Saturday 11 August 2012

Day 6: "Hakuna matata"

After thinking about my last post, I realized I forgot to mention I even TASTED alligator. I’m not sure what Africa is doing to me…
Anyway, one of the biggest events taking place today was my very first mosquito bite! I have been in a panic ever since, but hopefully my Malaria medication is in full force! This morning we all took advantage of sleeping in, but once we came to, we decided to go souvenir shopping. Mia, a veteran of the EA program, suggested we go to “Old Town” where there are tons of touristy shops. Apparently Old Town is the historic part of Mombasa that now serves as a tourist trap. Once arriving at the drop off zone, tour guides, aka money seekers, swarmed us. We kindly declined and began walking into the downtown area. Soon after a man came up behind us stating that he was just a security guard and he would show us around. We never really accepted his offer but he began showing us around anyway – and us being the naïve newbies we are, let him continue his rant. He led us to the outdoor market which was nothing I expected. It consisted of a mile long path, 15 feet wide, and only 3 feet of walking space. The path was completely crowded with people and I instantly became claustrophobic once the entrance was no longer visible. I was absolutely miserable and sweating and so was everyone else, so we asked the “security guard” to take us back – and thankfully he did. The man’s only reply was “hakuna matata” or in other words, no problem. We thought to ourselves, “Wow, what a nice guy!” and were all relieved to finally be headed back to our starting point, but then he said “Okay, tour is over. 300 shillings per person.” We stood there baffled. Eventually we talked him down to 100 shillings per person but it was still an unwanted tour that was far less than enjoyable. I didn’t even mention how awful the streets smelled. In the slummy portion of the tour I literally had to hold my breath to refrain from gagging. Once again we got scammed, but at least the so called security guard was out of our faces.

Since we were finally free, we decided to check out the shops in the less crowded portion of the market. The shops basically had the same things – wood carvings, jewelry, and canvases. I was able to cross a few people off my souvenir list, but not everyone. My bartering skills have definitely improved, though!

When we got back to the compound, a picnic supper was waiting for us. I was so glad to see the food consisted of something other than rice and stewed topping! We had a feast of hot dogs, hamburgers, fish, chicken kabobs, potato salad, and vegetables. My first thought was hot dog – but then I started thinking they might take the words “hot dog” literally, and I settled for a hamburger instead. The meal was good, but I still can’t wait for a big Culvers butter burger when I get back to the states! That, and a nice warm shower with clean, non-smelling water. We ended the night at the local café and got our daily fix of caffeine and internet.

A pretty uneventful day and tomorrow will probably be the same, but we definitely know how to embrace our non-working weekends!

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