Here's to you, matatu driver

I've decided that recognizing a good matatu driver is like trying to recognize varying accents in a foreign language. When you first hear a new language it all sounds the same but over time you can pick out accents. The longer I am here the easier it is for me to pick out a good driver. At first they all seem like lunatics behind a wheel but now I'm beginning to see the art in it. So, I've compiled my still growing list of what makes a matatu driver worth the 25 shillings I'm paying him.

1-Regularly uses the sidewalk as a second and/or third lane
2-Completely disregards any official or unofficial rules of a roundabout
3-Can navigate through traffic with ease while hanging outside the window shouting at the guy crazy enough to even consider cutting him off
4-Can navigate through traffic with ease while hanging outside the window shouting back at the guy who is angry that he just cut them off
5-Somehow knows just where to drive through a muddy lake of water that could easily swallow the entire bus
6-Will always win in a game of chicken. Flinching isn't even in their vocabulary. Whether a bicycle or a diesel truck, the other guy is moving over.
7-They carefully, yet quickly, evade any approaching police
8-Fabulous decorating skills. The best matatus will have impressive speakers, upholstered ceiling, fringe visors and inspiring (and sometimes not so inspiring) quotes throughout the van. My favorites today: "Don't give big gifts. Give little gifts with a big heart," "Learn 2 live without. U will not B disappointed," and "There is no lift to success. You got to take the stairs."
9-Selective hearing. They will let you off when they darn well please despite your incessant knocking. (Since there are few "official" stops, you knock on the side of the van when you want to get off. It works.)
10-Keen eyesight. They can spot a potential rider before I'd spot an elephant in my kitchen.

Part of me would like to devote one of these to the directors of the matatus since they have their own set of mad skills. However, they are the ones who collect the money and often rip me off so I don't really feel like giving them any credit.

Glass Bottom Boat

Here are some pics from the first week I arrived. This was the day we went out on a glass bottom boat with Andi, Aaron, Rob & Vicki Harbertson, Louis & Chriss Pope, Sam, Saphia and myself.

Andi & Me

Chriss & Louis

One of the guys on the boat would dive under and break open sea urchins which would attract the fish and in this case, an eel.

The pic below isn't from the glass bottom boat, as you probably guessed. It's just a random pic from Andi & Aaron's farewell party. This little girl sporting the glasses and purse was pretty awesome.

Life is a highway

Just hope your life doesn't turn onto the Nairobi Highway. This stretch of road is notoriously long, crowded and bumpy. I got to experience a mere 1 1/2 hour stretch of this highway a couple of weeks ago (May 21st, I think). I went with Omar to the Samburu Branch. It's just outside Mombasa on the way to Nairobi. We caught a 'mat' in Mombasa at 8am and were there by 9:30am. I can't say enough how pretty this country is. I loved the drive past small towns and especially through the rolling hills of green landscape and bright red roads.

I met with all the credit officers and clerks of the Samburu Branch which took up the entire morning. We took a break for lunch and went to a 'cafe' in town. After we ordered our food, the others got up to go wash their hands. I started walking with them but when I saw they were lined up to dip their hands in a bucket of water I did an about face to go find my hand sanitizer instead. Everyone (workers and patrons alike) washes their hands in this bucket of water. No soap. They dip in their hands and then just shake off the water. I have accepted a gross amount of dirt and filth since coming down here but I could not bring myself to join them.


I ate my lunch of Pilau (a rice dish) and managed to not think about who prepared it and how. There was a piece of meat on the bone which had clearly been broken instead of cut as there were jagged edges and shards of the bone in my meal. I generously offered my meat to Omar who was surprised and pleased with my offer.


The woman above came into the office while I was there. She had the cutest baby and I got to see both how they change their babies and how they tie them to their backs. Can I just say how glad I am for disposable diapers and strollers!

