Kenya: Enjoying Africa

Day 0/1: Travel to Kenya

I left for Kenya on a Friday night, 8 days after I bought a ticket. I was excited for my first trip to Africa, although I had made very few plans. I just assumed that after 18 hours of travel (KLM through Amsterdam), when I arrived in Nairobi that a driver would meet me and taken to my hotel and all would work out well - and it did. I made it safely to Africa by Saturday night.

Day 2: Rest in Nairobi

I was staying at the Methodist Guest House in the Lavington suburb of Nairobi. Sunday was very much a day of rest, spent reading books, sitting by the pool and just adjusting to a new time zone. I have not had a day without worry in a long time, and I think I needed the break and chance to work on relaxing. This was the start of a real holiday.

Day 3: Lulu Works and Value Chain Analysis

Monday morning came and Jimmy picked Adina and I up at the hotel and took us two blocks to the Lulu Works site. I was there to meet up with the Belknap family (brother and sister in law of one of my old IBM co-workers Will) and Adina was there to help the Lulu team do a Value Chain Analysis and Mapping as part of a case study on NGO efforts in conflict areas. It was interesting to learn about the history and economics of working and aid in this region.

Lulu Team

After the day of work, Adina and I walked down the road to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. It was amazing food and a good chance to hang out Nairobi style.

Day 4: Nairobi Exploration

Tuesday was my chance for a grand adventure in Nairobi. I hired a driver for the day and set out to explore in the area. First stop was the Tuesday Maasai Market. I wandered through the market buying gifts for friends and family and just enjoying all of the people and colorful crafts around me.



After grabbing some pineapple from a vendor, we headed out to the Nairobi Game Park and the Animal Orphanage. Here I got to see some rescued animals and even pet a cheetah. I am not sure this is really allowed, but it was cool to do. It turns out their fur is not very soft but more bristly then I expected.



After this we headed out to the Giraffe Center. I loved this place, mostly because it was so cool to feed the giraffes, give them a hug, and have them lick you. They are such gentle creatures.



On the way back to Nairobi, we stopped by the Karen Blixen House (author of Out of Africa), for a look at early 1900's life in Kenya for the whites. Then it was back to Nairobi to meet up with the Lulu team for dinner.

Day 5: Nairobi to Nakuru

I spent the morning at the Lulu Works site, reading The Zanzibar Chest, a good book on the regional conflicts written by a Kenya born Brit. I know there has been conflict in the regional and I knew the colonists had reshaped the area, but being and reading about the region made me realize how unsettled the region is and just the shear amount of British influence - from clothes to schooling - the "West" is not American, but the impact of the British colonial system.

In the afternoon, Kristina and I drove the 100 miles to Nakuru. Now this should have taken 2 hours, but there were a number of diversions onto rutted dirt roads, so it took almost 4 hours. We went up a hill, and then down into the Rift Valley. It is absolutely beautiful. This is the Africa of the Lion Kin. Mountains, lakes, and trees I had never seen before. I loved it.



The sun was setting through the clouds, as it had been raining a lot. This rain was unseasonable and had led to flooding in Uganda. Luckily, Wednesday was the last day of rain during my trip and the country had a chance to dry out.



Around dark we arrived at the JB compound. It was good to arrive and sleep.

Day 6: Rest in Nakuru

It was another day of holiday, sitting outside with the dogs, reading and enjoying peace in Nakuru. The JB compound has 5 families and the JB Drilling group, described by one worker as “a private borehole water drilling company which operates three rigs in Kenya and 10 in Sudan. On site, I learn about drilling techniques and the art of diesel mechanics, and have learned how to drive a variety of trucks.”



During the morning I read A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, by Gil Countemanche. It was an amazing, but depressing look at Rwanda.



Walking around the compound, one of the plants I really liked was the Euphorbia Candelabrum - it looks like a cactus on top of a tree trunk! So cool.



In the evening, Kristina and I went for a walk up to the Rifle Range, just outside of the Nakuru Game Park.

Day 7: Nakuru and Operation Sugar

On Friday, I watched some of the Lulu Works ladies work on a Lulu Life order. They had a formulation area in the compound.



One of the orders was for some Sugar Scrub, and they needed 70kg of Brown Sugar, so Kristina and I headed to town to find some Sugar. We visited several markets, before finding a distributor with course enough sugar for the scrub.




