Farewell to South Africa

Farewell to South Africa:
What can I say except simply shocking. I had no idea the extent of what the non whites in this country have gone thru. This country is truly a rainbow country, with all different races of people, but I guess with any rainbow you have a starting and an end point and in the end you can say we are all the same despite how we may look. As South Africa turns a page in history. I hope the black Africans can prove to the world they can maintain the power of a 1st world country, and show to the world they can keep/make it successful. They are the only 1st world country runned by blacks. Its amazing how fear can divide people, but I guess it’s our hope that keeps us live, and creates miracles, without hope we are simply nothing. With the US having segration, from what I understand not to the extend that the the South African did. I can only imagine how my father and mother felt when they came to the US in the early 1960's as they were judged solely on the color of their skin . South Africa is a country I have learned the most from. It will be interesting as we move towards the 21st century as one of candidates of the US is a black African, who knows maybe the US is ready for a black American or a female president, miracles do happen. Let's keep the hope alive....

Day 157 & 158: Capetown

Day 157: Cape Town
Today I headed to the waterfront and the tried the snoek, a typical South African fish, it was pretty good. Then headed to Robben Island, how quite disturbing it held at one time 800 people. This is the prison that Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisoner. Our tour guide was a former prisoner. Even in this prison there was segration between the prisoners. They were separated between the colors and Indians in one group and the blacks in another. The colors and Indians were treated slightly better than the blacks, but the colors and Indian did share what they had with the others. The government did so because of fear of unity among the prisoners. Interesting when I would walk thru malls or shops I still noticed the blacks pretty much hung out, the Indians, colors, and the white even with segration gone for 13 years there is still segration in the minds of the people, the mind is a very powerful tool. It will take racism a couple of decades to filter out. The black Africans did not ask for anything from the white government except a simply apology for how they were treated in their own country. The current president at the time did give them an apology, but the man who started apartheid did not.

Day 158: Cape Town
Today I went to the District 6 museum. This museum shows where 150,000 black, Indians, Jewish and other groups were forcefully removed in 1960’s to make an area for the whites. These people were forced to move to townships and other areas. These townships were based on color and if a colored woman was married to a black man they could not live together simply based on the color of their skin. They use to have the pencil test where the blacks would sometime try and pass for colored as the life was better the officials would put a pencil in their hair to see if it fell out or not that would determine if you were colored or black. I met a colored woman and she told me that her family was always fearful of supporting Mandela as to not get thrown in jail. I met a colored man and he told me if he even looked at a white girl he would be arrested. Everybody had to carry identification card with what race they were. Interesting I see the most mixed couples in Cape Town. It’s the country where I am most aware of the color of my skin. I met one of the guys who lived in District 6, his grandfather was Indian his mother was Scottish, he was a mixed of many different races. Went to the BoKap area where a lot of Malaysians live, quite colorful areas with bright homes.

Day 155 & 156: Stellenbosch & Capetown

Day 155: Stellenbosch
Wine, wine, and more wine. There are three wine regions. Stellenbosch, Franshoek, and Paarl. Frankshoek was started by the French Huguenots, they are similar to what the Afrikaners- Dutch Calvinists are. South African white wines are particularly good. I have never been much of a white wine drinker, but definitely these are some of the best. Ex. Chenin blanc. White wines they peel the skin off immediately the red wines they keep the skins longer to get the tannins which keeps the wine from going bad as well as the color. Tannin is a natural presertive. I tried potjde a stew that had springbox similar to antelope.

Day 156: Capetown
I must say Capetown is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Reminds me of San Fran. Being close to the water, but the background Table Mountain reminds me of the Grand Canyon. They are definitely more whites here than any other place I have seen. They still have locks on the doors, just like they had in all the other major cities I have been to in South Africa. It’s hilly and there is some Victorian arthicture and colorful homes. Went to Table Mountain and saw great views of Cape Town. Tried bobkite (msp??) which is a Malaysian inspired dish. Very good, minced meat w/egg custard on top, and sweet chutney on top at Mama Africas. Didn’t realized the big Malay population I guess it makes sense as the Dutch East Indian company had a location in Malaysia as well they brought them over.

