I apologize for naming the most recent post “Zanzibar, Part 1”.  That probably gave you the impression that I was going to post a sequel.  Relaxing for three days hardly seemed worthy of an entire post.  But we did chase Dolphins for a couple hours. And ate a ridiculous amount of grilled and curried seafood.

Today (Friday when I started the post) marks one month on the calendar of my time spent here in Kenya.  Here are some quick facts/updates:

I have settled into my living arrangements.  Burn rents a house that has 8 bedrooms, all of which are currently filled.  I live with one girl and 6 boys.  We have a backyard garden filled with squash, zucchini, orange trees, avocados, tomatoes, and a large variety of herbs and spices.  There’s a small chicken coop that houses three hens and a rooster.  We eat everything produced on our land including fresh eggs!  Surrounding the house we have many beautiful flowers, strawberries, papayas, watermelons, and a big trough of sunflowers growing right outside my window.

I’ve finally found a groove for working out.  We live in a pretty quiet neighborhood, and if people think you’re crazy they’ll probably avoid you.  I employ this tactic when I go running every day either at 6am or 6pm.  I also brought TRX equipment so my “gym” has become the area in front of my bedroom door. This is of course in addition to once weekly rugby, occasional frisbee, and my attempt to find a running group. There’s a 15k race the first Sunday of every month which I plan to start running in May.

I’ve started driving! On the wrong side of the vehicle and the wrong side of the road.  It took a little bit of getting used to at first, mainly because there are no lanes, no lights, no absolute rules.  They should write a book on the unwritten rules of driving in Kenya.

1. The bigger vehicle always wins.

2. There’s no such thing as cruising in the right lane.  You can drive any speed in any lane.

3. You can pass anyone at any time on any side of the road.

4. If you flash your lights at someone it may mean you’re yielding right of way to them.  It may also mean that you intend to take right of way.

5. If you have car problems it’s perfectly acceptable to stop in the middle of the highway to figure them out.

6. There is no land area that is not traversable by motor vehicle.

7. Being run off the road is no one’s fault but their own.

8. The police can pull you over at any time, for no reason.  Because they are un-armed on foot you can also choose not to stop.

9. Merging in any level of traffic is achieved by moving forward far enough into someone’s path until they are forced to let you through.

10. The only way to regulate speed is by placing speed bumps 10-20 yards apart on city roads and 1-2 kilometers apart on highways.

It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 3 hours to travel 3km.  This may not even have to do with the time of day, However your can double that estimate for peak traffic hours.  I’ve seen ambulances with lights and sirens sit in traffic, possibly for hours.  There are motorcycles that carelessly weave through tight unaware traffic, and supposedly there’s an entire floor in the hospital dedicated to them.  The crosswalks on the highways are suggestions to the majority who cross wherever at their own risk.  The chaos is terrifying, and exciting.  Extra caution keeps us extra safe.