Hujambo!

I am now sitting in a cyber cafe in Nazareth. This is the first time I’ve used a computer in over two weeks. The internet has been down in all of Ethiopia due to some Internet-related cable in the Mediteranean. We came here looking to make an international call to Ellinor’s parents and SURPRISE, there’s Internet!

Ethiopia is much different than the other African countries I’ve been to. As I understand it, other than a short-lived Italian occupation in the 1930s, they were never colonized. I guess that explains why they still use Amharic as a national language and have such a rich culture (food, music, and dress are all very unique). Strangely they do say “ciao” sometimes, and they love coffee. I know Ethiopia is the “birthplace” of the coffee plant, but these people love both machiattos in small cups and pasta. There are coffee shops everywhere (even the small towns), which is really nice compared to Kenya, where you can only get a nice cup of coffee in the two or three upper-class coffee shops in Nairobi.
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I know I’ve been out of communication for over a week, but it’s with good reason. I’ve been traveling all over Kenya for various goodbye parties, circumcision ceremonies, and Christmas celebrations. Here’s the breakdown:

• Saturday, December 20th: Maasai village called Enkokidongoi for a goodbye party for a few friends.
• Sunday, December 21st: Back to Tala to wash some clothes.
• Monday, December 22nd: Back to Nairobi to in order to leave early the next morning to Western Kenya for the Kulechos’ rural home.
• Tuesday, December 23rd: Mabanga, near the Ugandan border with cousins of the Kulechos because nobody was free to take me to the Kulechos’ farm.
• Thursday, December 25th: Finally to Chepsaita, where the Kulechos’ rural home is. Bunches of family and villagers were gathering for the slaughtering of a bull for Tash’s brother’s circumcision ceremony.
• Sunday, December 28th: Back to Nairobi in order to leave for Ethiopia on Monday.

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So my new phone has a camera, but you know how camera phone are. It’s no replacement for my digital camera that recently broke, but I can take pictures of bugs and stuff around the house. Now let’s play “Hii ni nini” (what is this)!

I found these in the market the other day. They’re everywhere and they’re cheap which means they’re in season right now I guess. I don’t remember seeing these in the market at this time last year, so maybe this is something special for Kenya, or at least Tala. I know the picture isn’t very good, but can you guess what they are? They’re not cherries, they’re… plums! Mini plums! I paid thirty Kenyan shillings (about fifty cents) for a big bag of them.
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Yesterday I was very sick. Today I went to the doctor and a blood test showed that I have plasmodium malariae. So now I am among the billions of malaria-infected people in the world. In retrospect it really wasn’t all that bad, just a lot of diarrhea. Other than the the obvious annoyance of having to run to the toilet every 20 minutes, the headaches, muscle pain, lack of appetite, and fatigue are pretty normal if you’ve ever had the flu or common cold.

I got a shot of quinine in my butt (ouch), and now I’m on anti-biotics for a few days. I feel better already; part of that was probably due to eating my first meal in twenty-four hours. I will go for more shots tomorrow and the next day and then I’ll be rid of this parasite forever. The good thing is that, according the Center for Disease Control, I am building up immunities to this parasite. Cool!
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I’m home safely from Mombasa (read on). I spent the week wandering around Mtwapa, Nyali, and Mombasa itself while my friend Anique was at work. I’ve been to the coast before but I have never had as much fun as I did this visit! I don’t have any pictures because my camera is dead… pole sana (so sorry)!

• Salsa dancing lessons
• Swimming in the ocean for the first time since April
• Bus home to Nairobi being attacked by people with crude weapons
• Kid on beach bouncing a dead, but fully puffed, puffer fish
• Being in a matatu (public service bus / minivan / taxi thing) which got in two crashes, the second one after the conductor and the door operator were yelling at each other about the first one
• Browsing a spice market and being asked if I wanted to buy something that would let me “touch the sky”

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