busy busy

Wow these last few weeks have been super busy! I will start with last Friday. I went with the Eco-tourism guys to this really nice hotel for tourists and met the lodge manager. The hotel treated us to a buffet which was really good especially when beans and rice can be a treat for me in Wongonyi! The lodge manager really wants to help us with tourism with our forest and also said he would buy vegetables from the farmer in Wongonyi. That night I met a lady that is from Wongonyi now living in Voi giving the project a lot of support. I guess it was her idea to start the project to help the people. She made a another really good deal and was very kind! The following weekend I met a bunch in Peace Corps in Mombasa( big city on the coast). So I now have seen the Indian Ocean! I stayed with a friend(PCV)was down there with a friend visiting him for the U.S.. It was a pretty sweet hotel it over looked to Ocean so I could shower( Having a shower it self was great) and look out at the ocean. That was Saturday and Sunday a lot of people left but some PCVs stayed around. I stayed at my friend Jon’s place(near Mombasa) that night and during the day went see this place called Fort Jesus. I am not totally sure on all the history but you can google it to find that. The place was pretty fun to explore. If want to see pictures I went with my friend Harmony Hartbaur (the spelling could be wrong) and you can make friends with her on facebook to see the pictures. She also has a bunch of other pictures of Kenya(some with me). She told me she doesn’t mine people asking to be friends but please put a note to her that you know me. This last week Wednesday-Friday we have been harvesting our first batch of tilapia. People here are so excited and I was too. I gutted some fish and catch them by going in the pond myself. I was in the pond and I almost got stuck because there was a really BIG hole in the bottom. So the last 2 days we’ve been having fish fries. They are pretty good. I was even think if we can getting people to come for eco-tourism then maybe we can have a pond set up for only big fish so tourist can catch them and the homestay can cook them. I had fun gutting the fish but I don’t think that is for everyone! We have also had to volunteers from World Corps staying in Wongonyi they will leave next week. (one from IN and the other Italy). The volunteer that was going to come long term backed out. There is a volunteer that “said” she will come in Sept. but will see if it happens. Around the village they have been working on the roads a lot so hopefully the cost of transport will go down and there is PCV that lives near me and there will be a DIRECT route with the construction. People tell me that they are not sure if the road will stay on good shape though but the long rains are coming in Oct. so we will see…keep in mind it is a dirt road most roads here are not paved. I guess power will come soon too but I am not counting on that according to this guy I work with. I am thinking power will come the day before I leave I am doing fine without it though my friend Bigvia charges(he has solar) my cell phone, I catch him butterflies so I guess it evens out. I think I am going to try to find a way to use my computer in the next village over (that does have power) soon. Charging my cell and computer use that is all I need power for. I was talking to the people from World Corps since they are up with the volunteers and they said they want to put up a computer lab with a projector in July using solar panels. That would mean I could teacher computers and use PowerPoint but I am not counting on this happening until I see people start building but some people have been doing some fund raising in Canada so I think it will happen. Tonight I am in Voi for what we call a “koroga”. There is this Indian/Kenyian guy, Jay that is having a few of us. INDIAN FOOD I can’t wait. This guy has a store in Voi and is very friendly. I think I am starting to kinda find my purpose with my project these last few weeks. I think I will be going a lot with tourism and marketing the fish. I think I am borrowing a GPS from my boss and will be mapping out the forest. The thing I like about tourism if we can get it started is it puts everything together. You have a homestays ,Cultural dancers, basket and pot makers, farmers and tour guides for earn money from it. Well I think that is about it. Let me know about the book idea( see previous blog) as well. As always thanks for reading!