First Days in Kenya

Hello everyone!  I’ve made it to Kenya safely.  This is my fourth full day in the country, so bear with this long blog post as I describe my initial days.  My travel time, from the minute I left my house in L.A. to the moment I landed in Nairobi, was over 24 hours, including a 2 hour layover in Amsterdam (my first trip to Europe!).  It was a strange feeling as the first plane took off to see the California coast slip away and know that I wouldn’t see it for a long time.  I arrived in Nairobi late Monday night, where I was met by a cab driver holding up a sign with my name.  After a quick phone call from Damaris at the mission board, I was taken to my hotel where I tried to sleep.  Kenya is 10 hours ahead of California, so it’s been a challenge over the past few days adjusting to the jet lag, but I’m almost over it now.

My two days in Nairobi were spent meeting with the CMMB office staff and shopping for supplies I would need in Mutomo.  The staff at CMMB, and the Kenyan people in general, have been very welcoming and generous.  Everywhere I go I’ve heard “Karibu Kenya,” meaning “Welcome to Kenya.”  Luckily for me, everyone in Nairobi speaks excellent English, and everything is written in English.  I’ve been making an effort to pick up some Kiswahili (Swahili) words and am very excited to learn, but it’ll be a long time before I’m able to have a conversation with anybody. 

Some of the CMMB staff at the Nairobi office.

Nairobi is a modern city, though it’s still very different from cities in the U.S.  To say the traffic here is chaotic would be an understatement.  People weave in and out of the lanes, traffic lights often seem to be more of a suggestion than a rule, and pedestrians j-walk everywhere (even across the highway!).  When crossing the street, I find it’s best for me to just attach myself to a crowd of people rather than go it alone.  Cars here drive on the left side of the road, so when crossing you have to look to your right first.

Kenyan money

I’ve been getting accustomed to using Kenyan money.  They use Kenyan shillings here (Kshs).  The exchange rate is roughly 83Kshs/1USD, but the prices in Nairobi have been comparable to the prices in the U.S. 

 Among the many supplies I picked up in Nairobi were a fan, a modem for internet, and a new cell phone.  My friends at home will be shocked to learn I now have a smart phone.  I’ve never had a smart phone in my life, so I find it very ironic that I had to come to Africa to get one.  The modems for internet in Kenya are the size of a thumb drive, are wireless, and fit into a USB port, much smaller and more convenient that those in the U.S.  Also common in Kenya is the M-pesa system.  This is basically a way of loading money onto your phone.  Many Kenyans use M-pesa to pay in shops and restaurants, to transfer money to one another, pay bills, and even withdraw cash.  It’s a very impressive and innovative system and eliminates the need to carry large amounts of cash.

The modem I use for internet access.  You use the code on the scratch card to upload airtime which you then use to purchase data.

The drive to Mutomo was about 5 hours: 2 ½ on paved road, and 2 ½ on dirt road.  The paved road goes as far as Kitui town, which is the largest town in Kitui county (counties are the Kenyan equivalent of a state in the U.S.)  We stopped there to pick up some water and use the toilet.  It was the most primitive toilet I’ve ever seen: basically a small stone shack with a hole in the ground… but it works.  I was wondering what sort of toilets to expect when I reached Mutomo.  After Kitui, the dirt road began.  This road is very rough and made for quite a turbulent ride.  The distance on the dirt road was only about 70 kilometers, but due to the condition of the road, the car could only go about 20 kph (about 12 mph).  As we drove through the small towns along the way, the residents stared curiously when they saw me.  My driver explained that people here are often excited to see foreigners, and many people will use the word “muzungu” which means something like “white person.”  Not half an hour later, a group of children spotted me and got very excited, shouting “Muzungu, muzungu!”  That gave me a good laugh.

The main road through Kitui town.

The start of the dirt road. This was the smooth portion.

Upon arriving at the hospital I was greeted by Sr. Mary, the hospital administrator.  She gave me a tour of my new house.  It is much bigger than I expected.  It actually rivals my apartment back home.  I have two bedrooms, a sitting room, kitchen, toilet room, shower room, and dining room, as well as a back porch.  I was so relieved to see that I have a flushing toilet, and they DO have toilet paper! (sigh of relief).  The hospital grounds are quite large with many houses, rows of water tanks, and a dumping area where rubbish is burned.  I’m told about 40 staff live in the hospital housing.

The front porch of my house.

