First Few Days

It feels good to be here at last! I arrived in Nairobi Saturday afternoon after a very long flight and two layovers. I found Ethiopian Arlines to be enjoyable and the service was excellent.  I received a warm welcome at the airport from two other Americans working with Carolina for Kibera (CFK) this summer.  Lindsey is a junior at UNC and is developing a youth leadership program.  Chelsea is a student at Duke School of Global Health and  is assessing the sexual and reproductive health program at CFK.  After meeting them, we took a taxi to my homestay in Nairobi.  I am staying with Grace, a women in her 30s who lives by herself in a 2 bedroom flat.  The flat is cozy and I think I will feel at home.

On Saturday I went to the local mall to get a cell phone and eat some food.  After returning to my homestay, I slept for about 20 hours - some much needed rest!  I woke up yesterday at 4pm to knocking on my door.  Lindsey and Chelsea took me to another shopping area for a late lunch.  The shopping areas around here carry pretty much anything I could need and are frequented by many foreigners. It is nice to have these amenities so close by.  Afterwards, Lindsey and I went to visit Jeffrey, an administrative staff member at CFK.  Kevin, the other UNC summer fellow, was there and we had a nice time visiting them for a couple of hours. I also got my first glimpse of the slum life in Kibera. After returning home, I spent the rest of the evening visiting with Grace and her friend Betsy. Betsy spent 2 years in Ghana so we bonded over our experiences there.

Today I was introduced to Carolina for Kibera.  The staff are very friendly and I look forward to working with them.  Kibera is a very large slum outside of Nairobi.  The level of poverty is overwhelming, but it is similar to what I expected.  Having traveled to Africa before, I was prepared for this, yet it never ceases to amaze me how people can get by with so little.  Nairobi as a whole is a large and chaotic city.  There are many Westerners here, so that helps me feel more at home.  I look forward to exploring more of the city during my time here.  I am enjoying the benefits of a higher altitude! It is "winter" here, so the temperature has remained in the 70s/low 80s.

I will not start the bulk of my research work until next week, when the rest of my research team from UNC arrives.  In the meantime, I will continue to meet people, explore the city, and get acclimated to life here.  In a new culture, every day feels like an adventure.