Day 153 & 154: Cinsta & Hogsback

Day 153: Cinsta/Hogsback
Noticed a lot of KFC’s, fried chicken is very popular, interesting that is also popular among the black Africans in the US makes me wonder if they brought it over when they came to the US. Went to Hogsback. Some say Tolkien the author of ‘Lord of the Rings’ was inspired to write the book after seeing this area. It’s very green and full of trees, etc…Tolkien was originally from South Africa.

Day 154: Cinsta
Today we saw it, yes a beached whale. I arrived at the hostel and there was a great big crowd around the beach front. I went to the front desk to inquire about the big commotion down at the beach front, I was told it was a beach whale. I scurried down to take a look and sure enough it was dead whale. People from all over the town came over to see it. One elderly woman with her three dogs came, poking the whale w/her cane and after examing it closely for about 5 minutes or so she declared it was ‘great big white shark’, I was puzzled as the animal had no teeth. I guess only the dogs believed her as they were afraid to go near the animal. Another passerbyer determined it was a humpback. A Scottish and Irish guy came by and were taking pictures holding the whales flippers. The Irish guy wanted to step on in it not sure what that would have proved we convinced him it was disrespectful. People came from all over taking pictures in front of the animals. As I was walking back I met some people form the hostel and told them about the beached whale they would put their heads down and say what a shame, as if they had known the whale. The animal examiners came by and sure enough it was a small male humpback whale.

Day 152: Durban, South Africa

Day 152: Durban
Had coffee with my new Indian friend Rajal, her family had been in India for a couple of generations as had most of the Indians in the area, the British brought a lot of them over to help with the sugar cane fields. She told me that there are a lot of “Patels’ and most are Muslim, which surprised me as I had never met any Muslim Patels they are primarily Hindus. Went to see the Zulu village with my friend Emily. The outfits are very similar to the Swazi people. They were apparently at one time one tribe. Short skirts and tops and lots of beaded jewelry. Saw a witch doctor. Saw the huts look a lot like the Swazi people. Also just like the Swazi and Masi Mara(African tribe of Kenya) part of the dowry for woman are trading cows. Never realized how important cows are!!!! Then went shopping at a fabric store the owner an Indian lady offered to give us a ride to the restaurant. We took her up on her offer.

Day 150 & 151: Durban, South Africa

Day 150: Today arrived in Durban, it is where the biggest Indian population is in South Africa.

Day 151: Took a city tour today and saw where Gandhi was kicked out of an all whites train. He came to Durban to defend a fellow Indian and he sat in all whites train, he did not get up when they told him he was not allowed to sit there, so they kicked him off. This is where he got the idea of non-violence which eventually lead to removal of the British from India. Went thru the Victoria Market and went to a couple of the Indian spice shops they have the famous Durban curry there. Had some Bunny Chow, it’s basically a hollowed out loaf of bread with curry in the middle, this came about when the blacks who were working out in the golf clubs were not allowed to use the utensils they would use the loaf of the bread that was cut off to soak up the curry sauce. We went to a herbal/witch doctor and saw different potions, some on how to keep your man from going astray from wife or girlfriend, etc…That night met a nice Indian woman at one of the shops. I was particularly interested in talking with her as I wanted to see how the Indian fit into all these changes occurring in the country. She told me now that the blacks are in power they don’t think that the Indians are black enough. Some jobs are given to the blacks that were previously held by Indians. It’s crazy I have never seem so much racism in a country before during apartheid people had to walk around with idenfitcation cards to state what they were: White-Afrikaners, White-British, Colors (mix races), Indians, and Blacks.. Everything was based on race, didn’t matter how intelligent you were. Entry into beaches, schools, some restaurants, clubs, even which sidewalk you could walk on was based on what color you were. Majority of the segration was white and non-white. I noticed I did get more smiles from the fellow Indians that walked past me, I soon became very aware of my skin color and being Indian…..I guess you do see this in other countries segration like India with their caste system, the British with their class system, but not to this level.

