaving later this evening though.
Anyway! I went to Uchumi and bought face towels, combs and hairbands for the kids.
Then I went back to Uhuru Highway and got on a Matatu to Kangemi. I love riding matatus!!
When I got there I went up to one of the guys selling slippers and bought 13 pairs and also a big plastic bucket. And then I headed for Shangilia.
....And, actually, 8 pairs were too small... So I went back to the man with Tabitha to exchange the shoes.
I paid 1000 Ksh for all the shoes, but he told Tabitha he sold them to me for 100 Ksh per pair... Insisted on it even!
They were discussing in Kiswahili, and eventually we got to change all the smaller sizes to bigger ones and then we went back.
Josephine and Grace came with us too!
Then I hung out all day and played with the kids... I also helped out with all the clothes I had brought, to sort them out...
Then I went to the kitchen to help peel potatoes, wash them and later washing corn and beans as well.
Tomorrow they were going to make githeri.
Around noon Dakota also dropped by!
I had dinner with the kids today. They had ugali and cabbage and I just looooved it!!
...Today Josephine and Gracie told me that they wanted to call me mother... They're really aiming for my heart...
AMAZING girls!!! :) Love them so much!
Around 3pm Dakota and I headed back to Nairobi...
When we got to the matatu stop in Kangemi we made the mistake of getting in to one that wasn't full...
They guy said they're leaving N-O-W! And bone head bone head believed him :P
... I did make sure 3 times though, so we got in, but it took like 5-10 minutes before we actually drove off!
We met up with Hannah at the Uni. roundabout and we all started walkin'.
Eventually we ended up at Java House and I had another lovely Malindi chai latte and a fruit sallad with yoghurt and honey. Yuuuuumm!
Then we kept on walking, headed for the maasai market, but as we asked our way to the marked someone told us that it's only open on Saturdays... So guess what?
We're going to the Maasai Market on Saturday! ;)
Then we met up with Mary on the way to the bus station cause Hannah and Dakota had to split.
...Of course around rush hour... and finding a matatu wasn't the easiest.. But it all worked out ok!
Then Mary and I chilled and walked around in Nairobi...
We stopped by a store that had some awesome necklaces and stuff. They had actually already closed but when they saw me looking though the window they opened the doors and let us in :)
And I ended up buying a necklace for 650 Ksh and I love it!
Then we went to a hairdresser and asked about dreads! And I'm booked for tomorrow! :)
It will be about 5000 Ksh (hair included!) and it'll last for about 3 months! I hope I'll fit in it!
And guess what!?!?
I saw Eddie tonight! Hahah! Earlier today I had told Hannah and Dakota about him, and then I ran in to him this evening! Crazy! It was good to see him again!
Then we ended up at Nakumatt Lifestyle and I bought some postcards. (This is an open-24 hours building really close to YMCA and close to Java House at Koinange lane).
Since it's a mall we looked up a book shop, cause I wanted a Kiswahili dictionary... But I ended up asking the guys to hold a copy of Swahili for beginners audio book! It's about 3000 Ksh, and I'll just go back some day before I go home to buy it! :)
Right next to the book shop was a bar called Sherlock's den and they were having live performances tonight, so Mary and I sat down to watch.
The drummer wanted to talk to us, be friends and all that.... He seemed pretty cool.. One hell of an African drums-drummer tho! :P
At around 8.30pm I went back to YMCA... And on the way I asked Mary if she still had the easter egg:
"Oh heeeeeeell NO! It was gone in like 2 days! It was soooooo amazing!"
Haha, Swedish candy is the shiiiiit! ;)
Now I'm ready for bed... Exhausted, again! :P
Nighty night!
Okay!
So, this morning I got up at like 6:30am and went down stairs for a lovely breakfast with toast and zesta red plum jam and eggs... And tea and mandazis.
Then I went back up to my room and got ready for the day. I brought about 3000 Ksh to shop for Shangilia today.
And as I was about to leave I saw one of the forever-smiling-mega-Christian people I met on the train TO Mombasa!
They were also on the train yesterday, apparently, and now they were here! Leaving later this evening though.
Anyway! I went to Uchumi and bought face towels, combs and hairbands for the kids.
Then I went back to Uhuru Highway and got on a Matatu to Kangemi. I love riding matatus!!
When I got there I went up to one of the guys selling slippers and bought 13 pairs and also a big plastic bucket. And then I headed for Shangilia.
....And, actually, 8 pairs were too small... So I went back to the man with Tabitha to exchange the shoes.
I paid 1000 Ksh for all the shoes, but he told Tabitha he sold them to me for 100 Ksh per pair... Insisted on it even!
They were discussing in Kiswahili, and eventually we got to change all the smaller sizes to bigger ones and then we went back.
Josephine and Grace came with us too!
Then I hung out all day and played with the kids... I also helped out with all the clothes I had brought, to sort them out...
Then I went to the kitchen to help peel potatoes, wash them and later washing corn and beans as well.
Tomorrow they were going to make githeri.
Around noon Dakota also dropped by!
I had dinner with the kids today. They had ugali and cabbage and I just looooved it!!
...Today Josephine and Gracie told me that they wanted to call me mother... They're really aiming for my heart...
AMAZING girls!!! :) Love them so much!
Around 3pm Dakota and I headed back to Nairobi...
When we got to the matatu stop in Kangemi we made the mistake of getting in to one that wasn't full...
They guy said they're leaving N-O-W! And bone head bone head believed him :P
... I did make sure 3 times though, so we got in, but it took like 5-10 minutes before we actually drove off!
