Baby Elephants and DUNG BEETLES!!

If you're like me, you often wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming about rolling around in the mud with baby elephants with dung beetles nearby. You may find yourself thinking, "That could never happen in real life..I"ll never get to see and play with tiny little baby elephants and see a dung beetle at the same time". Well my friends, in Nairobi, that dream can be your reality.

Introducing the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage.  I've blogged about it before because I go there whenever we have visitors in Nairobi - But there is no fulfillment threshold for baby elephants.You just want more and more and more! When my brother came to visit a couple of weeks ago, a stop at the elephant orphanage was on the agenda for the first day of activities. 

Me getting ready to pick them up at the airport - oh boy was I excited. And I had my little airport pick up sign ready to go! It says NEAT not TAEN.  It's a mirror people!

 On to the elephants!

awww...they're so cute. I love the littlest ones that have to wear a blanky

awww...they're so cute. I love the littlest ones that have to wear a blanky

Most of the babies are little orphans because of horrible evil poachers that killed the moms

Oh this little guy was TINY

Oh this little guy was TINY

PHOTO SPOILER! I was about to take a nice couple shot of David and Ali and then some woman decided to walk right in front of me all incognito with her scarf on her head. It's like KONY 2012..i'm gonna make her infamous for spoiling this PHOTO!

Let's try that again. Such a lovely couple ;-)

Let's try that again. Such a lovely couple ;-)

  Another highlight of the elephant orphanage was when David spotted the DUNG BEETLE!! He was so busy rolling dung. He traveled like 40 feet in 15 minutes. 

Interesting enough - they sort of walk on their front legs and push the dung with their bag legs

Interesting enough - they sort of walk on their front legs and push the dung with their bag legs

These guys are pretty small - the dung ball was larger than he was! Dung Ball. lol.

These guys are pretty small - the dung ball was larger than he was! Dung Ball. lol.

 

After the elephants, we went to lunch at one of my favorite spots. Talisman Restaurant in Karen. I ordered WRONG.

I ordered fish...this may be the most unappetizing food photography EVER. I'm good at these. Somehow my fish had lips and teeth....it looks like a gross body part.  It tasted okay - But a little too much work for my taste. Lots of bones and skin and teeth and lips to dig through. It felt like a game of Operation to eat the thing! lol.

And a zoomed out unappetizing food photo of the fish

And a zoomed out unappetizing food photo of the fish

And top view of the fish. Under all the tomato stuff, the actual fish was pretty good.

And top view of the fish. Under all the tomato stuff, the actual fish was pretty good.

 

 Do not let this be a testament to the entire menu at Talisman. They have really good food. The feta and coriander samosas could easily be a healthy substitute for heroin.

Okay, that's it for me. Next post I will do a thorough sarcastic but serious review of  the Insanity work out and anything else that comes to mind.

Little India in Nairobi Part 1

It's just like I always say -  if you can't go to India, let India come to you!


There is no shortage of Indian influence in Nairobi.  In the early 1900's, when the British were still at the helm in Kenya, they brought over hoards of workers from India to build the railway from Mombasa to Nairobi.  The current giant population of Indians in Kenya is the result of that.  So, there are tons of amazing Indian restaurants here, Indian shops, and lots and lots of Indian people.  Indian presence here is like latino presence back in the US.


One Indian shopping center here is called Diamond Plaza.  This place is seriously like stepping into Mumbai all the sudden.  I go there a lot - for one, they have some great Indian food vendors - okay, well it's more like crappy fast indian food that is fly infested but cheap and as long as you don't look in the kitchens you enjoy the flavor..it's an outdoor food court type place, not like fine Indian dining and remember -  there is no McDonalds here - we have Diamond Plaza.  The place is nuts - as soon as you sit down, you are literally, seriously bombarded by like 20 guys shoving menus in your face so you will pick their restaurant out of the whole line up of choices in that food court..it's nuts.  Aggressive and nuts but it's a part of how the place works.  The other reason I go to Diamond Plaza is because my tailor is there. It's these Indian brothers that are very serious but funny at the same time. And getting clothing tailored is SUPER cheap here. So I take stuff to them at least every 2 weeks, especially a lot of the African clothing I've had made that needs adjusting. Here's what we are talking about here:

The Grand Entrance

Chicken Tikka With an Ice cold coke - It's my Kenyan go to meal. No fastfood hamburgers or burritos here - but Chicken Tikka is a welcome alternative.

ohhh Maru's Bhajias - crispy fried potatoes with some kick. Indian French Fries. I can't have mcdonalds or Taco Bell but I can  have Maru's Bhajias! This is how the food stalls look. There are about 20 of them and they all compete for business when you sit down.

