Day Two

Starting our day off strong, we enjoyed breakfast at The Luke. We had our fill of sausage, eggs, papaya and watermelon, beans, and toast, plus tea and juices. 

Our first event was a driving tour of Nairobi. Irene and Carol, our hosts, decided to stop for some sugarcane that was being sold on the side of the road. Sugarcane is a reed plant that looks similar to bamboo. It naturally produces sucrose (sugar). To eat it, you should chew for the juices and then discard the solid material that is left over, which is too fibrous. This treat was so lovely! We all had some, and we were shocked by how sweet it actually was! We all enjoyed some of this treat while taking photos, videos, and laughing with one another, and left with more than we could eat.

Our roadside adventures continued when we spotted lovely cows roaming the grassy areas near the road. We took pictures of the beautiful creatures and were amazed at their calm demeanor amidst the chaos of the roads. We were even more shocked when one of the cows CROSSED THE ROAD. It was hilarious! It simply looked to the right, then the left, and walked forward with confidence. The cow somehow managed to dodge all of the oncoming traffic! This was a scene we never expected to come across, but we are so glad we did.

Next up on our journey was the National Museums of Kenya and Snake House! The museum immediately made an impression before we even stepped inside. Standing out front of the museum was a giant dinosaur statue, which was unexpected and set the tone early, letting us know it wasn’t going to be your average walk through exhibit. Inside the museum we learned about many different animals native to Kenya, from the king of the jungle to the 800 species of butterflies and moths. One of the most memorable exhibits was on the ecological and economic importance of honey bees, which included giant bee models on display. These oversized bees were impossible to miss as they were at an incredibly large scale. Seeing these handmade model bees up close was fascinating but slightly intimidating. However, GO BEES! (iykyk.)

Next came the Snake House, which quickly became the most entertaining part of the visit, mostly because of everyone's reactions. While the name suggests snakes only, there were plenty of other animals, including tortoises, turtles, fish, and crocodiles. These helped distract those of us who were not mentally prepared for the close snake encounters. Some people were surprisingly brave and even held snakes, while others clearly backed away and chose to observe them from afar. A few individuals appeared to be holding snakes slightly against their will, which made the experience even funnier to watch. A quiet museum visit turned into a live reaction show. Lots of laughter and fun was had.

For our next adventure, we decided to tackle the Thika Road Mall. The road and traffic in Kenya are definitely paced to have you clutching your pearls. Drivers are constantly speeding, motorbikes are swerving in-front of you, vehicles are within a finger’s reach, and you have to watch for people blindly crossing the roads. So far, there have been no sightings of any traffic lights or stop signs, so driving is pretty much a free-for-all. On our journey to the mall we were able to see various apartment buildings and view some street side markets selling authentic Kenyan-made items. 

Once in the mall, our first stop was exchanging our USD money for Kenyan Shillings. The room where we exchanged our currency had us jam packed like sardines in a tin. The exchange rate is about 128 Kenyan shillings to one US dollar, but that price is reserved for large and new bills. Smaller and older bills are considered less valuable so do not have as good an exchange rate. After that we got our Sims cards set up to join the Kenya money transfer app MPESA which is like the Kenyan version of Paypal/Venmo. This app allows us to transfer money to any and everyone, including street side vendors. It is used everywhere! In the mall we also visited Carre-Four grocery store to purchase some snacks and necessities. Our final stop in Thika Road Mall was at Java House. Everyone absolutely loved it! The food was so flavorful, and the teas and coffee were rich and well tasting. The restaurant had such nice seating with a view of the outside of the mall and a cool breeze.

We concluded our day at another mall near Kenyatta University. We walked back to our dormitories, and tucked in for the night. Tomorrow brings another of fun day in Nairobi.