Karibu (Welcome) to Kenya! I haven't learned prepositions in Swahili yet.We arrived in Nairobi on Saturday afternoon and spent our first night at the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers house. On Sunday afternoon, we moved into our new home for the next 3 months, the Flora Hostel.
Highlights/first impressions so far:
- There's so much green! The parts of the city I've seen so far seem much more spread out than I expected.
- It's raining intermittently, cool, then hot in the sun, then cool again, then humid.
- Vikki, the Maryknoll Lay Missioner in Nairobi has been so helpful in taking us to all the places we need to get settled and helping us acclimate.
- Fr Doug and Jotham, a Kenyan on staff at the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers, showed great hospitality in our first stay with them and are both good cooks! The other four priests and seminarian made us feel welcome, too.
- I think Charles and Damianus, the night guards at the Flora Hostel, might be willing to help me practice my Swahili.
Not-so-highlights:
- Jet lag.
- Mosquitoes.
A little bit about my new home:
It's a property in town with several buildings, run by Italian nuns. I have a small bedroom & bathroom in one of the main buildings at the end of the hall so it's very quiet and I hear the rain well. There seems to be a variety of nationalities of people staying here from the other guests I saw at dinner – African, Indian, and European. There's a room down the hall with a sink for us to wash our laundry and indoor clotheslines. We eat in a separate building at 7:30 am, 1 pm and 6:45 pm. Mass is available in their chapel every day in English at 6:30 am (being that I'm waking up at 4 am, I might make it!) and on Sunday in English and Swahili. Our first meal was dinner last night of soup, chicken, cooked greens, cabbage/carrot salad, rice, and potatoes. I don't think I'll go hungry!
It is fitting that we ended our long journey on the day, we as Catholics, remember the journey of the three magi, who came seeking a newborn ruler they did not know. We come, also seeking Christ, in a land we do not know, but also hoping to follow his way and to carry the Love that we have known into this new place, into new relationships, and into the nitty gritty of life.
A few first impressions of Nairobi in pictures:
An interesting Santa greeted us as we left the airport.
And some fake elephants added to the ambiance as we drove into Nairobi.
But more interesting was the giraffes - yes, these are real - along the road from the airport in a national park.
Some first glimpses of Nairobi show a modern city. 
Lots of green trees & plants - a beautiful place.
My room in the Flora Hostel
Karibu! Wishing you all the same sense of being loved
Mary
Mary, beautiful pictures-- worth a million words. Thanks also for the words. We are glad that you are safely in Nairobi, and good luck jumping into class to learn Swahili! It remains bitter cold yet, up to 7 above today.
ReplyDeletelove and prayers, Mother
So glad you arrived safely! Been thinking of you. Hope you are having a great week!!! Melinda
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
ReplyDeleteBest wishes with your new mission. I'm happy to see you arrived safely in Kenya and I know you'll make a difference there like you do everywhere you go. :-) You're in my prayers. Paul F.
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteYou cannot imagine how thrilled I am to read your blog!!! How did I find you? I was at LIndsay's going away party this past Sunday and telling her of you when she made the connection, "Is her name Mary?" Your decision to return to Africa has touched me so and I promise to keep you in my prayers. I am sorry we did not see each other when you returned from your first adventure in Africa. Perhaps I had already moved to Indianapolis but Sr. EA did tell me that you had shared your experience with the OLG family. May God continue to bless you! Love, Mary Ellen R.