We met up with Hannah at the Uni. roundabout and we all started walkin'.
Eventually we ended up at Java House and I had another lovely Malindi chai latte and a fruit sallad with yoghurt and honey. Yuuuuumm!
Then we kept on walking, headed for the maasai market, but as we asked our way to the marked someone told us that it's only open on Saturdays... So guess what?
We're going to the Maasai Market on Saturday! ;)
Then we met up with Mary on the way to the bus station cause Hannah and Dakota had to split.
...Of course around rush hour... and finding a matatu wasn't the easiest.. But it all worked out ok!
Then Mary and I chilled and walked around in Nairobi...
We stopped by a store that had some awesome necklaces and stuff. They had actually already closed but when they saw me looking though the window they opened the doors and let us in :)
And I ended up buying a necklace for 650 Ksh and I love it!
Then we went to a hairdresser and asked about dreads! And I'm booked for tomorrow! :)
It will be about 5000 Ksh (hair included!) and it'll last for about 3 months! I hope I'll fit in it!
And guess what!?!?
I saw Eddie tonight! Hahah! Earlier today I had told Hannah and Dakota about him, and then I ran in to him this evening! Crazy! It was good to see him again!
Then we ended up at Nakumatt Lifestyle and I bought some postcards. (This is an open-24 hours building really close to YMCA and close to Java House at Koinange lane).
Since it's a mall we looked up a book shop, cause I wanted a Kiswahili dictionary... But I ended up asking the guys to hold a copy of Swahili for beginners audio book! It's about 3000 Ksh, and I'll just go back some day before I go home to buy it! :)
Right next to the book shop was a bar called Sherlock's den and they were having live performances tonight, so Mary and I sat down to watch.
The drummer wanted to talk to us, be friends and all that.... He seemed pretty cool.. One hell of an African drums-drummer tho! :P
At around 8.30pm I went back to YMCA... And on the way I asked Mary if she still had the easter egg:
"Oh heeeeeeell NO! It was gone in like 2 days! It was soooooo amazing!"
Haha, Swedish candy is the shiiiiit! ;)
Now I'm ready for bed... Exhausted, again! :P
Nighty night!
2009-04-22: Sleepless in Kenya - Hello Nairobi!
Hey hey,
SO!
Hannah, Dakota and I ended up messing around until like 3.30am!
We had SO much fun!! Aaaand we have videos to show it! :P
We were laughing so hard , and I was grying my eyes out cause of it! My stomaaaaach!
Eventually we did fall asleep and this time I could actually sleep! I guess I was just THAT tired!
At 7am (22/4-09) they ran around in the train with the damn breakfast signal, and Hannah, Bo and I went to breakfast. Dakota, poor thing was exhausted.
Hannah and I ended up next to two other Swedes and Bo sat next to some other family.
It was so nice!
After breakfast Hannah and I went back to our compartment and took out our cameras...
We actually sa quite a few animals on the savannah!
Hehe, even the staff commented that we must have had a lot of fun last night, laughing like that...
Guess the walls aren't sound proof ;)
We saw gazells, giraffes, volchers, zebras, blue wildebeests, kirk's dikdiks, ostrichs and antelopes - AWESOME!
It's like included safari on the train ride! ;) At least on the way TO Nairobi.
Oh! And we drove by this place, in the slums, can't remember what it's called... But the rail road IS the main road (for walking) in this slum area. And stands were not even one meter away from the tracks. Crazy!
It was so crowded and so incredibly dirty...And the smell wasn't something to brag about either.
We finally arrived in Nairobi at around 9:30am - ON TIME! Imagine that ;)
And we waited for Dakota's and Bo's car to arrive, then they dropped me off at the Y and then they headed out to Karen.
My room wasn't ready right away, so I ended up at the internet café.
I met to Americans there, Austin and Annelise, they were making a movie about the street children in Kenya. They seem really cool.
... And high speed internet MY ASS! :P
Soooooooo sloooooooooooooow.....!
Eventually I went to my room, and changed and decided to go to Kangemi, by matatu... They were charging so much to go by cab... Like 600 Ksh, compared to the matatu which is 20 Ksh (!)
To go there I can choose matatu number 23 or 30. Number 23 is better though, cause it actually drives in to Kangemi. Number 30 stops on the main road... And not always where you ask them to stop :P
When I got to Kangemi though, I wasn't 100 % sure which way to go, but I just started walking and eventually some kids ran up to me, wanting to hold my hands and when I asked they offered to show me the way.
So sweet! And when I got to Shangilia, I gave them 20 Ksh for the trouble. Boy, were they happy!
It was really calm at Shangilia today since most of the kids are at some camp and some kids are with their relatives.
...I hung out with the younger kids all day and we had so much fun! We played games, sang songs... I absolutely loved it! It felt so so good to be back... And when I first came in through the gate, Gracie ran up to me and gave me a big hug. Nakupenda wewe safi! :)
...And today she said something I will never ever forget... ''Take me home with you''.
I really didn't know what to say... I just hugged her and told her I love her... And she's not leaving my side....
Seriously, I don't know how I'll be able to go home this time...
At around 3.30pm I started walking to the matatu station, which is about 10 minutes by foot from Shangilia.
People in Kangemi are just so so nice! Kids ran up to me wanthing to shake hands and asking ''How are you, how are you'', ''habari'', and some just called out mzungu, mzungu!
One guy, names Kelvin came up to me asking me if we could be friends. So sweet!
He gave me his e-mail and then he followed me to the matatu station.
Along the way I bought some mangos and I also wanted some kangas and Kelvin helped me to haggle.
