Response Questions

1. How did you experience the book? It's not always helpful to talk about whether or not you liked the book, but rather how you felt as you were reading it? Were you pulled effortlessly into the book...or did you have difficulty getting into it? Why?

I enjoyed the detail of the book. It was very interesting to hear about what is happening in Kenya today.


2. Were you happy about your book choice? Why or why not?

Yes. I was happy because it taught me a lot about Kenya.



3. Which place discussed in the book did you find the most intriguing? Why do you think that was the case?

I enjoyed Nairobi, Kenya because it had a ton of culture and music.



4. What central ideas might the author be exploring-the novel's themes? Consider ideas about the nature of love, the requirements of goodness, the meaning of justice, the burden of the past...basic human issues that are at stake in the book.

The main idea of this book is the meaning of justice and the human issues that exist in this world.


5. What do you feel you learned from this project? Please consider the book, the technology involved with producing the project, or any other aspect regarding the project.

I learned about the troubles of Kenya. I also learned how to work blogger.com. I did not know how to upload videos or pictures and I learned how to do that.



6. What was the most enjoyable part of the project? Please explain why you felt this way.

The most enjoyable part was being able to design and create a blog because I have never done a blog before.


7. What was the most difficult part of the project? Please explain why you felt this way.

The most difficult part was uploading the videos because it opened a new post when it added the video. Then I had to copy and paste my old post into the new video post.

Bibliography

Bryson, Bill. Bill Bryson's African Diary. New York: Broadway, 2002. Print.

"Google Image Result for Http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38297000/gif/_38297313_kenya_nairobi_kibera_150.gif." Google. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. 

"Google Image Result for Http://formaementis.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/kibera-nairobi-kenya.jpg." Google. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. 

"Google Image Result for Http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/files/imagecache/news/files/20060909_skullskenya_1.jpg." Google. 2006. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.

"YouTube - The Kibera Slums, Kenya." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 18 Oct. 2008. Web. 14
Nov. 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvXcBi827w.

"Google Image Result for

Http://anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/images/map_of_great_rift_valley.gif." Google. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.

"Google Image Result for Http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/ladbroke_grove_crash_051099.jpg." Google. Web. 15 Nov. 2010.

"YouTube - The Gedi Ruins, Malindi, Kenya." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 19 Nov. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9SL2JYCWx4&feature=related>.

"Google Image Result for Http://www.care.org/photos/_full/dadaab_influx_full.jpg." Google. 10 Dec. 2000. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.

"YouTube - Kenya Music." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 25 Apr. 2007. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXvKJKUtPKI>.

"Google Image Result for Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Mount-dempo-tea-plantation.jpg." Google. 23 May 2003. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.

Day 7- Leaving from Kenya

Well, it is my last day in Kenya. I did not have time to visit all of the camps in Kenya but what I saw changed my life forever. The last thing I did before I went to the airport was to visit the tea plantations in Kericho. They had beautiful flowers on the shore of Lake Naivasha. I could not stay long because I had to pack. It was very sad to have to leave all the nice people that I met in Kenya. I finally got in a car to drive to the airport. When I arrived, a few of the wonderful people I met in Kenya were there to say farwell. I was very touched. Unfortunately, I had to get on the plane to head back to London.

Day 6- CARE's Refugee Camp in Nairobi

Now we are headed to Nairobi in a 90 minute flight. Unfortunately there was a storm up ahead. I was so worried but Nino acted very calm. Then the storm got worse and Nino started to move his head from side to side because he could not see. We were all very scared and we didn't even have windsheild wipers. Luckily, we landed on the ground safely. When I met the wonderful people of Nairobi, I realized how terrible their conditions were. When I got to know them I realized how they made a bad situation into a good one.  Instead of always being so sad about their lives, they have so much culture.  They were always so lively and they all cared about one another. Their music was so uplifting. I recorded a couple of people who were performing in the streets. Even though they were very lively in their culture they still had many people that were in need of medical attention.

Day 6- CARE's Refugee Camp in Dadaab

Today I am in a Third World nation and I am going to fly into a bandit country in a charter plane. Nick has done this many times and so I was glad he was there to reassure my safe return. Unfortunately he told me that these planes crash all the time and that he was scared too. We arrived at the Malindi Airport an hour later. We are going to two of CARE's refugee camps in Dadaab and Nairobi. Our pilot, Nino, looked very reassuring and reliable. We got on the plane and headed for Dadaab. Luckily, we landed safely. I learned that during the fighting in Somalia many refugees came to Dadaab for help. Unfortunately, in Dadaab there has been years of drought. This is a huge problem for the 134,000 people that live there and there are only three units in this camp. CARE only has 175 workers to take care of thousands of people. The entire day we learned more about the camp. We toured the food distribution center, the sanitization process, and schools. Many people there are in bad conditions. They are either dying, malnourished, or in need of a doctor. It was extremely devastating.

Day 5- The Gedi Ruins, Malindi, Kenya

After thirteen long hours, I finally arrive in Mombasa! First I went to meet Nick Southern. Nick Southern is CARE's regional manager in Kenya. He is going to accompany me for my next five days in Kenya. Then we went to Watamu, a small resort in Mombasa. As we were driving there, I was amazed by the beautiful plants and animals. Unfortunately Nick told me that not many get the chance of seeing this beauty. Tourism has actually declined because people do not think of Kenya as a hotspot for beaches and hotels. It really is terrible because Kenya has excellent beaches, exotic wildlife and mild climate. Next we went to the Gedi ruins. Nick told me that the Gedi ruins were inhabited by Muslims. The Muslims would trade with people all around the world. Archaeologists have found artifacts from China, India, Spain and many other places. In this 45 acre site there are uncovered mosques, tombs and a grand palace. It was fascinating. But after a long day I wanted to go back to my hotel and go to bed.

