Amanda in Kenya: August 2007

Pictures from the weekend...

All last week I had been craving a good brunch... pancakes, bacon, the works. So I invited 3 friends to brunch (Mailie, Natalia, and Anne Marie) and then we went to scout out the indoor climbing centre at the Brackenhurst Conference Centr e outside of Nairobi, in Limuru. When we arrived we were all giggles because the building looked quite small, so in our cocky and confident voices we were making jokes about climbing in about 30 seconds, being able to touch the ceiling, etc. However, to our surprise it actually turned out to be challenging and fun!

These are some of the pictures from the weekend, for more go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandainkenya

great site

http://www.fivebigquestions.com/

P.S. Congrats to Leslie and Jeff who were married this past weekend!! All the best Hurds :)

Weekend of art and rock climbing...

I had one of those weekends in Nairobi and outside of the city where I felt like I could live in Kenya for 5 more years, at least. One thing that is great about the city is that there is so much happening, so much to do, and such a variety!

On Friday night I met up with some friends and attended a concert called "Fusion Friday" which featured 3 Kenyan artists. I was not completely enthralled with the music, but did enjoy the atmosphere and the opportunity to see new-to-me Kenyan artists performing.

Saturday morning I was feeling restless before heading out camping and decided to check out WAPI, a monthly arts and literary exhibition hosted at the British Council. Below are some pictures- the theme was "Modern Day Slavery". Ironically, this was the same week the Mauritania declared that slavery is illegal.

After checking out WAPI, I then met up with Kevina and Natalia to pick up some food and head off to LuKenya, where we were going to camp and then learn how to rock climb the next morning. The drive to LuKenya is supposed to be about an hour, however we were not great with the directions and managed to see every primary school in the region, as we took wrong turns constantly. We almost considered it a "community development- work day" as we managed to see about 4 different schools. :) On our drive we did have the great opportunity to see giraffes, zebra, and buffalo roaming... that is what makes Kenya magical!

When we finally arrived at the campsite we were welcomed by the hosts, Michael and Bridget. They have been renovating the acreage they purchased to turn the home and small cottages into a retreat/conference/and getaway centre. It is absolutely stunning and they have done an incredible job of renovating the cottages and ensuring that it is an eco-friendly business. Bridget gave us the tour of the acreage- see pictures on flickr.

Looks kind of like the smurf village eh?

Our tent on the other hand was not so wonderful. I borrowed it from a friend who did warn me "it is a bit difficult to put up". I said "ok, well I am sure we can figure it out".... I mean 3 Canadian girls who love camping, have gone on tons of outdoor trips, please- he was definitely underestimating us. Unfortunately he was completely right... it was not the easiest tent to put up and the fear all night was that it was going to collapse on our faces, thankfully it did not.

The next morning we took down the tent- much easier to take down then to put up, and were welcomed by a wonderful breakfast, courtesy of Bridget. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, fresh bread, fruit, coffee, and tea- so delicious!

Rock climbing was the next adventure - and surprisingly I absolutely loved it!! We climbed for about 3 hours and I just loved the adrenaline of making it to the top. Apparently there is an indoor climbing centre out of town - so a few of us are going to try that out this week.

On the way home towards Nairobi I realized that what I love about living here is the complete variety of things to do- from concerts, poetry readings, to outdoor sports. It will be hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful country.

Dancing Travelling Guy- Love it

This just makes me smile and wonder- do we all have the same dance moves every time we dance?

Uganda Update

I arrived in Entebbe Uganda- where the airport strip meets Lake Victoria- and was welcomed by the warm afternoon sun. Compared to the weather in Nairobi, it felt like I had landed in the tropics. Entebbe airport is not exactly an ideal location for the national airport of Uganda, as it is one hour from Kampala and 3 hours from Jinja, the town at the source of the Nile and a popular tourist destination. After an hour wait to pass through immigration, collect our baggage, and wait for the delegate from Ethiopia to arrive- our group of 12 finally made our way to the shuttle bus to start our 3 hour journey to Jinja.

The meetings in Jinja were for the TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub Saharan Africa) programme that I am a part of- all together there were 35 delegates from 12 different countries there for the two day meetings. Our hotel was right on the Nile and was incredibly beautiful- however as it goes with business travel, you rarely get to see more than the conference room when staying at these nice hotels, but so it goes.

After two days of meetings in Jinja our delegation headed to Kampala for the DETA Conference (Distance Education and Teacher Training in Africa). The theme was “Enhancing the quality of education across Africa”, the slogan “Enough quality teachers can save Africa”.