I got 3 kangas for 200 Ksh a piece and one for 400 ksh (different material).
Then I took the matatu back to Nairobi.
I get on and off at the Uhuru highway roundabout by university way. It's like 5 minutes by foot from the Y. Perfect distance!
When I got back I went to Uchumi to buy some snacks, a knife and plate for the mangos and later I went to an ATM in the anniversary towers.
Back at the Y I wanted to cut up some mangos... YUM, you know...!
Aaand I ended up cutting my damn finger on that damn knife!
After I used up half of my 1st aid kit, I went to the internet café to update my blog and then I went to the restaurant and had a cup of tea and wrote in my journal...
Right now I'm exhausted and I'm heading for bed!
Until next time dear rafikis! :)
Nighty!
SO!
Hannah, Dakota and I ended up messing around until like 3.30am!
We had SO much fun!! Aaaand we have videos to show it! :P
We were laughing so hard , and I was grying my eyes out cause of it! My stomaaaaach!
Eventually we did fall asleep and this time I could actually sleep! I guess I was just THAT tired!
At 7am (22/4-09) they ran around in the train with the damn breakfast signal, and Hannah, Bo and I went to breakfast. Dakota, poor thing was exhausted.
Hannah and I ended up next to two other Swedes and Bo sat next to some other family.
It was so nice!
After breakfast Hannah and I went back to our compartment and took out our cameras...
We actually sa quite a few animals on the savannah!
Hehe, even the staff commented that we must have had a lot of fun last night, laughing like that...
Guess the walls aren't sound proof ;)
We saw gazells, giraffes, volchers, zebras, blue wildebeests, kirk's dikdiks, ostrichs and antelopes - AWESOME!
It's like included safari on the train ride! ;) At least on the way TO Nairobi.
Oh! And we drove by this place, in the slums, can't remember what it's called... But the rail road IS the main road (for walking) in this slum area. And stands were not even one meter away from the tracks. Crazy!
It was so crowded and so incredibly dirty...And the smell wasn't something to brag about either.
We finally arrived in Nairobi at around 9:30am - ON TIME! Imagine that ;)
And we waited for Dakota's and Bo's car to arrive, then they dropped me off at the Y and then they headed out to Karen.
My room wasn't ready right away, so I ended up at the internet café.
I met to Americans there, Austin and Annelise, they were making a movie about the street children in Kenya. They seem really cool.
... And high speed internet MY ASS! :P
Soooooooo sloooooooooooooow.....!
Eventually I went to my room, and changed and decided to go to Kangemi, by matatu... They were charging so much to go by cab... Like 600 Ksh, compared to the matatu which is 20 Ksh (!)
To go there I can choose matatu number 23 or 30. Number 23 is better though, cause it actually drives in to Kangemi. Number 30 stops on the main road... And not always where you ask them to stop :P
When I got to Kangemi though, I wasn't 100 % sure which way to go, but I just started walking and eventually some kids ran up to me, wanting to hold my hands and when I asked they offered to show me the way.
So sweet! And when I got to Shangilia, I gave them 20 Ksh for the trouble. Boy, were they happy!
It was really calm at Shangilia today since most of the kids are at some camp and some kids are with their relatives.
...I hung out with the younger kids all day and we had so much fun! We played games, sang songs... I absolutely loved it! It felt so so good to be back... And when I first came in through the gate, Gracie ran up to me and gave me a big hug. Nakupenda wewe safi! :)
...And today she said something I will never ever forget... ''Take me home with you''.
I really didn't know what to say... I just hugged her and told her I love her... And she's not leaving my side....
Seriously, I don't know how I'll be able to go home this time...
At around 3.30pm I started walking to the matatu station, which is about 10 minutes by foot from Shangilia.
People in Kangemi are just so so nice! Kids ran up to me wanthing to shake hands and asking ''How are you, how are you'', ''habari'', and some just called out mzungu, mzungu!
One guy, names Kelvin came up to me asking me if we could be friends. So sweet!
He gave me his e-mail and then he followed me to the matatu station.
Along the way I bought some mangos and I also wanted some kangas and Kelvin helped me to haggle.
I got 3 kangas for 200 Ksh a piece and one for 400 ksh (different material).
Then I took the matatu back to Nairobi.
I get on and off at the Uhuru highway roundabout by university way. It's like 5 minutes by foot from the Y. Perfect distance!
When I got back I went to Uchumi to buy some snacks, a knife and plate for the mangos and later I went to an ATM in the anniversary towers.
Back at the Y I wanted to cut up some mangos... YUM, you know...!
Aaand I ended up cutting my damn finger on that damn knife!
After I used up half of my 1st aid kit, I went to the internet café to update my blog and then I went to the restaurant and had a cup of tea and wrote in my journal...
Right now I'm exhausted and I'm heading for bed!
Until next time dear rafikis! :)
Nighty!
2009-04-21: Shopping, Colobus trust and train ride back to Nairobi!
Jambo sana!
Habari yako?
This morning I got up at around 7.30am...
Bo had prepared a wonderful fruit sallad, again, with mangos, pineapple and banana - perfect ripe!
What will I do when I go back to Sweden?
When I won't be able to go to a fruit stand and buy really ripe fruit for like... no money! :P
Anyway.. At around 8.30 Eric picked us up and took us to Ukunda village, which was a disappointment really...!
I wanted like a market that I could walk around for a bit... But this was just a stand... But I did buy two kangas.
Then we went to a hand crafts village and got to see how they make the sculptures in wood...Amazing! They're just so talented!
After that we went to a few other places and I could buy some presents to the people back home...
