Nairobi, Teaching, and Conan's Birthday

 

Hello! We have arrived safely in Kenya, and the image above is from the rooftop of the school we are volunteering at. It's been a whirlwind couple of days, but we're beginning to settle in. All three of us have been battling a bit of head colds, and we're staying with our WorkAway host family in Nairobi (mom, two sons, 12 orphan kids). It's an experience, but we're good.

We spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday teaching at the school, and Sila has made some friends with a few of the boys. Some of his closest friends are the boys who are living with us (really, in the back of the house--long story), and it's mostly because they don't make fun of his hair. Apparently, Africans are quite surprised at how long American boys hair is.

Today, however, is Conan's birthday, so we decided to celebrate by visiting a giraffe center. We had fun, and it only took Sila two hours to get enough courage to feed the giraffes. Oh, that boy. Sila is missing from the picture below because he refused to stand that close to a giraffe. 

This week, we have to finish up teaching (the kids are done on Wednesday....we think; communication isn't the clearest here), and then we hope to take the orphan kids to Nairobi National Park (only NP in a city!!) on Thursday. From there, our plan is to visit Masai Mara National Reserve, which is supposed to be one of the best game parks in the world. We.are.excited.

Until then, hope everyone is well!!!

Rome: Let's do This!!

 

After an almost-pulling-the-plug action for Kenya (due to Conan not receiving his visa until the last minute), we're on our way on Tuesday. But first, our armor is on, and we've been fighting the crowds of Rome. It's pretty busy here, but we're surviving. I'll just leave the journey to be explored below...

Our last, long train ride:

Seeing the Colosseum for the first time (and a beautiful sunset around there):

Another fun, walking tour of Roma (and Zoom in on Conan's picture--he's emulating the statue):

See y'all in Kenya!!!

Salerno: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 

Well, it's almost time to say goodbye to Italy (add a few days in Rome beginning Saturday), and what a ride it has been. Other than a few quick pictures I might post of our time in Rome, this is the last Italy post. Six weeks. Wow. Back to reality soon, though.

The Good

Salerno gave us quite a few surprises, some of which were pretty good:

Some of the best-preserved Greek ruins (yes, Greek: Salerno Ruins) in the world:

A magical candy store and Christmas store:

And Conan finishing his (second) submission of Boethius, a celebratory beer the size of his head, and some pretty scenic walks:

The Bad

Okay, not much was bad about Salerno....just different. The worst part was the park. Check out this Google Maps link of the park: Mercatello Park. Looks great, right? And when you're traveling the world with an active 11-year old, you look for parks. The reality of this park, though, is a different story.

A walk through our very close but inaccessible park:

The Ugly

Okay, I hate to highlight the negative, but Salerno was definitely different than Reggio Emilia. As I explained in my last post, it's a bit unkempt and there is the most dog shit we have ever seen. Really. It's in the metro station, on the sidewalks, in the parks, on the roads, and in our hearts. Hehe. 

Let's play a game--how many piles of dog crap can you spot?

Or, would you like to come along on a scenic walk around our neighborhood?

Well, all kidding aside, we did have some good times here and ate the best pizza we've had yet. Thanks for following along with us. See you in Kenya!