Civilization!

Ah, Nairobi. A bunch of CMMB staff and volunteers took the train here Friday, arriving way too late to make it to my meeting with the director of the Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GVRC). In spite of the timing of our arrival, the group decided to stop for lunch, making me 45 minutes late. No matter—no one, including the Director of the Centre, seemed too concerned. This is what is known as “African time”. Latin Americans have a similar clock. It’s only people who live in cold climates who seem to care about schedules.

Anyway, I’m was back in the same apartment as 3 weeks ago, only I had a nicer place, equipped with a nice dining room and a big bathroom with a tub! I soaked my achey hip a couple of nights in a row, which was very therapeutic.

The meeting I missed Friday was rescheduled for Saturday and it was quite productive. There are a number of services for sexual assault victims offered by the GVRC that are very similar to those in the United States, but of course resources and attitudes vary beyond the urban areas. I’m hoping to be able to help with some outreach or training during the next couple of months.

Following the meeting, Ryan showed up and we went to the Giraffe Centre for some fun feeding these beautiful creatures with incredibly long tongues!



We also went shopping for arts and crafts, groceries, and then  a delicious Middle Eastern dinner.




In spite of a terrorism alert from the US State Department, the weekend ended without a hitch. Now we’re back in the saddle in Mutomo, with the water back on, and for now, eating all kinds of familiar protein rich foods.



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