And the ants came marching in

Have I mentioned our ants? I had a mug of passion fruit juice the other day and after finishing it I set my empty mug on the table while I worked on my computer for a bit. Within 2 minutes an ant had discovered this sugary paradise. Within 3 minutes there were 10. Within 5 minutes there were countless ants swarming both the inside and outside of my mug. It grossed me out and captured my fascination all at the same time. I was tempted to start over and do some time lapse pictures. I couldn't bring myself to do it. But this is a regular occurrence. A drop of yogurt, a crust of bread, a piece of gum. If you leave it, they will come. Since I've been here, we've had lines of marching ants across our table, to our sink and, of course, all over our pantry. These little warriors have claimed many a bag of cereal and sugar in the history of this house. So, it's a routine of cleaning, sealing and 'Doom'ing (Doom may be the world's greatest bug spray I've ever seen) these little neighbors of ours.

Box Office

Jeremy, Brenton, Jenny and I all went to the movie last Monday to see the new Robin Hood. Talk about a culture shock. I forgot what country we were in. We picked up our free hot dogs, got some soda and walked into a very well air conditioned theater. Jeremy and Jenny went to find some extra snacks so Brenton and I went to find our seats. We were waiting for the trailers to begin when the Kenyan flag appeared on screen and the other 5 people in the theater stood up as their anthem played. I looked at Brenton and pointed at the other people. We sat there not knowing if we should stand up or just wait it out. It finally ended. Then one of the ushers walked over to us and whispered, "I know you don't know but we usually stand for the anthem." I couldn't tell is she was trying to make us feel better or if we had just been reprimanded.

The trailers finally started which turned out to be quite an interesting array of Bollywood and Hollywood films. Just then the lights came on and they informed us that we had to move to the other theater. They had switched the reels (or whatever they use these days) in the two theaters they have. So, we gathered everything up and moved from the red theater into the blue.

The movie was entertaining, having all gone in with low expectations, and the AC was glorious. But then we were abruptly welcomed back to Africa as we walked from the cold theater into the muggy heat of Kenya. Home sweet home.

Is it a weave?

I pulled out the blow dryer this week, the first time since I've arrived. The thought of blowing hot air anywhere near me sounds like torture but I decided it was about time I actually did something with my hair. Doing my hair most days involves two bobby pins and an elastic, and they've done me well. With the blow dryer I somewhat styled my bangs but still pulled up the back into a ponytail...much too hot to leave it down. I felt that was a good compromise.

Sylvia came into the office later that day, looked at me and asked if it was a weave. It took me a second to realize she was asking about my hair. I couldn't help laughing. You have to understand that at least half of the women here own and frequently wear a weave. The other half just braid their hair. Omar and Sylvia both nodded approvingly of my new 'do. After I finally convinced them it was my own hair, they asked if I had done it myself. I sure hope I didn't pay money for the wimpy mane I was sporting that day. But they were quite impressed and told me I should do it professionally. Ha! Maybe I should quit my day job?

First visit to the Branches

The week improved, I'm happy to report. Last Friday we picked up an additional roommate, Jeremy. He's a Kiva fellow (their term, not mine) sent to do some follow-up work with Yehu for about 3 weeks. I waited for him at the office so I could then show him to the apartment. We ended up staying another 2 hours to help cut out dinner vouchers and wrap prizes for the annual meeting the next day.

Saturday was the annual meeting. Over 600 of the women with Yehu came into Mombasa where they heard from Adet (the CEO), Rita (a member of the board of trustees), had dancing and awards. It lasted all day and was pretty incredible. I am so glad I was here to attend. Most of it was in Swahili so I spent much of the day filling in my own interpretation of the events.

During all of this, I sat next to the cutest little girl you've ever seen (above). She saw me and just started smiling. I couldn't help but smile myself. I managed to ask in Swahili what her name was. Fatuma. I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures of her and then showing them to her. After a few minutes of this I helped her hold my camera and showed her how to push the button to take the picture. Her favorite subject was Brenton. She would let out a loud giggle every time she would turn the camera to him. After she started pushing all kinds of buttons I decided it was time for the camera to go away. That's when this adorable, quiet and well-behaved little girl started getting upset. She kept saying something quite forceful to me and reaching into my bag. I finally distracted her with stupid hand tricks. But it made me wonder if the people here aren't happy despite the things they don't have but BECAUSE of the things they don't have. This little girl was so content and would have sat next to me (and did) for hours on end without so much as a peep. But as soon as I put the camera in her hand and then eventually took it away, she was angry, sad and disappointed. Just a thought.