On the way back to the compound we passed by one of the drilling sites. It was great to see the actual drilling site and what it looks like to drill boreholes.



That night, we walked the dogs along the old Delemere land. When we were driving from Nairobi to Nakuru, we stopped at the Delemere dairy farm for Milk and Yogurt. Lord Delemere owns quite a lot of land in Kenya and is slowly selling it off to get cash.



It was nice to see all the trees in the evening light, although a bit sad to think all of this land will probably have home on it by the time I return to Kenya.



Day 8: Nakuru Game Park

Saturday morning we headed out to the Nakuru Game Park, one of the most visited sites in all of Kenya, with arguably the best animal viewing. I certainly thought all the animals were amazing.



There were baboons and many types of gazelles and elk.



This is also the site of a huge number of pink flamingos. There are literally thousands, although the number may be getting smaller, as we saw a hyena eating one.



There were also many buffalo sitting and walking around.



I enjoyed all of the Zebra, they seemed to be everywhere.



This park is know as a Rhino sanctuary, and we were lucky to see several with their young.



We stopped at the Makalia Waterfalls, which were overflowing with water given all the recent rains. Usually during this season, you can walk behind a trickle, but that was just not possible with the roar of water we saw.



After the waterfall, we had to change a tire. I didn't really expect to change my first tire in Africa, but it was a fun addition to the game park for me.



To me the best part of the park was the giraffes. They just wandered across the roads.



After the day in the game park, back on the compound there was a party for Jojo and George's birthday. There was endless grilled meat, drinks and dancing.



I hung out with two of the wives from the compound, along with a number of the younger crowd.



It was good for me to stay up late, and party local style. That night, once the moon set, there were also amazing equatorial stars. Given the elevation (around 6000 feet), it was cool in the evenings and hot during the day, reminding me of the bay area more then the tropics. But the stars were definitely tropical.

Day 8: Lulu at the Fair

Sunday morning we headed up to Greensteds School for the annual fair. Here we set up a booth to sell Lulu. From the South Sudanese Lulu Formulation workers, Gisma joined us to work on her English and sales skills.



I had a wonderful time exploring the fair and buying this amazing wooden stool for my house. At about 40 pounds, it was an interesting addition to my checked luggage.

That evening, Juma cooked up 40 hamburgers and we had a quite evening getting ready for the work week.

Day 9: Crafts then Return to Nairobi

In the morning, after packing, I wandered over to the crafts workshop to check out all the wood and leather work. I ended up spending the rest of my money on some just amazing crafts from the JB Art & Crafts shop.



I wandered through the compound one last time to enjoy the trees and plants.



My hosts in Kenya, Tom and Kristina Belknap were wonderful. I think staying with them gave me a feel for everyday life in Kenya, which was a great experience to have.



I took a cab to the airport and then boarded a flight to Amsterdam. My time in Africa was over.

Day 10: Home

I had a few hours in Amsterdam, before boarding the flight back to Boston. The trip was finally over.



Many more pictures of my time in Kenya can be found here: Kenya Adventure Pictures

Rest and Explore: NorthEast with Mel

After a week of hanging out with Amanda and Carter after their big move east, my friend Mel from UCLA Law School came out for a week. We had an adventure around the North East.

Friday: Out to the Berkshires

Friday morning we slept in and then after breakfast headed west to the Berkshires. After exiting the freeway we stopped off in Lee for lunch at the CakeWalk, a lovely little shop where you could see the cakes being baked.



We then drove to the Kripalu Center, where we checked into our weekend Yoga retreat. The Center was a lovely set of grounds called Shadowbrook, just next to Tanglewood (both of these were named by Nathanial Hawthorn). It was nice to just enjoy a place where you do not need to think, where 3 healthy meals a day are served, and there are just beautiful areas to enjoy.




The class was lead by Yoga Instructor Seane Corn and the Friday night yoga was more then I had done in a long time. After a healthy yoga workout, I was ready to sleep.

Saturday: Kirapalu

In the morning, after a light breakfast, it was a 3 hour yoga class, with a lot of discussion on how important it is to control what you let into your bodies, both emotionally and physically. I do not know when of have perspired more, so at least anything bad in me was leaving!

In the afternoon, we headed down to the lake, and while it was a bit overcast, it was nice to get wet and swim a bit. Luckily we made it back to our rooms before a major thunderstorm hit.