Day 149: Swaziland

Day 149: Swaziland
Today went to the cultural center and visited a Swazi village. The boys live together and the girls live together. The husband can have more wives and divorce is not allowed. They were dancing with feathers and anklets on their legs. Tried Swazi food which is similar to black South African. Got lost going back and met a Swazi family who were building a house in the area. The guy and his helper said they would give me a ride to my hostel as it was not safe to walk alone. We piled up into the truck. I noticed he brought a rope with him, but before I could make an excuse to get out we were already heading out. I decided to keep quiet and pray that nothing would happen to me. Thank god I got safely to my hostel! It’s very green in Swaziland.

Day 148: Swaziland

Day 148: Swaziland
Today I took a bus to neighboring Swaziland. Met some nice guys Afrikaners that helped me out as I was having problems with my phone car. It’s very green. Went to the Reed dance , which is the biggest festivals in Swaziland. It gives tribute to all the woman in Swaziland. The girls started the day bathing in the waters by the River. We saw them and they were all waving to us, none of them at all embarrassed that they were not wearing anything. The girls were marching with their reeds, which are basically used to make their homes. The girls did not have any tops on their as their chest were completely exposed they did have little skirts they were wearing. They were very comfortable in their own skin and were not embarrassed by this. Girls from all over Swaziland came in their costumes. Some say that the King may pick a wife at this event, as he already has multiple wives. Divorce is not allowed in Swaziland.There were even girls that were 5 or 6 marching proudly with their reeds. The girls even wanted us to take their pictures. They were much freer with their bodies than I think Americans are. Met a nice mother and daughter from Germany. We enjoyed a great deal that night.

Some say that the business that were still working with South Africa during apartheid were based in Swaziland, so it did not look like they were doing business with South Africa.

Day 147: Jo'burg, South Africa

Day 147:
Today I met a guy at the hostel with a bruised up lip, he had gotten robbed the day before. He had just rented a car and was at a red light and a kid came up to him and knocked on his window. He of course rolled down the window and the kid put a knife to him. Not knowing what to do he fought back, which ended him with a bruised up lip. Later he found out that the car rental places have some type of notice stating that if you feel unsafe at a red light feel free to go through it. A lot of the crime I found out later is attributed to the high unemployment ~25% and the influx of people from neighboring Zimbabwe (as they are going thru a civil war). Went to the city of Johannesburg.with my tour group, found out that the majority of whites left Joburg and went to live in the suburbs after the end of apartheid as they were fearful of their lives, some are coming back. Went to SOWETO, which stands for the South West Townships. It is basically south west of Joburg. That was designated area for the blacks to live during apartheid. Conditions were poor they had no plumbing they had to squat in buckets. The townships were however in better condition than the slums that I saw in Nairobi, which is the biggest slums in Africa. Their was a volunteer group helping out even stars from the NBA gave donations and paid visits and Oprah even donated a school there. The kids were playing with us and none of them asked us for money. Went to the church where one of the black protest had happened and a student got shot. In the church they had a black Madonna and child of Soweto sitting on our lap. The biggest hospital in the world is in Soweto. Went to wandi’s and had a traditional African meal, which of course consisted similar to the corn maize I had in Kenya, which they eat with the meats. Their food has a lot of stews, meats, and of course the corn maize (for the starch). Went to see Nelson Mandela’s house. He had a small modest home in Soweto.

