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Road Trip! Kenya Style :)

The long-awaited weekend is here! Not only will we have the chance for some good sleep and rest from the research at Joytown, but we are taking some time to have a little fun and enjoy the beautiful nation that is Kenya.

Today was a travel day to the Great Rift Valley area and the cities of Naivasha and Kijabe. No road trip is complete without a snack run so we stopped by our friendly neighborhood Nakumatt to pick up food stuffs for the weekend. From there, reunited with our two drivers Peter and Joseph, we headed out to Kijabe with a few stops planned along the way. First, we drove up to Brackenhurst Conference Center to enjoy the beautifully landscaped gardens and a nice lunch. We also made sure to get all of our car wiggles out, even Ms. Rispin...

Who says professors can't be kids at heart?

As we winded up higher into the valley country-side, we stopped at a popular look-out spot. Before our two van-fulls of mzungu's (white people) came to a stop, we were surrounded by people carting nick-nacks and souvenirs, urging us to come into their little roadside shops. These Kenyan's were some of the toughest salesmen and bargainers I have ever encountered. They had almost boundaries, stuffing merchandise into your hands or on your wrists while scribbling a price on their hands and pulling out guilt-cards such as "I have kids at home" or "I have to eat too". I barely even got to enjoy the view away from the constant solicitation of these confident shop-owners. I managed to make it back in the van with some small gifts, a Masi blanket, and some shillings to spare.

One of my favorite parts about road-trips (in any country) is the conversation. This van ride was no different as we covered a range of topics as serious as the broken families of Mexico to the "mythical" Zebra. (Our team-mate David has been to Africa several times and has seen thousands of animals but not one single Zebra. Therefore, they don't exist. This conclusion was promptly broken as we drove past a whole field of Zebra...) I am SO enjoying getting to know everyone on this trip and deepening friendships with my fellow students Matt, Anna and Nicole. Im still in awe that God has put me in such as awesome place with such an awesome, hilarious, fun-loving, hard-working, faithful group of people.

I am lying now under a palatial-sized mosquito net on my very own full bed at Lake Naivasha Panorama Park, one of the coolest hotels I've ever stayed in. Maybe the fact that its a hotel in Kenya in the Great Rift Valley has something to do with it... maybe. ;) Tomorrow we plan to take a boat ride along Lake Naivasha out to Crescent Island where we can walk around in a sort of mini-safari and check out some of Africa's animal residents. The other half of our group plans to hike Mount Longonot. After our sun-filled day, we plan to eat lunch and head on to Kijabe.

Prayer is appreciated for continued health and safety for the team through our adventures tomorrow!

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