Later we went to Colobus trust, and got a little tour there...
It's basically a rehab centre for monkeys that have been kept as pets... to get them used to the wild again, and prepare them for it... Very interesting, and we got to see a bunch of monkeys! :)
Oh! And I met 2 Swedish people there! From Lund! :P So cool! Hopefully we'll meet up when we're all back in Sweden! :)
After Colobus we went back to the house to pick up all the stuff and get ready to go to Mombasa..
But first we stopped by at a restaurant called Nomad's, which was really nice!
Also right on the beach! And during dinner we had a bunch of beach boys performing acrobatics for us...They were pretty good!
I ordered some amazing samosas... They sure are an addiction... They were delicious!!
...And then we headed for Mombasa!
We checked in for first class, and this is also where we got the amazing refund from our trip to Mombasa... 200 KSh! Wooooow! That really helped with the cab ride that cost like 8000Ksh!
Well! Diana met us at the booking area and I finally got to give her the easter egg! Which she later on called me about and let me know she's hooked on Swedish candy! :P
I'm so glad she stopped by! And I can't wait to go back to Mombasa to see her again, and actually go to Nyali! :)
Then we went to find our coach (1215) compartment C & D, and dropped off our luggage and then we went to the station ''pub'' to relax a bit before departure.
I was really hoping for Hannah to show up!
See, my phone died, probably from the humidity... and I had to buy a new one here in Mombasa... But all my numbers were lost cause I couldn't switch it back on.... So I didn't know when or if she was coming!
BUT! About 20 minutes before departure - there she was!
She was in 2nd class though, but we bumped her up to first class with us!
Shortly after departure we went to the restaurant coach to have supper. We had such a good time!
Hannah and I probably annoyed the crap out of everyone, insisting on singing Swedish songs from Disney movies! :P Hilarious!
We're gonna have SUCH a good time together in Nairobi!
After dinner we hung out in the dining coach until they actually asked us to leave,so that they could clean up.
Dakota and Bo are in compartment D and Hannah and I in compartmend C... Hannah's actually on the top bunk writing her travel journal...
Sooo this is it for now! Take care out there!
Kwaheri!
Habari yako?
This morning I got up at around 7.30am...
Bo had prepared a wonderful fruit sallad, again, with mangos, pineapple and banana - perfect ripe!
What will I do when I go back to Sweden?
When I won't be able to go to a fruit stand and buy really ripe fruit for like... no money! :P
Anyway.. At around 8.30 Eric picked us up and took us to Ukunda village, which was a disappointment really...!
I wanted like a market that I could walk around for a bit... But this was just a stand... But I did buy two kangas.
Then we went to a hand crafts village and got to see how they make the sculptures in wood...Amazing! They're just so talented!
After that we went to a few other places and I could buy some presents to the people back home...
Later we went to Colobus trust, and got a little tour there...
It's basically a rehab centre for monkeys that have been kept as pets... to get them used to the wild again, and prepare them for it... Very interesting, and we got to see a bunch of monkeys! :)
Oh! And I met 2 Swedish people there! From Lund! :P So cool! Hopefully we'll meet up when we're all back in Sweden! :)
After Colobus we went back to the house to pick up all the stuff and get ready to go to Mombasa..
But first we stopped by at a restaurant called Nomad's, which was really nice!
Also right on the beach! And during dinner we had a bunch of beach boys performing acrobatics for us...They were pretty good!
I ordered some amazing samosas... They sure are an addiction... They were delicious!!
...And then we headed for Mombasa!
We checked in for first class, and this is also where we got the amazing refund from our trip to Mombasa... 200 KSh! Wooooow! That really helped with the cab ride that cost like 8000Ksh!
Well! Diana met us at the booking area and I finally got to give her the easter egg! Which she later on called me about and let me know she's hooked on Swedish candy! :P
I'm so glad she stopped by! And I can't wait to go back to Mombasa to see her again, and actually go to Nyali! :)
Then we went to find our coach (1215) compartment C & D, and dropped off our luggage and then we went to the station ''pub'' to relax a bit before departure.
I was really hoping for Hannah to show up!
See, my phone died, probably from the humidity... and I had to buy a new one here in Mombasa... But all my numbers were lost cause I couldn't switch it back on.... So I didn't know when or if she was coming!
BUT! About 20 minutes before departure - there she was!
She was in 2nd class though, but we bumped her up to first class with us!
Shortly after departure we went to the restaurant coach to have supper. We had such a good time!
Hannah and I probably annoyed the crap out of everyone, insisting on singing Swedish songs from Disney movies! :P Hilarious!
NEW! Things to do when you're bored on the train between Mombasa-Nairobi! Video style! ;)
We're gonna have SUCH a good time together in Nairobi!
After dinner we hung out in the dining coach until they actually asked us to leave,so that they could clean up.
Dakota and Bo are in compartment D and Hannah and I in compartmend C... Hannah's actually on the top bunk writing her travel journal...
Sooo this is it for now! Take care out there!
Kwaheri!
2009-04-20: Fort Jesus and Old town in Mombasa
This morning we got up at like 8.30am.
Eric picked us up at around 9.30 and we went to Mombasa.
He took us to Fort Jesus and the Old town. We got our own tour guide, which was really nice. I think that was only 500 K Sh extra! (50 Sek).
And it sure was amazing! The architecture and the history... Wow! I really recommend visiting Fort Jesus and the old town!
Later on, after some shopping in Old town we went to a restaurant where Dakota ordered some Ethiopian food, and it was gooooooood! Spicy - but so gooood!