And you can buy these at Diamond Plaza

They have HOT mens fashion - that you can sport with your giant fro

You can buy anything here - from sari's to fake IPODs and other electronics to fruits and vegetables, and hundreds of colorful bangles and jewelry

How cute is this?

Dimple Tailoring - That's my joint!

The older brother runs the show. And they have just 3 staff members that work the sewing machines like nothing you have ever seen. They crank out your finished product in 20 minutes regardless of how complex the alteration is.

and they sell TONS of Indian Tunics

So beautiful and colorful and detailed - I love them.

I tried a couple on while i was waiting on my clothes to get fixed.

I actually decided to get this one. They took it in through the waist and back for me and it was perfect. It has some awesome bead work on the top and the sleeves and it's silky and slightly transparent. Love it.  Cost me around $20 and it's all hand done. But is it nuts that this was a size 3x in Indian sizes? Lawdy! I'm an Indian Giant Lady.

 Okay, so that is Diamond Plaza. It's like a little Indian world in Nairobi. It's a little bit dirty, a little bit chaotic, and a little bit out of my comfort zone - but I love it.

Bring JUNK IN YOUR TRUNK

There are two types of African travelers in this world - those that go out and seek to experience all things local  as a lifestyle and those that go out but still seek to remain in their comfort zone as much as possible. We are talking about the difference between that expat you know that loves to talk about eating local porridge (ugali) and boiled collard greens (sukuma) for every meal and riding around in matatus for transportation and the other expat that arrives and immediately, finds friends from their country and goes on wild goose hunts for supplies to make chocolate chip cookies, nachos and strawberry daiquiris.  As much as I hate to admit it, I lean more towards the second group - though I swear I venture out of my bubble plenty. And I think really we are just talking about food here for me.  I've just never been turned on by the Kenyan cuisine - I'm fine with the Indian food, which comes in second for local cuisine - In fact, I am a huge Indian food fan now after moving here. (For readers that have never been to Kenya, Nairobi's largest minority are Indians - and there are tons of Indian restaurants here). But the Kenyan food really keeps me from being that immersed expat. Now, if I lived in Italy or Lebanon, I wouldn't have this issue. I mean, there is a reason that you don't find Kenyan restaurants everywhere you go - just saying. 

Typical Kenyan food - Photo is my co-workers lunch. Sukuma, potatos, Ugali (white mushy starch), and rice with some veggies. Ladies sort of travel around from office to office selling lunches to people. This whole thing costs like $2. Very hearty food that keeps you full all day, which definitely has a historical and cultural context to it. The majority of the population that lives way below poverty level might get one meal a day and they would most likely not be eating this variety. It would maybe be just the ugali (white starchy stuff)  and some greens or chapati - every single day.

Now, this is one of the ugliest food pictures ever - BUT, it is one of my all time favorite things to have here. Tandoori Chicken Tikka Boneless and Naan - forget about the fries..they are actually gross here. But the chicken tikka - oh it's heaven. I eat it at least once or twice a week. People that are truly into indian cuisine laugh at me because it's sort of like going to a thai restaurant and ordering Pad Thai..but for me, it's delish. I dont like all the saucy curry stuff - my stomach is always pissed off afterwards..but this dry grilled chicken is AMAZING! With the yogurt sauce..mmmmmm.

Oh just wanted to mention another cuisine that we have eaten here a few times that people LOVE - but for me is only good for the first 10 minutes till you get sick of the Injera - ETHIOPIAN food. Honestly, I like it for about 7-10 minutes and then that bread (looks like a washcloth all rolled up) starts to get to me and I just want a spoon to eat the rest of my meal with. I made the  mistake of joining some friends for Ethiopian food 2 nights before my half marathon - DONT EVER DO THAT! Without fail, you will get some weird ass bacteria from everyone's hands being in everyone's food!

