A look at Kenyan life

So today started out on a funny note. A few of us usually walk from IU House to Moi University each morning - the walk is about 10-15 mins. As you can see from the pictures below there is not a sidewalk to walk on but only dirt or mud beside the road. It is a bit tricky when it has rained as you go sliding everywhere in the mud. Anyway, so myself and one of the ED physicians (Susan) that is visiting here decided that we wanted to take a Boda-Boda ride. Boda-Bodas are bicycles with a small seat on the back and are used like taxis. They got their name because people would go from border to border on them and eventually the name got shortened to Boda-Boda. So Susan decided that it would be fun to have a Boda-Boda race to the hospital. She & I climbed on (unfortunately I had decided to wear a skirt this morning) the Boda-Boda & encouraged our "drivers" to go faster. I didn't win the race but I'm not sure that either driver really understood what we wanted to do. Lauren stood by and took pictures for us. The whole experience was hilarious! I think people were laughing at the silly Mzungus (foreigners or white people). Here are a few pictures of us on the Boda-Bodas.

So this is the road to the University, me on the back of the Boda-Boda.

I thought I would give you a little look at my life in Kenya. Below are a few pictures of where I live.

Welcome to the IU House compound. This is the front gate of the compound. It is guarded, not only by guardsmen, but 3 dogs as well.

This is my house - it is called House #7 or as I like to call it, The Frat House. I currently live with 3 other guys and it is where everyone hangs out. The next few pictures will explain a bit why I call it the Frat House.

Big TV, Wii, XBox, Rock Band accessories, etc. The guys like to stay up late at night & play Rock Band.

Another view of the living room with lots of couches.

The dining room has a pool table in it. Need I say more?

This is my bathroom.

This is my bedroom.

Below are pictures that I took on our road trip back from Kakamega. It is a little peek into what life in the countryside looks like in Kenya.

A typical "strip mall" of various shops in the countryside. My favorite is when they put the butcher shop & the bar together in one shop.

My favorite tree - the Acacia Tree, a hallmark of Kenya landscape!

This is a small market - you can see some of the wooden stands where people bring their things to sell, usually fruits & vegetables but can be an assortment of other non-food items too.

A house & shed along the road from Kakamega.

More of the landscape with houses. But I specifically took this picture for the sign in the right corner - VCT is Voluntary Counseling & Testing for HIV. I have seen the signs a lot of places which is a tremendous improvement to the last time I was in Kenya when no one wanted to speak of HIV/AIDS.

This is a fairly typical partial mud house in the rural parts of Western Kenya.