Field Trip!

On Friday, Patrick and I were invited to go on a field trip all around Western Kenya with 30 students from Es'saba Secondary school. We left the school at 7am and got back home at 9pm. The whole way, Patrick and I sat in the front of the bus (which was a truck cab) with the driver. A little crowded and uncomfortable, but we got some good views along the way.

Here's a picture of the bus:

First, we stopped along the side of the road at this huge monolith called the "Crying Rock," which is apparently a popular attraction for Kenyans. It has a long black water stain running down it that makes it look like it's crying. A side view:

Then we made it to Kitale, where we went to the Museum of Western Kenya. It had a zoo-area as well with live animals, including a gigantic crocodile!

I was a big fan of this sign, cautioning people against getting too close to the crocodiles.

Perhaps they meant "predators," but "pretenders" works just as well. Those crocodiles like to trick you into thinking they're just chillin'. Then when you think it's cool to just join them and hang out, they'll chomp the heck out of you! So, really....quite profound.

Inside the museum now, here's a picture of our friend Duncan, a teacher at the school:

The students loved asking me to take their picture in front of the exhibits...

I'll have to print these out and give them their pictures.

Next we went to the base of Mt. Elgon. We would have gone higher, but it started raining, and the driver determined it to be too dangerous to keep climbing the steep hills. Mt. Elgon is right on the border of Uganda. Here's a shot of our bus driver making the judgment call. Nonetheless, it was a BEAUTIFUL area, and I think the rain only made it more breathtaking.

Lastly, we drove to Webuye to see these huge waterfalls that they have there. Here are a few shots....they too were beautiful and amazing:

Fun, Fun, Fun.

So who said this blog was supposed to be all about public service....or even Kenya for that matter? I'm having the time of my life in the capital of the Arab world - Cairo, Egypt! Can you blame me?

Recap of my 2nd day here....

1. First, Ryan, Patrick, and I went to the Egyptian Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt. Tombs, mummies, papyrus, monolithic sculptures, you name it - this place has it. It was really cool, and provided a good primer for our planned trip to the pyramids in Giza tomorrow. Unfortunately, they didn't let us take our cameras in, so I have no sweet shots to show you from the inside - which means you'll have to come to Cairo yourself to see it all! But, here's my pal President Clinton hanging outside of it.

And here's a more artsy one:

Also, my special comment on the museum: Like a lot of places in Cairo, it's kinda dirty and in disrepair. I'd like to come back some day and see it renovated and filled up with brighter light and better descriptions of the artifacts and their context.

2. Then we got in a taxi and went to the Khan el-Khalili marketplace/bazaar. If you've ever been to one of these places, you know the deal....restaurants and cheap touristy stuff to purchase as souvenirs. A big attraction for Westerners here, but still kinda cool.

Here's a short video as I walked down one of the alleys:




3. Lastly, I had one of the funnest nights of my life. Ryan has some family contacts who live in Cairo, and we hung out with them for dinner. We sat outside at a really nice hookah bar restaurant. I tried smoking hookah for the first time in my life. After a few initial coughs, it wasn't that bad, really. I had apple flavor. It got me a little light headed. Also, from conversation and observation, I learned that smoking is a huge thing in Egypt. Tons of people smoke cigarettes, and it is very popular to pass time smoking at the hookah bar. On the other hand, alcohol is not popular in Egypt due to the Muslim faith. It's a give and take. I also learned a lot of other interesting stuff - Egypt has had the same President for 30 years, and despite holding elections every six years, the outcome has apparently been rigged repeatedly for the incumbent. There's also a lot of other corruption here, according to our Egyptian friends, Mohammad and Lamis (who were just engaged to be married two weeks ago). For instance, if a couple were to be caught making out in their car, they could be arrested, but they could just as easily get off the hook by handing the police officer 100 pounds. 

Mohammad is an avid soccer (football) fan, and it just so happened that tonight was a hugely important Egyptian soccer game between Cairo's two teams (it was a quarterfinal match, and they're supposed to be huge rivals). So that game was projected live on a large screen at the restaurant and the place was packed with fans rooting for both sides. Mohammad, and by association, us, were rooting for the red team, but I forget their name. It was crazy fun, and people really got into the game. Best of all, the red team won 3-1. It actually made me appreciate soccer more and realize that it can be a pretty fun sport to watch.

Here's a picture of us watching the game:

 
Here's a picture of our group:

All in all, what a fun night! I really felt like an Egyptian tonight cheering on their sport and joining them in their night life a little bit. :)