LAST POST

I fought the law and the law won. Apparently the US Embassy has issued a warning that says if you are an American in Kenya, then you have no business being there, and if you choose to stay there then they will not help evacuate you if things get worse. I am not sure what is being released in the news, but its really not that bad. But I have decided to leave early, and "pull the plug" on my project as my advosor has advised me to do. Really though, I haven't got much work done anyways in the last month, and it has been frustrating trying to get some little work done. So I decided it is not really worth it to stay on if I am not accomplishing anything.

Another deciding factor....So my friend Ben lost his cousin last week due to a fatal car accident. I went to his village home to go to the funeral on saturday. The funerals here take two days and we were scheduled to come home Monday morning. Well, monday morning rolled around and we got word that Kisumu was rioting again and up in flames. So we were stuck out in the peaceful calm village. But, I only brought enough clothes and drinking water for a few days, so we were quickly running out of necessities. Tuesday morning came along and we decided to head back to Kisumu very early, like 5 am to avoid the rioters (they sleep late). We made it up to the main road and caught a lorry (like a big deisel). The lorry driver put us in the front cabin, but behind the driver as he made his way to kisumu (no public transportation was happening and he happened to be carrying some things to kisumu airport that is why he was even on the road). So because we were in such a big vehicle, we were able to blow right through all the road blocks that were set up on the road (they block the roads checking for people of certain ethnic tribes). That is when we found out that the driver was from that tribe they were looking for. So we blew through some road blocks, had stones thrown at the lorry (yes, I was officially stoned!) and the ones we were unable to blow through, we had to stop and bribe the youths there. We gave equivalent to a dollar here and there. But the kids were jumping up on the trucks, rocking the back trailer part, and hitting the truck with stones and machetes. They were just being rowdy, no stones actually came through the windows or anything, but I was officially scared, for the first time since this all started. Once we got to Kisumu, the lorry driver dropped us in town, and we took a bicycle taxi home. We encountered more road blocks, and people trying to pick our bags from our shoulders. Nuts, but my friend Ben took care of us, and luckily he knew those stupid kids in Kisumu and he threatened them pretty good and they stepped down. But we managed to get home safely by 7 am and stayed indoors the rest of the day. Nuts. But quite an interesting story nonetheless....

So, I am heading home. Already in Nairobi waiting for my flight. It was a pretty rushed decision and I have been frazzled the last few days tying up loose ends and saying goodbye to the good friends I have made. I hope to come back and finish my work but not sure how the political situation will fare. Kofi Annan is here and has a plan, but its a long term plan and I fear that they will push this country further and further into economic depression before they stop this mess. Only time will tell.....

So farewell for now...