GOODBYE NAIROBI!

Please note that VSO is in no way connected with or responsible for the content, comments and observations in this blog: these are solely my own in a personal capacity.

FRIDAY

I forgot to say that the previous day I had again called to the VSO Kenya office which is just down the road from the hotel hoping to see Esther who is the person here who was handling the arrangments for my visit. She turned out to be in a meeting so I left a note explaining what had happened to date and my phone number – I was partly concerned that VSO might end up paying twice – once through the insurance company and then again to me when I claimed back what I had spent.

Later that afternoon, as I was en route from the Doctors’ Plaza to the radiology unit, she rang me, or at least attempted to. It was like a flashback to the Irish telephone system of the 1970s when any long-distance call was a rollercoaster ride into the unknown! Granted her call was being shunted over to Rwanda and back again to me in Kenya but the effects were startling. There was a six-second time delay between one person speaking and the other person hearing (I timed it!) and then you could hear your own voice the second time round as clear as day. However, when the other person spoke, by the time the words arrived, they had been slowed down and distorted like a second-rate special effect from a science fiction film (or a bit like the dream sequences in Twin Peaks, if anyone other than me remembers them). Eventually she gave up, which was probably the right option!

But on Friday morning, just after I had stepped out of the shower, there was a knock on the door and I was told there was a call for me at reception. It was Esther all right and we had a good chat. She explained that she had never received final notification that I was indeed coming (flight details etc) or else there would have been someone to meet me at the airport, they would have given me the documentation I needed etc. (Alfred: Hmmm, if so then why was the accommodation booked, albeit for only two nights?). She wanted to check that I had enough money and whether I needed anything else. I explained that I was actually about to head for the airport but that everything had turned out all right in the end!

And off to the airport I went, a little bit early but I prefer to get there in time and get the hassle over with. Plus I figured I had better allow for Nairobi’s traffic – and I was right. Not that we ran too late but it took much longer than I would have expected. The airport was fine, other than a little difficulty at security where the elderly guard was very concerned that they would not let me on board the plane with my walking stick – I told him I would take my chances! The airport is quite nice actually, despite the various horror stories I had heard about it. I think the problem is that people are often stuck there for eight or twelve hours and nowhere in the world is going to be pleasant in that situation. And maybe it was quieter where I was – mostly local flights within Kenya or to immediately neighbouring countries.

Anyway, bought some clothes in duty free (Alfred: I am so waiting for when we can get a photo of him in his new caftan with the mother-of-pearl buttons and little hat up on the internet – puts that Kampala shirt of his in the shade!), grabbed some lunch and then headed off to the boarding area. Schoolboy error – no fluids in your carry-on luggage!!! There went my bottle of water, small 25cl red wine and a bottle of cane spirit (glad to see the back of that one to be honest!). Like I haven’t travelled often enough to know this but I seem to do it every trip. Thank goodness I had put the plum sauce in the main luggage – that would have been a real disaster!! Plus they missed one of the two small bottles of wine!



Flight was fine, landed on time, almost managed to finish the Stephen King I had begun reading the previous day (Dreamcatcher, OK though it went a bit off the rails towards the end) and then headed to AEE, the guesthouse where the VSO Education Conference was finishing. Found out – not to my surprise – that I had been elected to the Education Steering Committee in my absence. But nice to be home!!


RANDOM RECENT PICTURES (and I have tried to re-arrange them five times and they and their captions are still all over the place - sorry!)

Gotta be the coolest and the creepiest spare room in Rwanda! Go stay with Sarah, Christiane and Rinske and admire the decor. Hope the kid who used to live there knows a good therapist ...

Sitting opposite the Amahoro Stadium waiting for Sarah and this thing showed up - anyone any idea what it is called?

Little kid in the bar opposite Amahoro Stadium - thought she was going to make a grab for the lollipop!!

Déo Gratias, my moto driver (and thanks to all who contributed towards getting him the bike). Today is the second anniversary of his being released from prison, July 6th 2007, after spending fifteen years in prison as a case of mistaken identity.

I think this is my favourite picture so far .. and it isn't even mine, I stole it from Joe Walk's website/blog. Here, Joe is being sworn in as a member of the Rwandan Girl Guides ...

A new Rwandan advertising campaign - I'll let you figure out what it is supposed to be for or against!!