Then headed to the Apartheid museum, which was very heart wrenching. Simply appalling what had happened in South Africa with apartheid and the conditions that the non whites had to deal with. There was segration in everything between the whites, blacks, coloreds (people of mixed race), and Chinese, what is completely more appalling is that is ended in 1994, which is simply amazing when you consider South Africa is such a modern country, actually the wealthiest country in Africa and filled with intelligent people, but I guess it’s not intelligence that drives people to do what they, but rather fear…As the Afrikaner (Dutch-whites) were afraid that they would be taken over by the blacks as they constituted such a large portion of the population ~80%, so their tactic was segration in everyway possibly and even with the other minorities segration with them so that they could not become allies. The British kicked South Africa out of the commonwealth. The UN had mandates against doing business with South Africa. But looking at South Africa it is definitely a first world country, so I am amazed with all the boycotts from the other countries that South Africa did survive. Later of course I would come to find out our infamous Bush Senior was secretly funding apartheid, he justified it by saying they did not want them to fall to communism. After apartheid Bush Senior did not apologize for this. With things like this, it's sometimes hard to be proud as an American when you have leaders like Bush Senion. I am very disappointed that other countries did not come to the aid of South Africas apartheid issue earlier.

From what I was told tensions had been rising between blacks and whites and not wanting a civil war the president at the time against his party wishes, decided to give the blacks the right to vote and release Nelson Mandela. Of course you can guess the next election Nelson Mandela won with more than half the votes! As my tour guide told me as he talked passionately about what happened in his country, that is simply a miracle that apartheid ended and the blacks were given their home land back without any bloodshed!!!! So I guess in life you can say miracles do happen, I hope that these miracles will trickle down to other areas of the world like the Palestian/Israelian conflict and other parts of the world .

Day 146: Hello South Africa...

Day 146: Today took a flight from Zanzibar to Johannesburg. Met a girl on the plane who was working for an AIDS foundation, she told me that Botswana has the highest aids population following by South Africa. They even have a drug that the mother, if infected by aids, can take before the baby is born to prevent the baby from getting aids. Was a little apprehensive about coming out to South Africa after knowing that apartheid had just ended so recently in 1994 with the release and the election (the blacks were then given votes and they make ~80% population) of Nelson Mandela. Also my travel agent had told me that when he booked a couple to Johannesburg back in 1988 a Chinese woman and white man, they had to stay at separate hotels, because of they were not of the same color. I was astounded I haven’t realized the intensity of apartheid. I would hear about it and how everybody was boycotting it, but never realized the magnitude of the segration. Got to the airport and went to my hostel and realized how western everything was. Johannesburg reminds me of California a bit similar to San Jose. Headed to the mall a bit later and noticed a lot of black, colored, and Indian folks. Didn’t see to many white people. Met an Indian girl who told me that Johannesburg had become very dangerous lately, it was getting late and she waiting for her brother and didn’t want to take a taxi.

History of South Africa

1.By 11 century Bantu speaking tribes had settled in the area
2. Dutch East Indian company established first settlement at the Cape of Good Hope 1652.
3. The settler developed a close-knit community with their own dialect (Afrikaans) and were Calvinist (was the Dutch Reformed Church, they broke off from the Dutch church)
4. Slaves were imported from other parts of Africa and Southeast Asia
5. 1779 the eastward expansion the Boers (means ‘head of cattle’ and were Dutch-Afrikaner farmers) was halted by Xhosa in the first Bantu War
6. British annexed the Cape in 1806 and abolished slavery in 1834, the Boers considered this intolerable
7. Pressure on the Bantu from the Boers and British caused political and social tensions , which resulted in the Zulu king, Shaka, in early 19th century. His policy of total war on neighboring tribes cause a lot of suffering and mass migration. The Zulu’s were eventually defeated. Tensions between Boers and British were tensed
8. 1867 Diamonds were discovered in Kimberly and gold in 1886 in Jo’burg. The Boer republics were flooded with British
9. The resulting tensions ended in Anglo-Boer War in 1899-1902
10. British won the war, they pursued a scorched-earth policy to combat the Boer guerrillas, and had the world’s first concentration camp where 26,000 Afrikaner woman and children died.
11. 1910 Union of South Africa was created which gave political control to only whites. This prompted resistance with non-whites and the government reacted by intensifying repression.
12. 1948 Afrikaner National Party won the election and excluded non whites from having any political or economic power and the security forces brutally enforced this laws
13. ANC (African National Congress) was created to oppose the racist legislation. Nelson Mandela was one of the leaders.
14. Apartheid system was entrenched even further in early 1970’s with the creation of the Black Homelands they were in theory ‘independent’ countries, all blacks within white-designated South Africa were deemed foreign guest-workers and had no political rights. Any black person without a residence pass could be ‘deported’ to a homeland
15. UN imposed economic and political sanctions and established new parliaments of whites, colored (mixed race), and Indians, but no blacks.
16. Reforms did nothing to east he sanctions and 1989 FW de Klerk dismantled apartheid and released Nelson Mandela
17. 1994 Nelson Mandela won the election and a new rainbow flag was raced.
South Africa

