MOVING TO SHIMONI

As you all know from my last post it took me two days to get to my site. It took me longer to get to my site then anyone else even those people who were the fly in sites. Funny enough the people who had to fly in sites which are the furthest sites were the shortest travel. The way that you get from Nairobi to my site is ride a 10/11 hour bus ride from Nairobi to Mombasa, then take a tuk tuk from to likoni ferry, take the 10min ferry ride to the other side of Mombasa, then board a matatu for 2 hours ride to Shimoni. You could do this trip in one day but the issue is that the last matatu to Shimoni is at 6pm so if you miss this matatu welp, you better go find a room wherever you are, so it took us two days to get to my site.

It was cool though, my principle and I traveled together and he was very laid back about the traveling. I am the 4th Peace Corps volunteer at my site so he is use to us American's and also he wasn't to horrified at the large amount of luggage I had unlike other principles who had never had a Peace Corps volunteer and saw the massive amount of stuff we had to bring to live in Kenya for 2 years. Although, it was still quite a site to see lugging a big hiking backpack, a big duffle, a smaller rolly bag and my small backpack into tuk tuk's, buses, etc. Thank goodness we only have to do that two times in total for the entire two years!!

The most exciting part of my trip other then the fact that I was finally moving to my site and getting to meet my kids, was that I got to stay in a tent rather then a room when we stayed overnight in a place called Voi. They use one of those old looking safari tents that you imagine in the old colonial safari pictures with the men with a handle bar mustaches, khaki shorts and shirts and a big khaki hat. They put in cement flooring and a bit of a structure to have a real shower then a bucket bath, as well as western toilet but it was a magical experience. I was hoping my home in Shimoni was going to be the exact same but unfortunately that's not what Peace Corps qualifies as a place to live for 2 years.

When I got to Shimoni, it was NOTHING how I imagined it. Honestly, I couldn't help but mix thoughts of a Florida beach town with an African twist of dogs, cats, goats, chickens running around, mud huts every where, and dirt roads. It was weird looking place I created in my head. What Shimoni actually looked like was a dirt road leading into a very small area that had thatched hut restaurants, vegetable venders, fruit venders, then it forked and one dirt road lead you to a mosque, more homes and a hotel and the other lead me to my home. The road that leads me to my home is parallel the water so I get to see the water everyday riding my bike to a form school. My road has a bar, a hotel, some businesses and then a bunch of homes at the end and when my road finishes you can walk down this cute little path to the beach. (Pictures will be posted when I feel comfortable taking my camera around, since it's an expensive thing to have and I don't want people getting the wrong impression that I have tons of money and can rip me off all the time)

I have my own little room in a house. You walk through a metal door and there is a big hallway with rooms on either side. Back to the dorm life! I love it though, it's cozy, it's not a lot of cleaning and we have a backyard with palm tree where I can hangout or neighbors whom I hangout with in their homes. It's also so very quite and beautiful! Because most people don't have electricity the stars are unbelievable and despite it being pretty hot during the day Shimoni cools down at night and there is a constant breeze so sitting in my backyard at night time is very relaxing. Luckily, Viki the last Peace Corps volunteer who lived in my room left me a ton of her stuff so it wasn't to much of a pain in the butt to move in.

When I moved to Shimoni it was 3 weeks before we had to start school so I did a lot of wondering around and heading to my banking town Ukunda/Diani, a big tourist spot that has a grocery store (so exciting!), that is 1.5 hrs away. I lucked out on my site, we get a good amount of different foods and I can eat fish whenever I want! It's beautiful and the people are so very nice! I have had incidences where my bike broke down and random person walking will just come over and help me. Or people inviting me to have chai with them or dinner at their houses. I do get hassled a bit by the men, which can be VERY annoying but I just say Hapana (meaning no) and for the most part they leave me alone.

I live with a family who rents out the other rooms in the house and owns a house 50ft away. There are two girls who are around 20, one women who is in her mid 30's, her son, cousins', sisters, etc. and they have taken me in as a family member. It has been so great! I eat dinner at their house all the time, play cards with the girls, and hangout with the little ones. They have helped me acclimate so much and help me through the confusing cultural differences and understandings. The older women also has had a lot of interactions with people from America and other parts other parts of the world so she understands my culture better then most which gives me a nice break from the constant struggle of cultural differences I face everyday. The girls who are around 20 also give me such a nice break because it's like I'm hanging out with my own sisters. They have helped me more then I can explain!

Shimoni is wonderful and the South coast is stunning. The South coast isn't as developed as the North coast and so the drive down to the my site is just fields of palm trees and lush fields of different trees and small communities of huts and houses. I love it!

Thanks for reading!