Kampala is quite a contrast to the modern Nairobi. The streets are full of potholes- HUGE potholes. Matatus are even more dangerous than in Nairobi- sporadic drivers avoiding potholes and dismissing stop signs. In many ways it reminded me of India, a bit dusty and chaotic. But despite the poor quality of infrastructure the people of Uganda are both friendly and hospitable. Everyone I met was warm, friendly, and welcoming.

One evening a group of us decided to hit the town and since we had been eating Uganda food everyday for lunch and supper we decided to try something new and as is the case all around the world, there is ALWAYS a Chinese restaurant to be found! I had heard through a friend of a great Irish pub in town called “Bubbles O’Leary”. I somehow convinced members from the delegation to join me in a couple of pints at Bubbles O’Leary- mainly because I just had to check out a place with such a name in Uganda, no less! It turned out to be a great evening and Bubbles is a highly recommended stop in my books.

The talk, as usual, when you go to countries where major films have just been released - was often based on Idi Amin. It was interesting to hear people’s account of that time- and hard to believe that it was not so long ago. One woman, who currently lives in South Africa and is Indian, was born in Uganda. When she was 4, her family was forced to flee to the UK because of Idi Amin’s ruling that sent thousands of Indian families to the UK as refugees. Her mother was pregnant with her 9^th child (her brother was the first refugee born in the UK) and each family member could only bring one suitcase on the airplane. Jay said that they do not have one wedding photo of their parents as a result of the exodus.

Overall I had a really nice time in Uganda, I would love to go back there to explore some more- go rafting on the Nile and see more of the country.

Video and pictures from Uganda

I am back from Uganda and will write more about my trip but before I do that I wanted to share one video and many photos!

This is a video of some kids rafting on top of gas cans through the Bujagali Falls.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7544979184402658527&hl=en

Me, Paul, Jay

The Nile River

Uganda Dancers

Beautiful Ugandan Sunset

Kayaker about to go down Bujaguli Falls.

For more pictures check out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandainkenya

back on the passion quest....

This blog entry is probably going to sound very "Carrie-esque" from Sex and the City, you know lots of rhetorical questions, however my entry focuses on finding passion in the work you do or want to do.

I think this has been a big topic for me in the last couple of weeks because of Emily's interest in finding out what she loves to do- what is the one thing when she is passionate about so many different things? So I have been having talks with people about this, reading articles and websites and have some questions and thoughts of my own.

Firstly, I wonder if perhaps I expect to have it all- you know, great place to live, energetic work environment, eclectic social life. What I have found since moving to Kenya is that I love where I live and I do have an eclectic social life, which leaves the one area out of the "great" category. Although, not tested I probably have some form of A.D.D. and as a result need a work environment that is energetic, vibrant, has water cooler chats, and hopefully something that doesn't require such a 9-5 lifestyle. Everyone knows this about me at work, so I'm not committing some awful "blog-sin" by writing about work on my blog (don't worry Mom).

So here comes the "Carrie" question: Can we have it all? Work, location, and life? I am sure we can, but how do you find it? And how do you figure out what your passion is when you are passionated and interested in a number of different things. For example: my passions include meeting new people, asking questions, reading, traveling, and outdoor sports. So basically my new career could be ... hmmm... a Club Med host? Or a journalist for an Outdoor magazine (but then I would need to go back to school).

Here is a bit of "food for thought" from a website called "One Week Job"= that Emily told me about.

Mark Anderson recently wrote a provocative column for the Ottawa Sun, examining Sean and the One Week Job project from a new angle.
He writes:
“To a greater or lesser extent, we’re all defined by what we do. Worse yet if we’re not doing what we think we should be doing, if we’re not “living up to our potential” (an angst-ridden phrase if ever there was one). Young people in particular struggle with issues of identity and career, of who they are and what they should be doing with their lives.”
In the end, does anyone really find their purpose in life? And can it be combined with their passion? One reader defined the idea of purpose in a unique way, that certainly fits the idea for One Week Job:

“Like so many of us who believe we don’t know our “Purpose” and need to find it - our purpose truly is more of a guide or compass than an actual destination. “

And often times we give up passion for money- justifying that we need the money to pursue our passions, which then has us counting down the days each week until the weekend... hmmm...dilemma.

Ending on a positive note- I do get to travel to Uganda for work, starting tomorrow for one week- which is just fabulous and means that I might get to zip out of an afternoon meeting to try river rafting on the Nile.