Day 4- Nairobi to Mombasa

This is a picture from the accident at Man Eater's Junction.

Tonight, I am taking the overnight sleeper from Nairobi to Mombasa, and to tell the truth, I am terrified. In 1999, the overnight train jumped rails at a place called "Man Eater's Junction" and killed 32 people. It is called Man Eater's Junction because many people were eaten by lions there. In 2000, 30 more people were killed in another two accidents. In 1993, the worst accident of all happened. The overnight train flew off a bridge into the Ngai Ndeithya River and killed 140 people. Its name means "God help us" and it is crocodile infested. So, to say in the least, I am completely mortified. The train ride takes 13 hours. The train on the inside was actually very nice. They gave us a three course dinner and we each had our own cabins. Unfortunately, the beds were small and hard, plus it is going to be a little hard to sleep with the train shaking all night. But that is okay because in 13 hours I will be in Mombasa!

Day 4- The Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley has the perfect landscape and conditions to preserve fossils. It is a plain that is a hundred miles across and four thousand miles long. It looked so beautiful. A man from the museuem named Jillani Ngalla showed us around. We were going to a place called Olorgesailie. It was so amazing to walk where J.W. Gregory walked when he discovered a large amount of ancient hand axes in 1919 and stand where Louis Leaky stood when he found all of the ancient artifacts that he discovered in the 1940s. I was flabbergasted. Ngalla told me that the stragest thing about Olorgesailie is that no human remains have been found, only artifacts. This tour was the most mind-blowing and enjoyable tour I have ever been in. Now that it is late in the evening, we are going to take the night train from Nairobi to Mombasa.

Day 3- Kenyan National Museum

These are some of the skulls that the Kenyan
National Museum have on exhibit.

After we were down in Kibera, Kentice set up a visit to the National Museum. Once we arrived there, we met Dr. Emma Mbua. She is a paleoanthropologist at the museum. The museum has the finest collection of human remains than just about any other museum in Africa. Only about 5,000 individuals have contributed to the amount of fossils in the world and 500 of these fossils are in the Kenyan Museum. There is a very special room in the museum called the Strong Room. It has heavy metal doors and usually non- specialists are not allowed in there, so when they allowed me in, I was honored. Dr. Mbua showed me many different skulls that came from millions of years ago. The most amazing artifact by far was a 19- million- year- old skull. The skull belonged to an ape known as a proconsul. I was amazed by how well it was preserved. Dr. Mbua saw my excitement and invited me to go with her to the Great Rift Valley tomorrow! It is getting late and I better get my sleep tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long and exciting day! Bye.

Day 3- The Kibera Slums, Kenya

This morning, I talked to a local person named Bonard Onyango. He said that he moved here about 20 years ago to have a better life for their children. I was very suprised because this place is supposed to be the most dangerous slum in Africa, but it consists of three of the top eight schools in Kenya. The most popular one is the Olympic Primary School. It is the best primary school in all of Kenya. I was shocked! But that was actually why there were so many people living in Kibera. Most of them were there for just one purpose, to give their children a better education. We are done in Kibera for the day. now we are going to the Kenyan National Museum.

Day 2- The Dangers of Kibera

Kibera- one of the worst slums in Africa

This morning I drove to Kibera. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi and possibly the worst in all of Africa. In Kibera, there are no official documents or anything. There could be anywhere from 700,000 people to a million. Anywhere from one fifth to fifty percent of the people are HIV positive. Kibera doesn’t even show up on most maps. Kibera is also a terribly dangerous place. It is not the place you can just walk into uninvited. I have a tour guide named Nashon Opiyo. Nashon will keep me safe from the dangers of Kibera. He told me that in Kibera, the people do not have running water, electricity, or even a dumpster. They use what they call “flying toilets”. Basically, they go in a plastic bag, tie it up and throw it as far away from their home as possible. Nashon told me that the people in Kibera are lucky if they make a dollar a day and their monthly rent is ten to twelve dollars. Even though that is not much to pay for rent in the United States, it takes about half of their income per year. Unfortunately, we are done with our tour of Kibera for today. We will go meet a few people in the morning and then I will be off to a new place in Kenya.

Day 1- Leaving for Kenya

Hello. My name is Tori Parsons.  I am on the most adventurous trip of my life. I am in Kenya! I am a part of the CARE International in London, England. A few months ago, they asked me to go to visit some of our charity work that we do in Kenya. So, I packed my suitcases and headed off to the Kenya Airways. I was on a nine and a half hour flight to Nairobi, a crime capital of Africa. During my flight, I read many different articles about Nairobi and other places in Kenya. I read all about the crimes and terrible things that go on in Kenya. I finally landed in Nairobi at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport. I was met by a very polite Kenyan lady named Kentice Tikolo. She showed me to my place for the night, The Holiday Inn Hotel. I was very suprised that a Holiday Inn was in Nairobi, but Nairobi was a very modern city. It is getting pretty late and I had a long and tiring flight. I better get to bed. It is going to be a long day tomorrow. Bye!