Kenya Dig It? - Camping Out

[bloodyrosemccoy]

Heh heh heh ... the malaria story will come in due time. But as I said, I'm planning at this point to begin at the beginning, so you all will just have to wait in suspense and hold your breath hoping that the malaria story doesn't end in my death.

Well, okay, I'm not gonna begin at the very beginning, because that's the airport, and nobody wants to hear more about airports, do they? We all know that they're not really places, after all--they're like hyperspace, in a dimension all their own in that liminal place between Point A and Point B. Plus, I was on Ambien for the long flights, so even though I met my groupmates in JFK, I kind of didn't notice.

So we'll skip that and just say I arrived safe and sound in Mombasa, and a week later so did my bag. This may have been a blessing in disguise, as everyone assumed that's why I cried a few times that first week, and I didn't have to explain that I just cry when going through transitions.* But it also meant that I had to make do with my carry-on things, which by the end of the week were in something of a state.

Fortunately, I am a smart traveller and put the important shit IN the carry-ons, so I had all of my essentials. I had money, notebooks, toiletries, my towel,** a Mini Addy doll from American girl, camera, iPod, and my pills. I also had some extra clothes. So for the first week I survived on two shirts and two pairs of underwear that I'd alternately wash and wear. As they're magic Ex Officio clothes, they take a lot of punishment, and they WOULD be quick-drying if Mombasa didn't have the sort of climate you normally find only inside rice cookers. And since the jeans I was wearing on arrival are not part of the Mombasa Student Dress Code, I used the one other item of clothing in my bag: Ganesh. This is a double-size sarong with a batik image of--anybody want to guess? I almost converted to Hinduism that week. As it was, the rest of my group was just a little puzzled by my calling the sarong by name and talking about it like a person. But then they found out this is the least of my eccentricities.

The first week was overwhelming, but the students were in good hands in the form of Athman and Ali, our academic directors. They took us on a walking tour of Mombasa, which contains a large number of people with mattresses on their heads and a larger number of cats. Our section of Mombasa is made up primarily of alleys, which I suspect the locals of rearranging at night. I'd have gone off and never been heard from again in those alleys if it weren't for these guys.

They took us to restaurants, on walking tours, to Fort Jesus, and even to their own houses for dinner. They gave us lectures on what to expect. They sent us off to explore on our own but promised they were just a phone call away. They made us feel safe.

And by the end of that week, I was starting to believe Mombasa existed--it always takes my mind a little while to catch up with the rest of me on that point when I'm traveling. No longer was I stunned by the sights of sequined buibuis. No longer did I follow Utah traffic laws in a world where they have no place. No longer did I instantly get lost the moment I stepped out of my front door. I was getting used to Mombasa.

Figures that as soon as that happened, we packed up to go somewhere else.

But since the first stop we made on the way out of Mombasa was the airport to pick up my bag, I was quite happy, and beginning to get the hang of this travelling thing. And so, with the first week behind us, I looked forward to a month of travelling the coast before coming back.


*Interestingly, my name literally translates to "she has cried" in Swahili. Coincidence?

**I'd just like to take credit here and note that I am a hoopy frood who always knows where her towel is.

Comments

[alexvdl.livejournal.com]

Fort Jesus?!

Also, nice Hitchhiker's reference.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

That would be a legacy of the Portuguese, who showed up in disguise because their reputation preceded them.

[wyndfire.livejournal.com]

When I went to Dominica in April, I had been warned multiple times to carry an extra full set of clothes in my carry-on. We were going to a third world country, and had to take three different planes through three different airports (with an overnight layover in one) to get there. The chances that my luggage and I would arrive at the same time were rocky.

[gryfindormia.livejournal.com]

"She has cried"? Righteous.

Cats are a wonderful thing. I like it when I find large populations of cats in cities. They're a natural way of keeping the vermin population down and virtually take care of themselves.

Will will be getting pictures of the cool clothes eventually?

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Just wait till we get to Lamu!

Very eventually. I'm going to upload upon my return.

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

I have been anticipating further tales of Kenya (where they'd got lions.) It sounds like you are having a good time. I am puzzled by a dress code that disdains jeans but approves of Ganesh sarongs. Pics plz.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Pants are rather disapproved of on women, but Ganesh is a big old sarong I wore as a skirt.

Pics will come in time ... cybercafes are not exactly speedy on the upload.

[viizou.livejournal.com]

It's good that you were accompanied by nurturing people. Makes all the difference.

I may have already quoted this, but Marc Augé refers to airports (and supermarkets and the like) as "non-places".

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I think I've heard that. Of course, when I found a supermarket here I nearly wept for joy, as they had chapstick. Also, for some reason, I love supermarkets.

I know what he means, though. They sort of don't count.

[(Anonymous)]

Hey! I'm glad to see you're still posting :) I got your postcard, too. It made my day (by the way it also made me seething jealous but equally happy for you). It sounds as if Africa's treating you well. You're a lot smarter traveler than I am. I would have to make due with art supplies and the clothing on my back. Yuck, to say the least. I can't wait to see you again. I bought your birthday present, too. I really hope you like it. It's a normal gift this time. I can assure you neither your nor Hank's name was inserted for whatever purpose.

If you haven't caught it on Facebook, I will have to show you the Salad Xenomorph, and I wanted to ask, do any of your characters see in infrared light? I thought that'd be interesting, but knowing you, I would not be surprised at all if one species does. I hope you've been keeping up with that while you're over there, too. I can understand if not, though.

I'm glad to see you survived malaria. Brutal. Damn you, mosquitoes from hell!

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Well, of COURSE I had writing supplies. AKA "essentials."

*grin* I guess I just get confused by weird presents.

I am now intrigued by the Salad Xenomorph--Facebook is too time-consuming to do here. I've got a few species that see in infrared and ultraviolet, and a few more that don't see in very much at all. Why? Do Salad Xenomorphs see that way?

Looking forward to seeing everyone! I've got presenty things, too--cool ones!

[tarathene.livejournal.com]

I for one applaud our named-sarong wearing overladies and probably even overlords as well. As long as they look good in a sarong, that is. My laptop is always wrapped in my towel when traveling. Less likely to break my laptop if I have to beat people off using my carry-on luggage! I would hate to try living more than a week or two out of carry-on only, but I can usually do a week just fine unless I'm bringing useless things.

I may have to look into this Ex Officio brand of clothing for the future. It sounds like it might be handy at some point to have at least two or more sets of it for various climates.

PS: I'm not sure Utah has traffic laws. I had better luck predicting people's actions on the road when I was living in New Jersey.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm thinking of pedestrian traffic laws. Utah drivers are assholes, but Utah pedestrians? Weirdly angelic.

Yeah, one week of carry-on was enough for me.

[tarathene.livejournal.com]

The ones coming out of places such as store (especially Wal-mart) that have doors opening directly towards traffic seem to be a bit too angelic at times. I've had people try to walk in front of me countless times when my car was already halfway through the crosswalk and they had just came out of the door.

Otherwise, definitely! NYC and DC have flows of pedestrian traffic that occasionally let cars through, where as here it seems most people are actually afraid of getting run over when crossing real streets. Perhaps it's some herd instinct involving safety in numbers even in situations that should be considered dangerous.

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

Neatness!