Just a quick note to let everyone know that I'm alive and well, albeit a bit busy while here in Kisumu, Kenya. We got in on Wednesday afternoon from Mwanza and after clearing customs, which was literally in a tool shed adjacent to the "terminal", made it to our hotel in downtown Kisumu. We flew on a cash-and-carry airline called Jetlink. It was my first time flying on a non-name-brand airline and it was a bit interesting. I never felt unsafe necessarily, but it wasn't like flying on a US airline. I was joking with Lynn before we boarded that we were going to have to push the plane down the runway and jump in bobsled style.
On Thursday we visited the meteorological office at the Kisumu airport and traveled by car about 100 km northeast to the Eldoret International Airport. Eldoret is where the Kenyans are proposing to put their weather radar and upon inspection we determined that it was a good but not great site. It's situated on top of a mountain which we estimated to be at least 800 meters above the surface of the lake. This complicates things because of the beam trajectories but doesn't make the radar unusable. It would be a rather interesting site assignment for Sandy's remote sensing class project come to think of it. Below is a picture of the cow pasture where the radar will be built.
The better part of the trip was the drive through the Kenyan highlands which proved to be quite beautiful. We drove past a lot of corn (locally called maze) fields as well as scores of family and industrial tea-leaf crops. I think this was really our first opportunity to see what life was like for the average Kenyan family. We saw a lot of children walking home from school - the younger children seemed to get out around 2 pm and the older children walking along the road closer to sunset at 6 pm. It made me stop and think how thankful I was not to have to walk 10+ miles each way to school every day. This would certainly complicate the many educational experiences I've enjoyed. It also added to my understanding of why the Kenyans are such strong distance runners. Below is a picture of the countryside with a garden of corn planted in the foreground. The second picture is of a crop of tea along the same road.
Since then we've been cooped up in our hotel in Kisumu preparing for the workshop to take place on Monday and Tuesday. I'm scheduled to give my 30 minute presentation on Monday (tomorrow) morning. I'm ready but not overly so, more ready for it to be over. We've been treated to a few lightning filled thunderstorms in the past two days. To the disappointment of the locals they've been more show than go and haven't brought much rain. We're during the dry season here and the farmers need any rain they can get to help their crops. During our breaks of work we've enjoyed above average food at the restaurant attached to the hotel. Tonight I'm putting the finishing touches on my presentation and watching the US women's team trying to win the World Cup final. Out my window is a building that looks oddly like the DH Hill library on NC State's campus. Reminders of home everywhere.
Hope you're all well,
Casey
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