First Impressions of Africa

Shortly before leaving Paris, we decided we should probably find a place to stay in Nairobi before arriving. So, about three days before our departure, Jean-Francois found something on the internet and luckily, they offered to send someone to pick us up at the airport. So, what were my first impressions? Firstly, people here are crazy drivers! You definitely never want to rent a car. Even driving with a local is quite an experience. Secondly, there are very few sidewalks in Nairobi. Everyone seems to walk in the dirt along the side of the road. You don't really think about sidewalks until there are none! I guess it's a luxury. In North Americain suburbs they build them even before the house! Thirdly, the garbage. I have to mention this, because none of the guidebooks ever do, and it really jumps out at you. It collects in the ditches, and noone seems to clean it up. Occasionally you see people burning refuse, I guess it's the only way to get rid of it. It makes you realize that Montreal might not be the cleanest city, but really not so bad in comparison. Now, I don't want to be negative, I'm just being honest. But after a few days, you don't really notice anymore and it all becomes normal.

Well, the last minute organization was a success: our first accomodations were AMAZING! As one guest described it, a five star youth hostel. It used to be a private home, belonging to the Kenyatta family (former Prime Minister of Kenya), now converted to an auberge. The garden is exquisite, filled with beautiful flowering trees and bushes and two resident turtles!. I felt like I was in a movie. A true oasis in a big city full of modern buildings. Also, there is a pavillion in the garden with a television, so we actually got to follow the olympics, much to Noemi's content. (Somehow, watching tv outside doesn't seem so bad!)

The first few days in Nairobi included a trip to an Elephant orphanage, where they raise babies who have lost their mothers or whose mothers have died. They are treated almost like humans, bottle fed and watched over 24 hours a day by specially trained caretakers. Then we went to a Giraffe Center, where they breed the Rothschild giraffe, a species that was near extinction. Needless to say, Julien appreciated these excursions much more than the subsequent visit to the ceramic bead workshop, which of course fascinated me!