Here at last- It never rains but it pours!!!!

I will keep this short and snappish from here on in so you don't become too bored of my rants!!! But I will bring you up to speed on my Nairobi Experience so far....Well ...Month 1 down and only 23 to go!!!- Arrived in Nairobi a month ago with 3 other VSO volunteers. We were joined on Saturday 7th March by 12 other volunteers from Canada, USA, UK, Uganda and Australia for one week of In Country Training. After a week of some lessons in basic Kiswahili, Kenyan Culture, Health & Safety workshops, meeting our employers and VSO training we were soon dispatched off to our various placements around Kenya. I am working in fundraising and PR with the Kenya Society for the Blind based here in Nairobi - one of the 600 NGOs based here in Kenya- so not much competition!!!!

So the last month has been a serious of mixed emotions for me: frustration, impatience, amazement, and panic.... you name it... but overall I am definitely happy to be here. The job will be challenging given the economic climate and funds are tight no matter what organisation people work for. However I am determined to give it my best shot and hopefully will leave the organisation in 2 years with strategies in place that will enable them to sustain the projects that they are involved in working with the visually impaired in Kenya. ...well that is the the idea anyway.... Along the way I hope to have a lot of fun too!!

Nairobi- what can I say- Noisy, busy, dirty, dangerous but.... definitely not dull. You can get pretty much everything here but on my salary not everything is in my price range- if you get my drift. Small bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk is 48 cence (euro) approx- so it is a luxury on my 8 euro a day salary!!

On first impression my accommodation resembles Ballymun flats but once you’re inside it is quite respectable now that I have blown my home furnishing allowance on some fancy new curtains. Never mind that there isn’t any furniture in the sitting room or a table and chair to eat from... but hey I know how to prioritise!!! I am sharing with another Volunteer who is working for UNICEF so we can share bills which is great!! Good news for my prospective guests- I have a flushing toilet and electricity (So the ole hairdryer gets an outing occasionally), a shower (but cold water- unless I can be bothered to boil a kettle) which I haven’t yet cause I am way too lazy in the mornings ....so prefer to gasp under the torrent of cold water at 6am each day. Unfortunately lie -ins can be a rare thing as the flat is on the ground floor and there are builders working outside my window every day except Sunday.... hammering away and if that doesn’t prevent me from my precious sleep it is the persistant screaming child in the flat above!!!! Oh and did I mention the cockroaches – yes giant ones- thankfully they only average about 1 per week so I have me DOOM spray at the ready all the time!!

Nairobians seem to be trapped in some kind of 80’s music time warp ... Every morning on the way to work I can look forward to a medley of Luther Van Dross, Whitney Houston, Gloria Gaynor or Rick Astley.... however on the faster Matatus there is a good mix of rap/ hip hop thrown in there for good measure. What can i say- about the Matatus (Hiace Vans that I use for transport) .... Only that I spend about 3 hours on average in them each day on the commute to work- it’s not the distance so much but the traffic jams. Luckily I haven’t crashed in one just yet but witnessed a few prangs-so I am just trying to avoid sitting behind the driver- “the death seat”!!!

Work is going well so far but the pace is slow - that goes for my computer at work too which is on a serious "go slow" mode and takes about 15 mins to boot up- .... My colleagues are great and are still trying to suss me out and what my story is.....I think it will take me a little while to find my feet in there and get my networking hat on with gusto....I am still holding out for an invite to the Irish Embassy for my welcoming party but nothing yet.... I live in hope!!!!!

So finally onto the weather – a favourite Irish Subject ... no I don’t have an inkling of a tan yet even though it has been about 25 degrees pretty consistently here since i arrived... cause every day I lather on the factor 30 every time i go out to prevent "lobsteritis" occurring... however last Monday the long awaited rains came to Nairobi and boy when it rains here ....it Rains!!!! I have invested in an umbrella for walking to work but seriously considering buying a pair of wellies as well!!!!