We made it into Nairobi at 11:30pm, went through customs and bought our visas ($50 each) without a hitch, pickup up our 3 bags weighing 50lbs each, and were greeted by Drs. Rod Reed and Daryll Stanton from the Africa Nazarene University (ANU). They drove us to the Nazarene "compound" where missionaries stay and we stayed the night. The guest flat that we stayed in was quite nice, and when we woke up the next morning, we saw that the compound was also quite beautiful. Nairobi is very tropical, so they had many beautiful plants, trees, and flowers. We had breakfast at the Reed’s flats with the Stantons and really enjoyed the fresh fruit selections, coffee, breads, etc. The Reeds have 3 very nice daughters, the oldest of which is studying at Olivet in the states.
After breakfast and letting Maddy play on the playground a bit, the Stantons had us for the day. First, they took us to ANU to unpack all of our stuff at our flat. It was quite eye opening to drive through the streets of Nairobi in the daytime. After we left the compound area, things changed rapidly. The roads got really bad, and the poverty of the people was shocking. You see it on TV, but it is definitely different when you see it in front of you. Animals freely wander on the road, there are people walking everywhere, and we almost hit a baboon crossing the road in front of our SUV! Near campus is a place where people make a living by crushing large stones into gravel with hammers. When we passed by there were several men sitting on the piles of gravel working away. Quite a sad situation.
The campus itself is pretty isolated being 1-2km from much of anything. In fact, they only built the asphalt road to the school 3 years ago, and the road becomes dirt after the campus entrance. Even though it is isolated, it is very well guarded. It is fenced with barbed wire, and there are many guards that roam the campus day and night. At midnight, they release the hounds that roam the campus until 6am. We are staying in a really nice place with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on the back edge of campus.
We have a balcony on the front, and one on the back that overlooks a ravine. The second picture is off our back balcony where there is supposed to be a family of monkeys living.
Typically, people that visit like us stay in a building that is in the center of campus, but with Maddy, they thought this would provide us more space and a little quite solitude as well. It is perfect.
The campus itself is beautiful! They have tons of flowers, palm trees, and cactuses all throughout the campus. I think pretty much anything will grow in this climate. The buildings also appear to be very well maintained.
We met up with Roland Tetter (a friend from KC who is teaching at ANU for 1 year), and the Stantons then took us on a tour of the couple of towns that are nearby where we can do our grocery shopping. They had just planned on showing us the town of Karen (named after the lady who wrote “Out of Africa”), but Maddy said she was starving so we stopped in at a grocery store named Tukeys. According to the Stantons, this is a very typical middle class store, and it was packed! We were warned before we left the states that the Kenyans would be very attracted to Maddy, and they are. We had a pack of 8-10 little girls follow us around the store just staring in silence at Maddy. It was quite cute. Who knows, Maddy might have been the first little white girl that they had ever seen. We bought her some cookies and headed to The Galleria (mall & grocery store) that caters to more international folks and the more affluent Kenyans. They even have a Pizza Inn (where we ate lunch) and a KFC that just opened. The KFC is supposedly the talk of the town. We did all of our shopping at Nakumatt (the Kenyan Target). You can get pretty much everything you can imagine at the Nakumatt. We could not find 2 things that Maddy wanted: mac and cheese or hot dogs. Everything else was easy to find, but just different brands than we have in the states. There are some noticeable brands from the states, but they are pretty expensive compared to the African equivalent. We were really glad the Stantons were with us since they helped show us the ropes for things like purchasing produce, knowing which brands to buy, and buying minutes for our cell phones since all of the phones are pay as you go. Everyone has a cell phone. Land lines are pretty much non-existent.
When we got back to the flat, the cafeteria on campus had delivered dinner and it was on our table. It was a very good meal with chicken, potatoes, rice, beans, and kale. It went really well with the hot sauce we had purchased on the Stanton’s advice.
We learned that there are 2 cafeterias on campus: one for the students that live here (we get to eat here free anytime), and the other for the day scholars and faculty where you pay as you go (Caribou Café). For the first week, we were invited to eat in the faculty part for free, but after that we would have to pay. So, we figure we will eat for free in the faculty part for the week and then go to the other side where we don’t have to pay.
After we ate our meal, we went to bed exhausted. However, none of us slept well since it was really day time for us back in the states. Maddy and I woke up at 2am and stayed awake playing until 5am when Sandy came out and told us to go back to bed. We have to sleep under mosquito nets since there are no heaters or air conditioners in our flat (or most anywhere in Kenya, I suspect), and the doors and windows are left open to let the cool air in. Even though it is the summer here (highs in the upper 80s, low 90s and lows at night in the 50s), the breeze is always cool. If you get in the sun, it gets hot quick, but it in the shade it is nice and cool! Our flat stays nice and cool too.
We have been very warmly welcomed by the Kenyans, the Stantons, and the Reeds. They have all been quite a blessing to us to make the transition smooth. Tomorrow is a day off for rest, and then we go to an all-day faculty meeting on Wed. We’ll post more this weekend.
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