Daily Lunch Menu

by JBFoodPosted on 2 Comments

Apologies on not getting out the tales from the weekend, but I have a ton of photos to get through that I want to make sure to include.

In the meantime, there’s a food place out behind our office building.  It is a small corrugated iron and concrete block building about the size of a one-car garage.  I’m not sure what these are called, but they are where local people eat and local food is served.

I have eaten at this place 3 or 4 times since I got here and realized that it’s actually pretty good.  They serve a plate of beans, kale (sukuma), chapati, cooked cabbage and a carrot salad (very similar to salsa).  Grand total 50 Ksh.  That’s equal to less than 60 cents for the whole meal.

Our Adventure to Lake Magadi

by JBTravelPosted on No Comments

I hope to share some more information soon, but we had a great trip to Lake Magadi this past weekend.  I’m exhausted, but wanted to leave you with a little teaser.

The weekend was full of:

  • Waterfalls
  • Baboons
  • Hiking
  • Hot Springs
  • Broken Down Cars

I look forward to sharing this all with you hopefully by tomorrow.

Nairobi Weather

by JBKenyaPosted on One Comment

In case you were wondering, thought I’d share a little bit about the weather in Nairobi.  It’s actually quite nice right now.  Every day is just about the same with highs in the low 80s and lows around the low 60s.  Nairobi’s elevation is 5,450 which helps keep the temps down throughout the year as compared to other regions of Kenya.

It’s nearing a short rain season which means that it just kind of rains in the morning and now and then.  Pop up stuff.  It seems to help keep the air quality better.

As for air quality, seems ok generally, but the cars/buses here are horrible.

Kiswahili Lessons with Esther

by JBUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Ever since my first day (4 days ago), a group of us have been taking Swahili lessons in the morning for an hour.  Looks like we are planning on continuing this for the foreseeable future.  Definitely a way to wake up and rack the brain in the morning.  I can’t remember the last time I had homework either.

A couple phrases for you:

Karibu (care – ree – boo) – Welcome

Asante (ah – san – te) – Thank You

Kwa heri (kwah – hairy) – Good Bye

Keeping Busy

by JBWorkPosted on One Comment

Things are busy around the office.  I went on my first sales call today for one of the startups, Mpepea (Mmm – pey – pey – ah).  I am the mentor assigned primarily to Mpepea.  The business is designed to make it easy for people to get emergency micro loans via their mobile phones.  The technology uses Mpesa which allows people to pay for things using their phones.  No need to carry cash around.

The primary things we’re working on this week are financial models to prove viability to customers and investors and sales pitch materials to ensure consistency and quality in the sales.  And it’s my 3rd day.

I’m working with the founder, Daniel, every day to help drive business activities to get this in a place by December to show to investors.

That’s not all though, I’ve also started lending a hand to a couple of the other groups to help with brand development and website work.  Here’s the new logo for Manyatta Rent.

They are allowing people to pay for rent via their mobile phones thus saving them tons of time waiting in lines at the banks and having to then take a receipt to their landlords.  Hearing about the problem makes me happy that the U.S. has such a great postal service, checks can be trusted and we have online payments now.

Computers and internet are just too expensive here to make that really viable which is why these mobile solutions are so big.

Older Posts

by JBUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

I forgot to mention it, but I posted all of my old blog posts from Kenya (Part 1) and Namibia to this blog.  Feel free to peruse the archives for my previous experiences.

Life in Nairobi: For 2 Days

by JBImpressionsPosted on No Comments

Would it be bad if I said that I miss the Opuwo-style Africa?

I really can’t complain.  I have a pretty nice place (pictures will come soon), there is a pool outside, I have hot water, electricity is fairly consistent, work is right next door, wifi is at home and at work and there is a giant mall about 500 yards down the road.

I went shopping for the essentials today at Nakumatt and they had everything I could ask for and more.

I guess I figured it out.  I kind of miss the experience where THE store would run out of produce after one day. The simplicity that comes with living away from a large city.

I can’t really say I’m upset or unthrilled with my current situation; I really do like it a lot.  I guess I’m just being nostalgic.

 

My Phone is Working

by JBGeneralPosted on One Comment

If you need to reach me, and quickly, my phone number is +254 0722 118 066.  You can send me a text message using the same number and be sure to include the ‘+’.

You can also text me using jb@jbwoodruff.com if you have an iPhone and you’re using iMessage.

My First Day at the “Garage”

by JBUncategorizedPosted on 2 Comments

Not sure how I’d feel today, I actually woke up fairly well rested and ready to learn why I’m here.

Our office is literally next door to where I live on Ngong road which makes for a carefree commute; aka, no mutatus.

The day started with some Swahili lessons at 8:30. We’re going to be doing this every day for quite some time apparently. Not for any other reason than to learn the language because everyone at work speaks English. Should be fun though, I even had some homework tonight.

Next was me learning a bit about the various businesses that we are working with so thought I’d share some basic thoughts: rent payments via mobile phone, game development, mobile music downloads, dating site, emergency loans via mobile phone and online gambling. Not necessarily the most altruistic businesses, but most are very useful for a mobile dependent population.

Normal business days involve us starting at 9:30am with a group meeting and then it appears we’re pretty much doing work to help in any way we can. So far, most folks have paired with startup to provide some dedicated help.

Today I helped by doing some logo design and providing general advice for a couple of businesses. Tomorrow I begin working with Mpepea. Given my attentionally deficient behavior it should be nice to have a couple of projects to work on at a time.