That night was a yoga chanting concert by Russill Paul - I was amazed at how much fun it was to chant along with him and the drums. Not quite the same as my trip earlier during the week to see Willie Nelson, but still a lot of fun.

Sunday: Heading North

Sunday morning started out with a 2 hour detox yoga workout. It made me feel good, even if I still cannot touch my toes. After lunch we checked out of the center and then drove north to the Adirondacks. What was amazing to me was that the fall colors already here and it is only the second week in September. I think it is going to be an early fall.



We stopped in Plattsburg for the night, I was tired of driving in the rain. We had a great meal at the local yummy Irish Pub and then rested.

Monday: Arrive in Canada

Monday morning we headed to Canada, and as we came to the boarder, I realized, I didn't bring my passport. I thought a license was enough, but it turns out I should have also had my birth certificate. Luckily, the boarder agent was nice and let us enter the country.



Once in Montreal, we dropped our stuff off at our hotel, Hotel Kutuma - a lovely place in the heart of the Plateau district. The man at the desk directed us to L'Express for lunch, and it was a great lunch. The best part was the dessert of Ile Flottante.



Next we headed down to Old Montreal and the Waterfront, exploring the different neighborhoods on the way. It was nice to see the old part of town.

Tuesday: Montreal Exploration



After a good nights sleep we headed out to Mount Royal Park. On the way, we stopped for an awesome breakfast at Chez Jose before heading to the top of the park for a view of all of Montreal. After the park, we walked down through McGill to the Beaux Arts Museum where there was a wonderful exhibit on Emily Carr. I loved many of the paintings and just learning the history of this Canadian artist and her interplay with the First Nations.



That night, Mel and I went to the Kent Nagano directed Montreal Symphony. They did Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges and Mahler's 1st. Both were very different and yet very good. I have heard the SFS do many of the Mahler symphonies, so it was good to hear one at another venue. After the symphony, we took a cab home in the rain, and went to the local bar for drinks. It was good to gossip with the locals, chat up the Parisian bartender and just hang out. Montreal is a really vibrant and fun city.



Wednesday: Home via Vermont

Wednesday we got up earlier then was good, given the late night, and then started driving home through the Canadian corn fields toward the US Boarder. The US boarder was super easy to cross, with no questions about my lack of passport.



We drove through Vermont. It is amazing to me how green and filled with trees our drive was, since California is just not so undeveloped. We stopped off at Dartmouth, first for me to see my college friend Amy, and then in Norwich to see Mel's friend Julia. Julia has a jewelry shop, and while we were there, I got to make a lovely turquoise and black necklace. It was cool to make my own necklace with the help of her and her kids. She used the shop as a place to train and work with local young mom's, helping them to develop work skills.



After out stop it was back to Boston. It was good to explore the area a bit more and also just rest up before my big trip to Kenya!

More Pictures can be found here: Trip Pictures

New England Adventures

Most of the adventures I have posted have been for big trips to far away places, but during my one and a half years in New England, I have also had a number of wonderful local adventures. To get an idea of all of the fun that New England has to offer, here are some pictures and notes.

April 2006: Nantucket Island

Soon after we both arrived in the Boston area, Jen Sather and I went on a weekend trip to Nantucket Island. It was a bit pre-season, so all the shops had sales as it sprinkled down upon us. I really liked getting my orange rain hat and the whale museum.

Nantucket Pictures

September 2006:

Peterborough, NH

My friend Karron Graves was in a lovely play called Fallen Angels in Peterborough, NH as part of the Peterborough Players Summer program. This was my chance to see a bit of New Hampshire and the concept of summer stock.

Nantasket Beach, MA

On September 30th, I went with Joy Erikson down to Nantasket Beach for the Fantastic Nantasket Triathlon. We had an amazing time swimming in the ocean, biking along the beach and then running in the sand. It was great to do a local triathlon.

October 2006: Fall Colors, Vermont and New Hampshire

I actually wrote this adventure up here: Fall Colors

March 2007: Rockport and Gloucester, MA

There are lots of quaint New England towns, like Rockport and Gloucester. We stayed at a B&B in Rockport, wandered the shops, and visited a cool lighthouse. I like quaint, not enough for forever, but definitively for a weekend trip.

Summer 2007: New Hampshire

I had many short trips to New Hampshire. From a Memorial weekend trip to Far Mountain with the Shen Family, where I went swimming in the local stream with Phoebe and got pulled along playfully by the strong currents.