Day 143, 144, 145: Zanzibar

Day 143: Took a city tour. Learning about Stonestown and the architecture. It is a mix of Arabic, Indian, and African. The language, culture, foods are a mix of Arabic, Indian, and African. The doors represent African Arabic which is square with chains on sides the Indian doors are round at top and sharp points to keep the elephants away. Went to the area the slave trade started with the Middle East. The slaves that were brought to the US were predominately from Sierra Leone in the west. We saw where the slaves lived and they were pretty much sold in the Middle East and Persian Gulf. The Omani’s from Omans (Persian gulf) ruled over Zanzibar and took a lot of the slaves to Oman and Persian Gulf. It was really disheartening to see pictures of the people in chains etc.. Slavery has existed in other parts of the world like Egypt, but that happened a long time ago. The alleyways reminds me a lot of Jerusalem with the high buildings and narrow streets, it’s like a giant maze. Saw a lot of African and Indian woman. Then headed to the Freddie Mercury restaurant and where he was born. Freddie Mercury’s family was Parsi (originally from Iran) and had lived in India, they immigrated to Zanzibar.

Day 144: Today we took a spice tour. Interesting cinnamon is cut from the bark of a tree and stuff they use for vicks is from the root of the same tree. Different color peppers are grown on the same tree, but they are just harvested at different times. Even saw the lipstick tree, what they use to make lipsticks from. Cloves are the biggest spice grown here. Went shopping and ate at some of the local food, like Zanzibar pizza which is omelette with a crepe with egg, veg, cheese, and meat, it was quite tasty and some of the other food. They had samosas, chapattis, falafels, bhajas. Tried the safari lager was okay.

Day 145: Walked around Stonestown, went to an Indian rest. The food was quite tasty with the fresh spices. Shopkeepers were both African and Indian. Thought I sensed tension between the two groups. Found out later the Africans when they got independence they originally kicked out the Indians. Went to dinner and had amazing seafood meal, its amazing what good spices can do to food. Then had a dessert of sweetmeat, which is basically fudge like that has cinnamon and ginger it was quite tasty.

Day 141 & 142: Zanzibar

Day 141: Today headed to Zanzibar (spice island)…it was an intriguing truly a mix of African, Arabic, and Indian. Swahili is predominately Arabic with Indian words. It's spoken in various places like Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar. True Swahili I am told is originally from Tanzania. Zanzibar was the Arab capital of East Africa. On our way from main land Tanzania on the plane the gentlemen next to me was talking the same Indian language my parents speak. We started talking and he told me he was born and raised in Uganda and that most of the Indians that went to Uganda were of Gujuarti, which is the area my parents are from and that Idi Amin was threatened by the Indians as they were successful business men that he kicked them out of Uganda. Idi Amin kicked out 50,000 Indians or so leaving in 90 days leaving behind shops and stores and fleeing to England an the US. Some eventually came back, some people homes in other countries. Arrived in Zanzibar an noticed all the Arabic influence. The woman wear burkas and the area is very green. There is a mix of African and Indians in Zanzibar.

Day 142: Decided to enjoy the beautiful sandy beaches went and saw the dhows (which are the sailboats). Went to some of the shops and heard some of the Indian shop owners speaking Gujuarti.

