Day 1

Hello friends, family, and newcomers. Welcome to or welcome back to my blog where I am documenting the process leading up to and during my first humanitarian mission to Eldoret, Kenya.

Today is Sunday, March 30th, and we have officially arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. My journey began solo at Cleveland Hopkins yesterday, where I flew to JFK to meet my Cleveland counterparts. From JFK, we had a 13.5-hour flight to Nairobi, landing this morning shortly after 10:50 UTC. I won’t lie, this morning wasn’t ideal when we disembarked and collected our luggage. Customs took our luggage, searched it, and confiscated many supplies due to expiration dates. We spent about two hours there, and it wasn’t the most enjoyable experience. Nevertheless, we arrived safely, our luggage was returned, and we had a wonderful day in Nairobi.

We were picked up by a driving service and taken to our hotel, where we freshened up, changed clothes, and had a light lunch. Our hotel boasts several restaurants and is absolutely stunning, so we dined in the gardens today. I enjoyed an avocado mash sandwich with French fries. It was delicious, and since it's a safe choice, I can see myself ordering it a few more times over the next two days. Here, you always drink bottled water; never drink tap water, as it can make you very sick, which is something I'm keen to avoid during my stay. After we finished lunch, we got back into the van and headed to the History Museum.

The History Museum was incredibly enjoyable, with so much to see and experience. It took us two hours to explore everything. We learned about the wildlife, culture, and history of Kenya and its people. There was a bee exhibit that was both eerie and fascinating, mainly because it featured life-sized bees, making me feel like I was in a jungle movie. However, we got to learn about honey and its uses. There was even an outdoor area with snakes, fish, turtles, and crocodiles. This was a very enjoyable experience, and I am so glad we took the time today to do this, despite being exhausted, because I got to learn more about the place where I will be working for the next two weeks. Our driver even arranged for a tour guide to show us around and explain everything. Something very interesting here is the tipping culture; you tip for almost everything. This is totally fine, but I definitely have "sucker" written across my forehead, which the gentlemen at the airport could easily read.

After visiting the museum, we returned to the hotel and sat by the pool, which is where I'm updating you from right now. It was a lovely evening, reminiscent of the perfect June summer nights back home. It felt great to unwind and relax after the day.

We then headed to dinner, where we all enjoyed potato and leek soup—it was delicious. I could have that along with the avocado sandwich every day. It's 8 PM here, and we're all calling it a night. Thanks for following along; there are many updates to come. Until tomorrow :)

All Love,

Meg