a few pictures...

This is the crater in the middle of Mount Longonot. It was absolutely huge. The plants on the floor are actually full-sized trees, but they looked like little shrubs from the top.

This is the Masai Mara, a game park southwest of Nairobi. We flew over it on the way to Musoma, Tanzania and saw a ton of animals.

And this is the Serengeti (erengeti-rengeti) in Tanzania! It was beautiful.

volcanoes, safaris, a trip to Tanzania...

It's been a really busy last few days since I updated this! I'm a little strapped for time, but I'll try to put as much detail up as I can.

Friday night I went to an Ethiopian restaurant here in Nairobi. If you’ve never had Ethiopian food (this was my first time)…it’s interesting! They eat this pungent fermented bread that is like a spongy tortilla. You basically rip off pieces of it and dip it in various other foods. It took a little bit to get used to, but it was pretty good! I also got my first taste of goat and other Ethiopian delicacies.

Saturday was a pretty lazy day. I got to sleep in (much needed!), watched some Little House on the Prairie with the family I’m staying with, read…you know, the glamorous life. I did get to ride around Nairobi a little more and see the house that I will be moving into in a few weeks.

Sunday morning I went to a Baptist church here in Nairobi. The pastor is white but has lived in Kenya for a long time, and the congregation was probably half white and half Kenyan. It met in a big tent J. After the service, I met up with another family (the Browns) and I went with them to climb Mount Longonot. It’s a volcano in the Rift Valley that is over a mile high (I can’t remember exactly how high it is…but it is quite the climb!). It’s center is basically a HUGE crater that the volcano created a million years ago. I’ll post pictures up here as soon as I can, but it was incredible. It looked like something straight out of a dinosaur movie. There were also some giraffes roaming around – my first view of real African wildlife!

And then yesterday morning I went to Tanzania! The father of the family I’m staying with is an AIM pilot here, and he was picking up two missionaries in Musoma, Tanzania. There was an extra seat…so I got to go with him! We flew over Kibera (the largest slum in all of Africa, which is here in Nairobi, and which actually borders the group of houses where I live). We also few over the Masai Mara, the Serengeti (yes, Sam!!), and Lake Victoria. On the way back, John (the pilot) flew low over the Masai Mara so we could try to spot some animals, and we found elephants, gazelles, hippos, and zebras. However, the low flying made the one missionary sick (really sick)…so we ended that venture.

Today’s a full day here at the office. All of the International Services departments are here at a hangar at Wilson Airport. AIM Air has all of their operations here obviously, but there are also the Finance, HR, Maintenance, Accounting, and IT departments.

I love all of the differences here. There is a really heavy British influence in Kenyan culture. We drive on the left side of the road, and the steering wheel is built on the opposite side of the car – that takes a while to get used to! The driving here is pretty insane. It’s against the law to have the light switch on the inside of the bathroom, so it’s located on the outside wall, and you flick it down to turn the light on and up to turn the light off. They call pants “trousers”, and if you talk about your pants it’s embarrassing because “pants” refers to your underwear (luckily I haven’t slipped up on this one yet). Cookies are “biscuits”, potato chips are “crisps”, and French fries are “chips”. Literally just about everyone has a cell phone (I just got mine for the summer!), and when you put prepaid minutes on it it’s called “topping up”. One of my personal favorite findings is that the bathroom on my floor has one of those things you see on airplane bathrooms that say “open/occupied”…except when you lock the door this one says “ENGAGED”. It makes going to the restroom a bit more adventurous I guess!

It’s been incredible so far! I can’t believe how many crazy adventures I’ve had in just my first week here.

Kwaheri! (Goodbye!)

Finally in Nairobi!

I am here!

My flight arrived at Jomo-Kenyatta International last night at 9. I'm living with a missionary family this week, so I made it to their house by around 11 and got to bed. Nothing like a little jet lag to put you to sleep!

I got to sleep in a little this morning - I was up at 9:30 (which is 2:30am US time...which my body is still on). I got a ride to Wilson airport, to the hanger where AIM International Services is located. I got to meet the other people in the HR department, and we all went out to lunch at the Grill Mart - this little restaurant down the road from the airport. I've spent the afternoon here in the office getting acquainted with the work I'll be doing.

I love the random differences in the way of life here - they drive on the left side of the road, so the steering wheel is on our passenger's side. They call pants "trousers" because pants actually refers to your underwear. "Chips" are french fries, and potato chips are "crisps". A lot of little things to notice and find amusing!

It actually reminds me a lot of the Dominican in a number of ways, of course with a different language. I'm slowly learning the key Swahili phrases!

I might have the opportunity to fly to northern Kenya this weekend - we'll see if that works out! It looks like I'm going to have some pretty cool opportunities - not just sitting in an office all day!

I hope you all are having a great summer (or intersession). Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement!

Good Morning...

...from London!

It feels strange to see the sun shining, considering my body still tells me it is 2:20AM. I made it safely to London and I'm here waiting for my flight to Nairobi in a few hours.

Our orientation at AIM's US headquarters was great - a lot of information, a lot of background, and a lot of perspective. But I'm incredibly excited to be on my way!

I've learned that I love British accents a little.

Well, my laptop battery is quickly dying so I need to cut this short. I'll try to update with something more substantial in the next few days. I appreciate all of your prayers and encouragement!

la salida

Well, I fly out of Erie tomorrow morning! I'm heading to Newark (with a connection in Detroit). I'll spend a few days there for my orientation, and then Wednesday night I leave Newark, fly to London, and then continue to Nairobi. I land there Thursday night (their time).

I am so incredibly excited...with a bit of nervousness, of course.

I will have internet access about every day in Nairobi, and I'll be able to use my GCC e-mail address, so feel free to keep in touch!

P.S. I just downloaded Skype, so if you want to add me, my user name is "ryan.mayle".