We arrived!!

Carrie and I arrived in Nairobi last night at about 7 p.m. Kenya time after nearly 24 hours on three different planes with just a half hour between two and an hour between two others.  Needless to say we were pretty out of it upon arrival.  Thankfully we had set up accomodation to have a ride to our hostel.  That made things very easy and nice.  We made it to the hostel and took some time to unwind before going to bed.  We woke up today on Kenya time (10 hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time) and are already on their schedule.  It helped that we could not sleep much on the planes due to cramped conditions and excitement. 
Today was my first full day in another country and we spent it in what is considered Africa's most dangerous city, just slightly in front of Johannesburg and Lagos.  I was pretty intimidated and yet we walked from the relatively safe, gated compound nearly 20 minutes to the city center.  Just like we are pretty surprised when we see a black person in Glacier, many people gave us some looks.  I was even called "Rasta" a couple of times because of my dreadlochs and I think it was their way to get close and eventually ask for money.  No one was overbearing as we walked the very crowed streets dodging cars in the streets and people on the sidewalks trying to find some outdoor shops (Denver airlines would not let us carry our fuel canister as it had had fuel in it; whatever).  We found one or two but they were hardly what we would call outdoor shops and neither had what we wanted.  So we picked up some money--Kenyan shillings--and exchanged some for American dollars as we find we'll need some of those.  American dollars, Euros, and British pounds or whatever they are called are more stable and more widely accepted here than even their own money, especially on bigger purchases. 
We walked back, rested and then headed back out into the madness the other way to the Yaya Center where we found a bottle designed for water but our pump fit.  We may have to do some research to see if it is acceptable to use with gas and our stove.  We then walked down the bustling sidewalks (there are people walking everywhere) to an Ethiopian resturant--my first.  It was good, but we may seek out some Kenyan food next time.  We then raced back to the compound, Milimani Backpackers, just in time to beat the oncoming darkness.  It is strongly recommended not to be walking around the city after dark.  To our relief we made it and are excited to have tonight figured out.
Tomorrow we will try to check out a giraffe sancuary or the slums, guided of course.  After that we will just have to see.  We look forward to the rest of our trip.  I am excited, especially after surviving my first major international experience, in my first major international city. 
Stay tuned for more.
Dido - Carrie