Landing in Kenya

I have a severe time constraint right now so this will have to be brief and I'm afraid I won't have time to upload photos.
My two flights--newark to amsterdam and amsterdam to nairobi went smoothly.  On the second flight I sat next to man who apparently played golf with my friend Dylan Dethier in virginia when Dylan was on his expedition to golf in every state in the country.  It was really fun to find that odd link.
The most stirring moment of the flight was when we flew over the northern coastline of Africa.  The deep blue Mediterranean contrasted beautifully with the golden sand of  Egypt.  I was also amused by how straight all the roads through the desert were, no curves or anything.  Probably because the workers just wanted to get out of the desert as quickly as possible.  Flying over Egypt made me think of my two friends studying there this semester-Andrew and Glen (ps, read Andrew's blog it's awesome: http://atathakr.blogspot.com/)
I landed in Nairobi and eventually made it through the visa line and got through customs with me lemon verbena tea (green tea leaves that look suspicious)
I arrived at night so, for now at least, I don't really have much to report on Kenya itself, however, the apartments we're living in are really nice!
I have to leave it at that for now because I need to get ready for my orientation down in the rift valley.
Thanks

Books I'm bringing

I just wanted to make a short list of the non-text books (I assume I’ll write about my text books as I read them) I’m bringing with me to Kenya:

The Development Dictionary--a really good critique of development featuring Gustavo Esteva (who I got to meet!)

Emerson’s Essays—I hope it will serve as my spiritual guide

Wizard of the Crow—the epic novel by Kenyan Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Half a Life—by V.S. Naipaul who seems to have difficulty distinguishing between individual African countries proffering to refer to “Africa”

A Good Man is Hard to Find—by my mother’s recommendation

Blood River—also by my mother’s recommendation

Heart of Darkness—haven’t read it yet, now seems like a good time

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun—by Amazon’s recommendation.

I’m just glad to have my new kindle, it saves a lot of space and weight.

Packing Nirvana

Tonight I’ve been packing for Kenya.  I’ve found that packing up for a semester (maybe year) abroad is much more human than packing up my apartment earlier this month.  I remember looking at a huge number of bizarrely shaped containers spread across the living room floor.  Some held lots of small details—my small plastic animals, extension cords, oddly shaped books, mugs, and other stuff—others held big objects like the toaster-oven or my bedding.   So many boxes filled with so many objects.  I felt chained down by all the stuff I had accumulated, as if I was incredibly materialistic and selfish.  Why did I have that small bust of Thomas Jefferson?  Why was that atlas so big?

Packing for Kenya has been different.  One suitcase, one manbag, and one relatively empty backpack (although admittedly the suitcase is rather large).  It’s all so compact and uncluttered.  Simplifying my life, as Thomas Mikelson, Abdul Said, and my parents (ask about these people because they’re amazing) advised, feels liberating.

I’m happy and excited to travel to and to live in Kenya.  I look forward to meeting Kenyans, learning about the culture and history of Kenya, travelling to the coast, travelling to the interior, and seeing mad(awesome) animals.  The prime motivation for travelling abroad in Kenya, however, was the opportunity to uproot my perspective on development, international relations, and Kenya.

First Post

I told so many people that I was thinking about writing a blog that I can’t really get out of writing one.  Sunday the 29^th I’m scheduled to fly out of Newark Airport and land in Nairobi Monday.  Internet access in Kenya should be relatively scare so, at least partially, this blog is an attempt to centralize my communication.  I want this blog to represent my thankfulness to all the people who have invested their time and energy into me.  While I don’t expect my observations to repay you for all of you help and guidance, maybe they’ll cover the dividends.  Through this blog I hope to share what I will learn while abroad in Kenya.

I will leave home around 11 AM on Sunday and get into Nairobi by about 7 PM Monday night with a brief stop in Amsterdam.  I’m dreading the long flights because, although I’ve experienced a longer door to door trip (the 48 hour Williamstown to Cochabamba Bolivia saga), I’ve never been on two flights as long as these one after another.  I don’t enjoy the act of flying and try my best to forget about it as soon as I’m off the plane.  On this trip, however, I don’t want to take flying for granted.  I can’t imagine getting to Nairobi by any mode of transportation other than flying.  I doubt I would enjoy being cooped up on a boat all the way across the Atlantic and around the Cape of Good Hope.  So…thank you planes.

Another quick word on flying—walking onto a plane in one country and walking off of it in another country makes for an awkward cultural transition.  Driving allows you to peer through the windows and observe the changing landscape and details.  The changes form a narrative which begins at your starting location and finishes at your destination.   Nothing feels odd or entirely out of place because the changes flow into each other.  When you fly to another country, however, the contrast from your starting location and you destination is huge.  All of a sudden people dress, talk and look different.  There are new and bizarre smells and new food to taste.  This simultaneously makes flying exciting (new adventures) and disconcerting (sharp contrast).

I admit that I’m looking forward to emptying my pockets in Kenya to see which tiny pieces of America came with me.

Before I can fly out I need to finish (start) packing and run a million other tedious errands.  Thanks for reading and feel free to comment and ask questions,