Kijabe

Quick breakfast at Mayfield sitting next to a guy who built a hospital in Sudan last year and then a driver came to take us to Kijabe. After about an hour of driving past parts of the city entirely made of metal sheets and through the surrounding countryside, we came upon this view of Kenya's Rift Valley, with the crater-like Mt. Longonot in the distance on the left.


After winding down a pothole-filled road, we finally arrived in Kijabe. The place is beautiful. It's like where the Dharma Initiative live in Lost (at least the areas where most of the missionaries live). Isaac and I are staying on the first floor of a duplex-style house with Amy, a medical student from Wake Forest. Other than the cockroach-infested kitchen, not bad at all. One of our hosts, Mrs. Trotter, swung by to take us to the local super-duka to get some mangoes and pineapples. I have a feeling Isaac and I will be spending most of our meals in the hospital cafeteria.


After lunch with the Trotter's, we walked up the hillside a ways to Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school for missionary kids. Kind of weird -- a completely Western-style high school in the middle of rural Kenya. Apparently the hospital staff plays the varsity basketball team on Sunday afternoons and both the gym and weight room are available for our use. Who would have thought that the basketball courts in Kenya would be way better than the ones back in Chicago?


Isaac walking back to our house.


For dinner, we were invited to Dr. Barnes' 77th birthday party, which is apparently a huge deal here in Kijabe. The party ends with Mrs. Barnes, dressed in traditional African clothing and playing the accordion, leading a parade of children banging pots and pans around their house. Everyone here has been incredibly welcoming.


Sunset over the Rift Valley from the backyard of the Barnes' home.


Dr. Trotter offered to take us on a hike up and around the rim of Mt. Longonot tomorrow morning, so it's about time to get to bed. Have to enjoy the weekend cause our q5 overnight call schedule doesn't look pretty. And it has been confirmed -- when we are on call at night, we are the only ones at the hospital and we cover the entire place...

Jet lagging

Peter hard at work in the middle of the night (see if you can spot the mosquito net):

It's 3 am now; I'm basically getting owned by jet lag. Nonetheless, I'm gonna try and get back to bed so my real post will have to wait till another time. But, be on the lookout for Isaac vs. The Mosquito. It's coming soon.

Sawa, usiku mwema!

Our day in the capital

It's 1:30am here in Kenya. Isaac and I are both wide awake even though we went to sleep around 10pm. I think we are both planning on blogging now. I'm not sure why we are keeping the lights off and typing in total darkness.

Anyway, I was woken up yesterday by the Islamic call to prayer blaring over loudspeakers at 5am. After a quick breakfast of pancakes with a couple missionaries from Australia at the Mayfield Guesthouse, we were driven over to another AIM compound for more orientation. The weather was amazing -- sunny and 80 degrees with a light breeze.

Murray and Janet spent the morning giving us a background of the country of Kenya and its culture. Unfortunately, shorts are reserved for boys and prisoners, so I'll be wearing my only pair of jeans the whole month. We had a break at 10am for chai time. We've also been hearing about how people in Kenya interpret meeting times loosely from a Western perspective, but sure seems like everyone shows up on time for tea breaks...

We stopped by a couple shopping malls in downtown Nairobi in the afternoon. The first one was definitely a hot spot for white people, or muzungus (which apparently includes me and Isaac). It was almost like walking around Water Tower on Michigan Avenue except with military guards holding rifles. The second was like a Kenyan Wal-Mart. The combination of crazy drivers, bad traffic and horrible roads make each drive in Nairobi an adventure. Murray says that the way to tell if a Kenyan is driving drunk is by looking for the one person driving straight.

We also took a tour of AIM's airplane fleet at the local airport, which they use to deliver supplies and missionaries to more remote locations. Pretty sweet.

The 40% unemployment rate means we have to stay inside after dinner, so we watched some X-Games snowboarding on a TV in the basement of the guesthouse and finally got around to taking showers. By the way, Isaac and I both haven't shaved since Pearl River and it ain't pretty. Kind of patchy for both of us.

A taxi driver is picking us up at 8:30am tomorrow for the ride up to Kijabe, so looks like the vacation is coming to an end. The hospital is located at 7,000 feet above sea level and overlooks the Rift Valley and Longonot volcano -- hopefully we don't sleep the whole way there and miss the views.

Transatlantic Journey (delayed note)

Following one last photo shoot at the AIM headquarters in Pearl River, we began our journey to Nairobi. Posted is a picture of us, along with our luggage because "We love (y)our bags."

