I'm going to live on the farm for a week tomorrow so I'll be outside of communication, but I'm taking Lariam (a malaria medication) which produces crazy dreams and psychosis in some instances. Here's the dream I had a couple nights ago:
I'm looking out my window and I see a jet black llama. It looks right at me. Then there are a herd of black llamas. They run over a hill. Suddenly someone yells, "Look! A unicorn!" One of the llamas has transformed into a unicorn. It's black with a gold horn. Suddenly, a beam of light falls from the sky and lands on Chris (a kid on the trip) Now he's wearing a white and gold robe like the pope. I have two thought simultaneously:
1. Chris is superman
2. King Arthur - Harry Potter - Chris
Now I'm driving somewhere with Chris. We get to Wendy's and get out of the car but I point out that we're in a handicapped zone. Instead of getting back into the car he reaches under it and drags it into a regular space. I realize that the Bears-Seahawks game is about to start and I ask if Chris will take me there. He carries me like a newlywed and flies away from Wendy's. We start to sink and he explains he's now losing his power. He puts me on the ground and I'm immediately captured by a skinnier version of Gary Coleman. He takes me to see Sinnary (the director of the Kenya program) but he's evil, and he is about to kill me. I wake up.
What does it all mean?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Ripped off abroad
My interaction with a street merchant:
Merchant: Those are nice glasses. How much did you pay for them?
Me: $3
Merchant: Can I wear them?
[I give him the glasses]
Merchant: That's a nice hat. How much was it?
Me: I don't remember. Cheap. I got it in China.
Merchant: Can I wear it?
[the merchant is now wearing my sunglasses and my hat]
Merchant: I'll trade you anything I own for these things
Me: No. I need those things back or I'll get a sunburn.
Merchant: Where are you from?
Me: Chicago
Merchant: I'll be back. Have you ever met him?
Me: Schwarzenegger? Nope.
Merchant: (obviously dissapointed) Oh. Ok. Well look at this box. Do you like it?
Me: It's a nice box.
Merchant: Ok. I will write down how much I want for it. Then you write down how much you will pay. Then I come down like a Masaai from a tree and you come up like a lion from the bushes.
Me: I don't have any money.
Merchant: It's ok. Just for practice. My first price is 18,000 shillings (US $2,500)
Me: I don't know where to start.
Merchant: You have to be a hard bargainer. Start low.
Me: 1 shilling.
Merchant: You are a funny man. Because you look honest I'll give you a better price. 12,000 shillings (US $1650)
Me: 500 shillings
Merchant: American dollars? 500 American dollars?
Me: No.
Merchant: Ok, you are getting better. I will now reduce my price to 5,000 shillings.
Me: 1,000 shillings
Merchant: You are crazy. I will give you my final offer. 2,000 shillings. I can't go any lower.
Me: 1,700 shillings.
Merchant: Ok. Now what if you give me that hat as well, what will you pay then?
Me: I need that hat or else I'll get a sunburn.
Merchant: But supposing you did...
Me: 1,000 shilllings.
Merchant: Sold. 1,000 shillings and the hat.
[He starts wrapping the box up.]
Me: I thought this was just for practice. I seriously don't have any money. I have 100 shillings and I need it to take the bus home. Can I have my sunglasses and hat back. I don't want to get a sunburn.
[I meet up with the rest of the group. I find out that another merchant offered a girl the same box for 700 shillings as his starting price and gave her a free gift.]
Merchant: Those are nice glasses. How much did you pay for them?
Me: $3
Merchant: Can I wear them?
[I give him the glasses]
Merchant: That's a nice hat. How much was it?
Me: I don't remember. Cheap. I got it in China.
Merchant: Can I wear it?
[the merchant is now wearing my sunglasses and my hat]
Merchant: I'll trade you anything I own for these things
Me: No. I need those things back or I'll get a sunburn.
Merchant: Where are you from?
Me: Chicago
Merchant: I'll be back. Have you ever met him?
Me: Schwarzenegger? Nope.
Merchant: (obviously dissapointed) Oh. Ok. Well look at this box. Do you like it?
Me: It's a nice box.
Merchant: Ok. I will write down how much I want for it. Then you write down how much you will pay. Then I come down like a Masaai from a tree and you come up like a lion from the bushes.
Me: I don't have any money.
Merchant: It's ok. Just for practice. My first price is 18,000 shillings (US $2,500)
Me: I don't know where to start.
Merchant: You have to be a hard bargainer. Start low.
Me: 1 shilling.
Merchant: You are a funny man. Because you look honest I'll give you a better price. 12,000 shillings (US $1650)
Me: 500 shillings
Merchant: American dollars? 500 American dollars?
Me: No.
Merchant: Ok, you are getting better. I will now reduce my price to 5,000 shillings.
Me: 1,000 shillings
Merchant: You are crazy. I will give you my final offer. 2,000 shillings. I can't go any lower.
Me: 1,700 shillings.
Merchant: Ok. Now what if you give me that hat as well, what will you pay then?
