Still in Nairobi

The long-awaited day came and went. Today was the day I should have started the trip to S. Sudan. But alas, it was not to be. I am still in Nairobi. Not that I mind too much, I like it here, but I am anxious to see my new home.

It seems the planes just aren’t landing right now. I may get re-routed tomorrow; I will potentially fly to another town, not Loki, which has an oil landing strip, vs. just a dirt/mud strip. If this works out, a vehicle will pick me up and we will presumably slip and slide our way for 5 hours until we reach Agok. This won’t be the first mud adventure I've had!

If that doesn’t work, they might re-route me through Loki and Wunrok or Loki & Rumbek where, again, I believe I will finish the journey over land. The Agok strip is just too saturated. One way or another, within the next week, hopefully few days, I will be in So. Sudan.

In the meantime, I will check back into the Gracia Guest House. I did visit the guest house Mercy Corps keeps (to store my excess luggage). It's a pretty nice flat. It’s a lot like Lisa’s place but a bit bigger and without the awesome view she has. It is comfortable though and is fully equipped. Unfortunately for me, it is occupied by some of my colleagues, part of the Somalia team, and they might find my presence rather uncomfortable and not in keeping with their religious or cultural values. So, Gracia it is.

I had lunch with Lisa yesterday. She seems to be doing quite well, for those of you that know her. She is extremely happy with Bella in her life. The two of them flew out to visit friends in the U.K. today so I won’t see her again until R&R. Bella is adorable but quite a handful. She’s almost 3 so I suppose it’s to be expected.