Kenyan Highways

Jambo!

Our trip to Nairobi National Park was my third opportunity to enjoy the Kenyan highway experience - the first was coming back from the airport when I was sleep deprived and it was late at night; the second was the brief trip to Limuru (see post on children's school); and now the trip through Nairobi to the National Park. The pictures below do not do the experience justice! While there are many areas with beautiful views of tea plantations and fields of corn and other crops, much of the route consisted of narrow, 2-lane highways. Actually, they were more like 4-lanes, but the outer two lanes were filled with people walking and donkey carts hauling all sorts of stuff.

Here's what I have learned about highway travel my frist week in Kenya:

Roadway Rules --> There are no rules! It takes nerves of steel to drive in this country. For the passenger, it takes a deep faith in your driver. It's like going on a roller-coaster - you know there's going to be some excitement - you are reasonbly certain you will arrive at your destination safely, but you still keep an open prayer going that everything holds together - and it almost always does.

1. On straightaways you have to dodge potholes; burrow carts; people carts; people; and other cars. Actually, they aren't really potholes - more like bomb craters! People joke about seeing rabbit ears sticking out of a pothole, only to discover it was a giraffe!

2. There are traffic lights, but I haven't figured out why - I have only seen them at round-abouts (we called them circles in NJ) - and I have yet to see anyone pay attention to whether they are red or green. AND - there are no police to give tickets - as far as I could see. However, my students reminded me to buckle-up or I would be incarcerated! They thought that would be funny (I didn't!).

3. Intersections are not for the chicken-hearted - in fact, that's what it is like - playing chicken! Whoever sticks their nose out in the path might get to go on through - or maybe it will just be gridlock. We came close to causing a gridlock, but one of the other drivers backed down - after it was clear there was no other option. People tell me that sometimes drivers have to get out of their cars and negotiate a truce, then direct traffic to restore flow.

4. Nairobi is a big city with no bypasses! We drove by embassies and the parliment - there was construction (or destruction) everywhere. Bicyclists rode through traffic without fear. We commonly saw motorcycles with stacks of milk carts 4 or 5 high(!!) filled with stuff for delivery - same true for bicycles. Even hand trucks were being used for local delivery.

Note the sign for Pizza Inn - I think I'll wait til I get back to Lubbock for some good ole' Dion's (ought-oh - homesick attack!).

5. As for motorcycles - taxiing people on the back of your motorcycle is a cottage industry. Sometimes I would see two passengers on a motorcycle; sometimes one passenger along with a bale of hay. I thought it strange that the motorcylce drivers were bundled up in coats and wore helmets - it wasn't that cold. Then it occurred to me - that was their safety gear - better to tear up an old coat than your skin!

6. Small, half-ton pickups (like my Toyota) are not full until they are carrying at least twice what I could fit in mine - along with 4 passengers in front! And they are all virtually 30 years old. I still see Datsun trucks - and that name changed in the 70's

7. Fortunately, no one drives very fast - we might have hit 50 once or twice - most of the time was 30 or slower. Which is good - except when going up hill behind a truck (they call them lories). Most of them will be slowed to a walk - and produce a plume of black smoke that obscures the truck!

8. And don't forget - they drive on the wrong side of the road. But you can't scream - it will distract the driver and he might drop his cell phone. That could be very bad! Yes - everyone has a cell phone here and they are constantly talking to someone.

(By the way - when you are walking down the sidewalk, you also pass one another on the opposite side us westerners are accustomed to.)

The last few pictures are of Limuru - the town down the hill from Brackenhurst. We stopped there on the way back to drop off a couple of our students who apparently live there. What is amazing is that these students are among the best in the class and are definitely on par with students in the US.

Even given these circumstances - the people I have met are happy and kindhearted. The van was full of laughter. I couldn't understand the swahili jokes, but it was clear that joy and happiness is not far from their common experience. We can't apply western expectations to their lifestyles - I have alot to learn about that, which I may share later on.

Allfornow - HDG

Nairobi National Park

Yesterday I took my class to Nairobi National Park (see http://www.kws.org/parks/parks_reserves/NANP.html or http://nairobinationalpark.wildlifedirect.org/).

