“This is the journey that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on, my friends.” (as long as this blog post)

So, I now understand what Richard meant by unreliable buses to the border.  We began my second day in EA at 5 am…well, I was up at 2 because body is not adjusted, but I got some good reading in.  I was to meet up with the guys at 6 at the bus station. When the cab driver arrived, I informed him that I was going to Machaco Country Station and to just drop me off out front.  Evidently, this is not a good idea…Mama laughed at me and took ten minutes ensuring that the driver would not only take me directly to my friends but not leave until my bags and body were on the bus safely. Mom, I’m in good hands!  Thank you so much to Mama Shamim for being so hospitable, kind, and helpful; thank you to Mercy for cooking me breakfast (eggs, bread, and tomato) and preparing hot water so I could take a shower; and thank you to Natasha for making my welcome sign and carrying my backpack this morning…what a hoss!

Machaco Country Station was like a carnival of buses.  There were about 200 buses crammed in a lot for about 50, each of which had neon lights, bright decals, and noises coming from all angles.  It was sensory overload, but luckily I found the guys a few minutes in.  We were put on the “bus going to the border at 6:30” and three hours later, we found ourselves pulling out of the station at 9:30.  Fortunately for me, I was acquainted with African Standard Time over the past year with my wonderful classmates, Nicky and Shamim, although I don’t know if it was ever to that extent.  Once off, we made it about an hour (in traffic) to the suburbs of the city (still in Nairobi) before we pulled over and stopped.  Evidently the white police were up ahead, and they’re the special forces that you just don’t mess with.  So we hang out for another mmm…2 hours, until we finally leave.  Fortunately, we made a friend, James, who is from and going to Mwanza (FYI, James look just like Junior from Cool Runnings and my biggest regret of the trip is not asking if he’s seen the movie).  This is good news because this means he also must cross the border, so we will not be left by ourselves in a town NOT at the border…so we thought.  Once we leave, we’re off and running, AKA I’m out like a scout.  Over the next four hours, I only really wake up to see the Great Rift Valley…pictures were taken and yes, it really is that beautiful and the Lion King was very accurate. 

At 6 o’clock we drive past a town called Migori…and next thing we know the bus is turning around and going BACK to Migori…this is not good.  We stop in Migori, and as if this was a choreographed dance and we were not included, EVERYONE got up, grabbed their bags and left the bus…everyone except for us.  Now, Migori is not the border town; Sirari is, but luckily, Mwanzan James is included in “us,” so we know we’re not totally wrong.  He talked to the bus driver and coordinated a driver to the border for us.  So, here we go, the five of us joining two other people and the driver in a four door compact car each of us with at least one bag, me with 2 duffels, a backpack, and a bag of food.  Three people squeezed in with the lady in the back and I looked at the driver and said, “Oh sorry, there are three of us left and there’s only one seat in the front; obviously, I haven’t caught on yet. Next thing I know, Mwanzan James is sharing half of the driver’s seat, half of mine, straddling the gear shift, James and I are also sharing the front seat, and there are four people in the back…for a 20 minute drive.  We were pretty much crammed in like sardines; some call it torture and discomfort, I call it fuel efficiency.  Once we got to the border, we were quickly approached by someone from SHED offering to take our bags and drive us to Shirati.  James immediately asked, “How did you know we were the VLOP guys?” (I must admit that I thought the same thing)…Reality check: we are the only mzungus (white people) in about 100 miles. 

An hour and a half later, we are in Shirati, TZ, my home for the next 10 weeks.  I can’t really tell you if it’s pretty or not because it’s pitch black outside and no electricity inside, but we do have lanterns and they have dinner waiting for us…rice, beans, and some great sauce for the rice: my kind of people.  I’ve been here for an hour, and I’m already happy!  Over and out!