...Me, I had a bounty chocolate shake...Which also was delicious! ;)
After that we went on the ferry to go back to Diani... and we got to see a US Air craft carrier! So cool!
...Some sad history about the ferry....
In the late 80's or early 90's one of the ferries had too much weight... They had said they couldn't take any more passangers... But people didn't listen, and the ferry sunk...
About 200 people died cause many didn't know how to swim, and the ones who did know, drowned anyway cause people wanted to use them as floating devices...
...Creepy!
Anyway, we were supposed to go to Ukunda village, but it was already pretty late so we decided to go to a snake and croc farm instead!
We paid 300 KSh and we got to hold snakes, turtles and lizards! It was awesome!
Then we went to the house to get my USB memory card and cords for the cameras and then we went back to Forty Thieves and I could save some of the pics on my memory card.
And maaaaaan it took forever!!!
T.I.A people... T.I.A! (F.Y.I: This is Africa)
...And it was damn expensive!! 8Ksh per minute!!
Well, I'm whiped out, so I'm going to bed!
Taking the train back to Nairobi tomorrow!
Eric picked us up at around 9.30 and we went to Mombasa.
He took us to Fort Jesus and the Old town. We got our own tour guide, which was really nice. I think that was only 500 K Sh extra! (50 Sek).
And it sure was amazing! The architecture and the history... Wow! I really recommend visiting Fort Jesus and the old town!
Later on, after some shopping in Old town we went to a restaurant where Dakota ordered some Ethiopian food, and it was gooooooood! Spicy - but so gooood!
...Me, I had a bounty chocolate shake...Which also was delicious! ;)
After that we went on the ferry to go back to Diani... and we got to see a US Air craft carrier! So cool!
...Some sad history about the ferry....
In the late 80's or early 90's one of the ferries had too much weight... They had said they couldn't take any more passangers... But people didn't listen, and the ferry sunk...
About 200 people died cause many didn't know how to swim, and the ones who did know, drowned anyway cause people wanted to use them as floating devices...
...Creepy!
Anyway, we were supposed to go to Ukunda village, but it was already pretty late so we decided to go to a snake and croc farm instead!
We paid 300 KSh and we got to hold snakes, turtles and lizards! It was awesome!
Then we went to the house to get my USB memory card and cords for the cameras and then we went back to Forty Thieves and I could save some of the pics on my memory card.
And maaaaaan it took forever!!!
T.I.A people... T.I.A! (F.Y.I: This is Africa)
...And it was damn expensive!! 8Ksh per minute!!
Well, I'm whiped out, so I'm going to bed!
Taking the train back to Nairobi tomorrow!
2009-04-19: Dolphin watch and snorkling in the Indian ocean
Dakota and I got up at like 6.15am... The cab was picking us up at 7 sharp.
Bo had made such an amazing fruit sallad for breakfast, with mangos and banana - YUMM!
At 7 the cab picked us up and drove us to the place where a matatu was going to pick us up.
Diana and her boyfriend Sam were already on the bus. The got on in Nyali.
Then it took about 1 hour to the place where we were getting on the boat.
We were supposed to go with Dolphin Dhow, but they didn't have enough people in the group to go, so we ended up going with Pilli pippa instead. It's a whole day deal and it cost 130 USD.
On the way to the boat we drove through a bunch of villages and it was really cool!
At the dock we had to take a small boat out to a bigger one...
The big boat (or dhow) was driving sooooooooo sloooooooooow.....!!! So it took about 2 hours to get to the place where we were going to snorkle. But it was nice... Not judging from the weather though, which was cloudy and rainy on and off...
This trip wasn't what I's thought it would be... Since I wanted to swim with dolphins.... But apparently they don't do that anymore...
We basically just went snorkling... and one of the first things they told us was that we shouldn't expect to see any dolphins, cause they hadn't seen any in quite a while...
We went snorkling in two places and then we had dinner at an island in an AMAZING house!
BUT! Snorkling was just sooo sooo amazing! Wow wow wow and WOW!!!
The water was even warmer than the air temp!
I just snorkled once though... Didn't feel like going in again after swollowing a bunch of salt water... and DAMN it was salty!
But as we waited for the others to finish snorkling we saw dolphins!!! It was soooo amazing! Sure I wish I could swim with them, but just looking at them was also amazing!
I think there were 2 posses with like 5 dolphins in each! Heeeey Flipper!
Then we went to the island to have dinner, and like I mentioned, it was so amazing!
First we got Zimbabwi soup and chapati for starters... I LOVE Chapati!!! Maaan I have missed it!
Then a bunch of other Kenyan food and it was all sooo delicious! Unfortunately I was already full from Chapati and soup, so I didn't eat much...!
Then Sam and I played a board game... Can't remember what it's called...
And then we all went back....!
When we came to the house the power was gone, and it didn't come back until like 9:30-10pm!
But Dakota and I went to sleep at like 8-8:30... We were so exhausted!
Besides... We didn't have any candles or any lights what so ever, so there wasn't really too much to do around the house! :P
But it was SUCH a nice day!
Bo had made such an amazing fruit sallad for breakfast, with mangos and banana - YUMM!
At 7 the cab picked us up and drove us to the place where a matatu was going to pick us up.
Diana and her boyfriend Sam were already on the bus. The got on in Nyali.
Then it took about 1 hour to the place where we were getting on the boat.
We were supposed to go with Dolphin Dhow, but they didn't have enough people in the group to go, so we ended up going with Pilli pippa instead. It's a whole day deal and it cost 130 USD.
On the way to the boat we drove through a bunch of villages and it was really cool!
At the dock we had to take a small boat out to a bigger one...
