Today was our first full day in Kenya! We woke up around 8:00am and ate breakfast in the apartment. Since we don’t have a lot of food yet, I’m glad I ended up bringing the rest of those wonderful Costco croissants from home. We met in one of the groups’ apartments where the staff from our apartment complex introduced themselves and went over basic information about apartment amenities and rules. They took us on a brief tour of the complex, which includes about 40 rooms, a gym, an outdoor pool (!), and a few shops including a convenience store where we can pick up any last minute groceries and a chemist who can prescribe medications.
Then the AU orientation leaders led us to the AU study center, where we will be taking our most/all of our classes. It is about a 30-minute walk from the apartments and mostly requires walking on dirt paths alongside the road. The cars drive on the opposite side of the street, which is going to take some getting used to, especially when looking which way to cross the street. The traffic system is basically a free for all and no one seems to pay any attention to the stoplights, which makes crossing the street a bit of a task. At the AU center we got some Kenyan chai and sat down to begin orientation. Mwangi, the AU Kenya director, went over the program overview and the orientation schedule before Victor, who is in charge of security, gave us our first security briefing. This included some important do’s and do not’s, where to go/ not go, how to best avoid getting robbed, and what to do if you do get robbed.
Later we headed to lunch at a restaurant a couple blocks from the center before beginning the trek to the immigration office. Despite Victor’s warnings to never J-walk (or we'll get arrested - this seems to be a common excuse for things), they proceeded to lead us right across busy streets with no crosswalks or street signs at least five times. There were definitely, what seemed like, some pretty close calls. At the immigration office they stamped our visas with student extensions, which will allow us to stay in the country longer than the three months allowed on the travelers visa.
They arranged a bus to take us back home to relax for the rest of the afternoon. I ended up reading the program manual and then passing out for an hour or so before dinner. We all hung out and ate pizza in one of the groups’ apartments before splitting up again to write letters to ourselves, which we will open at the end of the program; figure out our new Kenyan cell phones; and get some rest.
*Hover over the photos for descriptions and click on them for the whole view
Then the AU orientation leaders led us to the AU study center, where we will be taking our most/all of our classes. It is about a 30-minute walk from the apartments and mostly requires walking on dirt paths alongside the road. The cars drive on the opposite side of the street, which is going to take some getting used to, especially when looking which way to cross the street. The traffic system is basically a free for all and no one seems to pay any attention to the stoplights, which makes crossing the street a bit of a task. At the AU center we got some Kenyan chai and sat down to begin orientation. Mwangi, the AU Kenya director, went over the program overview and the orientation schedule before Victor, who is in charge of security, gave us our first security briefing. This included some important do’s and do not’s, where to go/ not go, how to best avoid getting robbed, and what to do if you do get robbed.
Later we headed to lunch at a restaurant a couple blocks from the center before beginning the trek to the immigration office. Despite Victor’s warnings to never J-walk (or we'll get arrested - this seems to be a common excuse for things), they proceeded to lead us right across busy streets with no crosswalks or street signs at least five times. There were definitely, what seemed like, some pretty close calls. At the immigration office they stamped our visas with student extensions, which will allow us to stay in the country longer than the three months allowed on the travelers visa.
They arranged a bus to take us back home to relax for the rest of the afternoon. I ended up reading the program manual and then passing out for an hour or so before dinner. We all hung out and ate pizza in one of the groups’ apartments before splitting up again to write letters to ourselves, which we will open at the end of the program; figure out our new Kenyan cell phones; and get some rest.
*Hover over the photos for descriptions and click on them for the whole view