May 18 backpost

I finally visited Baobab Branch yesterday afternoon, which is a tiny room on the 3rd floor of an office building in Nakuru. It is about the size of... (trying to accommodate as many perspectives as possible)
1. Dad & Cynthia's bathroom
2. the 3rd floor office at Mom's
3. Greg and Mary's underground bathroom at their old apartment
Still, it is a great program, and I am working with Amos to help create a business development curriculum for university students. The education here is so focused on state testing, that there is little teaching of practical skills or business planning.

Today I also have my first meeting with a woman who is the elected head of the Nina Agricultural Initiative. We al had a long discussion about the various alternatives for Nina last night at dinner (Amos cooked rice and minced meat with peas and tomatoes and lots of spices). I still haven't even seen the bags, so I am not sure what I am dealing with.

Amos would also like me to travel a lot with Cameron when he arrives at the end of the month, doing work for SpanAfrica. That should take me all over Kenya and some of the surrounding countries (I am definitely fitting in a visit to Daphne in Ngorogoro!). I think it will be very interesting.

I don't have much more interesting news now. We didn't make it down to the lake last night because it poured and then I fell asleep before dinner. I am feeling much better today and my voice has almost fully returned! I will put a list of mundane stuff below for those who have asked.


Some mundane stuff:
Some of you might appreciate the fact that we use a small machete for chopping veggies for cooking. Last night I slept on the top bunk, with Patrick below and Meredith on another bed. We had a funny time trying to kill all the mosquitoes in the room before bed, and subsquently trying to clean off the ceiling of their guts. No bites yet! Amos has a nice shower with hot water. Most people here shower at least once a day, if not twice because it can get so dusty. Because of all the rain, it has been very muddy. It's about 10am and it's sunny, which means it probably won't rain until later.

The phone is having issues with the earpiece, which means I can barely hear people on the other end. However, text messages are working great, at least from within Kenya. If you have tried to text me, please let me know. Don't forget to include the country code. I am going to adopt Meredith's phone when she leaves, and I will send the new number when that happens.

Patrick left this morning for a solar conference in Nairobi, but may come back later this week. I may go with him out into the country to talk to people about his light. For those of you who know him, he is EXACTLY like John Curtin, with a beard. They look alike, they have the same voice, and have the same mannerisms. It's pretty funny.

I think I am going to stay with Amos for the rest of the week and then go to Paul and Jeniffer's. I am starting to learn my way around, am am much more comfortable walking around Nakuru already. I am hoping to get u p to Morokoshi this week, but am excited to meet the head of Nina today and start figuring out what to do. I want to do so much!!! Internet time is up - more another time.