The big boat (or dhow) was driving sooooooooo sloooooooooow.....!!! So it took about 2 hours to get to the place where we were going to snorkle. But it was nice... Not judging from the weather though, which was cloudy and rainy on and off...
This trip wasn't what I's thought it would be... Since I wanted to swim with dolphins.... But apparently they don't do that anymore...
We basically just went snorkling... and one of the first things they told us was that we shouldn't expect to see any dolphins, cause they hadn't seen any in quite a while...
We went snorkling in two places and then we had dinner at an island in an AMAZING house!
BUT! Snorkling was just sooo sooo amazing! Wow wow wow and WOW!!!
The water was even warmer than the air temp!
I just snorkled once though... Didn't feel like going in again after swollowing a bunch of salt water... and DAMN it was salty!
But as we waited for the others to finish snorkling we saw dolphins!!! It was soooo amazing! Sure I wish I could swim with them, but just looking at them was also amazing!
I think there were 2 posses with like 5 dolphins in each! Heeeey Flipper!
Then we went to the island to have dinner, and like I mentioned, it was so amazing!
First we got Zimbabwi soup and chapati for starters... I LOVE Chapati!!! Maaan I have missed it!
Then a bunch of other Kenyan food and it was all sooo delicious! Unfortunately I was already full from Chapati and soup, so I didn't eat much...!
Then Sam and I played a board game... Can't remember what it's called...
And then we all went back....!
When we came to the house the power was gone, and it didn't come back until like 9:30-10pm!
But Dakota and I went to sleep at like 8-8:30... We were so exhausted!
Besides... We didn't have any candles or any lights what so ever, so there wasn't really too much to do around the house! :P
But it was SUCH a nice day!
2009-04-18: Adventure in the Kenyan outback!
Okay, so after breakfast I basically just stood by the window and enjoyed the scenery and took a bunch of pictures. Awesome!
When we got to the "village" Maji ya chumvi (village = a couple of "houses" in the bush)... A bunch of kids ran up to the train and I ended up giving away all my cashews, a water bottle, soap, and blank papers....
After some time there I realized we had been staying at Maji ya chumvi for quite some time... Like 30 minutes or so... They didn't have an info system, so no one knew what was going on...
Eventually one person who walked by told me that a cargo train had tipped over and blocked the railroad... Noooo passing...
And they didn't know when we would be able to drive again...
And it was very hard to get an idea of how close we were to Mombasa.... Some people said 4 hours... some said 2 hours... and I think someone said 40 minutes... So yeah... It's nice with crystal clear info, yeah? ;)
But when the clock hit 10am, I kind of realized we wouldn't be in Mombasa on time (estimated arrival time is 9:30-10:00am) :P
My neighbor and I started talking, his name is sherif, he's from Atlanta... totally awesome guy! He was a lot of fun!
Eventually we heard that the estimated arrival time to Mombasa would be 2pm... ''yaaay''.
Hannah and I took a walk in the bush, just talking, taking pictures and hanging with the kids... We were kind of bored being stuck on the train!
Suddenly we heard the signal from the train, which you heard at every station along the way when it was time to depart. So we ran! ...Just to find out that the train was just backing up... To the closest road.
Sherif told me that they had been told that they were backing up to another station (a bigger one) so people could take busses or matatus or cabs from there.
But it ust backed up to the main road and there it stood for hours more!
More and more people started to get off and jump on passing matatus and cabs...
I wasn't sure what I was going to do... But Sherif and another girl, Amina said they were going to take a cab and offered me to tag along...
I still wasn't sure what to do, so I decided to stay on the train...
Oh! Gotta tell you about the Brittish girls who were so incredibly drunk! (yes! THAT early!) And they decided to take a walk in the bush... While we were at Maji ya chumvi... They took their luggage and started walking (trembling) in to what looked like no where... Looking for the main road.
We all thought that would be the last to we'd see of them... Drunk, a lot of luggage, CRAZY heat... Oh yeah. Ideal combo! Then again, when you're drunk I'm sure it makes all the sense in the world! ;)
Then I ran into another American, who I had just talked to briefly the previous night (I think he was the one to yell out ''I can't believe there's a German who actuallt knows Sweet Home Alabama on guitarr")...
He told me he was calling the guy who were supposed to pick him and his son in Mombasa, to pick them up in Maji ya chumvi instead, and offered me to tag along, and that's when I decided that would be my next move.
It felt the most safe out of all the options.
So, this guy, his name is Bo, by the way and his son Dakota and I hung out in the restaurant wagon, waiting for their cab guy. We ended up having such a good time together! I'm so glad I stayed! They are both so awesome!
And Dakota sure has a sweet smile! :)
At around 2pm the cab driver, Eric, finally got there!
But they had driven the train back to Maji ya chumvi and there were no roads to that place... But the cab driver made it anyway... buuuut something happened to something called a muffler(?) Which probably wasn't good...
But we were still able to drive to Mombasa.... But it was such an awful ''road'' back to the main road! Woah!
I think it took about one hour to Mombasa... I didn't really notice, I was just so glad to be on my way! I had ''lost'' an entire day in Mombasa... Then again, I ended up having such a good time, so it was totally worth it!
When we finally got to Mombasa... OMG! It is so different from Nairobi! Amazing!
You could really tell that Islam was the main religion there... Hijabs everywhere! Poor women! In THAT heat! Pheeeew!
We drove past the famous elephant tusks, to a restaurant to have some drinks and ending up in a casino... Just for a sec though, and we didn't play.... Yet we were there! :P
How did I get so lucky? Meeting awesome people like this?! :D
Then we headed for Diani Beach.
