Arrived in Kitale

After a 2am start on Saturday morning I finally arrived in Nairobi. My luggage was already waiting for me so no dramas on that front. However, the taxi drive to my hotel was an interesting experience. There is no roundabout etiquette, driving through red lights seems to be quite normal, and undertaking was also the standard. I had my seatbelt firmly on as we ventured further into the city centre past mutatus (minibuses) pounding out their afro beats. My hotel looked slightly suspect from the outside but once upstairs the place seemed to take on a character of its own with friendly staff and a lively bar. Saturday night was getting going.

The next morning I arrived at the Akamba bus station in good time to get my ticket for the bus ride up to Kitale only to find that the 8.30 service was no longer working. I had to grab a nearby taxi and haul my luggage to another coach station and just managed to get a seat before the bus left. I had unwisely booked the front row seat next to the driver so was in full view of his overtaking moves on hills and around blind corners. Beyond Eldoret the road was full of potholes so the going was pretty tough.



After 8 hours on the road I finally arrived in Kitale and met up with Jack, the SMART programme director. He took me to his house on the outskirts of the town where I met up with his wife Evelyn and their 6 sons. The location was fairly remote and quite a contrast to the fast pace of London life.

The food is an interesting mix of ugali (ground maize), chapatis, roast potatoes, chicken stew, goat, boiled bananas, green pulses, and ugi (ground millet mixed with yoghurt witha touch of lemon juice). This tends to get washed down with a cup of really sweet milky tea or chai - not good for the teeth but easy to get used to.

On Monday I had a meeting with the programme director, field officer and accountant to agree my objectives for the next 3 weeks. It was a useful start to my assignment so we all knew what needed to be done. For the first couple of days I have been getting to grips with how the organisation runs and how all things finance work. I am going to visit one of their field stations tomorrow to get a better understanding what training they provide to the local farmers.