Day 137, 138, 139, 140: Tanzania

Day 137: Today was our transition day from Kenya to Tanzania …with nice western showers and toilets.

Day 138: Today we took a boat ride on Lake Victoria which is the source of the Nile. The Nile flows south to north. Saw amazing birdlife…Went to a small fishing village. Was not pleased with the kids as soon as we got of the boat the kids were being nice to us and then asking us for money. Tried the local Tanzanian beer which were quite good….

Day 139: Today we went to the Sergenti. The Sergenti is to Tanzania as to what Masi Mara is to Kenya. We saw elephants walking, water buffalos, saw a mother lion that killed a water buffalo and feeding it to her cubs, they were eating the stomach first. In the lion family, the mother lion usually does the kill for the family. Saw a male lion with all the fur around his face. That night in our camps there was a hyena lurking around our tent. I thought oh boy, my campmate Emma and decided to keep quiet and pray that the hyena go away. Eventually it did.

Day 140: Went to Norongo Crater, saw zebras, elephants, and wildebeests, saw hippos. On our campsite we had elephants and zebras casually strolling by. I had to remind myself this is their land and were simply visitors.

Day 135 & 136: Kenya

Day 135: Today we went on our safari and we saw a lion attempting to get an antelope. The lion is a the ‘king of the jungle’ and is feared by all animals. The antelope was eating leisurely while the lion was in the distant, but as the lion got closer the antelope would slowly move.

Day 136: Today we saw the zebras and the wildebeest. During the mass migration from the Sergenti to the Masai Mara the wildebeest not being very intelligent animals need the zebras to lead them through the migrations. They also need each other. The wildebeest eat high grass and the zebras in low, so the wildebeest eat the top and what is left at the bottom the zebras eat there. In case you are wondering zebras all have unique stripes, just like human finger prints. The wildebeest are not very attractive animals. The are brown with long faces. We had a traditional Kenyan meal which consisted of ugali and chapattis. They do eat the same chapattis as the Indians and they eat with their hands

Day 134: Kenya

Day 134: Today we left our 5 star camp and headed to another campsite in the Masi area. We got there and met the Masi people they traditional are wrapped in red blankets. They lead us into their village. The woman have round beaded necklaces around their neck. The woman did a welcoming dance for us. The Masi people live a very secluded life. They don’t have a TV a few have radios and they had never seen anyone that wasn’t black or white. When we came to the tribe the tribe people thought that I was African as they have never seen an Indian person before. When we came one of the ladies in the tribes asked us if we were a tribe from Mombassa (city on the coast of Kenya) and was wondering why I was with the group, as everyone was white and I was the only non-white person there. One of the girls in the group had braces and the people in the tribe kept pointing to her braces for her to take them off they had never seen a person with braces. The explained that when a girl gets married in the village the husbands family requires cows and money to be given. Interesting how important cows are. The kids were really cute. First afraid of us then after awhile they came around and started playing with us and wanted us to touch their heads. This is a sign of respect. They wear colorful clothes. The Masai people were very genuine people untainted my society, almost like innocent children, living a very simple life, but they all seemed happy with what they have. I guess it’s not wanting what you don’t have, but wanting what you have. I see the Masai people as having a simple life like the animals that we have seen a basic life. Saw the sunset behind the clouds and saw the amazing red, orange colors against the brown mountains, green trees and the never ending African horizon what a sight to see…..

Day 131 and 132: Kenya

Today we saw more a leopard ,black and white rhino's which are pretty rare to see, antelopes. The forest was very green even the bark on the trees were green. The campsite we had drop down toilets and no shower so we were all excited to go to our 5 start campsite which consisted of western toilets and hot showers, intersting how the expectations change.

