On the way to the office ..............

On the way to the office this morning, I saw baboon, giraffe, buffalo, eland, hartebeest, Thomson gazelle, ostrich, zebra, and an eagle (possibly a Martial Eagle). Add to that the sun on the golden grass of the plains, and vast views down to Athi River - what a treat! Wednesday mornings see me commuting into town from Karen, having spent Tuesday nights with friends after home group. Today, I decided to go through the game park rather than sit in traffic on Langata Road with the rest of the commuters. Probably as long time-wise, if not longer, and somewhat bumpier, but certainly way less stressful, and a really wonderful way to start the day. It beats the commute I was doing up to London during furlough, that's for sure!

Blessings of living in Kenya!

With an annual pass to the National Parks in Kenya, I go into Nairobi National Park quite a bit, particularly at the weekend. The main entrance to the park is only about 10-15 minutes' drive from my flat, which is located fairly close to the city centre. Going there is a really wonderful way to escape the noise and pollution of the city, and be in an open space with a big sky for a few hours. And a great opportunity to see some of Kenya's incredible wildlife. On Saturday afternoon, I happened upon this lioness with her 2 cubs – and their dinner! How amazing (though perhaps not for the zebra)!

Communication challenges

How spoilt we can get when a service is provided and becomes a part of normal life. After 7 months in the UK with broadband internet access, the return to Nairobi has been something of a shock to the system. We have a new VSAT system in the office, which in theory should have made internet access easier and faster. However, ………. By Friday last week, I was fairly depleted of energy having spent days trying to authorise a couple of internet bank transfers. So much for easy banking! Yesterday, we had zero access and today, whilst better, it still took about 2 hours to send and download personal emails (and that was after having intervened and deleted one a friend (with broadband!) sent with a 4MB attachment). Add to this a home phone line that has been out of service for 3.5 weeks, and it’s not been a good time as far as communication is concerned (hence the infrequency of these posts). How exasperating to be so close to being able to communicate effectively, and yet so far.
And yet, I have skyped with family a couple of times when things were working well. And that was great. With a webcam, I could not only talk to them, but see them as well (albeit in a slightly fuzzier form than normal) – and they could see me. My 2-year old nephew, who exclaimed, “Claire in Africa” on seeing me on the computer screen, will no doubt grow up thinking that this is a normal way to have a phone conversation, whereas I used to just write of such things in junior school when thinking of what the future might be like!