The Night Bus

After the medical team flew out I had a few extra days in Nairobi to catch up with some local friends and do some shopping for solar panels, furniture and other things as I prepare to move out of ICIPE and into a house of my own (hopefully by next week). After a couple of days in Nairobi though, I get really anxious to get back to Mbita and out of the big city. I decided to try out the night bus to get back home. Many Kenyans travel long distance on the night bus to save time (travel to Nairobi at night and then back home the next night) and money (don't have to find a place to stay). Because of the bad roads, bad drivers, lack of street lights and the insecurity at times in the country, travelling by day is much safer than at night, but I wanted to give it a shot.

I went out to dinner with my friend Tracy and her parents who just arrived in from the U.S. and then they dropped me at the bus stage in town. Being in town at night was an experience all its own as I tend to avoid downtown at night for obvious reasons. Immediately upon entering the bus stage I found a young mzungu girl who needed help. She shared with me that she is an atheist Israeli Jew. We broke into a deep hour long discussion on many topics including the origin of the Earth, science, faith, love, Old Testament law and others. Then we found a couple of old friends waiting for another bus. Beatrice Ollimo and her sister Phenny who had just returned from doing a YWAM DTS in South Africa. I got to hear about that experience and laugh and joke with them a bit before my bus finally left two hours after the scheduled departure. I quickly claimed a first row seat so I could have some leg room and a place to rest my feet on the railing.

The ride itself on the old dilapated bus was a bit slow and bumpy, but rather uneventful. Around 7:55 am I was happy to see the ferry floating in to the dock as our bus pulled up. Overall, it was about 12 hours of travelling. I did get some sleep off and on while listening to my IPOD, through I have no clue how much I really slept. It was nice to arrive in the morning and have the whole day ahead so that I could unpack, run some errands and spend some time in school.