Well, I'm still here in Kansas, dreaming of the Equator as I look out at the snow on the front lawn that hasn't melted since I got home from American. We rescheduled my flight to Nairobi for January 7, so I have another week to pretend I'm packing and getting ready to leave.
The post-election violence that's been all over the news is definitely serious, but much more isolated than we're being led to believe. The videos of riots and looting are almost exclusively from Kibera, Nairobi's biggest slum, and western towns like Kisumu and Eldoret, where the church was burned down yesterday. Businesses and public transportation in Nairobi have largely shut down, however, so my orientation was moved to next week, and I decided to delay my flight and spend the extra time at home.
Most of us students are flying in at the beginning of next week, unless conditions within Nairobi itself get significantly worse. The students who decided to leave the States yesterday have said that our neighborhood in Nairobi is quiet, but the city is understandably tense. Raila Odinga, who lost the election to President Kibaki by a very narrow margin, has called one million of his supporters to protest in downtown Nairobi tomorrow. That rally will most likely decide the future of our semester, so we're all hoping it's peaceful...
4 comments:
Me too.
and if it ever cools down can you find me one of these please!
http://www.frontrange.ca/Magazine/Nepal/chitwan/elephant_baby.jpg
Its not poaching unless you hurt it, right? K, good, sending in plastic will be okay. Thank you.
R.V. I am not sure this will get to you but if so, have the greatest adventure of your young life to date, meet lots of good people, and take pix.I am jealous. Take lots of photos of orchids for Ivan and I. Uncle Gary
I certainly will miss our dinners, though I trust you will return with delicious new recipes and the stories to toast them with.
~dania
Thanks for the exciting note, Rach! It's good to share your experiences in Kenya this way. Keep it up.
SeaE
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