I've had a couple of requests from people who want to know if there's anything they can do or send to help out Happy Life, the orphanage that I volunteer at down here. I talked to the women running it, and they actually gave me a list they have of things they need and pointed out the things they need most. They said they happily accept both items ( Read more... )

I haven't posted in a couple days because it takes such effort to use the internet here. It turns out that the wireless is absolutely terrible (when it actually functions, that is), and even when it is working, I have to cart my laptop/plug/converter into the cafeteria to use it. Basically, that means I either have to use the computer lab or the ( Read more... )

This morning I made the fantastic decision to change out of my statistics class. It seems to me that it is way smarter to get out of a class that is miserable and in which I will learn absolutely nothing in favor of something better, and simply take stat at home where the professors actually teach (novel). I am now in Environmental Law. Strange ( Read more... )

Alright, so I shall now tell you all a scary story. Well, it's not really a story that can be told on Livejournal, but just FYI, my friend today became a statistic. As we were trying to get a ride back to the university from town, my friend got robbed. The guy knocked her shopping bag out of her hand, took it, and then grabbed her purse. She ( Read more... )

Yesterday morning a few friends and I took the bus to town for the Tuesaday Maasai Market. Since I like buying a bunch of souveniers at once at a market like this, I let the "helpful" guys who like to take you around the market take me around. One was leading, one was my "shopping cart," and the other...well, I don't know why he was there. ( Read more... )

Okay, so everything can't be all sunshine and roses, right? This post is going to be a little whiney, so feel free to skip it if you don't want to hear about the blah side of things here ( Read more... )

Happy Life is the name of the orphanage at which I volunteer; I realized that for some reason I forgot to put that in my last e-mail. I went back for 5 hours on Sunday by myself and realized just how daunting it is to have that many children trying to get your attention at the same time. There are 29 children total there, so it is a relatively ( Read more... )

Thursday night, since most people don't have Friday classes, begins the weekend and is therefore the big "going out" night in Nairobi. Apparently the place to be the first Thursday of the semester is Cat's Club at Safari Park, which is the beautiful hotel a short walk from the University. A big group from the hostels got together and went out at ( Read more... )

I must tell you all about the cats. I don't think that I've mentioned this yet, but the vice-chancellor of USIU is absolutely in love with cats, so she takes in any strays off the streets or that people drop off. Of course, these cats are not fixed, so they breed, and as a result, there must be hundreds of them running around. Some are big, some ( Read more... )

I realize I just posted, but I have now attended all my classes for the first time. I am taking 20th Century East African History, Beginning Swahili (It really does come in handy here), and Probability and Statistics (I know). I'm also doing an independent study for USC back home at a hospital here. The professor showed up at one out of three ( Read more... )