Kenya day four

I'll probably have access to internet every day/maybe every few days because there's a local cyber cafe here that costs like one cent a minute. Everything here is so cheap, it's hard to believe. For instance, I had to get a pair of shoes because I didn't want to ruin my shoes in the incredible mud there is so I got one off a street vendor for like $3. Yes, you read right. They're pretty hip too, you probably can't wait to see them I know. (disclaimer: they may have bright pink hearts on them and sparkly laces).

So. I guess I'll tell you what's been up. My goat was gotten, basically. 'Elghana' seems to be somewhat of a scam! (no one saw that coming, right?) Anyway, it worked out on the better side of scams, as now I'm working at an orphanage teaching really unfortunate abandoned kids how to do math (ineffectively, so far, but I'm working on it. If you have suggestions...) I'm in a small town outside of Nairobi called Ngong (pronounced 'gong' pretty much). There is mud everywhere. There are also an fanciful assortment of goats, cows, roosters, asses and wild dogs. I am sleeping at a woman named Millicent's house who can be easily described as extremely Christian, jolly and warm. She doesn't have too much running water, so it's basin showers for me, but luckily she has enough to supply a toilet. A toilet in a room with no light and no great flushing mechanism. Alas, I count my blessings. I was pleased to discover that there is another volunteer staying with her now too; her name is Georgia and she comes from Toronto. We get along pretty well, but she's leaving next week at which time I will be all alone in Africa. The town over is called "Karen" after the author of the book "Nowhere in Africa" which takes place in the Ngong hills, which I can see right as I walk out of this cafe.
I'm learning simple Swahili, which seems to be more necessary than I first had thought. I have "Asante" "Jeenah lako nani? Jeenah langoo ni Becca" and "Lala Salaama" but I'm working on it. :)

African food is kind of hit or miss so far. A LOT of cilantro, which is kind of a drawback, but really delicious cabbage. Tea is served with milk, so I've spent a good portion of my time here doubled over in pain from lactose intolerance. I forgot the lactaid. Oops.

What else? Nairobi looks completely different than I expected. It's...well, it's complicated and this keyboard hurts to type on, so I'm just going to suffice to say that it's dirty, crowded and the fashion is almost depressing (in not a mean way, just in a bad way). The people at the office there were nice enough, told me I wouldn't be working at a hospital, but that I could donate a largess to this orphanage. I didn't really have a choice, so I'm hoping to walk away from this experience with my wallet at least fat enough to buy books for summer classes.

As I think back to the beginning of this all, (this whole story has been pretty reverse chronological) it took two whole days to get here because my flight was delayed in Chicago for quite some time then in Amsterdam for some more time, so I ended up getting to spend a lovely day exploring Amsterdam alone. One of my favorite days, by far. I never thought of Amsterdam as a beautiful place, but seriously, there is something so interesting and unique about it. I absolutely loved it.

So until I get a chance to post again, Kwa heri!!