Of Planes and Automobiles (Trains will come later)

I have to say, the best parts of my flight, aside from some of the interesting conversations, involved Cleveland and Philadelphia. I was just over the left wing on the Cleveland-Philly leg, so had a front-row seat to the wing de-icing process (my first!) - very cool. And, although I've never been in Philadelphia itself, I do love their airport – interesting shops, arresting artwork, large bathroom stalls, and, best of all, they have rocking chairs! Old-fashioned, stress-relieving, white rocking chairs scattered throughout the airport.

I can't begin to estimate the number of packs and repacks that went into reaching – but not exceeding – the 50# limit for each of my two checked bags. In addition to all the materials from CCCF I mentioned in my last post, there were also three (!) Talk To Me 100s from Sydspeak (http://www.sydspeak.com/), several sets of Talking Brix from Ablenet (http://www.ablenet.com/), and a switch interface from Don Johnston (http://www.donjohnston.com/). Many thanks to Sydney Birr of Sydspeak, Adam Wing of Ablenet, and Don Johnston. (Don has pictures of his own trip to Kenya at http://www.donjohnston.us/donjohnston/Welcome.html)

Add to that, workshop handouts, small photo albums, rings, lanyards, batteries, CDs, laminated visuals, Velcro, sealing tape, ziploc bags, children's books, gifts, etc. Then an assortment of ropes to deliver to some of the sites in Nairobi and Moshi (Tanzania) where Mike had established jump rope programs last year. And, of course, my netbook, camera, phones, chargers and adapters, reading material and assorted toiletries.

The langauge materials started out in their very own bag – all 65 pounds worth. Then came various combinations of jump ropes and AAC materials – still a total of about 5 pounds over per bag. I ended up having to leave some books and ropes behind, and transferring some of the heavier items to my carry-on bag.

What suffered in packing was clothing, but with some creative dressing – and maybe a bit of shopping to augment my 2 skirts, 2 pairs of jeans and one pair of black dress pants - I should be able to come up with enough professional-looking outfits to make it through the 4 weeks.

Women don't seem to dress too casually here. Over the course of my nearly 5-hour walk today, I think I saw 3 women wearing jeans.

Traffic - I forgot how “delightful” it can be in Nairobi. Cars here drive on the left side of the road, so they're not where you expect them to be when you're trying to cross the street. There aren't anywhere near enough traffic lights, and drivers tend to view those as suggestions. Pedestrians are expected to fend for themselves. You literally have to step out between cars and hope their brakes are in good condition. I've been very careful to only walk in front of cars whose drivers appear to have their eyes on the road. And, if traffic is moving too slowly in the lane nearest the sidewalk (although it's usually just a well-worn dirt path), some drivers see no reason the pedestrians can't share the walkway. In their defense, though, the drivers usually honk a warning once that first tire has left the roadway.

The nightly Howling of the Dogs began at 3 AM yesterday. Encore tonight at 12:45 and 1:15 AM. More to come.