To be honest, I have never dreamt to visit Africa. Those three times I have visited North-Africa was totally fine for me. Yeah, I had a secret wish to explore north side of the continent more, but never though about the idea of visiting the heart of Africa. It wasn’t because I didn’t have the will to visit it. It just seemed so complicated and I didn’t have a deep mission to accomplish there. Moreover, I though there won’t be anything to see. But one day I got an offer to represent Seiklejate Vennaskond on a study visit in Kenya. Since I got the offer I couldn’t refuse on. For me all the preparation started with medical issues. I was living in Lithuania and had to figure out where I can have my vaccines. If you don’t speak a language and living in an another country it might turn into a problem. Luckily I had my support in Lithuania. On a boiling hot April’s Friday we went on a journey in Kaunas. With our lovely dresses we walked through Kaunas with frappes to visit a medical clinic. Unfortunately they didn’t have all the vaccines I needed to. But from there we got recommendations and headed to Akropolis’ pharmacy. But before that Akvilė reloaded herself with a vege burger meal. I got three shots of vaccines at the same time. Since everyone were so careful about my health after injections, I felt like a child. All the buzz made me feel really weird on that day and evening. But my medical path wasn’t over yet. I had to visit Estonia on May to receive my Malaria pills. I though my doctor visit is going to be full of questions but in reality it was quite plane. When all the health care was clarified I had to think about the clothes. Someone told that blue clothes are not recommended because some type of bug likes it as well :P Now I can say that I saw many people wearing something blue and no-one complained about anything. When you start packing for Kenya you should take long but breathing clothes with you. Before sunset those bad mosquitos appear and you don’t want to get bitten by them. And during the day-time sun can burn your white skin. Third aspect was religion and different culture that made you dress tactful. I headed to Kenya with another blonde Estonian girl Kristi. Our trip started with a bus trip to Riga, from there we took a flight to Frankfurt and from there to Nairobi. Flights with Lufthansa were pleasant and not so long as I expected. In the airport we had huge passport lines. By the way, it is worth of mentioning the length of the lines for non-EU citizens in Frankfurt airport. Europeans just walked through their electronical check point gates and had no trouble with waiting. On those moments you feel ashamed that you even are European, why there is such a huge difference? But back to Kenya. Since we arrived in the evening to Nairobi it was already dark outside and anyway it gets dark quite early. The area around airport was crowded and our first challenge was to get a taxy. We heard that uber and taxify were also operating there but since there wasn’t a good Wi-Fi connection, we couldn’t use those services. First impression of Nairobi was wide asphalt roads and a slight rain. I though that Kenya is not so bad at all until we turned to a smaller road and I saw small houses built by materials that were accessable for people by the time. We noticed people walking around and candle lights on those small houses. Everyone warned us from the dark period there and on that moment it made a sense. After entering a private gate we entered to a private house area, but still it was totally dark around. Fortunately our taxy driver called to our host and we managed to reach our accommodation safely. She told us that the whole area doesn’t have an electricity but it also meant no hot water. Fortunately she made us hot water with gas and anyway we came there just to sleep so no need for many other things. And it was really romantic, candle light and mosquito net around the bed. Next morning we had a chance to try on taxify since the electricity was back and we had an access to Internet. On our way to the airport our taxy headed to the gas station, as I understood later it is pretty much the normality there, it happened plenty times during our stay in Kenya. Our driver drop us off near in front of the departure gate but this wasn’t enough as we got to know 🙃 They led us to our flight company house that was located around 1 km away. Fortunately there was a flight company bus driving around and they gave us a lift there. It was a small room where we managed to give away our luggage and even have a breakfast. Coffee and a croissant tasted like Europe and I was pleased since with a rainy morning a hot coffee was great. Airport bus brought us back to the departure gate. After security control there was just a common area with one exit where all the people waited for their flights. Most surprising was the fact that even our luggage was transported from there. Why you even need different gates, when one is more than enough 🤣 After arriving to Kisumu we struggeled to explain where our hotel is located because in Kenya street names are not so common. Now we saw more the environment. It was surprisingly green. We also saw local's life. It is common to have animals on the road. After arriving to our hotel we met with others who were having a breakfast. We got news that our hotel doesn't have electricity neither. So, again no hot water. Regardless of that fact, Kristi was brave enough to take a shower. Then we headed to our first meeting in the ministry. It was a time full of information that we received. We even did energizers there. There I figured out how the real Kenian soul looks like. People there are really polite, kind and helpful. After meeting we headed to the lunch place. We walked there and passed through a local market. It was really packed and you could find anything from there. I could swear that one local lady there called Kristi's name, even Kristi heard that 😲 Our lunch place was actually a hotel restaurant. We had a buffet with a variety of meals. After lunch we headed outside of the city. To reach needed places we always used a minivan. Because roads have many bumps and holes, it was a fun experience. During the evening van turned to a discobus with loud music and lights. Visiting school in the village was an amazing experience thanks to the nature around. View to the mountains, holy cows and tiny chicks walking around and a thunderstorm up yonder. Such a magical place with wonderful children. Since our "lunch hotel" had more or less reliable Internet area we headed back there to drink a coffee. After that we headed back to our own hotel. We had a dinner there, a local fish. Since lake Victoria is a huge landmark in Kenya and Kisumu is located by the shore it is a must to eat fish there. To be honest, I am not the biggest fish lover but it tasted delicious. After that we headed to the local club/bar. Even though it was Thursday night, it was pretty empty. The place was following all European standards 👌 With got to know with the local beer and followed some football matches from a big screen. Night ended on a dance floor.
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AuthorMy connection with Erasmus+ projects. Youth exchanges and training courses. Archives
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