"that is very African..."

So I arrived safely and without incident....except for the ride through the dark streets of Nairobi by the Mwanzia sisters, the youngest of whom was the proud owner of a sparkly new wedding dress from David's Bridal?!? Let me start from the beginning...

The flight was long and fairly painless, despite the threat of strikes from the British Airways cabin crews. I knew I would be arriving into Nairobi late and had arranged for a ride from the airport to the guest house where I was staying. Unfortunately, the only friendly faces with a big sign for 'Dr. Sarah Judkins' belonged to Karutha and her sister and they were not at the airport in the middle of the night to shuttle a mzungu doctor to her hotel....they wanted their sister's wedding dress and the mother-of-the-bride gown. I was asked to carry over a wedding dress, amidst bovie pads and eye drops, for a friend of a friend who knew someone else...I had room so I said yes to this trans-Atlantic dress shuttle and a big box magically arrived at my house in Denver two days before I left from a friend of a friend in Pennsylvania. As we sorted through each of my five bags in the middle of the airport to find their dresses, we realized there was nobody else there to pick me up. Considering the karma points I had just racked up, they volunteered to drive me into town. Imagine my surprise when we found the place in the dark, off a dirt street, and they weren't even expecting me....that is very African!

The Mennonite Guest house is wonderful. It is a secluded oasis in the city with lovely gardens and clean, basic accommodations. It is a Nairobi hub for missionaries from all over Kenya when they need to come to the city for supplies, visitors, or meetings. It was a warm, welcoming place in the middle of the controlled chaos that a city of 7 million people produces. After a day of relaxing and repacking, I set off to meet my friends, Guy and Rusha Lev, for our attempted assault on Mt Kenya. Let the adventure begin....