And so it begins...

...ISP that is. But for now, let me catch you up on what I have been doing for the past week or so...

Last time I left off, I had gotten back to Nairobi from Tanzania. After the trip, we had about 4 days in Nairobi before leaving for ISP . These days were not very exciting, so I'll spare you all the boring details. I spent most of it writing a final paper, getting ready for ISP and getting some last minute details in order. Like I said, not too exciting, so we'll just skip right on to Kisumu...

Jen, Kelsey, Monica and I left for Kisumu on the 8:30 am bus on the 12th. Normally, the bus takes about 6 hours, but for several reasons, this one took longer. The first reason for this was getting stopped by the police. There are a lot of police check points on the roads, so this wasn't that big of a deal. But after about 15 minutes of not moving, people started getting a little rowdy. Normally you barely even stop for these check points. So we looked out our window to see our attendant surrounded by about 5 or 6 cops who were yelling at him and hitting him. We were a little freaked out and not really too sure how to react. The people on the bus seemed upset (for obvious reasons), but not too worried so we just sat there and waited. Some one told us that they were stopped for not having the right uniforms or something, but in reality they just wanted all the money they had collected that morning as a bribe. This is really common here - the police are pretty corrupt and if will often pull people over on bogus charges just to get some money from them. Pretty awesome, huh? After a few minutes, the attendant got into the back of the police car and they drove away. Our driver was still out there on his phone, but thankfully, they didn't arrest him. So he got back on the bus and we drove off as if nothing happened. Pretty crazy start to the trip, huh?

Then, about halfway through the trip, another cop got on the bus and we got a little worried again. But he was actually a good cop. Apparently, one of the women we picked up at a later stop didn't want to pay and was causing a big fuss. So the cop got on and told the woman that she had to pay just like everyone else and stayed there while she did. Nice change from the last cop we encountered. Other than those 2 incidents, the ride was pretty normal. There was a lot of truck traffic, so that added to the time as well. Oh, and another interesting thing about the ride was how many trucks we passed. There are no highways here, only 2 lane roads going both directions. But if the car/truck/bus in front of you is going slow, you can pass them. At any time. So there were a few close calls with on-coming traffic and a few passes around blind curves that kind of freaked us out a little, but I guess thats just the norm here. And we made it safely, so i guess it all worked out.

Pretty much, Kisumu is great and we have a really sweet set up. We are pretty much in a suite - 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a big balcony that, all of which can be completely closed off by a door that we can lock. One of the rooms is huge, so not only do we have 2 beds in there, but we also have a sitting area with a couch/extra bed, a coffee table, chairs and a TV. And all for 600/= a night (about $8.50). The balcony is also a great people watching spot, and I find myself just looking out onto the streets a lot, which can bring up a lot of mixed emotions. But its also a great way to pass the time. All in all, I love the apartment/hotel - and I actually have an area where I can unpack! I have been living out of my bags since February, so you can imagine how nice it was to finally put them to the side, even if it is only for a few weeks. My roommates and I have cooked for the past two nights, which is also really nice. Although depending on what you're getting and cooking, its almost actually cheaper to eat out sometimes, which is pretty ironic. But even cooking for ourselves is cheap - we made a stir fry last night, and for all 4 of us, the veggies were only about $1.50 - crazy, right?

And all the staff at the hotel are so friendly - they all love us and are really happy to have us. And some of them ask the most bizarre questions. Like today when I told one of them that I was from the States. His next question was "oh, so you know Madison Square Garden?" I said yes, I do know it. And his response was "Oh, so then you know the wrestlers? So they really shed blood there?". Wrestling is pretty big here, so that wasn't too weird to be asking about that, but it was still kind of funny. And I didn't even get into the whole wrestling is fake thing, because it just wouldn't have been worth either of our times to try and figure that one out. Oh, and another funny thing about Kenya (and Kenyans) is that they have no real concept of nationalities outside of Africa. I mean, they understand what it means to be British or American, but I could tell someone that I was from France, and they wouldn't question it, despite the huge American accent. I'm pretty sure I could even tell someone I was from Argentina and they would buy it. I'll have to test out that theory and let you know though...

Anyway, getting back on track, the manager at the hotel is our favorite. Her name is Diana, and she is so nice. Like I had said, we got there on a Thursday afternoon, and on Friday afternoon, she had us over to meet her (almost) 3 year old son and husband. Her son was so cute, and pretty well behaved, despite a strong mischievous streak. And her husband is also very nice - he talked a lot about America and the differences between the 2 countries - a very common topic of conversation for us. But she comes up to our room to say hi on almost a daily basis and always takes care of us. She is even going to show us how to make chapati (an amazing traditional Kenyan food) soon, so that's something to look forward to.

But other than that, we have spent the last few days just getting settled here. We all started work on our projects today, and I am looking forward to seeing how all of our projects develop over the next few weeks. Its a lot to take on, but something that should be good for me/us. Next time, I'll go into more detail about my project and the work that I am doing, but for now I think I'll cut it off here. Hope all is well with all of you - and keep the emails and the comments coming - I may not always respond, but that doesn't mean that I don't love reading them!