The Bush

I'm here! In the bush! on my neighbor's wireless internet modem. amazing, this technology. I will be brief because the internet is precious and pricey here, so I'm just going to type up a few excerpts from my journal: 23 March - The drive from Nairobi to Wamba ... All around was still green, lush farmland. We constantly saw shephards roaming with goats, sheep, cows of many kinds finding green grass. Then, all of the sudden, we were in the bush. Sister Linda was right when she said I wouldn't have to ask when we were in the bush... I'd know. The ground was red dust. The road was straight and flat. Though vegitation covered the landscape, it was all bushes. A few classic African trees [insert pre-school grade picture here]. But it wasn't totally flat. Always, the distance revealed tall mountains. Not a range with foothills, but single or a pair of tall hills covered in the same terrain. We occasionally passed a several mile patch where the trees were green with fresh leaves and grass scattered the dusty, rocky earth. Those were the places that had seen recent rainfall. Otherwise, there was just dust and grey bush. We saw very few people but occasionally we passed someone walking or riding a bike down a long stretch. I wonder where they are going or coming from!? Finally we turned off the paved road for our last 53km stretch to wamba. A dirt road marked by the lack of bushes. Like Sister Linda said - the road is like corrogated tin. A full series of bumps followed us to wamba. we passed 10 or 20 other traveling vehicles along the way. Once we passed a group of 6 or so children digging a human-sized hole searching for water. Then we got to the Samburu district - where the Samburu tribe lives. They wear brightly colored fabrics wrapped as dresses and skirts. The men have large, sagging holes in their ears with weighted earrings. The women wear their hair short - some bowl cut - with large plates of beaded necklaces. It seems that every man carries a large stick and every woman a small child in her back. They are dark as night with such beautiful, brightly colored clothing and jewelry. I have so much more to say, but I will leave you with those few but exciting images. I am setteled into my own place (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room). The biggest difference in my living in that there is not a constant water supply. So, I harvest water from the tap during the couple of hours each day that it works and store it in a large bin. When I need water to bathe or wash dishes, I just dip in my pitcher! Also, the water is bad quality. I strain it to get the mosquito larvae out then boil it before drinking. Still, it is full of minerals that make it harsh on my skin. So I will forever feel like I've washed in salt water! I am outfitted with a tailor-made uniform (I'll send pictures when I can... It'll definitely be one for the fridge... old school:) and plan to start work tomorrow! I'm so, so, so excited!!!