In Dubai

Hello from the UAE! As some of you may already know, the flight that was too good to be true was, in fact, just that. We received a call early Monday morning that the Dept of Homeland Security had cancelled all direct flights from the U.S. to Nairobi. Indefinitely. So, after many phone calls and attempts to make different arrangements, our 1pm flight out of DCA to Atlanta then directly to Nairobi was switched to a 6:30pm flight out of IAD to Atlanta to Dubai and, after a 7 hour layover, to Nairobi. For those of you whose geography is as mediocre as mine, the UAE is not at all on the way to Kenya. After a full 36 hours of traveling and approximately one hour of sleep on the floor of Dubai Int'l Airport, we are ready to arrive at NBO!

In more optimistic news, I wanted to share a little more about our goals and tentative plans for our trip. I know that Joey has already written the "first post" but thought I could give a short introduction as well. We are staying in Nairobi for just a day to recoup before making our way to the village where Jake has been staying with our host, Isaac. It is in this Kikuyu village where the ISAAC project (the org co-founded by our friends Jake and Jill) has been established and where we will stay for several weeks.

All plans are subject to change but at this point we hope to volunteer in a school for children with developmental disabilities, create a running program at Isaac's request, and implement other small projects that would be beneficial to the village. We are also bringing some information on soil conservation and other methods of encouraging environmental sustainability. However, in all honesty, I have not come with any specific plans because I am more interested in learning from Isaac and other villagers about what we can do that would be most helpful.

We also plan to go on a safari with Isaac in Maasai Mara (he is a guide) and, trek Mount Kenya if time and money allow. In our final week or ten days we hope to visit Uganda, as well. We may volunteer at an orphanage there and possibly spend some time at Lake Victoria. We'll be in Nairobi again for our last weekend to explore a bit before flying back to the States. Let's hope that journey will be less complicated!

In an effort to not miss our plane and avoid further turmoil, Joey and I are now leaving the free internet kiosk to arrive extra early at our gate. We will post again after landing in Nairobi and getting some sleep. More soon!