Me: I need that hat or else I'll get a sunburn.
Merchant: But supposing you did...
Me: 1,000 shilllings.
Merchant: Sold. 1,000 shillings and the hat.
[He starts wrapping the box up.]
Me: I thought this was just for practice. I seriously don't have any money. I have 100 shillings and I need it to take the bus home. Can I have my sunglasses and hat back. I don't want to get a sunburn.
[I meet up with the rest of the group. I find out that another merchant offered a girl the same box for 700 shillings as his starting price and gave her a free gift.]
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Hello
We flew into Nairobi yesterday morning. The sun was rising just as we were landing and I could only see completely undeveloped land basically until we landed. The minute we left the airport we saw a giraffe and a family of baboons on the side of the road.
So ended the most disoriented period of my life. I left Chicago at 2:30 pm central time and got into new york at 5:30 pm eastern time. I met up with other people from the group and we boarded the flight for London at 10:00 pm eastern time. We arrived in London at 10:30 am London time. I watched a Bollywood movie called Dabaang. It's about a corrupt cop who is also a great dancer whose weapon of choice is a firehose. Because we had a nine hour layover I went into the city with a few people from the program. We had a couple pints which further disoriented me. I fell asleep on the ground in Heathrow, and we finally boarded the plane at 7:00 pm London time. We arrived in Kenya at 6:45 am Nairobi time. I think we were travelling for about 30 hours of real time and 40 hours of time-zone adjusted time.
My mom packed me a lunch, but I never ate it because I was never really sure when lunch was. I accidentally smuggled it into Kenya because customs was so lax I didn't realize I went through it. We were driven to our compound which is in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi. Our first rural homestay starts in less than a week. I will be staying with Peter and Helen of the Meru tribe of Mount Kenya. Peter is a farmer and Helen is a nurse. They have one son who is 22 years old and two daughters who work and live in Nairobi.
Going into the city a little later today. I'll put some pictures up soon.
So ended the most disoriented period of my life. I left Chicago at 2:30 pm central time and got into new york at 5:30 pm eastern time. I met up with other people from the group and we boarded the flight for London at 10:00 pm eastern time. We arrived in London at 10:30 am London time. I watched a Bollywood movie called Dabaang. It's about a corrupt cop who is also a great dancer whose weapon of choice is a firehose. Because we had a nine hour layover I went into the city with a few people from the program. We had a couple pints which further disoriented me. I fell asleep on the ground in Heathrow, and we finally boarded the plane at 7:00 pm London time. We arrived in Kenya at 6:45 am Nairobi time. I think we were travelling for about 30 hours of real time and 40 hours of time-zone adjusted time.
My mom packed me a lunch, but I never ate it because I was never really sure when lunch was. I accidentally smuggled it into Kenya because customs was so lax I didn't realize I went through it. We were driven to our compound which is in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi. Our first rural homestay starts in less than a week. I will be staying with Peter and Helen of the Meru tribe of Mount Kenya. Peter is a farmer and Helen is a nurse. They have one son who is 22 years old and two daughters who work and live in Nairobi.
Going into the city a little later today. I'll put some pictures up soon.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Goodbye
I really wanted my first post to be about hunting lions, drinking cow’s blood, or eating giraffe meat, and I hate writing about anything sentimental, but this feels like the right place to start. I hope this post doesn’t read like the moral at the end of a shitty sitcom. If you have an image of me as a tough guy or an easygoing person, please stop reading now. Or maybe keep going.
Last night my dad told me he was going to bed, and he would be gone before I left in the morning. I gave him a hug and he wished me luck and told me not to take any unnecessary risks. I just mumbled something about how fast this whole thing has come and he went upstairs. Before that I hadn’t thought about it. I’m going to Kenya. I’m going to Kenya. I went upstairs and laid face down in my bed. My head was spinning. I wasn’t nervous before because I hadn’t been living it. It’s easy to think about going to Kenya. It’s easy to think about not seeing your parents for 4 months or not seeing your friends for 6 or 7 months. It’s easy to think about living in a village in Africa or going to a place where I will stick out, but I’m getting on a plane to go live that. I won’t see my family again for 4 months.
I’m not getting cold feet; I want to do this and I’m excited, but for lack of a better way of saying it, I’m scared as shit. Hopefully as the program gets into swing I can shift my perspective towards what I’m gaining by going to Kenya, but right now I’m only thinking of what I’m leaving behind. Yesterday, via facebook, I asked everyone to tell me what they wanted as a souvenir. I got a bunch of answers and most of them were jokes, but I’m going to miss that, and you guys, a lot.
In all seriousness, it’s hard to think about what your family or friends mean to you. I’ve never done it until now, when thinking about it has kind of been forced upon me. Sorry if you’ve waded through my sentimental bullshit and actually read all the way to here, and I feel a lot better after writing this. Hopefully the next post will be about catching poachers or learning how to use a blow gun.
Love you mom,
Aaron
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