Kenya!
It's been a while since I used this blog to document my travels, and I've posted lots of random stuff since then...but since I was sent to Nairobi for my first business trip, I figured I should start posting again!
I arrived late Monday night, after a flight from DC to Heathrow and then to Nairobi, both of which went smoother than any of my domestic flights earlier in August - go figure. British Airways might be my favorite airline - quality food, fairly spacious seating, video screens at each seat. I sat next to a family with a baby on my first flight and was impressed that British Airways provides baby seats that attach to a fold-out shelf so that parents don't have to hold their kids the whole time.
As is the custom for most of our international offices, the Kenya office sent a driver to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at a colleague's apartment, where I'm staying for the first week. The apartment complex is part of the Fairview Country Hotel (www.fairviewkenya.com) and about a 3 minute walk from the office, down a road with multiple gates and guards - I feel safer than I do in DC! My colleague left for another part of Kenya this week, so after the first night, I've had the place to myself. The set up of the apartment reminds me a lot of an apartment I stayed in in Brazil, interestingly. Anyway, there's high speed internet and cable tv in the apt, so I definitely don't feel like I'm in Africa! I'm 7 hours ahead of DC, so have spent a fair amount of time at night communicating with my office - makes the hours pass quickly, though.
Haven't done much besides wander between the apartment and the office, since the hotel has 4 restaurants and I can get all my food there. I've been warned multiple times about going out at night by myself, so figure I'll wait to explore during the day this weekend, and hopefully get to see the city at night next week when another colleague from the DC office joins me. A new staff member arrives tonight, so if he's up for it, maybe we'll go somewhere fun for dinner tomorrow night.
I'm posting pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyrindone/Kenya02# - nothing too exciting so far, but I hope to see lots of animals this weekend. :)
I arrived late Monday night, after a flight from DC to Heathrow and then to Nairobi, both of which went smoother than any of my domestic flights earlier in August - go figure. British Airways might be my favorite airline - quality food, fairly spacious seating, video screens at each seat. I sat next to a family with a baby on my first flight and was impressed that British Airways provides baby seats that attach to a fold-out shelf so that parents don't have to hold their kids the whole time.
As is the custom for most of our international offices, the Kenya office sent a driver to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at a colleague's apartment, where I'm staying for the first week. The apartment complex is part of the Fairview Country Hotel (www.fairviewkenya.com) and about a 3 minute walk from the office, down a road with multiple gates and guards - I feel safer than I do in DC! My colleague left for another part of Kenya this week, so after the first night, I've had the place to myself. The set up of the apartment reminds me a lot of an apartment I stayed in in Brazil, interestingly. Anyway, there's high speed internet and cable tv in the apt, so I definitely don't feel like I'm in Africa! I'm 7 hours ahead of DC, so have spent a fair amount of time at night communicating with my office - makes the hours pass quickly, though.
Haven't done much besides wander between the apartment and the office, since the hotel has 4 restaurants and I can get all my food there. I've been warned multiple times about going out at night by myself, so figure I'll wait to explore during the day this weekend, and hopefully get to see the city at night next week when another colleague from the DC office joins me. A new staff member arrives tonight, so if he's up for it, maybe we'll go somewhere fun for dinner tomorrow night.
I'm posting pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyrindone/Kenya02# - nothing too exciting so far, but I hope to see lots of animals this weekend. :)
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