So, this week I visited two branches (there are 6 total). I went to Kisauni first, which is only about 10-15 minutes from the head office. It was so good to get out and visit with the branch staff. Friday I went to Tiribe which is 3-4 hours away. I woke up at 5am that morning so I could meet Sylvia (co-worker at Yehu) at another bus stop at 6am. I got up and was out of the house by 5:30. I started walking down the street to my normal bus stop. As I passed, a group of people came flooding out of the mosque after morning prayer. It was a beautiful morning. There was just a hint of daylight and a cool breeze. But I soon began to wonder if the buses even ran this early and how I was going to get to where I needed. I didn't even know if any boda boda (motorbike) drivers were out this early. I really could have planned this better, I thought. I quickly prayed that I'd be able to meet Sylvia in time. Immediately a car stopped. Inside was a man who was coming from the mosque. I'd say he was in his 60s. In the passenger seat was a man who appeared to be his father. "Sister, it isn't safe to be walking while it's dark." I had to admit he was right. He asked me where I was going and he offered to take me. Now I know I'm not supposed to take candy and/or rides from strangers but I could tell he was genuine and felt he was an answer to prayer. I had him take me to the end of the road to the bus stop. When he saw that nothing was coming he asked where I was meeting my friend and said he would just take me there. I was so grateful for his kindness. "It's okay, sister. Perhaps you will do the same for another Samaritan." He really left a strong impression on me. I won't ever forget it.

I met Sylvia from there and we caught our matatu to the ferry. The ferry is quite the experience. They load cars and people on these ferries that are crossing all day to and from Mombasa to Likoni. When the ferry empties it is literally a flood of people moving off of the boat.

(Because video and/or picture taking is prohibited I had to snag this picture of the ferry from the internet)

From the ferry we caught another bus that we rode for 2 1/2 hours until we got off at Tiribe. It was so beautiful. There were rolling hills of red dirt, palm trees and villages. After I did my interviews, Sylvia still had some material she needed to cover with the staff so I went outside to explore. I saw women walking their goats and children peeking at me around the corners of the houses. I started taking pictures of the kids and finally coaxed them to come over to see. My camera makes all sorts of friends! I took a picture of 3 kids and showed them. Then there were 5 then 10 then 15 kids all staring and smiling. We finally had to go. But it was a great day of work!

Just a Spoonful of Sugar, My Eye

I was just thinking two nights ago how the adjustment down here has been surprisingly easy and just how much I'm loving Kenya. I love the people in the office, I love the members in the branch, I love that it's the rainy season, I love our apartment, I love the call to prayer throughout the day and even the morning (sincerely, I do), I love my commute to work, I love mahambri for breakfast, I love the Kenya sky, I love the sounds of the birds outside my window at work. Do I sound a little like Mary Poppins? I think even she would have been impressed with my high spirits.

Then I woke up this morning.

I hate the humidity, I hate the power outages that rob me of my blessed fan, I hate mosquitoes that wake me up at all times of the night leaving me itchy and scarred, I hate that my mosquito net doesn't work, I hate the hot walk to the bus stop, I hate clothes that don't fit, I hate washing my clothes in the sink, I hate long commutes home, I hate that it gets dark at 6:30 every single night I hate that my project is moving slowly, I hate squeezing into the back of a matatu, I hate running out of water, I hate unreliable internet, I hate beans.

Beans. Beans. The Magical Fruit?

Actually, I hate that song and I apologize if it is now running through your head. After having beans for lunch everyday for the past 3 weeks, I'm now wishing they had some magic in them to change into something else like say...jellybeans. The rest of my diet isn't anything to write home about either....oh wait.