Aw, the poor thing has no idea what's comin to him.

See the little wash cloths of bread? They should coat them with antiseptic. But very fun night - it was worth it ;-)

So,  understanding the mental context that I'm functioning from here - and my longing for good old American comfort food -  I have the weirdest cravings for things from home and much of it is stuff that I wouldn't even eat at home..like for example..Bear Claws! You know those giant donuts; they're like big giant knots of doughy cinnamon and glaze..i don't even know what they are..and I haven't had one in maybe 20 years..but I want one now. Or like, KFC! I do not eat KFC at home. I cannot remember the last time I ate at KFC, but one opened here recently - the first American fast food restaurant in Kenya, and it's all I could think about until it opened. So silly.

My family is coming to visit me for Thanksgiving and the list of stuff that I gave them to bring me is just asinine! Here's what I included - okay some are staples for me and some are wild cards and it's weird!

dried cranberries (eh -definitely a luxury item and could easily live without this)
walnuts/pine nuts (too expensive in nairobi)
turkey peporoni (WHAT??)
blow pops (redic)
nacho cheese in a jar (WHAT?)
Velveeta (Wild Card)
choc chips ( never buy these at home - why now Lenna?)
crystal light (fine)
protein powder (understandable)
low fat peanut butter
low fat brownie mix, cookies, anytthing! (??? -more stuff I never buy at home)
whitening tooth paste
taco bell mild sauce packets (staple for me and definitely a necessity. I make my own taco bell)
coffee creamer - low fat vanilla
montreal steak seasoning
Pudding mix (psycho! since when do I make pudding?)

But I will tell you - it's a ton of fun when you get visitors and they bring you a bunch of stuff - it's like having Target delivered to your house - Here's what it looked like when Sergio got home from a work trip to Haiti where he had to stop through NYC on the way back - He bought us tons of treats from the Target by JFK airport - it was like Christmas Morning!

Some of the things Sergio brought me back from the states: a lunch box, lotion, relish, vitamins, craisens, deodorant, reeses pieces, gym clothes, propel powder, splenda (stolen from starbucks), peanut butter powder, tuna packets, and a ladies fashion magazine - oh he also brought me TURKEY BACON!! I threw it in the freezer as soon as he walked in.

To be fair - we are super lucky to live in Nairobi. There are a TON of options here for eating out. You can find anything you want and the restaurants are normally run from people from that country so it's always pretty authentic and delicious - BUT THERE IS NO MEXICAN FOOD and there really is no good junky American food - you know like a good burger and fries or really good deep dish pizza, no chipotle burritos, no bagel joints, no place to get a good sandwich, no good pancake houses - nothing like that -  so I think that is where my cravings come in - for the junk!
Anyways, so if you are coming to visit - (and you really should visit) - BRING JUNK IN YOUR TRUNK!

xoxo
Lenna

Sergio's birthday blow-out weekend

In preparation for the beach weekend, I decided to buy a big hat so that I can try to save myself from the leather coating that is growing over my skin ..it's starting to get bad early people.
So, I went to the Masai Market, where the best vendors come out and sell their stuff a different locations on different days of the week. Here are the ones I tried on:

Mmmm. this is like big-bo-peep

This will work!

hat as prop - the options are endless!

hat on

flied lice anyone?

 The beach was a good old time - apart from the scuba adventure, which I promise not to discuss in this post. You can read about that by clicking here.  The first night we arrived, it was just Sergio and I (and my hat). We had a nice dinner on the balcony area of our little house apartment. It was so close to the restaurant that the waiter just served us right there. We had wine and cheese and delicious seafood and more wine - enough to get giggly then we called it a night since it's better to not be hungover for early morning scuba.

Here is a quick overview and photo journal of highlights from the rest of the weekend:

• Lenna freaking out at scuba lessons and barfing overboard (oh crap i swore I wouldn't talk about it!)
• NO PHOTO
•  Sergio and Scott having a good time scubaing and wearing wetsuits

• Lenna reading the book Friday Night Lights on the beach - the only book I have access to that I have not read. It's actually pretty good - I didn't think I'd be interested - but I related a lot to it having gone to high school in Kansas where our football team won STATE CHAMPS my senior year (fly Eagles...fly...)