Rachel, my first flat mate in Brookline, and I went hiking at Mt Monadnock for the Fourth of July, hiking all the way to the top, and then hurrying down as it started to rain. After the hike, we went to the Jaffry, NH Kimball Farm location for some of my favorite ice cream. The great thing about New England is all the truly wonderful ice cream.

Rachel at the top

In August, Rachel and I headed up to Hampton Beach for a spectacular day by the water. While the water was cold, it was very lovely out.

June 2007: Berkshires

The Berkshires are wonderful, and I am not just saying that because I had a great massage at the Cranwell Resort, found a lovely cider Mill and bought some hard cider, or even saw great views. Life is a little slower in the Berkshires and that is nice. It was also WONDERFUL to go to Tanglewood. I have been hearing about Tanglewood all my life, but nothing prepared me for the lineup for the lawn seats, a personal picnic, and then seeing my favorite radio show - Prairie Home Companion - live, with guest James Taylor. There was even a post concert sing along. It was a wonderful weekend.

August 2007: Connecticut Peach Picking

I made it down to the Connecticut countryside for a weekend with Matt & Kellie and their new baby Maricela. We picked peaches, then made peach butter, a peach meal and just had a peach of a time.

August 2007: Maine

One afternoon, I decided to just drive north. After a lunch at Bob's, per the recommendation of the Greens from Camp Blue, I headed up to Boothbay. I eventually found myself a place to stay at the Lawnmere Inn on Southport Island. It was great to just hang out at the Inn, go kayaking in the bay, taking a long walk (3 miles) into Boothbay Harbor, where I got to chatting with the older local named Everet about local life (really slow when it is not summer), and just enjoying a few foggy days. One night, I went to Robinson's Wharf for a fresh Lobster dinner (with claws!).

On the way home, I stopped in Freeport and other towns along the way home, enjoying some sunny weather, after of few days of fog. I took myself apple picking at McDougal Orchards and then headed to a beach in Kennebunkport to just sit and read by the ocean. It was nice to have a good adventure in "Vacationland."

Summers: Local Fun

During the summer's in Boston, I would also have local fun, going to baseball games at Fenway, exploring the Emerald Necklace, walking home from the Cambridge office along the Esplanade, biking down to the Arnold Arboretum

Often I would head out to Bedford for a bike ride with the Shen's in the area, sometimes to Kimball Farms for ice cream, sometimes to Walden Pond for a swim.

There were lots of sports, from softball, where the Princeton Alumni won the Boston Ivy Alum Championships, to volleyball, indoor, outdoor, and by the river, to ultimate leagues, teams and tournaments. When the weather was good, there were many fun sports to play.

There is so much to do and so much beautiful land in New England. I am so happy I had a chance for some lovely local adventures.

Camp Blue 2007

This year the whole family headed up to Camp Blue, for a wonderful holiday in the Sierras.

Saturday

In the morning, Mom and I packed up the car, got breakfast at the Millbrae Pancake House, and then I drove us up 108 to the Lair of the Bear. We arrived early and settled into the cabin – Tent 15. The Lair is in Stanislaus National Forest. You could see how the forest was thinned over the winter, by, I assume, a tree selling policy.



The Umeda’s, including Ian, were in Tent 17, just across from us. I had seen them the previous weekend at Martin and Susmita’s wedding. The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up with old friends and hanging by the pool, reading my typical trashy romances and just trying to unwind.

After the welcome Thanksgiving dinner, we went to the Saturday Night Show, to meet our 2007 staff.

Sunday

It was another beautiful Lair morning, and after a late breakfast, I spend most of the day doing nothing. It was nice to catch up with friends like the Green’s, Brown’s, Rich’s, Brodsky’s, Godwin’s, and Kliszewski's, reading books and hanging by the pool.

The afternoon brought inter-tube water polo, and I once again was a great defender, flipping staff out of their tubes. Later, Amanda and Carter arrived, after participating in their last Wharf to Wharf run in Santa Cruz. We headed down to the Rich’s cabin for cocktail hour.



Sunday night, Julia and Ken arrived with Caleb (who had been fighting a fever), and the whole gang was around. It was nice to get to spend some time catching up with Julia on life in the West Coast. Being up in the mountains really reminded me of how much I miss California.



Monday



I was up early for the Hike to Sword and Lost Lake, in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness area. This is one of my favorite hikes. There were 20 of us in the group, in part because Stephanie Rich’s family all came along, since she was the hiking director this year.