It was a wonderful trip! Although this park is easily accesible to at least some of the students, and reasonable affordable (less and $1 for residents; $40 for non-residents), very few of them had ever been. Also, they rarely get to see the animals we saw during our drive through the park.

The park is interesting for another reason - it is within view of downtown Nairobi. There are fences to keep the wildlife from getting into the city, but otherwise the animals we observed are free to roam anywhere in Kenya. Our drive took from about 10am til about 3 pm, with a stop for lunch at a controlled picnic area.

Among the large animals we saw were Ostriches (more than I espected); Kongoni (a type of antelope); Zebras; Impalas; Buffalo; Wart Hog; Vultures; Springbok; Monitor Lizards; and Baboons (beware - picture of male Baboon is R-rated; see if you can figure out why!). At lunch we took a short walk with a park ranger (he carried a WWII vintage rifle). Hiking is discouraged - Kenyans would prefer tourists stay alive so they can spend money - there is plenty for the predators to eat without adding tourists to the menu. Anyway, we walked along a river to view some crocodiles and we were able to see one Hippo (at least his head).

I visited with the ranger for some time. He had been working for the Kenyan Wildlife Service for 18 years. His observation was that wildlife was on the decline overall due to habitat destruction. However, Kenya certainly recognizes wildlife and the tourism it generates as their primary natural resource, so they do a reasonably good job of managing their parks.

At the end of the trek, we went through the Animal Orphanage - basically a small zoo with wart hogs; lion; cheetahs; leopards; and a few other animals. By US standards, the facilities were substandard, but everyone enjoyed the visit. We got there just as they fed the lions - it is impressive when you can hear the crunch of a leg of something being knawed on by a 500 lb lion!

We left the park at about 4:30 and arrived back at Brackenhurst by 6:00 or so. (See my roadshot post for that experience!) The students were given an assignment - to take one thing they observed and draw a picture; then chose a scripture that applies to that experience; then write a one-page summary of how they would use that experience in a sermon or devotional. I am anxious to read their papers.

Safari Salame - HDG

Teaching Life Science Labs in Kenya

On Thursday we had our first "Lab Day". Most days I lecture for a total of about 3 hours - then we need a break. This week's lab was on osmosis and diffusion. Sometimes we use deshelled eggs as cells, other times we use a special tubing called dialysis tubing. The eggs had been soaking in vinegar to a day and a half, but the shells were still intact, so we had a lesson on pH and acidity - the acidity of the vinegar had been exhausted by the CaCO3 in the egg shells. Anyway, I brought some dialysis tubing. This is like sausage skin - so to make a cell, you have to tie each end. Now - what about string? String is something they don't commonly use here, so we unraveled some jute twine. Students placed some water or sugar-water in the cells, then we placed the cells in a pot of either water or a sugar solution. The cells will then gain weight or lose weight depending on which solution they are bathed in. I have never had a class so involved! They completely invested themselves in this very simple demonstration - and the results were very good.

After we finished the osmosis exercise, it was time to look at cells in the microscope. I brought a variety of prepared slides - onion root tip, amoeba, bread mold - the standards for this lab. There are about 10 microscopes available for 33 students. All of the scopes use 110v lights - but Kenyan electricity is 240v. We have a transformer with 2 outlets - how do we get all scopes working. Fortunately, someone had brought several extension cords - each cord ran two scopes with an outlet for the next extension cord, etc. So we daisy-chained the scopes - and it worked! I have never seen a class so excited about looking through the scopes. Not only that, but they stayed after class so they could take pictures of one another looking through the scopes. That in an of itself is a reward after dealing with students in the US who can't wait to leave class - even if they haven't done half the exercise.

More on the students and people of Kenya in later posts - byefornow - HDG

Today was a different experience. I began the day with a distant view of Mt Kilomanjaro and hearing birds singing as I walked to the classroom. For my part of the devotional I read from Psalm 96 and 98 - underscoring God's glory in his creation.

BUT - later in the day I went with one of the staff at KBTC and his wife on an errand into Limuru - a relatively large town near Brackenhurst. What an eye opener! It was like stepping into one of those news programs showing the disappointing conditions found in the developing world! Riding on the roads was hair razing for me - wrong side of the road in a car that would not leave my driveway if I had a choice. The town was mostly narrow streets with people everywhere. Motorcycles carried extra passengers, and sometimes bundles of hay as well. Soon I found out why our car had no shocks and had a drive train rubbing on the chasis - the backstreets were horrendous!