My coworkers are mostly from Denmark and others being from England and the U.S.

I’ll leave you today with a couple of images from the office:

Renewed Hatred of Mosquitoes

by JBUncategorizedPosted on One Comment

The battle is on again. Not sure why, but these Kenyan mosies are loud. 4am and all I hear is bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Lights on. Dead mosie. Lights off. bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZ!!!! Lights on. Dead mosie. Lights off. Repeat. You get the picture. I’m buying a net today.

Getting Ready: I’ll admit, I was a little frazzled

by JBUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

So I had all day Saturday to get ready to go.  I was pretty much all packed, the weather was beautiful and I had a list of things.  So I got my run in, I had my delicious Qdoba burrito and I got to watch my Nittany Lions pull off a come back.  That all left me with approximately 30 minutes to actually pack and tie up all loose ends.

Being a Woodruff we tend to forget things.  Frankly, if I don’t forget something then I feel that I’m somehow doomed.  So what did I forget?

  • Didn’t put on deodorant for what was to be 16 hours in a plane and about 24 hours total travel time
  • Didn’t include my Reds baseball cap; now they’re definitely winning the World Series
  • My pumpkin pie.  I was so excited that I found one, but my burrito belly wouldn’t have any of it. It’s sitting on my living room table with one minor bite taken out of it.  So heads up folks, pumpkin for Christmas please.

Thank you to Shanna for taking me to the airport and helping to keep me calm. The past couple of days have been quite the emotional stress and I think it was harder this time around than when I was supposed to be gone for a year. I think it might have something to do with a cute blonde wife of mine. She’s the best.

New Blog

by JBUncategorizedPosted on One Comment

I’m starting up a new blog in order to write down my experiences while I’m back in Nairobi.  Yep, I’m headed back.  It’s been almost 5 years since I last headed off to Kenya with minimal expectations and plenty of excitement.

This time around I won’t be volunteering, but instead I’ll be working with 88mph as a business mentor.  The organization works as a startup accelerator for African run web and mobile businesses, targeting African markets.  That’s just about as much as I know at this point.

I leave October 6th and return in December.  I’ll keep you posted.

Coming Back…My Impressions…Clothing

by JBImpressionsPosted on No Comments

I thought I’d take some time and convey my feelings about coming back to the U.S. Tell some things I like and things I don’t. Just generally how I feel. So, without further ado, first topic is clothes as I happen to have some on today.

I can’t believe how soft my clothes are after I wash and dry them with machines. It’s like I’ve rediscovered soft. Hanging the clothes on the line was no big deal and they dried instantly in the dry air of Opuwo, but they always ended up being kind of crusty. It’s nice having them soft again. Time savings are obvious. Just throw them in and push a button. No more sore back from using my hands to wash my clothes one by one. Sure, it was kind of a relaxing activity, but it took a while. I would have to rinse them a dozen times to get the soap out…and that still didn’t quite do it.

So clothes. Much easier here.

Namibian Meals

by JBFoodPosted on No Comments

While I was in Opuwo I decided that I’d take a picture of every meal that I prepared. Why? Not really sure, but I figured it’d be cool to look back and see what I made and if I ever need any dinner ideas I’m set. I also think about food pretty much all the time so that might explain it a bit also. I mean, I’m thinking about my next meal even before I’m done with the current one. I had a bunch more pictures but they were casualties to the hd failure I experienced in Windhoek airport…nice parting gift I thought. Well, without further ado, here are a collection of 20 meals that I prepared and will give you a better idea of how and what I ate.

Traveling to Chobe/Muchenge

by JBTravelPosted on No Comments

Following our stay at Xakanaxa we were again to hop onto the Cessna and make our way to the Chobe national park. We quickly learned that it was 3 flights this time to our final destination. 15, 20 and 40 minutes. Fun fun. Things started great and I was enjoying the elephant viewing from above. Take off, landing, take off, landing, take off…ok…can we get there already? In my infinite wisdom I started watching some ‘Scrubs’ on my ipod on the last flight…I get deathly sick. You see…I get really bad motion sickness and these Cessnas, well, they move a lot in the air. I spend the next 30 minutes trying not to throw up on the people in front of me. Focus on the horizon…that was a big bump…i wonder if anyone else is sick…I’m not moving to find out…stay still and it will be over soon. I made it without seeing breakfast, but this was not fun.

Xakanaxa

by JBBotswana, TravelPosted on No Comments

Our arrival at Xakanaxa presented us with a nice reception from Flo, the usual arrival drink, apple juice this time, and the awareness that at night we are not to go walking around alone due to hippo danger…sweet. A lunch of meat loaf was delicious and my upset belly was not enough to keep me from housing this plate of food. We were showed the fully stocked bar and coolers that are self-service and all we could drink…could you repeat that?…all we can drink. Deal.

We are taken to our tents which are basically awesome big tents with hardwood flooring and king size beds. The picture gives you a better idea than I could ever paint for you. I’m very happy.

Our stay at Xakanaxa would be filled with morning and evening game drives, about 4 hours each and midday break to have some food and relax by the pool. I believe I was one of the few to enjoy the pool time. The drink coolers were great. The food was always amazing. The other guests and staff turned out to be always friendly and full of great stories. This is the place to go if you want to interact with people who have great stories and are from all around the world. The animals we saw were what you’d expect and was more natural than say Etosha. We had nightly visits from hippos around our tents. Elephants would invade the campsite despite the electric fences. It’s a wild place and you are reminded all the time…it’s great. Go here if you can.

Next stop was Chobe national park.