We had to take the ferry (which might actually be the ferry, used when filming The white maasai... Where Carola and Lemalian first met?).
Our first stop was at Forty Thieves, a very popular bar in Diani. I can understand why!
A bar/restaurant located ON the beach.. White sandy beaches and palm trees... Mmmhm! Amazing!
When we parked the car and got out we could see monkeys in the trees, greeting us! :P Soo cool!
This is when I called Diana to ask if she could meet us at Forty Thieves and pick me up there...
...Just to find out that she thought I said I'm heading to NYALI beach (where she works) and NOT Diani Beach...
Nyali is located about 2 hours north of Diani.... I was soooo in the wrong place! :P
Buuuut not to worry, it all worked out perfectly!
I ended up staying with Dakota and Bo in their guest house (which is AMAZING by the way!)
Haha! And GUESS who we met as we entered Forty Thieves??
The Brittish girls!!! Apparently they had found the main road and either hitch hiked or actually got a matatu and had been at Forty Thieves since noon(!!!)
We arrived at around 6:30!
AND! That is about the time I got a text from Hannah, who stayed on the train... That's when the train arrived in Mombasa(!!!) Just 9 hours later than planned!
And some info to those train geeks out there:
The train staff in Kenya maked 15 000 Kenyan Shilling per month (=1500 Sek = 150 Euro). And that's a fixed salary, and they didn't get paid overtime for those 9 hours in the bush!
Anyway! Before Dakota, Bo and I went to their place they wanted to show me another place called Ali Barbour's cave, which is next to Forty Thieves... It's a restuarant which is built in a real cave, that used to be the home of leopards!! It was sooooo awesome! You really need to see that place! it was AMAZING!!!
Then we drove off to the guest house, at Coco nut grove (?)... And as we drove there, baboons kept crossing the road! So cool!
And ooooh, the house.... WOW! it was amazing! I'll see if I can upload some pics later on... You just have to see it. Incredible! :)
2 bedrooms (King size beds baby!) and a big livingroom upstairs and a huge porch!
Oh, and just so you know... That shower... Mmmmhm, I'd been waiting hours for that shower! They hadn't even turned on the hot water... So I took a cold shower, but it was so amazing!
The humidity was crazy in Mombasa!!! :P
Later in the evening when everyone had showered and had fresh clothes we went to a café right next to the house to have some evening tea... it was really cozy!
It was realy dark when we walked back, and even though it was right next door, it took quite a while to get back cause that night sky... It was so amazing... I have never seen anything like it before... I could just stand there and watch it forever! AMAZING!!!
Dakota and I stayed up talking like all night on the porch and listened to music... I think we slept a total of 2 hours!
...Which meant a total of 4 hours in 48 hours for me... Since I didn't get too much sleep on the train! :P
More soon!
XOXO
When we got to the "village" Maji ya chumvi (village = a couple of "houses" in the bush)... A bunch of kids ran up to the train and I ended up giving away all my cashews, a water bottle, soap, and blank papers....
After some time there I realized we had been staying at Maji ya chumvi for quite some time... Like 30 minutes or so... They didn't have an info system, so no one knew what was going on...
Eventually one person who walked by told me that a cargo train had tipped over and blocked the railroad... Noooo passing...
And they didn't know when we would be able to drive again...
And it was very hard to get an idea of how close we were to Mombasa.... Some people said 4 hours... some said 2 hours... and I think someone said 40 minutes... So yeah... It's nice with crystal clear info, yeah? ;)
But when the clock hit 10am, I kind of realized we wouldn't be in Mombasa on time (estimated arrival time is 9:30-10:00am) :P
My neighbor and I started talking, his name is sherif, he's from Atlanta... totally awesome guy! He was a lot of fun!
Eventually we heard that the estimated arrival time to Mombasa would be 2pm... ''yaaay''.
Hannah and I took a walk in the bush, just talking, taking pictures and hanging with the kids... We were kind of bored being stuck on the train!
Suddenly we heard the signal from the train, which you heard at every station along the way when it was time to depart. So we ran! ...Just to find out that the train was just backing up... To the closest road.
Sherif told me that they had been told that they were backing up to another station (a bigger one) so people could take busses or matatus or cabs from there.
But it ust backed up to the main road and there it stood for hours more!
More and more people started to get off and jump on passing matatus and cabs...
I wasn't sure what I was going to do... But Sherif and another girl, Amina said they were going to take a cab and offered me to tag along...
I still wasn't sure what to do, so I decided to stay on the train...
Oh! Gotta tell you about the Brittish girls who were so incredibly drunk! (yes! THAT early!) And they decided to take a walk in the bush... While we were at Maji ya chumvi... They took their luggage and started walking (trembling) in to what looked like no where... Looking for the main road.
We all thought that would be the last to we'd see of them... Drunk, a lot of luggage, CRAZY heat... Oh yeah. Ideal combo! Then again, when you're drunk I'm sure it makes all the sense in the world! ;)
Then I ran into another American, who I had just talked to briefly the previous night (I think he was the one to yell out ''I can't believe there's a German who actuallt knows Sweet Home Alabama on guitarr")...
He told me he was calling the guy who were supposed to pick him and his son in Mombasa, to pick them up in Maji ya chumvi instead, and offered me to tag along, and that's when I decided that would be my next move.
It felt the most safe out of all the options.
So, this guy, his name is Bo, by the way and his son Dakota and I hung out in the restaurant wagon, waiting for their cab guy. We ended up having such a good time together! I'm so glad I stayed! They are both so awesome!