The sitting room.

This is self-explanatory.

I was given a couple hours to unpack, then I was to meet at the house of one of my neighbors, Anita, for dinner.  Anita is a nurse from Ireland who has been living in Mutomo since 1999.  She is very welcoming, and put on quite a nice feast.  I’m sure she went to a lot of trouble to prepare the meal, and many of the items, such as cheese and ground beef, have to be brought in from Nairobi.  The dinner gathering was a nice chance to meet my other neighbors.  There was Marcus, (an OBGYN from Finland), his wife Kathy, Per (a dentist from Sweden), and Sr. Mary who is native to Kenya.  Between all of us it felt like having dinner at the U.N.  Marcus, Kathy, and Per will all be leaving in a couple weeks, but Per (who has been to Mutomo many times) will be returning again in January.

Bigger than my bed at home, and a better mattress too.

 After dinner I walked the 30 yards back to my house, clutching my flashlight and scanning the ground to avoid running into any snakes.  Sr. Mary and Anita say it’s unlikely I’ll even see any snakes (they are usually scared away by people), but for safety to carry a torch (flashlight) and wear closed shoes at night.  Thanks for making me pack those flashlights Dad!  I settled into bed for the night (beneath a mosquito net), then got up two minutes later to assemble the fan I’d bought in Nairobi (thanks for also making me pack that screwdriver!).  It’s not excruciatingly hot here, but warm enough that sleeping is mildly uncomfortable.  Thank goodness for the fan!

The shower room. The shower doesn't run. The bucket and scoop in the far right corner serves as my shower.

This morning I had my first Mutomo shower: a bucket of water with a cup to scoop… primitive but effective; I felt quite clean afterwards.  Water is a HUGE issue here since Kitui county is a very dry region of Kenya with little rain.  I am amazed at the resourcefulness of the residents in conserving water.  Every rooftop is designed to catch rainwater, which is then stored in a series of massive freshwater tanks.  They also have access to saltwater, which comes from underground.  This is mostly used just for washing the floors, dishes, and hands.  I am told I can also save the water I use from showering to reuse for laundry, mopping the floors, or filling the toilet tank.  I will also have to start boiling water to make it safe for drinking.  I’m lucky to live in a place with tank water.  As I drove through the towns on the way here, I saw many people walking down the roads carrying bottles by hand (or donkey) to fetch water.  I think some have to travel quite a distance.

I had a quick breakfast of tea and a hardboiled egg at the hospital canteen this morning for 40 kshs (less than 50¢).  The tea here is quite good.  I’m not much of a tea drinker at home, but I think I could take it up here.  The tea is made with boiled milk mixed with water.  It’s nice to have the option of the canteen for meals, but I’m hoping to learn to cook eventually. 

After breakfast I met with Sr. Mary for the grand tour of the hospital.  It is very well designed, much more navigable than the maze-like hospitals in the U.S.  The main wards are medical/surgical, pediatrics, and maternity.  They also have the theatres (operating rooms), outpatient clinics, and HIV center.  There is a pharmacy, lab, kitchen, sterilization center, laundry room, library, offices, isolation rooms, hospital store, records department, community education center, etc.  I was surprised to see that much of the hospital systems are computerized, though most of the nursing documentation is still done by hand.  (luckily I have experience reading bad handwriting from the doctors in the U.S.).  I must have been introduced a hundred times as we made our way around the hospital.  It will take me a while to remember all the names.

After the tour I met with Teresia, who is the director of nursing.  She is making arrangements for me to start in the hospital tomorrow.  I have the rest of today to rest up and get settled.  I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of town later this afternoon.  Mutomo’s Catholic church is right next door to the hospital, a 5 minute walk from my house.  There is also a mosque in town, which I have not seen but can hear during the call to prayer.  Apparently if I do my shopping in town, people will charge me more since I’m white (it’s assumed that I have a lot of money).  But I’m told if I like I can have someone do my shopping for me to avoid this issue.

The plan is for me to start on the medical ward tomorrow morning.  I’ll spend a few months there, then rotate for a few months to each of the other wards.  I’m excited to get the chance to sample all the areas of nursing, but a little anxious since I’ve had only medical/surgical experience.  But I’m in good hands.  There is a library with nursing books where I can brush up, and I will be assigned to a mentor in each ward to help me learn (and to translate Kiswahili). 

Wish me luck, and pray for me!