Jan. 9

Wow so much to say and 1 computer to type it! I am in Nairobi(which is just pretty much America for me) now and we just got our sites today. I will be swearing in tomorrow. I will be living near a placed called Voi. The town I will live in is called Wongonyi. I will also be 2 hours travel from the coast. I will be working for a group call Taita Taveta Wildlife Forum. They basically what they do is preserve land for animals. There activities include butterfly and moth farming, eco-tourism, fish farming,bee keeping , curio, basketry and pottery. I will be living a in a very small town. I hear the people are very friendly. No electricity and limited choice of food. It is going to take some getting use to. I pretty much have till April to learn about the organization and learn more Swahili. I have a long way to go with learning it, but I will get there. There is a land rover that going to Voi it comes at 7:30am and comes back at 2:30 or 3:30 if I miss the vehicle going back or it is full I stay in Voi I have to stay the night. The road to Wongonyi is rough I hear and may upset your stomach. I am enjoying power and internet here greatly! What else… I had to say good bye to my host family will miss them greatly. I truly take them as a 2nd family. They made me a belt and bracelet. Oh my partner he seems really nice. I get a supervisor and I counter part. I will work closely with my counter but my not as much with my supervisor. The partner I met is my supervisor. He told me he wants me to make changes as I see fit. He said he wants to give me freedom and help where needed. I am very excited to meet my town. I will stay the night in Voi Friday and go to my site Saturday. There will be a town meeting I will join in Saturday. There is only pretty much one tribe there. I forget the name, but I have heard their language is close to Swahili but they know some English. See in Kenya most people speak 3 languages their tribe then Swahili (to talk to other tribes) and English (schools are taught in English). I am really starting to learn Kenyans and Americans are not so different. Oh here I have really not blogged for awhile. Merry X-mas and Happy New Years! Christmas I went to church the whole day and saw a tradition Maisii tribe. The church was a mud hut. I really like church here there is so much energy in it. Church is in Swahili but I still know they are praising. I am not sure on the religions of the community I will be going to. Also the night one family on Kenya got to speak to my family on America. I will still use my phone for e-mail(John.juliano123@gmail.com when I get to site and find some way to charge it). New Years was spent at a volunteers house. we made pasta WITH SAUCE (they don’t do Italian sauce). We also had a bon fire and stared at the stars. The sky was always so bright there! So they have Indian food and Italian on the coast I can’t wait to get there.I don’t miss American food as much as Italian, Chinese, and Indian. However I did have a burger in Nairobi that was so good. I saw a goat and cow get slaughtered because my papa graduated from college and they had a party. (Nothing like our grad party lots of speeches. Thank you everyone for your e-mails and letters they really helped me feel less home sick! I am lucky to have so many special people in the U.S.! That is all I can think about for now. But I will leave to some differences in Kenyan(Britsh) English and American English differences. Here if you want French Fries you ask for chips, if you tell someone you are wearing a shirt and pants….You are telling them you are wearing a shirt and underwear! If you tell someone they look smart you are tell them they are good looking. Well love and miss you all lots try to blog more once I get settled in. There is a blog I will still want post when I get it( longstory). Thanks for reading!