Hakuna Matata

It means "no problems" ... or no worries, depending on if you listen to the Kenyan people or a warthog and a meerkat, but either way it describes how well our trip has been thus far!!!

When we left Halifax it was a bittersweet goodbye as I had been given the sad news that my Nunny had passed away, but after a few tears Dom and I said goodbye and went through the security gates. While sitting upstairs waiting to board our plane we were called over by the same man who checked us in and he handed us two new boarding passes as he had bumped us up to executive first class as a thankyou for the work we were doing. Karma is a funny thing, and in light of the news I had just received it was enough to set my mind at ease for the flight to London.

Once we arrived in London, where rumors that Beckham and Posh were somewhere in Heathrow , we settled in at O'Learys for a pint to get us in gear for our 10 hour wait for the flight to Nairobi. After many uncomfortable snoozes in the most awful wooden chairs ... it was off to gate 25 to board the Virgin Atlantic flight to Nairobi. Well ... I must say that flight was a different experience!!! Our flight attendants had no issues letting us overhear them talking about how greedy we were "double dipping" (read asking for two glasses of water) for our 8 hour flight ... but if you know me it didn't stop me from asking again, haha!!! But the flight was viewing Pineapple Express ... so that was enough to get me through to Nairobi so I shouldn't really complain!!!

After an early morning arrival in Nairobi, and an hour long wait in a line to pay cash for our visas (corruption at its finest) ... we were picked up by our driver Joseph and taken to our host families condo to settle in. The drive wasn't too scary, except for the moment when Joseph decided to drive between two 18 wheelers where I wouldn't have even driven a motorcycle ... but hey, we survived!!! So this condo is actually nicer than the apartment Joce and I share back at home. Hard wood floors, giant hardwood dinner table, and a giant shower ... luxury in Kenyan terms. Dom and I both thought that this was only a temporary placement as we were supposed to be moving out to Lenana where we are volunteering, but something happened with one of the volunteers and we are staying in our condo for the majority of our stay (tough life eh... no squat toilets for me Julie, I hate to break your heart!). However, as a result of these new accommodations we have have to take a "matatu" everyday to and from our location ... which involves cramming about 14 people into a family sized van and driving on roads that don't have actual lines, you just go where theres space!!! Wish us luck!!!!

Well we are just finishing day 2 of our orientation including a lesson in Swahili, a run through of the code of conduct, and time to check the internet before we head back to our accommodations!!! We start our project in a couple of days ... so we are very excited/nervous for the things we are going to see, but this is why we are here, and we are prepared for anything that may come our way!!!

More to come soon ... Kwaheri!