I thought it would be fun to start a forum about kenya.. any one interested about kenya or just my experience in general can leave questions and i will attempt to answer then the best i can.. remember i was only there for 2 and a half weeks so i didnt see it all but i saw enough.. dont be afraid to ask about anything.. and i do mean anything..

Hey bro yer' back! I want to know everything, but I suppose thats too vague of a question. So lets start with your flight back, I heard it was a nightmare.

Oh, and do you have any pics?

Love you, bro.

Hey mike..
I just turned the pictures in today to be developed so hopefully i will have them by tomorrow at a hefty cost.. The flight back was a hell hole.. In Nairobi our plane was delayed 2 hours for taking us to london which was making it a close call for our flight out from london to washington.. our plane finally arrives at london but it has to fly in circles over london for a half an hour since it was delayed and missed its window of opportunity to land.. So of course we miss our flight to washington since it takes so long to go through immigration and to switch terminals since we were switching plane companies.. We spent the whole day hectically trying to find any flight to america but the only one was to JFK in new york which then had no flights out to Detroit that night.. Plus British Airlines wouldnt help pay for food or hotel expenses saying it wasnt there fault we were late (which it was).. after 9 hours in a london airport (which i have a lot of stories for but i will write that in another post if you want me to) we finally got on a plane to fly to new york.. In New York we were shuttle bused out to a Holiday Inn Express (which of course doesnt have a pool) we all slept for about 4 hours then had to get up to go to Lagurdia airport in New York because they had a flight to chicago which had a flight to detroit.. The only problem is some kid on the plane in New York passes out because he is diabetic so we are sitting on the runway for two hours to see if he is ok.. because of this we of course missed our flight in chicago to detroit.. this time though United Airlines gave of some vouchers so we could eat which i got a pizza since i hadnt had one in 2 and a half weeks.. After sitting in Chicago's O'Hare airport for 3 hours we finally got on the next flight out to Detroit which was a quick 45 minute flight.. Then of course we had the two hour drive from detroit airport to home.. Overall between all the driving in Kenya to get to the airport and all the plane rides and driving around in the states we had been riding in vehicals for 4 to 5 days.. fun stuff..

I have a question.. Next year i'm going to Costa Rica to do volunteer work there and i was wondering: What drove you to step out of your comfort zone and go to Kenya?

I think what you've done is nothing less that great. Good work!

Well.. This wasnt my first time leaving my comfort zone for voluntary work.. a few years back i had gone to Bolivia in South America for a mission trip.. It made it easier to decide to go this time to Africa.. I guess the main reason i leave my comfort zone for these trips is because i love to travel and i love to see other cultures in person and not on tv.. and most of the time i end up finding out that tv gives a way wrong visual of how these people live.. For instance.. Africans arent man eating animals, as a matter of fact, every single person i met in Kenya was the nicest person i ever met.. You seriously will never understand how nice they are until you meet them personally.. I dont know if they were nice because they are just nice or if because they wanted my money, but as far as im concerned i think they are just nice..

Hey thanks for the reply. Its my first time to do volunteer work in another country. Its a little daunting and i don't know what to expect. Do you have any advice to help me get ready?

Well.. The best advice i can give you is to study the culture of costa rica and try to ask people who have been there before what to expect.. I have personally never been there but i have heard the people are nice and the place is beautiful.. Dont worry, you will be very nervous before you get there but once you get there and realize you have nothing to worry about you should be able to fully enjoy the place.. Will you be travelling with a group or alone?

How do the people dress, is it like we see on TV or more American-like?

They dress just like Americans just not everyone has high class clothes like we are capable of wearing.. some do, most dont... I didnt get the chance to see the small tribes that wear the weird dresses but they do exist.. The only kids that are barely clothed and poor are those in orphanages and thats because they probably lost one or both of their parents to aids.. Africans arent as bad off as we imagine them to be, at least kenyans arent...

I'll be going over with the a group so that'll make it easier. I don't think i could do it if i was on my own. But i'm more excited than anything else.

Nick -- I want to go with you on your next mission. I thought about it alot while you were gone. And especially when I saw yer' pic on the site.

Oh... and also -- I really want to go on the next bike trip with me. But I know; you might be in school. (sigh...)

Don't worry mike... I won't be in school.. The college i wanted to go to, you had to be able to speak spanish which i barely know the basics of spanish.. if i didn't know spanish i wouldn't know what the teacher was teaching.. Which might be a little difficult.. It would be cool to live in puerto rico for a while, but i will have to learn another language fluently first.. I have been trying to find you online lately mike because i wanted to know what kind of bike i should get for the bike trip because i am really excited about the bike trip myself.. I think that is the next test in my life (besides jumping out of a plane )..

hey nick, i'm so glad you're planning on coming on the bike trip with us! i was a little worried that it would just be mike and i. i was just telling him a few weeks ago that i really wanted to talk you into going. there is no one i'd rather have coming along with us than you!

also, mike and i are really serious; if at all possible, we would really like to go on a mission with you the next time you go. i know we don't go to your church, could we still go? when i first met mike i was actually planning on going to africa, south america, or Jamaica for a mission but it never worked out.

I don't know.. i will have to see when the next mission trip is and where it is going.. they have some all the time that are in mexico for like a week.. but i don't want to go to mexico.. i always wait for the big trips that are far away and in exotic places.. such as africa.. It might be another two years which would suck cause i might not be around any more (I hate michigan).. I would have to ask around to see if you guys could go because it traditionally has been limited to people that go to this church.. but i will see what i can do.. I think the experience is amazing and that any body should be able to go on the trip..

Hey bro - you get your pictures back yet?

Yes as a matter of fact i picked them up last night so if your on aim tonight i will send them to you..

Hi!Just ran over your blog it's pretty cool.I live in Kenya, Nairobi to be precise and jut wanted to know what parts of Kenya you were in.

I was in Nairobi for one day and two nights.. the rest of the trip was spent outside of Eldoret in this Mission College up there.. We also spent some time in the town of Nakuru as well as the Safari Lodge there.. Kenya is a beautiful country and the majority of people there are just beyond nice..