So we have finally said goodbye to the kenyans that we spent the most time with, Robert and Charles, our drivers. These men drove the Matatus (a better definition will follow) that transported us, with few exceptions, the whole month. Also this act is commendable because of more than just the duration they were kept from their families, but they also kept us safer than any of us could have, being that driving in Kenya is much more difficult than any other place I have ever been. The roads are small and the rules are ......... known only to a select few, not to mention they drive on the wrong side of the road.
Most people don't drive in Kenya. This is because cars are expensive, and their is a great public transport system in Kenya.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
First they have Buses and taxis like most places, but they also have matatus and boraboras.
To speak of what is familiar first, Buses run like buses in the states you pay a fair and get on and off at bus stops. Taxis are also similiar except the drivers make thier own prices, .... bartering is encouraged. But the interesting methods of transport our next
BODA BODAS
I never rode one but a boda boda is a bike. The driver pedals the bike and the passenger sits on a pad above the back wheel. The name boda boda is derived from the origional use of the boda boda as a means to transport people from the borders of African countries.
MATATUS
Matatus are vans. They aren't mini vans, but the kind of van that the FBI uses as a headquarters for a stakeout in a movie. They have 5 rows of 3 seats so they accomadate 14 passengers and are limited to that number. Also all are equipped with speed govenors that limit them to 80 KPH(50MPH), all public transport and government vehicles are governed. The 14 passenger limit and the speed limit are new laws and because of this some people revert to the old ways. This means they pack a matatu as full as they can (and do not enforce seat belt wearing) and they tamper with the speed govenor. Matatus have their stops (which are cities/towns) painted on the side and will drop people off at matatu stops, which sometimes are also bus stops. The name matatu comes from the fact that all matatus once cost 3 shillings to go anywhere (tatu is three). Prices have since risen.

Robert and Charles
Charles drives a matatu for a small company. The company owns 3 matatus. Robert in contrast drives for Mololine a large company that specializes in Nairobi-Nakuru traffic. Mololine owns many matatus and pays its employees a flat wage per day. Matatu companies are respected, as one Kenyan told me that her family will only go on Mololine when they go to Nairobi from Nakuru.

I would have started this with the swahili word for three but I don't have access to one of the translation books. The swahili I know is more on the practical side, but my swahili lecture will come later.
So it has come to my attentions that I have not informed the global audience of the stay in Nairobi, with the Kibera group. This I hope to remedy tonight and to a fine degree. Excuse the ramblings and grammar as I am doing this past midnight, but most of my papers are done at this time anyway so it should be an acceptable quality.

Nairobi
Coming from a small island isolated in the Pacific Ocean one would think the change to a city like Nairobi would be a trying thing. It was not. Quickly, I got to know the area surrounding our hotel and began to feel comfortable walking down the streets. Nairobi is full of wazungu(white people) and it seems the town is use to them. The hawkers are not as insistent as they were in Nakuru and the people are not as surprised to see us. Prices are higher, and sometimes even the same as American prices, but this is only at expensive places. It still is comparably cheap.

Kibera
Kibera as I have been told is the largest slum in Kenya, and some have told me the largest in Africa. You would be a fool to argue against this as when you look at it from higher ground you can not see it all. We took a walk around Kibera and in 2 hours we didn't cover an eighth. Kibera is in the middle of a valley, hence the higher ground to peer down at it, and is bordered by what I am told are some very expensive houses.
There is open sewage, by this I mean small rivers, rolling down the hills and along the roads. Roads in kibera (the ones on the outskirts are two laned) have enough room for a car, but I only saw cars on the outskirts. Within the heart of Kibera everyone walks and doing this you walk on paths that the largest are a meter long, that wind in between houses, and usually along the same path the sewage follows. Houses in Kibera are right next to eachother and are the epitome of efficency, all space is utilized in and outside the home.

Kibera Team
The Kibera team had a vastly different group dynamic than the Nakuru team. The way that the Nakuru team functioned was not even apparent to me until we met with the Kibera team. The Nakuru team is solely focused on JUMP and it seems as if all members share similiar, if not equal, footing. The Kibera team is different. JUMP is one of many projects they are doing( they also are involved in adding solar panels through out Kibera, for one) and because of this need a structure that supports a large multi-tasking group. The structure they use is like a military structure with people of varying degrees of power in the organization. Because of this difference working with the groups was very different. Different but enlightening.