Here's what my pantry looks like today (minus the ant trail): 3 packages of ramen, 1 bag brown rice, 1 box of banana/toffee oatmeal packets (my new favorite), 3 boxes of off-brand thick & creamy mac & cheese and 1 box passion fruit juice. In the fridge we have 1 box of black current juice, sliced Gouda cheese, 1/2 loaf of sliced bread and carrots.

I feel I've reverted back to freshman year of college. Only there are no cheap pizza delivery places to call and no Wendy's around the corner. To be honest, it's entirely possible to cook almost anything you want here but I find I can't bring myself to spend much time in a hot kitchen. So, I take my grilled cheese sandwich with me to sit in front of whatever fan happens to be available and hope this diet doesn't come back to haunt me.

Exactly What Do You Do, Again?

I'm beginning to realize that although everyone has been uber supportive, very few, if anyone, really know what I'm doing down here. So, here's the scoop.

The organization: Yehu Microfinance has been around in different forms since 1998. It was created to give financial services to poor women who otherwise wouldn't have access to formal savings accounts or credit. The concept was started by Muhammad Yunus with the Grameen bank. It's more than inspiring to see how microfinance has reshaped the way the world views credit, poverty and women entrepreneurs. Yehu is now about 50 strong with 6 branches and 20 credit officers. The credit officers visit rural and urban groups of women each week to account for savings and loan repayment transactions along with providing basic business training.

What I'm doing: Yehu recently decided that they wanted a more robust training program for their new hires as well as their clients. They also want to implement a professional development program for their current staff. I happen to love training and have a bit of experience, so I applied. I sent in my resume back in January but when I didn't hear anything for a few weeks I sort of chalked the idea up to wishful thinking. Then in March I got an e-mail saying they would like me to come for 4-6 months.

So, 6 weeks later I hopped a plane to Kenya (two days after returning from Ireland- yeah, quite happy to not see an airport for a few months). I'm currently in the needs assessment phase of the project. Thanks to the wonderful software of Qualtrics, I've been tabulating some evaluations they had started at Yehu and will soon (hopefully!) be able to visit the branches and collect more data. Overall, I want to make sure whatever training material/program is developed actually has a need. Obvious, I know. But it doesn't always happen that way.

There you have it. I'm not sure if that raises more questions than it answers but hopefully it puts all assumptions to rest that I'm just down here to feed the giraffes.

New Attraction @ the Zoo

Brenton (an intern with Choice Humanitarian) and I went to Haller Park yesterday. It's essentially a zoo. Neither of us really knew where it was so it proved to be an adventure getting to and from it by matatu. We saw them feed the giraffes, hippos and crocs. I'm of the opinion that you're never too old to have a good time at the zoo.

It was POURING rain all day, of course. Luckily, I had my umbrella. While watching the giraffes, a mom with her two kids snuck under my umbrella with me to get out of the rain. I was happy to share. Then her friend looked over and thought the sight was pretty entertaining. Before I knew it there were 10 people under my umbrella and we were all smiling for pictures. All of this was happening while there were monkeys and giraffes surrounding us. Not sure how I should feel about that. But hey, give the people what they want, I say.

On the way home they were packing people into the matatu. The size of these things is somewhere between a minivan and a full-size van. They normally fit three people in the front and at least 12 in the back plus the guy collecting the money. Yesterday they managed to get 20 of us in there. These things put clown cars to shame. So, picture 20 dripping wet people all shoved into a van. Wet, smelly and negative bubble space. One man was standing in the door well hunched over me. Water was just dripping off of him. He just looked at me with this miserable expression on his face and said "I'm sorry." Poor guy.



This (above) is a matatu stop on the way to Haller Park. Not sure if you can see it very well but there are people and cows helping themselves to the garbage pile. You see these piles all over with people walking around, living in, or rummaging through them. You never get used to the sight. Makes me so sad.

Here are some other pics for your viewing pleasure.





(Monkey pic should be credited to Brenton)





They have 12 tortoises in the park. The oldest is 120 years old! This one we saw is over 100. I can't help but think what was happening in the world when this thing hatched.