The pictures show the childrens school we were going to see. It is a building with no water or electricity. 60 children ranging from about 3 yrs to about 7 years old - all from nearby households where one or both parents are HIV positive (and some of the kids also) - were napping or running around, or in class, or doing whatever they wanted. There were two or three adults supervising them. Many of them came up to me to hold my hand and greet me. Needless to say, it was heartwrenching. I spoke with the women in charge - she said before the school was started last January, many of these children would be unattended at home and might go 2 days without food. Whatever I consider a problem in my life will now pale in comparison to what I saw.

As we left the school, along with two extra passengers and a couple more kids, all talking swahili, we stopped many times to visit with people walking on the streets. I have learned that the Kenyans value personal relationships more than anything. There is no sense of urgency when the opportunity to stop and visit presents itself.

One thing that was striking was the number of people doing very menial labor - hauling sticks or water jugs on their heads, or carrying piles of grass pulled up from the roadside on carts pulled by donkeys. This would be to feed their other livestock. Sheep or cows would be tied up anywhere there was grass.

Obviously, we survived the excursion and made it back to Brackenhurst. I feel humbled and privileged to have seen the real lives of Kenyans - instead of the white-washed Brackenhurst version.

Pictures of tea plantations surrounding Brackenhurst and a local market are also included below. This is developing into a life-changing experience - one I will never forget.

More later - perhaps after our field trip to Nairobi National Park on Friday.

Safari Salame! - HDG

These are some views along my quarter-mile commute to the classroom. The pictures start out at the Kenya Baptist Theological College library and offices (round buildings); proceeds along their garden plots to the classroom building; and shows the student dorm and dining hall downslope from the classroom. See if you can find the giant pointsettia.

Herb's Kenya Trek

After about 2 years of planning, I am now in Kenya. I am staying at Brackenhurst International Conference center near Limuru, Kenya. We are about 25 miles outside of Nairobi where the air is cool and damp this time of year. Daytime highs are about 75 and lows are in the low 50's. No heat in our cottages - so it gets pretty cool.

I will be here for 5 weeks - 4 of those weeks I will be teaching Life Science to students at Kenya Baptist Theological College - the last week will be spent on safari and in meetings. My class has 25 students from across Kenya. They are poor financially, but rich in spirit - I am very impressed with how hard they work and how they help one-another study and learn. I wish my students in Plainview could see how seriously these students take their education. I can only imagine the sacrifices and tragedies they have experienced - one of my students lost a brother in the violence following the last elections in Kenya, and another had his entire family displaced because of raiders from Somalia. I understand that some of the other students have stories much more tragic than that.

Our class day starts with a devotional and a song. Their singing is incredible. I have recorded it and will post an audio file after I figure out how to download the file from my BlackBerry.

One of the surprises has been the number of Americans staying at Brackenhurst doing various mission work. At least one group is doing medical missions, and another is working with a local orphanage. There are several pastors here teaching religion courses. There is even a group from Korea.

The lodging facilities date to the period of British rule over Kenya - I would say that most of the buildings are a hundred years old, with newer buildings scattered among the older. The KPTC classroom facilities are somewhat modern and there are some reasonable amenities for the students - a library and computer lab - but they are financially constrained. The classrooms are very simplistic - bare rooms with blackboards that again are probably from the British era. Even so - I am using a powerpoint projector in the classroom.

Living conditions for the students is a very different story. The dorms for students are solid structures, but have no electricity. The dining hall has the ambiance of a camp pavillion - no electricity - they cook with wood! But the students take all of this in stride and are happy to have an opportunity to better themselves through education.

This Friday I will be taking the entire class of 33 students to Nairobi National Park. I don't think any of them have ever been there, even though it is only an hour or so away. I have a couple of trips planned for myself - but I will post on them separately.

Getting here was a bit arduous - about 30 hours door to door, with about 18 of those hours in the air and the rest waiting in airports or getting to-from airports. Needless to say I had my doubts about whether this would be worth the effort. But my doubts have evaporated as I get to know my students and see how much they appreciate what we are doing for them.

I will continue to add to this story as it develops. HDG

Views of Brackenhurst Conference Center