Janneke's weblog

Hello again!

My second weekend was great. It was the first time I went outside Nairobi. I went to Hell’s Gate, a national park about two hours away from the city. There were zebra’s, giraffes, gazelles, elands, wild boars, and loads of huge birds. It was so beautiful! I went there together with my two housemates. We walked to the gorge, and went down with a guide. It was an adventurous walk, we had to use our hands at some times. The area has volcanic activity, and it was so interesting to feel that the water that came outside the rocks was hot! At some spots it was even nearly boiling! If you walk there and experience the park, you cannot be anything else but amazed by the beauty and sophistications of nature!

Whereas last weekend I was almost the only one in my house, now it is packed with people. We are 8 at the moment, and we even have to share beds. It is very nice, with very interesting people who tell the most wonderful stories about all their journeys.

Yesterday I went to Mathare again. I went together with a girl from Canada, to give computer lessons to the local youth. We went by matatu, a small bus for about 12 people. You always have to squeeze yourself in, since it is not that big. Often they have very loud music, and there are even ‘disco matatu’s’ with loud music, lights all over and even a tv screen! I haven’t been inside one yet, but I definitely will one day!
Anyway, our trip with the ‘normal’ matatu was an experience on itself. We took the ‘short-cut’ through all the small streets of Nairobi. I had the feeling that we had seen half Nairobi before we arrived. It had been raining the previous day, so the roads were extremely bad. There were holes everywhere, and we were swinging madly. We had an average speed of I think not more than 8 kilometers per hour. There were little stands everywhere, and especially lots of shoes that people sold on the road. It looked a bit as if we were driving in the middle of a slum. At one point in time I wandered whether we would ever be able to get out there again. The sight of broken matatu’s and a whole truck that was fallen in the river was not very encouraging. However, after 45 minutes we finally reached Mathare, and gave our lessons. Next Monday we will go again.

My work for the UN is going fine. It is a bit searching for work in the beginning, I think I have to get into it a bit. I heard a lot of interns do not have a lot to do at first. However, I think I will have to work a bit independently. It is a very new organization I am working for, and I think they just need someone who is going to find out what the role of the PEF is and how the PEF should manage its tasks. So that is quite a challenge, which I like!

Well, that’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed my stories! Have a look at the pictures, if you’re interested!

Greetings,
Janneke