First Day in the City

Today I had my very first experience in an African city. After a very much needed sleep (in a horizontal position for once after all of my traveling) we woke for a short meeting with our professors before heading out to the big city. In a group of 5 we took the 30 minute bus ride into the city. It was a very interesting ride in; everything was exciting to see. The sides of the roads were lined with various items for sale ranging from furniture to pottery to fabric. Our professors had given each group some different destinations in the city to visit before all gathering at a meeting point at the end of the day. It was exciting to navigate the city on our own and to figure out the public transportation. After meeting up with the rest of the group, Njau (pronounced Jow), our bus driver, picked us up and brought us to the Nairobi National Museum. Unfortunately I had forgotten my camera so I couldn't take any pictures today. The museum was filled with the many different animals of East Africa and an extensive collection of birds. (Dad, you would have loved this!) There was even an outdoor exhibit with live fish, snakes, turtles and other animals. We returned to the compound after the museum for a traditional Kenyan dinner of Chapati, a thick tortilla-like food with rice, lentils and other vegetables that you dip the Chapati in. After dinner we went to the grocery store with Njau to buy a case of Kenyan beer, Tusker, that we brought back to the compound to drink with the rest of the gang. (Nothing like a case of beer for some group bonding!) Tomorrow begins our first day of classes, where we will be traveling into the city where our classes are held at the United Kenya Club, where SLU rents out classroom space.

Welcome to Nairobi!

I've finally arrived in Nairobi! After about 48 hours of traveling we made it to the St. Lawrence University compound in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi. Immediately leaving the airport, we passed one of the national parks, and believe it or not, saw several giraffes in the distance. It was an exciting drive from the airport to the compound, and it was great to finally see the place I had been imagining for so long. The compound is much larger than I had thought, about 5 acres, and is beautiful and green with many different kinds of plants including macadamia and avocado trees. We had a short orientation session today where we learned about the schedule for the next few days and got a tour of the different buildings on the compound. Most of the day was spent relaxing and getting associated with the area but in the afternoon we all got together for yoga led by a local instructor, which was a great way to rejuvenate and get rid of all my travel aches and pains. I'm very much looking forward to a good night's sleep and will post pictures of my new home soon.

Istanbul

My trip has already been quite the adventure. On our way from JFK to Nairobi we had a 14 hour layover in Istanbul, and thanks to a lovely SLU student, we had a tour of the city from an Istanbul native, Zeynep. We were met by Zeynep and her father in Istanbul on Friday morning, and quickly started the day by hopping on the metro and making our way into the heart of the city. Her father was very generous and cheery throughout the day, although he spoke no English. For breakfast we ate a traditional Turkish meal of a sesame bread twist that we bought on the street.  We spent most of the day walking around the tourist attractions in the city, visiting the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar. We couldn't go inside of the Blue Mosque since it was a Friday and it was closed for religious ceremonies at the time we were there. At the Grand Bazaar we enjoyed shopping for some Turkish souvenirs, admiring the different handicrafts and sitting down for Turkish coffee. For the afternoon, we taxied to a different part of the town, which appeared to be a shopping and dining area for locals with cobblestone streets lined with shops and restaurants. Zeynep brought us to one of her favorite restaurants where we enjoyed several different traditional Turkish dishes and the strong alcoholic drink made with Raki, which tasted like liquorice. I wasn't a big fan of the drink, but the food was delicious. We ended our day by heading back to the airport and relaxing for a few hours before our final flight to Nairobi. Saturday morning we will have landed in Nairobi and met up with the rest of the group after a long journey from the USA.

the group listening to our wonderful tour guide (Zeynep)

Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

inside Hagia Sophia

Grand Bazaar

Turkish coffee inside the Grand Bazaar

Turkish lunch

Zeynep and me

Zeynep with her father

the group outside of the Blue Mosque

Kat, Emlyn, Carina, Sam and me inside Hagia Sophia

And she's off!

Today I am embarking on my second study abroad adventure: this time, to Kenya! For the next four months I will be studying at the St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program located outside of Nairobi. There are several travel components that will take me around East Africa and I hope to keep you updated with photos and blurbs of my experiences. Much love to my friends and family back home who I will be thinking of during my travels. Looking forward to another great summer at the lake upon my return.

All the best,
CCC

SLU Travel Enrichment Grant: Thailand's National Parks

First off, I apologize for my lack of blogging during the past few months. I had said that I wanted to get back into blogging, and I plan on doing that, but life is crazy and my blogging has gotten lost in translation. Anyways, here is the write-up that I did for my Travel Enrichment Grant that was sponsored by St. Lawrence University, allowing me to visit several national parks in Thailand. Please visit the link below to learn more about my thoughts on the management of Thailand's parks.

http://www.stlawu.edu/ciis/content/894

Grand Point North Music Festival

This past weekend (September 14/15) I traveled to Burlington for a two day music festival headlined by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Grace Potter attended St. Lawrence (although she didn't graduate) and she is an amazing artist. We got to see two full days of great music, ranging from alternative rock to funk to folk among many other genres. Chris and I stayed with some SLU alums and got to enjoy the cute little city of Burlington. Beautiful weather and amazing music!

Charles Bradley and His Extrordinares

Sunset over Lake Champlain

outdoor venue

I'm Back!

I've decided to return to my blog. I had originally thought that it would be nice to keep the blog going throughout my summer at home to keep friends and family updated with fun things I got to do, however, I got a little busy and never got around to it. So here's a second attempt at getting back into the blogging world in the United States. I will try and keep you updated with photos and thoughts about what I've been up to up at St. Lawrence. Thanks for following!!