Meant to mention my experience leaving Nairobi but forgot this. I had arrived in the night and my thoughts were just getting through customs and meeting Rachel. But leaving, I had a full three hours to explore the airport, eat, shop and get a feel for an international airport, Nairobi style. Jerri, my DC contact indicated she doesn't like to use bathrooms in places like this...and she has a point. Think, major African airport and NO water! Now there were three small eateries, with rolls, pies, cakes and drinks, but no real restaurant. I did use the potty, and while in there, saw a Java Coffee server also doing her thing. I used my hand sanitizer and she just left and went back to work. ARGGHHHH And of course, one could not flush...many had not been able to flush. Getting the picture yet??
Anyhoo...I bought a camera yesterday so we should have some photos soon. It appears to work and I am dying to take a photo of the crested sawa bird. It has a huge bag hanging from its throat, is blue in color and huge sitting in the trees around here.
Here in Kampala, two of the major newspapers staple them so the people on the street cannot pick them up and read them, which they do in Nairobi. If you want to read, you need to buy it. However, I went down to breakfast and the vendor near the Speke had NO papers at 7:30 a.m. yet. I have him 10,000 Ushillings and off he ran to buy them from a store. He promptly brought them back to me in the restaurant, gave me my change and Dayo, will be also my taxi driver.
In today's paper, there were photos of abandoned babies (apparently named by the orphanage staff because they were too young to know/say their names) and approximate ages. The notice indicated if the parents did not appear in 30 days, the child would revert to the care of the orphanage and be cared for. Never have I seen this...what is interesting is some of the kids had Christian names and others African. The Christian names are like ours, given at baptism, and those who have/use African names are either people who rid themselves of their Christian names at some point or who are not Christian.
The other news item that makes me ill is the number of child sacrifice articles there are in the papers. Kids who are "stolen" from families and then killed as a sacrifice and offered up to ??? for ????.
Tomorrow I will eat something called "wheat a bix" or that is what it sounds like. Looks like a cardboard muffin, flattened out but is a cereal. Am thinking it must be like shredded wheat. Have seen no one eat one, but there for the taking so will give it a try.
Off to work!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment