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Loitokitok Mombasa Nairobi

Photo chronology: Loitokitok, Nairobi, Mombasa

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.

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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Baobab tree somewhere between Nairobi and Mombasa.  The bus ride is long and uncomfortable but these trees are amazing.

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My new home, filled with modern amenities like a mini-fridge and a paper Christmas tree:

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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.

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My bedroom, from which I am now writing as I cower under the net to avoid Malaria:

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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).

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My first attempt at cooking in Kenya.  This was taken before I realized I forgot to buy pasta sauce.

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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.