Kenyan Time, Currency and Transportation

We arrived in Bungoma around 5:30 PM on Sunday. This was an hour and a half past the time we were scheduled to arrive (4 PM). It was a long 9 and 1/2 hours on the bus, however, I managed to sleep most of the time and we even spotted a few zebras, wildibeast and antelope on the side of the road. When we were almost there, I called Even, the intern coordinator, to let him know we would be arriving. All of a sudden, Wekola, the program coordinator, came on the phone and asked to talk to the bus driver to tell him where to drop us off. For reference, this was a coach bus that only stopped at one bus stop, a central location, in town. So we arrive in Bungoma and the bus driver tells us it's our stop. We were literally on the side of the road, almost in the ditch. We have no idea what to think and figure we're going to have to walk to find the Red Cross or figure something out on our own. We turn the corner to find waving hands and a big group walking towards us. It was Mark, Even, Dr. Amin (our preceptor), his beautiful wife, Moryne (the nurse) and Wekola. They all hug us and take our bags and then we went to the Red Cross Branch for a few minutes, out to dinner and then out to "take a Tusker" which in Kenyan terms mean "Drink a beer." While we were out, they told us they were thinking about parking on the other side of the road from the bus and watching us freak out for a few minutes that no one was there to pick us up. It's like they knew me or something. They informed us that we needed to be at the Red Cross by 8 AM the next morning. And this is where the chunk of this post begins...

Kenyan Time: Even told us that when you tell a Kenyan "Let's meet at 2:00" it does not mean they will show up on time. I thought "Great!" they run on "Hilary time." But no, this is like Hilary times Hilary time. So I don't want to hear anything about me taking to too long or being late when I return to the states. I'm adopting Kenyan time! Monday morning came and we were at the Red Cross at about 8:05 AM. We were greated by the paramedic crew, Wycliff and Dansen, signed our names in the registry (as we have to do everymorning) and headed on in to meet the Kenyan volunteers and Red Cross staff for our weekly debriefing meeting. Alyssa and I were told to wait in Dr. Amin's office for "15 minutes" as they were setting up for the meeting and then they would introduce us. An hour and a half later, we waked in and the meeting began. This also happened this morning when we rolled in around 8:15 AM and we did not leave for the orphanage until 10 AM. This is great and frustrating. The great part is, I can talk to almost all the Red Cross volunteers, paramedic crew, anyone who is on the grounds in the morning because no one is in a hurry and everyone wants to talk and see how you are. In the US, I get to work, clock in, maybe throw a "Hey" out to whoever is around me and then begin working. I've been here two days and have made about 30 friends (who also want to add me on Facebook) and can remember all their names and something about them because of all the time we spend chatting and hanging out. On the other hand, today was very frustrating as I felt we were waiting most the day. In the morning we waited at least 2 and 1/2 hours to leave for the orphanage, and then in the afternoon we waited for our meeting to start and waited after our meeting to meet with Rose, a Red Cross Staff member. We waited for at least 5 hours today and because I am a "do-er" I kept thinking of everything we could be doing with that time. It is something I will have to get used to and be patient with. Hopefully after a week at the Branch, I will find ways to maximize time while not missing out on the social and personal interactions with my peers. 

Kenyan Currency: Kenyans pay in Shillings (Ksh), which I honestly thought stood for "Keesh" at first. The conversion is about 85 Ksh to 1 US dollar. Since we spent a day in Nairobi, we learned the hard way about converting Ksh to dollars and spent more money that we would have liked to. For example, we realized our taxi driver was charging us $30-40 for a 15 minute ride. We also over-payed with our "personal shoppers" at the Massai Market. Upon arriving to Bungoma we learned that a piki-piki ride was 50 Ksh (~60 cents) for about 3 miles. Piki piki's are the motor bikes in town that have a padded seat on the back for passengers. They are literally everywhere and so fun to ride on! I take one twice a day, to and from the Branch. I was also surprised, and happy, to see that meals in Bungoma were much less than Nairobi. I bought Alyssa dinner yesterday for her birthday and paid a total of 600 Ksh (~$7.50). This included juice and a full meal of rice, meat and vegetables for both of us. We also paid 80 cents for an omelete at a restaurant close to our hotel. Although everything is much cheaper in Bungoma, there are still people who will try to rip off the two White girls in town and charge them 200 Ksh for a piki piki ride. As we are learning the currency, we are conscious of how much stuff costs and try to pay the appropriate amount. It is also difficult because things are set in stone. For example, a taxi driver in Nairobi doesn't have a meter so unless you agree on a price prior to riding, you run the risk of paying a much higher one at the end. 

Kenyan Transportation: Kenya has very diverse modes of transportation. There is everything from your city bus to walking. And everyone walks here. On the highway. Next to traffic. It was scary the first time I saw a young woman walking in the street, about to get hit by a semi-truck. The truck honked and she jumped out of the way. I've even found myself walking in the middle of the street on occasion and have to remind myself that Kenyans DO NOT yield for pedestrians. Since we are staying at a hotel this first week, we are about 3 miles away from the Branch so we have to take a piki piki each morning. These are probably the greatest invention ever and I want them to be implemented in the states. As I mentioned above they are passenger friendly motor bikes. And the only person who wears a helmet is the driver. It's thrilling riding on the back of a motorcycle everyday with a cool breeze on your face and being outside as opposed to in a car. All of our drivers have been very safe and don't go over about 40 mph (Just for you mom, nan, papa and others concerned for my safety). This is Alyssa and I's favorite mode of transportation. Next up is the less-fast version of piki pikis, they are the boda bodas. These are your standard bicycles with a padded seat over the rear wheel. Today I saw a woman with a small baby in her arms riding on the back of a boda boda. Probably less risky than the piki piki. 

My favorite mode of transportation has to be the Red Cross ambulance. Now you're probably thinking, that's crazy and you're right because I'm pretty sure this won't be happening every day. But the Red Cross is good about taking care of their Mzungus (white people). Alyssa and I left the Branch around 6 PM yesterday and caught a piki piki to our hotel. About halfway through our route it began POURING down rain. So the protocol is to pull over under an awning (like a gas station) until the rain stops. Well here's the thing: the rain could last 30 minutes or 2 hours and going back to Kenyan time, they will wait it out. So we're standing underneath this gas station awning and the Red Cross ambulance drives by. They honk and we wave. Alyssa goes, "How did they recognize us?" I literally looked at her like, "Are you serious?" We both started laughing because we were the only white people there. Obviously they noticed us. Sure enough, they pull into the station and ask us if we want a ride. We're like "Yea!" So they took us into town to the internet cafe and made sure we could get home from there. 

And this is where I'll end this post, Kenyans are the nicest people ever!!!!! They always say "Karibu" which means "Welcome!" Everyone says this to us every day, everywhere. From the store owner to the piki piki driver to the mother selling pineapple. They are so happy we are here and happy to see us. It makes my heart smile :)