Susan's log (Lilly's mom): June 20, 2008

It was a long ride to Nairobi. We left on Tuesday at 4:30 pm and arrived
on Thursday at 6 am 9 pm Wed. night Colorado time). Karambu was here with
the van, but unfortunately one of my bags never made it to London (where we
switched itineraries and planes) and we are still trying to sort it out.
Luckily at the last minute I stuffed a few clothes I couldn't fit into
Paul's bag! The spinning wheel made it just fine to Nairobi.
Karambu was waiting for us at the airport. We piled into an old van and
went to get some breakfast and then went back toward the airport to get the
loom. She said she spent countless hours over the last two days to arrange
to get it. I think it cost in the end about $250 in fees, but I need to go
over it with her. She spent another hour and a half with us going with
paperwork to two different places. Then we stopped to load up on groceries
and headed to Meru.
Meru is about four hours drive. We started out in crowded Nairobi with
people everywhere and ended on a bumpy dirt country road where we were
jostled back and forth. Flat land gave way to trees and we climbed in the
direction of Mt. Kenya, Kenya's second largest peak, although it was
shrouded in clouds. We were thankful to finally make it to Karambu's home,
passing cows and chickens along the dirt roads, and to take a shower after
three days on the road. There was a meal brought to us as well, made by
Karambu's cousin, Carol, and an American woman, Megan, who is volunteering
for IPI. We were exhausted after not sleeping for three days, including
getting ready for the trip, and went to bed early and slept till 11 am
today. We walked several miles today to Karambu's brother's home, which was
interesteing and beautiful seeing the farms, and flowers and the dark red
earth. School children in blue uniforms, both walking and piled into tiny
vans,waved and one little girl at a stand with her mom had to run up to us
and touch our hands. He piled us into his tiny old car to take us to Meru
town, and since he is waiting for us, I will close now. Sorry for grammar
and spelling errprs, I will be typing these blogs as fast as I can.