It was a great walk down to the lakes and then wonderful to take off our shoes and swim! Their was a rope swing to swing into the rather warm lake. I really do loving swimming is fresh high mountain lakes. After play in the water and some lunch we were getting ready to hike out when disaster struck! Patty Rich fell off the cliff side in such a way that she badly hurt her foot. What to do? Should we carry her out? How could we contact camp? Our cell phones were not working, when luckily some Camp Gold hikers (that were also part time Search and Rescue Workers) came to our aid. One of them had a GPS and cell phone that worked and we were able contact the emergency response team. A few hours later, I played Wind Goddess, holding up a pole with toilet paper on it, to give wind direction to the helicopter that was coming for Patty.



That helicopter ended up landing fairly far away, but a second one was able to land where I had been standing to take her to the hospital. It was amazing. The hike out was a quick one, as we headed back to camp, to let everyone know of the adventure.

Tuesday

After the eventful Monday, I was ready to do nothing on Tuesday. I spent some time in the morning making a pot (that eventually blew up in the kiln) and hanging out at the lodge and pool.

In the afternoon, it was time for Staff vs. Camper women’s softball. Everyone (Julia, Ken, Caleb, Amanda, Carter, Mom) came out to watch the big game. We had yet another crack team, and this year were able to crush staff. It was one of my better softball outing, with me hitting an amazing Grand Slam! Of course, the home run came off of at least 2 errors, but still, it was a grand slam. To temper my good luck at hitting, when I was at first, I had a horrible time catching the “lair bounce” balls, but then was able to play some at third, my Dad’s old position.



After returning from softball, we spent some time making tie-dyes, a beautiful assortment of shirts and onesies for our friends. Before dinner, Amanda and Carter took on Rich and Ellen in a shuffle board competition. Sadly, they lost, but at least it was to good friends.



After dinner was the volleyball tournament, with Ken joining me on team Brodsky. We made it past the first round, but were not able to pull it out in the second round. That night, I got my first (and only) lair burger of the week, as we hung out in the lodge and enjoyed another great night at the lair.



Wednesday

After breakfast, Mom and I entered the round robin ladies doubles tennis match. My yearly efforts at tennis, leave something to be desired. Luckily, we had Rich Green to warm us up, and get me back into the swing of things. It was a good morning of tennis. When I had good partners, I did well, and I even had one “dad” shot, of a lefty pop over the net for a score.

Julia and Ken had to leave in the afternoon, but luckily had time to introduce Caleb to Camp Blue. After lunch, Amanda, Carter, Mom, and I, headed out to Lake Pinecrest, enjoying some beach time, then renting a motor boat and exploring the further reaches of the lake.



That night, we had our first big cocktail hour at our tent with Bill and Mackenzie making their famous Patron margaritas. It was also talent show night, which included a slide show of the Monday hike adventure, and nicknaming of me as the Wind Goddess.

Thursday

I got up early to go on a hike with David and Ellen to Cleo’s Baths. Cleo’s is right behind Pinecrest lake and it a beautiful natural bath. You can tell it has been drouht time in California, because there was very little water in the baths. After the morning hike it was back to camp for an afternoon by the pool. I finished the last Harry Potter by the pool.



Amanda and Carter had to head home, since they were moving out of their apartment for the big move to Boston in August, so Amanda can get her Masters in Social Work at BU. After Blue, they are heading back to Boston with me to find housing. Thursday night was the hootanay, a lair classic that I always love. This year we sang Harmony, one of my favorite songs.



Friday

The last full day at the Lair started off with more Tennis, this time, just a foursome with Mom, Kathy, and Nancy. After tennis, I headed over to the softball field for the game versus gold. Sadly, we were unable to recapture the magic of the Staff game and we lost.

In the afternoon, I finished my lanyard necklace, and enjoyed one last afternoon by the pool. When the pool closed it was time for the end of the week cocktails, with a big gathering at the Doc’s tent. We had tri-tip dinner and then headed over to the stage for the Friday Night Show. Awards were given out and then a remarkably coherent final show was performed for us.



At the lodge it was time for a last snack from the Burger Shack, some cards, and some goodbyes.



Saturday

We packed up the car, had a farewell breakfast, and then Mom and I headed home, after another great year at the lair. I am already looking forward to next year.

See more Lair Pictures!