Today we woke up in our nice 5 star campsite. We took a walk with the animals, the giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and water buffalos. It's amazing that they live in such harmony together, it was like going into an animal kingdom. The animals wouldn't get to close to us, but were curious about us. They would come close, but would keep their distant. Saw the splendid acaia trees stretching in the horizon just like the horizon of africa and the thorn bush trees. Then went on a boat cruise and saw hippos. We went to Joy Adamson's house she wrote 'Born Free', about taking in a lion cub and raising it. We soon found out that Joy was Born Free herself as she had three marriages and had pursued her third husband while being married to the 2nd.

Day 130: Naoribi, Kenya...

Day 130: Started my tour group, met everyone. Went to the hotel in Nairobi, they had security guards on every floor. Nairoibi is not the safest place to go it's nick name is Nairobbery. Met my roommate Emma, from England. Really nice girl. OUr first stop was an orphanage. The kids came out to greet us with big smiles and they wanted to hold our hands, I was happy to see none of them asked us for money. One of the girls 12 took my hand and showed me around. She really enjoyed my camera and was snappying up pictures. There was a really cute girl named Annie about 3 years old, who was very chubby and cute and she was everyone little sister the girls in the orphanged all looked after Annie. Her mother was mentally retarded and her father was death and dumb. The kids did a song and dance and gave us all flowers. We met one of the girls who had gone thru the orphanged and had gone to Univ. and had graduated. The kids looked realy happy on the stage. I wondered how they could be so happy when they had so little in life. I thought boy they didn't realize all the thing they didn't have like a car, or a TV or nice clothes. Which made me think we have more material possession and we know more of what we can get like a nicer car etc.. and still there are times that we can't get enough and we are not happy. These kids didn't know what they didn't have. In way they were lucky because they would not always be striving to get more and would be content with their lives.

Day 129: Naoribi, Kenya

Left my host family and went to stay in Naoribi. Learned that there are many Indians in Kenya and most of them own business. My host mother told me alot of the common Indian surnames were 'Patel' and 'Shah', I wasn't too surprised. There is a big grocery store chain named 'Namkuctet' (msp...) that is owned by Indians. Being a religious woman my host mother asked what religion I pratices telling her I am not very religious she was taken a back by it as she was a religious chrisitan, she told me alot of people in Kenya are religious and are chrisitinans, she was attributing to the fact that it is a poor country and that religion gives people hope in life.

Day 128: Nariobi, Kenya

Today I went touring around with my tour guide Judy and the driver. Interested to see what the real Africa is my tour guide and driver took me to the slums of Nariobi. The slums of Naroibi are the biggest slums in Africa and houses alot of the refuges from Sudan. We saw shacks after shacks of homes. The kids were curious about us and hovered around us. Some of them ran into their house when they saw the car, some have never seen a car before, as some are born, go to school, work, and die in the slums and never leave. The driver knew his way around as he had lived in the slums he was of middle class but wanted to live there to save money, he told me he even had a friend that was a lawyer that lived there to save money. The area had a sense of community. People were friendly and we stopped at a place they were making necklaces and earrings and bought some.The children were happy to see us and were jumping up and down. I was happy to see the children were well behaved and were not asking us for money. Went to lunch and had ugali which is maize based and they rolled it up in their hands and they eat with meats we had yummy coconut fish, they usually eat with their hands. Went to see Karen Blixiens house the woman who wrote 'Out of AFrica'. Went to a local game restaurant but there weren't any as there was a Rift valley virus going around. Found of Kenyans love to dance...Tribes are important in Africa as they drive the politics in Africa. Everyone belongs to one tribe or another. The biggest tribe is the Kikiyu's. Inter tribal marriages occur Fyi....Barcak Obama belongs to the Lamu tribe.

Day 127 Hello....Kenya

Day 127: Can this be Africa.... My expectations of africa was always brown, hot hot, and small huts, boy was I shocked when I woke up to see green secnery everywhere, more green then I have ever seen except New Zealand and Nariobi the capital what a busy city with tall buildings Got in way to early slept in most of the day, interesting when you slow down for a bit you get more tired. I was staying with a Black African family in their home. They lived by the embassies.