Some of the sights of Africa

Yesterday, Friday the 9th of October I hired a driver and went to the Karen Blixen home in Karen Kenya. It is not far from Nairobi itself. Our first stop was the Karen Blixen home which has been turned into a museum. I understand that the movie Out of Africa was not filmed at the house itself, although the front porch was certainly familiar to me from the movie. I guess that movie sets can imitate real life most convincingly at times.

I spent time in the Gift Shop connected with the museum making careful choices on what to purchase. I am pretty sure that the woman who helped me had not before met an American on a strict budget. She was very glad to know I was going to Sudan to teach, but did not seem to understand why I could not purchase all of the things that I liked.

Next we went to the Kazuri bead factory and store. Kazuri began in 1975. It was an experiment in making hand made beads from local clay and was begun to give employment to single mothers in the villages around Nairobi. It was a great privilege for me to have a tour through the facilities. The women are very creative. They sit at great long tables and chat as they work. Their children are in school or watched after by child care providers.

Finally the driver took me to the Sarit Shopping Center where I was able to purchase more minutes for both internet and cell phone. Then we headed back to the home where I am staying. This particular picture, above, was taken on the final leg of the journey.

The most special thing for me about the day was my driver. He was an African gentlemen, very gentle in spirit, and very knowledgeable. I asked him a great deal of questions and he was able to give me a very good education from his point of view.