•  Eating the BEST coriander and feta samosas I've ever had for lunch next door (No Photo)
• Going to dinner at 40 Thieves beach bar and ordering the 3rd Lobster I've ever eaten - 750 grams. It was GIANT and DELICIOUS and half the price of lobster at home.  (No Photo)
• Trying our best to make smores over a candle back at our apartment after dinner

• Sweating to death from my morning torture run on Sunday - 6 miles in the most humid heat EVER..but the road was flat and nice. One would think that I swam 6 miles by the look of it when I was done - I passed a few Masai on my run (there are a ton of them around the coast)...I think they wanted to recruit me - pretty sure women that can get that sweaty and run long distances are attractive and useful for them...and they probably picked up on my scent.

I could literally ring out my clothing after the run - not unusual for me in general and you probably don't even need to know this.

•  We had an AMAZING dinner Sunday night (birthday eve) at the Al Manara Hotel next door. It's more like a collection of villas. Each unit is around $2000 per night and sleep 8. They are large villas that are all decked out in incredible Swahili/arabesque style decor - They have A/C, flat screen TV, etc and they come with your own staff of people. We spent Thanksgiving dinner there last year because Scott's friend from DC was visiting Kenya with her whole family - They rented the place for a couple nights - I mean LUXURY...crazy levels of luxury. Since we were staying at our little humble abode next door their family invited us over for Thanksgiving meal there. The staff made an amazing Turkey dinner for us - it was awesome. So, for this trip we walked over to their restaurant for dinner. Surprisingly the prices were amazing! We all ordered seafood platters - It was CRAZY GOOD - for um, don't hate - $16.  We had shrimp, calamari, lobster, and fish.  HEAVEN.

sideways seafood platter

The staff made a little cake for Sergio and sang "Happy BirSdays tu yuuuuuu"

Us

•  Birthday MONDAY -  The guys did their scuba, I lounged, then we all met up at the bar on the beach afterwards for some birthday cake. I brought a better crocker mix and frosting with me and asked the chef to cook it up for when they got back from scuba. Um, I think having a cake mix threw the guy off completely, which was not my intention - i was trying to keep it simple.  Add a little oil, add a little water, a couple of eggs and voila.  But I think with shotty English, he probably thought the instructions said, "once the cake is done take it and let a rat gnaw on one side so that it's not quite a circle, then take some sandpaper and sand the cake ...after you put the frosting on it...then write the name Sergio so big that you have to break it into 2 lines so that everyone knows who is the recipient of the cake".  Because this is what it looked like:

but it tasted damn good - I think he actually cooked the frosting INTO the cake - it was a gooey mess. But why should I expect him to know how to deal with mixes and pre-made frosting. He'd never seen the likes of it in his life.  We couldn't get the candles to light since we were right at the beach and the wind was nuts.  But it was a nice cake and we shared it with all the staff and Pedro and his wife Tracy (scuba folks) and thanked the chef with a big piece for himself (not that he didn't already take a huge piece by the looks of the thing!! haha)

•  Then, the BIG finale -birthday Hibachi on the BEACH before heading to the airport. I found this resort place down the road that advertised Hibachi on the beach. So i called the week before to ask about pricing, etc. They said it was actually closed down since it was low season. But I managed to get the head chef on the phone, who is from Nairobi. He said that since we were coming ALL that way ( 45 minute flight??) that he wanted to help. So, he said, weather permitting, he'll set it up for us. I called him the day before and committed to being there- he bought the stuff and we made it happen!  It was amazing! He assigned some staff and a chef , cleaned off the hibachi table, set it all nice, and hosted us the whole evening - and he made it all happen in the amount of time we had before we needed to leave. It was over the top. Just Sergio, me, and Scott sitting out in this beautiful place. Sergio was really happy and pretty much admitted that it was the best birthday so far.  It's one thing i love about Africa. Things can be accommodated for you..things aren't so strict. I mean, I did hook him up with a little buksheesh for being so cool...but still, it's the African hospitality. I love it.

Look how prettttttyyyyy

View from the hibachi table

Three Amigos go Japanese

It was perfect timing - We arriving when the sun was still up to enjoy the beach view and the sun was setting as we wrapped up.

Then we took our taxi straight to the airport and got home right about midnight..the close of Sergio's birthday.  Happy BIRTHDAY BYU! XOXO