Tonight brings to a close my first whole day in my new home in Mombasa. I arrived last night via bus from Nairobi and had two dinners: one with my counterpart, a deaf teacher at the school, and one with my supervisor, the headmaster of the school. Mombasa food is much more flavorful than it is in Loitokitok (no judgment passed— I speak solely of flavor quantity), but in any case I was more than happy to eat twice. Today a fellow volunteer visited and showed me around Mombasa, and I purchased a few items for my home. Tonight I made my first dinner here: penne pasta with soy sauce.
So without further ado, let’s catch up on photos!
From right to left: My Kenyan momma, brother, and the motorcycle man who will take them away forever.
Last night in Loitokitok: sing-and-sign-along! (The deaf ed group attempted to translate lyrics into sign, resulting in hilarity but little actual understanding, especially when I tried.)
Dessert in Nairobi at Carnivore, a restaurant with great ostrich meat and more tackiness than I was expecting (waiters wear funny hats, etc). Giraffe meat is seasonal so I may have to go back on my birthday to try. I had tawny port with my dessert, and that made me very happy.
A completely staged photo taken after the swearing-in in Nairobi. I didn’t actually give a speech, but if I had, it would have looked like this. A serious looking man came over right after this and switched off the microphone. Elise, notice I’m wearing your bracelet— I haven’t taken it off yet.
Baobab tree somewhere between Nairobi and Mombasa. The bus ride is long and uncomfortable but these trees are amazing.
My new home, filled with modern amenities like a mini-fridge and a paper Christmas tree:
View of the other side of the room… the paint needs a little work. On the ground is all two years worth of my luggage.
My bedroom, from which I am now writing as I cower under the net to avoid Malaria:
My kitchen. The water doesn’t work as of now but apparently sometimes it does, although it doesn’t help much because the well water is brackish (too close to the ocean).
My first attempt at cooking in Kenya. This was taken before I realized I forgot to buy pasta sauce.
And that brings you up to date. Deaf schools open on Monday, so tomorrow (Sunday), I will hopefully find out what I will be doing for the first day of school. If dinner was indication, I probably don’t yet have my act together to accomplish much, but I’ll remain optimistic.