Kisumu

Like I said y'all, I was in Kisumu last week but I'm a bit behind on the blogging so I'll tell you what happened now :)

**minus the "hotel" situation....okay it wasn't THAT bad but I can't rough it as much as Mayan. I am a firm believer that toilets and showers should be in 2 separate areas. That's just me though.**

We began our journey with Erick, who was an excellent guide. He goes to Maseno University in the area so he was very helpful.

The first night

When we arrived the first day, we hit up the internet cafe and then the Kisumu Museum. It was kinda cheesy and outdated but we got to see some snakes and crocodiles.

Then we were chillin' for a bit at a restaurant and decided to have an ice cold beer (Smirnoff for me). THAT was when the fun started. Imagine the sheer joy a cold alcoholic beverage brings when you're used to tea or florescent drank. After that magical moment, we went on a rampage. We decided to watch a Bollywood movie. Since the cinema is owned by the attached supermarket, we were told we could bring outside beverages and food into the movie with us. Boy, were we wrong! All in all, we got wasted in the theaters and it was a bit illegal. BUT we had fun! And really, its justified because life should be measured by moments of happiness. We also realized we haven't seen night lights in so long since we usually head home by dark at Wikondiek. Glorious.

The second night

The second day was jam packed with fun, fear and exhaustion. We took the matatu over to Maseno university to look around and check out the monkeys that are on campus. After that, we walked to the equator monument. Apparently, it took years to figure out where EXACTLY to place this monument. Who figured it out? no clue. From here, we waited around for a matatu so we could head on over to Kit Makai, which is a bunch of huge rocks piled on top of each other. It sounds lame but it was actually really cool to climb up and there's a story behind it. I don't really have time now to explain. Google it please :) ANYWAYS, the matatus were not showing up so we just stopped a random car and asked them if they were going in that direction. They agreed to bring us for 100 ksh and we hopped in. I won them over with a serious debate about Jackie Chan and we ended up getting a free ride! Then, when we were heading back home, we decided to use the same method of transportation. This time, the guys were super shady. We thought we had agreed on 50 ksh each to Kisumu but they changed the price half way to 70 ksh each and we were not in a position to really argue (considering that one of the men had a bloody hand. we were scared). we *probably* won't do that again.

Once we got home, we met up with the professor that will be evaluating us. He's super cool. We bonded over ice cream *yumm* After that, we headed out to dinner and drinks with our new friends from Amsterdam, Yopp and Natalie. We ended up going to Octopuss/Bottoms Up Bar for drinks (which I was way too full for). It was the kinda place where you see pregnant prostitutes smoking. True story.

The next morning, we walked around a bit and went home. Sounds simple but waiting for the bus to leave was EXCRUCIATING! One thing I do miss about Toronto is the ability to go where I want, When I want. We ended up waiting in a Matatu for 2 hours while under the impression we would be leaving "just now". It actually wouldn't have been that bad if there wasn't people constantly clawing at my shoulder from outside, trying to convince me to by thing. Or street children calling out "Hey Chinese! Give me 5 shillings! Hey Japanese! Mzungu!"

...It was still great fun. I'm doin' it for the story.

I'll post in a bit. We're gonna hit up Masai Mara this Friday (hopefully) to catch the Wildebeast migration. Since it's considered one of the 7 wonders of the world, it's pricey. But since I'm already here, I might as well make it rain ;)