Nairobi - Take 3

I just wanted to give you all a brief update of my travels. I have taken a job in Nairobi, Kenya to teach French for the next three years. Since I had already purchased tickets to come to Kenya before I found out that I received the job, I will be spending 3 weeks in Nairobi and then 2 weeks in Europe (Paris and Tours, France and Karlsruhe, Germany to be specific). Then after that, I will be going to come "home" to Nairobi, Kenya to start teaching. I have New Teacher Orientation starting the end of July and then classes start on August 15th. I do not know my classes yet, but I am just excited to be teaching here. On Monday, I went to the school from the airport -- I just arrived in Nairobi. I got to walk around the compound and meet some of the teachers; I even saw my classroom -- no air conditioning, but we do have electricity, internet, overhead, and everything we need to teach.

Security -- Kenya is a fairly safe country. Most houses are surrounded by a fence with guards. If a person is caught stealing, they have mob justice -- usually meaning that that person gets hurt. Unfortunately, there are also uncontrollable happenings; such as the bombing that happened about two weeks ago. It was in the city center of Nairobi, and I am on the outskirts (about 45 minutes away). Besides that, you can feel fairly safe, but never let your guard down.

Food -- the staple food is chapati (like a tortilla), sekuma (like greens), cabbage, ugali (a doughish food that is used a a filler) and my favorite (not really) ... beans. There are supermarkets and small stores where you can find almost anything you need. I will not have to eat typical Kenyan food, but it is the cheapest. There is a wide variety of food, such as Indian, Italian, American, and others.

Cars / Driving -- well, what can I say or where to start?! The cars come from all over the place, but mainly places that have the steering wheel on the right side, because they drive opposite from the US. There are some lines on the road, but you can pass or be passed at any time. People usually don't get mad with your driving here, but you must be aggressive. I will be looking for a car this week, so we'll see how I do driving.

As for the past week, we spent much of our time at the church. Pastor Paul took down the tent and added a section to it (being able to fit close to 1,000 people, but we only have 300 chairs now and they are filled). So now the tent is huge and will be able to accommodate many more people. There is always much to do at the church and make sure that things are getting done correctly. It is interesting to try to convey everything in English, when it is an official language, but the Kenyans prefer Swahili. I am picking up on Swahili and hope to be speaking it more fluently within the next few months.