After 14 hours of flying time and a 4 hour layover in London Heathrow, the most beautiful airport I've seen (which isn't saying much), we finally made it to Kenya! Peter, Kristin and I were definitely smiling, in part because none of our luggage got lost but mostly because I'm attempting to make a cheesy joke. Btw, Kristin is a 4th year med student from MCW. She'll be doing a rotation at the hospital in Kapsowar.

We were kindly picked up at the airport by a Kenyan AIM employee, who referred to himself as Wu-Lu. Amazingly, we didn't fall for it and soon found out his name was Samuel. On the way to the Mayfield Guest House we listened to what apparently was an African Cup football match being broadcast in kiswahili. It was then that I realized I was not going to be able to communicate with any of my patients. Good thing I'm doing an anesthesiology rotation! JP JP JP. Contrary to popular belief, anesthesiologists require strong interpersonal skills to succeed; that and I'm actually doing a family medicine rotation. Oh, and the official language of Kenya is English, which, according to CS, I am proficient in. (Is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition?)

Anyway, lots more to talk about but Peter is sleeping now so I should end this post. I'm signing off with a picture of our living quarters at Mayfield Guest House - usiku mwema!

Nairobi

Isaac and I have safely arrived in Nairobi, and best of all, with all of our luggage intact -- praise the Lord. We are hanging out at the Mayfield Guesthouse, where we'll be until our drive to Kijabe on Saturday morning. The internet is like prehistorically slow so we'll put up a few pictures later. The weather is perfect, 70s and not too humid. Isaac and I were originally planning to explore the city a little, but luckily we ran into a sign reporting recent muggings outside the compound doors, so the place gets locked down from 6:30pm until 6:30am. I think even locals don't go out at night around here.

I've only seen a few mosquitoes so far, but I feel so itchy all over. Thank God for mosquito nets.

Last night in New York

Today was a busy orientation day, mostly spent sitting in various talks about culture shock and finances with an evening of last-minute shopping at Target. Isaac is pumped about a mini-flashlight he bought that he can clip to a headband. Since we'll be operating in the dark and everything.

Jake, we are missing you man. We met with a group of AIM staffers this morning who have been praying for you from Pearl River for the past few weeks.

We watched a video during one of the talks that showed dirt-covered children running between crooked rows of shacks with flies buzzing around their heads. I knew I wasn't going on a month-long safari while staying at a five-star resort, but it finally hit me that I am going to Africa. Not National Geographic Africa but the one where HIV tests come back positive and poverty is the rule.

Anyway, we leave tomorrow for London and then Nairobi. Looks like we snagged the emergency exit row on the plane, which is money. No more of these boring pictures after tonight's post:

Actually, we had quite the photoshoot at Target tonight (in the swimsuit section, nonetheless) but Isaac refuses to post the pictures because they are slightly blurry. We only bring out the best for our dedicated readers.

Quick update

Just finished skyping with Jake - here's the screenshot that made the cut:

As evidenced by the picture files along the left of the desktop, it took us many (many) tries to get an acceptable picture. Glad to be able to post the final masterpiece. Jacob begins his treatment tomorrow - we are praying for you man!

Also, believe it or not, the requests have been pouring in by the hundreds for my favorite bible verse.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thes 5:16-18

IW

Resident photographer

Pearl River

Isaac and I just arrived in Pearl River for our orientation with Africa Inland Mission. They put us up in a clean room with three beds, a TV and bathroom. Looks like we won't actually arrive in Kijabe for almost a week -- we have a couple days of orientation here in New York and a couple more once we arrive in Nairobi.

But the biggest news of all is that Isaac and I have to give our testimonies in front of the AIM staff on Wednesday, complete with favorite Bible verse. This is not good. After afternoon "chai time" we immediately went up to our room to find a favorite Bible verse. Finally, the memorizing skills developed during all those late nights cramming anatomy will be put to good use.

Everyone has been asking about Jacob and how he is doing (he was supposed to come with us to Kenya). It's hard to explain to people how much of an inspiration Jake has been as he deals with his current situation. A young man who just finished running a marathon and is about to finish medical school isn't supposed to have cancer. But God is always in control, and Jake has been an amazing example of a man who is truly abiding in God during the toughest of trials.

Isaac refuses to write posts and has decided that he will be the designated photographer for our trip. He ran downstairs to take a picture of a sign that greeted us as we walked into the AIM headquarters.

By the way, here is my favorite Bible verse. It has been taped to the wall in my room since undergrad.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4