2 weeks down and I have yet to be hit by a car!

I have been in Nairobi now for almost two weeks and it certainly is an experience!!!!! Classes began last week and we are all settling into a nice routine which is fractured by the safaris and beach trips that have been planned for us!!

Classes are alright. I am taking International Environmental Law and Comparative Family Law. I honestly thought I would be enjoying the environmental law class far more given that it was my college major but the class is being taught by Kenyans who have a vastly different teaching style. They assign three full chapters of reading a night (roughly 300 pages) but don't expect anyone to read it and then lecture for two hours straight on the reading we didn't need to do. After first year of law school I thought I would be happy to say good bye to the Socratic method and cases but I would kill for something concrete, case law to memorize, something. Being lectured at is rather dull. The family law class is interesting. It is small and much more like a Mount Holyoke seminar class, a lot of discussion. The professor is American, so it is very similar to what I would expect from a small law school elective. I promise never to complain about my law school's facilities ever again. Honestly, the law school here is a joke, I have no clue how they get an education. I try to keep in mind that they are doing the best they can, but it is so hard not to compare. They don't have a complete library, books arrive if they are donated by schools in the west. Their Amjur/CJR is not complete, ones are missing. They have dial up internet that makes what Mom just got rid of seem lightening fast. The students can't afford text books. There are barely windowpanes on the windows, so the screaming traffic outside drowns out the professor. The building looks like a military barracks. It is strange but makes me appreciate my heinous round law school so much more!!!

This past weekend we went north of Nairobi, crossing the equator, to Samburu Game Reserve. It is a small park but we saw a lot of wildlife. Within five minutes of being in a park a HUGE female lion crossed the road. Then we saw lions each day we were there. Plus all the other cool animals and birds. The highlight of the whole trip was our accommodations. We stayed at a luxury tented camp, which is very popular here. Our "tent" had beds, electrical outlets, a fan, an attached local stone bathroom with flushing toilet and hot water. It was pretty amazing. The food was perfect and there was ALOT of it. The staff was so helpful. We had game drives (heading out in land cruisers to find wildlife) at 6am and 4pm, that left the middle of the day to keep ourselves occupied. We decided to stay in the pool from about 10am to 3pm, leaving only briefly for food. A waiter was assigned to our group and took and delivered fruity drink orders pool side. It was pretty amazing. On the way back to Nairobi Monday evening we stopped ON the equator and took pictures with a sign indicating our location. It was certainly an experience.

Tomorrow we board a plane to Diani Beach which is on the southern Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. The resort there is rumored to be even better than in Samburu. We will be there for four days. I think our only problem will be choosing what activities to do during the four days. There is snorkeling on the reefs, they take you out in a glass bottom boat and let you out in the reef. There is a restaurant in a cave that we want to go to. Of course, laying on the beach is also an option!! Plus every other water sport known to man. I am SO excited because I have never been to the Caribbean. The closest I have come is the Mediterranean and compared to Maine's ocean I head the Indian Ocean is crystal clear and full of exotic fish!!! It should be an amazing trip. Its a hard life, only having classes two days this week in order to accommodate our travel schedule.

We have one full week of classes when we get back from Diani and then have a week vacation (how I am getting law school credit when I am traveling more than reading is beyond me!). I toyed with a million different ideas of what to do during break, spend it on the coast at a different resort, go to Uganda/Rwanda to trek for gorillas, go to Madagascar, stay in Nairobi and save some money. But, then a few people came up with an amazing idea, Egypt. On the 1st July 10 of us are flying to Cairo for a 6 day trip. We are seeing all the sights, taking a sleeping train to the Valley of the Kings, taking a traditional boat trip back up the Nile to Cairo. It is going to be AMAZING!!!!!! I can't pass this up! I had a Mount Holyoke friend who studied abroad in Cairo and she assured me it was worth it, plus the cost of the plane ticket from the states is nearly double the cost of the whole trip (including airfare from here). And the group of kids are really cool and we have been traveling well together. I think we will have a lot of fun, but let's be honest, even if I hated them, for this trip I would man up and deal.

Nairobi is a lot of fun. We are slowly getting braver and venturing further from our home. We have gone to the local market. Tried some restaurants. I haven't been brave enough to drive the local form of transportation, matatus, but some people have. I am still repeating in my head "look right, left, right" when crossing the street and haven't gotten hit yet, but walking back from school yesterday was certainly questionable. The only big difference is the pollution. They just outlawed leaded gas last year and they certainly don't have the emissions standards we have. I believe their version of the EPA began in 2004, so they are a bit behind in that arena. My boogers completely black from exhaust and I am constantly coughing. The other kids on the program seem nice, but we are all typical law students, so there have been some personality clashes already.

Other than that, nothing really exciting happening here (hahaha!!!) I have to go shower for my second day and last day of classes this week!!! It's an early morning tomorrow, leaving the apartment at 6am for the coast!!!