Getting excited!

We are moving in 110 days (that's just over three months), and it's starting to hit me. Mostly, I'm getting excited for a new adventure. As I walk to and from school each day in Nairobi, past the dirt mounds and weaving through traffic, I think how different it will be going to school in Budapest...

Instead of walking over dirt sidewalks with matatus whizzing past me, I'll be walking on tree-lined, paved walkways with a tram going by.

Instead of being the only white face amongst the sea of people, I'll be one of many white faces.

Instead of going through a secured gate with a guard opening the doors, I'll walk out the front door of an apartment complex - no gates, no barbed wire, no shards of glass lining the walls around the compound.

Instead of wearing sandals and sundresses, I'll be headed to work in a coat and boots.

Instead of an African slum next door, I'll have a park and shops and European architecture nearby.

It will definitely be a change. Looking forward to the newness.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF OUR NEW CITY.

Time for a new name

In less than four months I won't have Kenya to blog about and this blog won't be describing "my view of Africa" anymore. So it's time for a new name... The Other Side of the World. How long will this title stick? I hope for a lifetime. We'll see!

It's hard to believe but...

...it's been a year.

Happy first anniversary to the perfect man for me. I love you Will.

Saturday in Karen

Today we spent the day in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi. Karen is famous as the home of Karen Blixen (the "Out of Africa" lady), although it is not named after her as many people think. This town is filled with white Kenyans who have been here for three or four generations, many missionary organizations, two new shopping centers, big mansions, and all the things you find along the side of the street in Kenya. It also has some great restaurants and is just something different from the usual Nairobi scene. So off we went to...

An organic farmers market where we bought mango jam.

A bike shop with American bikes for Will to peruse.

The newest mall that actually looked like a real mall. We bought pesto bread from the French bakery and got a smoothy from the fruits and veggie shop.

Karen Blixen Gardens for lunch. There, we meandered through Karen Blixen's farm manager's house where Teddy Roosevelt once stayed while hunting for specimens for the National Museum of America.

Overall, it was a good day that was a little different than our usual stomping grounds. If we were living in Kenya another year, I think I would want to move to Karen next. It's definitely an interesting crowd and a beautiful area outside the city.