Well its 2 am now so I may head to bed ...

To start this lesson I'll start with a song. Spelling is probably wrong.

Jambo, Jambo bwana,
Habari gani,
Mzuri sana.

Wageni, Wakaribishwa,
Kenya yetu Hakuna Matata.

This is a song that is song to visitors. Members of the Nakuru group (Ann Linda and Felix in particular)taught it to me during the matatu ride to Thompson falls.
This song is good because is uses many of the common phrases(or the ones that I know) and also uses some grammar!
Jambo is Hello
Bwana is Sir
Habari Gani means how are you
and Mzuri Sana replies Im very good.
Wageni, Wakaribishwa, means welcome visitors to
Kenya yetu means my kenya
hakuna matat is kenyan for no worries.( immortalized by the lion king)

along with the words in the song mzungu which means white people
ashante which means thank you
pole which means sorry
Polepole which means slow
sawa means good
and hakuna which means there is no

Grammer
Wa before anything makes it plural, much like adding an s.
yetu adds possession.

Sheng
Sheng is the slang of Kenya, although it seems to be more respectable than say pigeon.
Poa means cool
sawasawa means ok


well thats my lesson. hope you enjoyed it

Elections usually happen in all the provinces at the same time in Kenya. This year though there are six special elections happening. Six MPs, one from Nakuru, died in a plane crash while they were enroute on a peace mission to the Marsabit, a very dangerous place on the border of Kenya and Ethiopia. Because of this there is now an election for the MPs who will carry out the remainder of the term, which I have been told is about one year.

Because of this election I have been getting many of the political views of Kenya, especially those that are Nakuru specific. To start broad and work small, Politics in Kenya is party based, but parties are based on tribe. Kenya is a very tribal country and being that they have 42 different tribes in Kenya there are many different views. The tribe in power is the Kikuyu, they are the largest tribe in Kenya. The President of Kenya is a Kikuyu, and depending on whether you speak to a Kikuyu or non-Kikuyu you see how he is liked. Kikuyus say that he is doing the best with the what he had to work with, which both sides agree was not much. The non-Kikuyus say that his political experience is as a tribal chief and he is not ready to lead a whole nation, but that he is doing the best that he can do.
Nakuru is one of the more cosmopolitan cities in Kenya and just about every tribe is represented, although the Kikuyus are the largest. The MP who died was a Kikuyu, elected for that reason, and was liked by kikuyus and disliked by non. Because of this the upcoming election has two chief candidates one being a Kikuyu and the other being a Pastor who represents all the other tribes. This election seems to be one that will be hotly contested.
Well Robin is telling me that we have to go. Sorry if this post only scratches on the surface, but I now must take my leave.
Erik Talvi

Elections usually happen in all the provinces at the same time in Kenya. This year though there are six special elections happening. Six MPs, one from Nakuru, died in a plane crash while they were enroute on a peace mission to the Marsabit, a very dangerous place on the border of Kenya and Ethiopia. Because of this there is now an election for the MPs who will carry out the remainder of the term, which I have been told is about one year.

Because of this election I have been getting many of the political views of Kenya, especially those that are Nakuru specific. To start broad and work small, Politics in Kenya is party based, but parties are based on tribe. Kenya is a very tribal country and being that they have 42 different tribes in Kenya there are many different views. The tribe in power is the Kikuyu, they are the largest tribe in Kenya. The President of Kenya is a Kikuyu, and depending on whether you speak to a Kikuyu or non-Kikuyu you see how he is liked. Kikuyus say that he is doing the best with the what he had to work with, which both sides agree was not much. The non-Kikuyus say that his political experience is as a tribal chief and he is not ready to lead a whole nation, but that he is doing the best that he can do.
Nakuru is one of the more cosmopolitan cities in Kenya and just about every tribe is represented, although the Kikuyus are the largest. The MP who died was a Kikuyu, elected for that reason, and was liked by kikuyus and disliked by non. Because of this the upcoming election has two chief candidates one being a Kikuyu and the other being a Pastor who represents all the other tribes. This election seems to be one that will be hotly contested.
Well Robin is telling me that we have to go. Sorry if this post only scratches on the surface, but I now must take my leave.
Erik Talvi