Wow, my time here in Kenya has been so packed and overwhelming at times. I woke up yesterday and was like "woah.. I've only been here in Kenya one week! what?!" For some reason it seems like it has been so much longer. Maybe it's because the group of trainees have become so close already, I dunno but it seems like it has been months already. 
The 2 flights to Nairobi were ok....VERY long but we made it safely. On the first flight leaving America, I listened to my Mp3 player on shuffle and the first song that it played was "Africa" by Toto! Ironic :)  And I forgot to mentiont in the other post that we saw Rhianna walk by in the JFK airport when we were waiting to check our bags! How cool is that!?
I was in Nairobi for 3 nights as part of PST (training). That part of training in Nairobi wasn't too exciting, basically just doing paperwork and getting shots. The hotel that we stayed in was alot nicer than I expected. I had a hot shower and a t.v. (which I never watched). On the second day in Nairobi a group of us went into the city to buy some things and we all had our first expeirence riding on a Matatu.  A matatu is basically a small bus/van that can fit like 18 people on. The Matatu I rode had loud music playing and the song I remember was about Obama with a raggae beat, haha.  I was sitting closest to the door and when the driver pulls over to the side of the road to pick someone up, another worker slides the door open while the matatu is still moving at full speed! So you could say I was a little nervous sitting where I was.
Nairobi is so busy and full of people. Everyone just walks out in front of the cars, or along side them if the  "sidewalk" is too full.
On our last night in Nairobi and group of maybe 10 trainees with 2 current volunteers went into Nairobi to go to a bar and dance. It was alot of fun. All of the music was techno. (And Sarah... I have to tell you I taught everyone your "big fish little fish" dance :)
Then on Saturday we rode a bus to Loitokitok which is the site for our training these next 9 weeks. The drive took about 6 hours. Half of the ride the road was paved but the other half the road was basically just dirt and gravel with some huge potholes. And I was sitting the very back of the bus, so there were multiple times that I went flying up out of my seat, luckily we had seat belts though. On the ride we saw wild giraffe, zebra, ostriches, and antelope! The giraffe that we saw were right next to the road maybe 10 feet away. And then as we got closer and closer to Loitokitok, we could see the base of Kilimanjaro. It was at that point that I knew I was in Kenya. I haven't been able to see the whole mountain yet because there has always been fog lately, but you can see just how massive it is by its base.
My first sign language class was very overwhelming and I ended up breaking down. Our teachers are deaf also, so it was hard for me to interpret everything that was being signed. Aggrey, one of the translators, came over and talked to me and told me that he will be there for me every step of the way. He said that he thinks I will eventually be one of the best signers of the group since I dont know as much ASL as the others. Now, the classes are going great for me! I'm feeling more and more comfortable signing every day. And today Aggrey told me that he's really proud of me and how well I'm doing! yay!
As I walk around town here, all of the children will either blatently stare at you, call you "mzungu mzungu" means "white man, white man" or say "howroo?" which is "how are you?". They are all so cute. I thought it would be hard to get used to everyone staring at you but you get used to it pretty fast since it happens no matter where you go.
My host family is wonderful. It took a couple of days for them to warm up to me so at first I felt like it was a little awkward. But now its great. My Baba (father) is out of town tonight and my Mama talked to me alot more. I told her how amazed I am by the Kenyan women and how much they have to do. They work ALL day and mean while, the men just sit there. My Mama said that men are like children here, haha. And its true. We have been told then even if something happens in the house, the Mama will be the first to respond. The Mama is the one who chops the wood, cooks, washes the dishes, floors, clothes... she does everything!
My family has one cat and one dog. When I first saw them I asked what their names were and they laughed at me. So apparently pets are quite the same here as they are in the U.S. I told my Mama that I have a dog back in America and I let her in the house and that she sleeps with me. My Mama just could not understand why I would do that. I have one little brother in my host family.
The past couple of days I have been sick with some type of flu I think. I caught it from others in my trainging group. I think I am the 6th person to catch it. I had fevers up to 103.1 degrees and was coughing alot. So for a couple of days it was tough to keep going, but I'm much better now (so no need to worry Dad :)
Tomorrow my Mama is going to take me to market with her and help me learn how to bargain. And she is also going to teach me how to wash my clothes, which I hear is pretty hard on the back... So I better get some rest.

Until later....