From Katie!

6.12.2010
After 2 days, we have arrived in Kenya. I just woke up from a blissful sleep in our guest room in Nairobi, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Our trip was smooth, with the only hiccup being that our luggage was left in Paris and should be arriving tomorrow. Thankfully, we had packed an extra change of clothes, extra diapers (mostly because Claire has been doing so awesome at pottying in the toilet/sink on this trip that we’ve hardly used the diapers!!), and our necessaries.
Our first flight from NYC to Paris was great, as they sat us in a bulkhead and there was this cool “floating” bassinet that attached to the wall for Claire to sleep/play in. It is nice to be able to put her down when she sleeps, or contain her when she gets extra squirrely. Paris was beautiful! We decided to leave the airport after finding a place to stow our carry-ons and getting train tickets. We decided to visit the Louvre, which proved to be a good choice, as the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees were there as well, along with some decidedly tourist-focused restaurants (but we didn’t give a crap as we were just hungry!). The museum was awesome—we saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and much more, including some of the biggest tapestries and paintings I have EVER seen! After grabbing some gelato (Claire had her first taste and loved it, of course!), and a couple of souvenirs, we headed back on the crowded metro train to the airport. Casey told me that it is incredibly rude to look people in the eye on the metro, but Claire being the outgoing child she is made it very hard, as she kept wanting to touch and interact with people!
I was so grateful for Casey and his French speaking and superior navigating-of-a-foreign-place abilities. Oh, and side note, I ate some of the most delicious blue cheese that I have ever had, along with some super yummy salamis and baguette at lunch.
So, back in the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Once we were at our gate, we took turns taking sponge baths and changing into our spare clothes. When I came back from my “bath,” Claire was crawling around and snuggling up with some Kenyans who were taking naps on the floor. Casey was with her, of course, and the people were super nice (they had been traveling back from Chile doing some sort of munitions negotiations that I didn’t quite understand). I am learning that Claire is a very outgoing and joyful child who makes friends very easily! She definitely reminds me of her dad (can you say Casey Jr.?)!!
We boarded the flight, which was literally 85 degrees inside the cabin, and squeezed into our seats. It was a bit touch and go for a minute, with the never-ending loop of K’Naan’s “Waving Flag” and the Shakira “This is Africa” songs (in honor of the World Cup), along with the sauna-like conditions made more hot by the fact that Claire was sleeping in the Ergo carrier strapped onto me. The air conditioning eventually came on once we were moving and my panic level moved out of the orange range with the assistance of Casey distracting me and some non-focused awareness (thank you childbirth education class!).
Once we arrived and got through customs, we got some cash and a taxi to our guest house, with a side trip into the heart of Nairobi to buy an African cell phone and a sim card for Casey’s phone. I watched all sorts of Nairobi flavor go by my window as I waited for Casey, and it reminded me a lot of Zimbabwe…something about the smells, the diesel and woodfire and people, and the coolness of the air (it was actually about 60 degrees when we arrived). We finally arrived at our lodging, which is a Christian bed-and-breakfast/retreat center that was recommended by the UNICEF-Kenya folks. This place is great! Newton, the fresh-faced (20 yrs and 3 months old) young man who got us settled, has been taking great care of us, and it is truly a relief to be in a place that feels homey and personal. Since we arrived so early, we were treated to a breakfast cooked by none other than Newton in his chef shirt. The spread included ghetto mochas (as Casey called them—basically, powdered drinking chocolate, powdered coffee, and hot milk/water), eggs, ham and bread, fruit, corn flakes, and these Kenyan pastries made from bean flour (I forget the name). It was “ultra-brunch.” To make our dining experience complete, Newton put on the CD player, which happened to be an American contemporary praise CD. It was a unique moment for us all, and I was surprised to learn that Casey knew the words to some of the songs!
That brings us up to date. I’m sitting in the huge bed (2 singles pushed together to make a King), while Claire and Casey slumber peacefully next to me.
6.13.2010
Kenya Day 2: I think we are on local time now, though last night was a bit rough for me. I woke up several times with huge adrenaline rushes, likely due to my body readjusting hormonally. Claire is also teething, and was nursing much of the night, her little head all sweaty and warm. She is taking her morning nap right now, and in an hour we are headed to a mall with Isaac, the booking agent for this property (Ridgeville Gardens Guest House).
Remember the ghetto mochas I spoke about before? I thought they tasted a little funny, but I didn’t think too much of it. As it turns out, the drinking chocolate had strawberry flavoring—that explained it for sure. Tonight, Newton is going to make us Kenyan food—we are very excited! I believe we are going to have a change in soundtrack as well , as Newton said he would bring over an African music CD to play. Interestingly, he has never heard “Waving Flag” (though we obviously heard it more than we ever thought we wanted to on our Kenya Airways trip), so we are going to have a little musical exchange.
As for our adventurous daughter, Claire has tried many new foods on this trip, and seems to be handling them just fine, no reactions. She has tried oranges, strawberry jam (to disguise her malaria medicine), papaya, baguette, and raspberry and mango gelatos. She still only has 1 itty bitty tooth, but I’m pretty sure another one will erupt soon. I’m continually impressed by her potty communication on this trip. We’ve used only a handful of diapers, and she seems to be holding her potties until we can get her to a place to go. It’s still mostly intuitive on the signaling, but she does let us know in other ways as well, like squeezing her legs together when in the carrier, popping off while breastfeeding, grunting (before a poop), and being generally restless and twisting out of our arms.
I’m hoping to find a longer skirt before we head to Kisumu, and since our luggage ought to be here soon, I won’t feel too sad about losing one of Claire’s new pink skull-and-crossbones shoes, as there is another pair of shoes in our baggage. Honestly, I’m most excited to get to wash my hair, which is so oily that it barely stays in a ponytail. Those of you who know me know that I have a fairly high tolerance for unwashed hair, but this is testing even my limits! Vanity aside, I am glad to be in a little enclave of peacefulness while we start to adjust.
The two Swahili words I know now are “Jambo,” which is a general greeting used all day, and “Asante,” which means thank you. I’m planning to study the Swahili lessons Zak sent me (thank you brother!!), but I am trying to absorb things that I hear and read a little at a time as well. English is the official language, but Swahili is the national language. I’m not quite sure what the difference is, but it seems like speaking in Swahili as much as is possible is a very good thing to try and do to bridge the cultural gaps.