And Dakota sure has a sweet smile! :)
At around 2pm the cab driver, Eric, finally got there!
But they had driven the train back to Maji ya chumvi and there were no roads to that place... But the cab driver made it anyway... buuuut something happened to something called a muffler(?) Which probably wasn't good...
But we were still able to drive to Mombasa.... But it was such an awful ''road'' back to the main road! Woah!
I think it took about one hour to Mombasa... I didn't really notice, I was just so glad to be on my way! I had ''lost'' an entire day in Mombasa... Then again, I ended up having such a good time, so it was totally worth it!
When we finally got to Mombasa... OMG! It is so different from Nairobi! Amazing!
You could really tell that Islam was the main religion there... Hijabs everywhere! Poor women! In THAT heat! Pheeeew!
We drove past the famous elephant tusks, to a restaurant to have some drinks and ending up in a casino... Just for a sec though, and we didn't play.... Yet we were there! :P
How did I get so lucky? Meeting awesome people like this?! :D
Then we headed for Diani Beach.
We had to take the ferry (which might actually be the ferry, used when filming The white maasai... Where Carola and Lemalian first met?).
Our first stop was at Forty Thieves, a very popular bar in Diani. I can understand why!
A bar/restaurant located ON the beach.. White sandy beaches and palm trees... Mmmhm! Amazing!
When we parked the car and got out we could see monkeys in the trees, greeting us! :P Soo cool!
This is when I called Diana to ask if she could meet us at Forty Thieves and pick me up there...
...Just to find out that she thought I said I'm heading to NYALI beach (where she works) and NOT Diani Beach...
Nyali is located about 2 hours north of Diani.... I was soooo in the wrong place! :P
Buuuut not to worry, it all worked out perfectly!
I ended up staying with Dakota and Bo in their guest house (which is AMAZING by the way!)
Haha! And GUESS who we met as we entered Forty Thieves??
The Brittish girls!!! Apparently they had found the main road and either hitch hiked or actually got a matatu and had been at Forty Thieves since noon(!!!)
We arrived at around 6:30!
AND! That is about the time I got a text from Hannah, who stayed on the train... That's when the train arrived in Mombasa(!!!) Just 9 hours later than planned!
And some info to those train geeks out there:
The train staff in Kenya maked 15 000 Kenyan Shilling per month (=1500 Sek = 150 Euro). And that's a fixed salary, and they didn't get paid overtime for those 9 hours in the bush!
Anyway! Before Dakota, Bo and I went to their place they wanted to show me another place called Ali Barbour's cave, which is next to Forty Thieves... It's a restuarant which is built in a real cave, that used to be the home of leopards!! It was sooooo awesome! You really need to see that place! it was AMAZING!!!
Then we drove off to the guest house, at Coco nut grove (?)... And as we drove there, baboons kept crossing the road! So cool!
And ooooh, the house.... WOW! it was amazing! I'll see if I can upload some pics later on... You just have to see it. Incredible! :)
2 bedrooms (King size beds baby!) and a big livingroom upstairs and a huge porch!
Oh, and just so you know... That shower... Mmmmhm, I'd been waiting hours for that shower! They hadn't even turned on the hot water... So I took a cold shower, but it was so amazing!
The humidity was crazy in Mombasa!!! :P
Later in the evening when everyone had showered and had fresh clothes we went to a café right next to the house to have some evening tea... it was really cozy!
It was realy dark when we walked back, and even though it was right next door, it took quite a while to get back cause that night sky... It was so amazing... I have never seen anything like it before... I could just stand there and watch it forever! AMAZING!!!
Dakota and I stayed up talking like all night on the porch and listened to music... I think we slept a total of 2 hours!
...Which meant a total of 4 hours in 48 hours for me... Since I didn't get too much sleep on the train! :P
More soon!
XOXO
Updates from Kenya!
Just letting you all know I am writing a journal every night, and I have not been able to update my blog at all basically...
So! Instead I'm writing everything afterwards....!
I hope you will still like it!
They are closing the Internet cafe for the night now, so I have to go... But I will continue telling you all I have experienced the last couple days... It's A LOT!!! :)
Take care for now and I'll update again as soon as I can!
Nighty night!
Love,
Maddy
So! Instead I'm writing everything afterwards....!
I hope you will still like it!
They are closing the Internet cafe for the night now, so I have to go... But I will continue telling you all I have experienced the last couple days... It's A LOT!!! :)
Take care for now and I'll update again as soon as I can!
Nighty night!
Love,
Maddy
2009-04-18: Breakfast on the train at 7.15am
Well...!
I have been up since sunrise at 5am...A M A Z I N G ! ! ! And! I saw baboons! ;)
Right now I am in the restaurant wagon eating breakfast... And of course they sat the two most religious people by me this morning.
They both greeted me with their left hand... Totally weird...!
And they also had like a minute long pray for the food, and asking for extra strenght today since apparently they didn't get any sleep... Partying people next door.
They were so weird and I swear... They must have been born smiling! And I actually stopped counting how many times they used the word - PRAY!
Oh lord!
More soon!
I have been up since sunrise at 5am...A M A Z I N G ! ! ! And! I saw baboons! ;)
Right now I am in the restaurant wagon eating breakfast... And of course they sat the two most religious people by me this morning.
They both greeted me with their left hand... Totally weird...!
And they also had like a minute long pray for the food, and asking for extra strenght today since apparently they didn't get any sleep... Partying people next door.
They were so weird and I swear... They must have been born smiling! And I actually stopped counting how many times they used the word - PRAY!
Oh lord!
More soon!
