Flashback: Homerun

14./15. July 2014:

After having trouble by leaving the kenyan country my friend Nina and I were glad ordering our first beer as soon as the plane was up in the air.
The vanishing citylights of Nairobi suddenly reminded me that this should be the last view of my beloved country for quite some time.
Of course I felt down like I've barely done before, but then it came...the flush of excitement and happiness of returning to Germany.

By the time we got out of the airport everyone was around, especially the good weather! However the first one waiting was one of my best friends Martin. Standing there with some self-made swabian potatoe salad (my favorite dish *____*).
Then everyone came; my brother, my parents, my tata/auntie Koi, Nina's parents.

At home everything was prepared as if the queen would visit.
Have a look yourself....

There was everything (I didn't even know) I had missed; a variety of cheese & ham, different types of bread, buns, pretzels, potatoe salad, cakes&muffins, sparkling wine, self-made jams, apples, sausages, cream/cheese, olives  -    e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

Later on a few more friends and relatives came to welcome me.

The occasion was just WOW! I felt so flattered and happy.

At this point I wanna thank everyone, who made my/our returnee so unbelievably amazing!

I would have never dreamt of such a loving and perfect coming back home...

BREAK

How did life go on then? What happened was.... normal stressful german life.
Let me tell you one thing. This time I never got a cultural shock, since I was expecting and prepared for the differencies.
So life just went on as if I've never been away.

With one distinction: Time pressure.
At home in Reutlingen I just had 1 1/2 weeks to set up everything: Earn pocket money, see all my friends and look for a place to stay contemporary in Berlin.

In the beginning it was planned that I should move to Berlin in September, not July.
Surprisingly I received a letter from the uni I applied for in Berlin, where they were offering me a vacancy in a privileged advance maths course.

Immediately after I had caught some sleep I started working, partying and organising.

This is what we call Afrika Festival in Germany. It's always like a small holiday going there to sell my mum's sauces. With all the african music, people and food <3 Love it! Amazing atmosphere...

 some more work.... Labeling jars, helping to prepare cooking classes, playing the gofer and driver.

Since mankind can't work 24/7 I also took time for my grandma and friends...

Oma/grandmother showing me how to bake apple cake... hmmm!

having some spontanious BBQ in the park

That's one of the things I had missed most during my stay in Kenya.

The freedom we have here in Germany.

I mean like the freedom of security and autonomy!

It's very enjoyable walking with your beer in one hand and the cigarette in the other through town - alone, as a chic.

Or taking the nightbus at 3 am without having to have fears.

Wear what you like! What kenyans call miniskirts are normal here.

What miniskirts are here probably is underwear in Kenya.

Food is available 24/7 even if you have to call the delivery service at night.

..........

Last but not least

Chillin' in the park, peacefully.

Construction Works

My dearest readers,

Now the time has come I got used to my new home.
From near Stuttgart I moved all the way to Berlin,
which is like 520km of air distance.

The whole moving-out-from-home-thing was quite a bit of action:
Finding a flat with cool people, getting into uni, making new friends, trying not to "over-party" - managing money and life on my own.
Yeah it's very exciting to feel independent and almost like an adult.
It feels like I'm growing out of a pair of old shoes. ;D

the first flat where I lived with my kenyan cuzo..
that's the charme of Berlin

So I decided to keep my blog, especially for my kenyan/international followers.
There's extremely much to tell about life back here in Germany and especially a crazy city like Berlin.




My blog from now on will show things from the other point of view. 
It's not about seeing Kenya as a german anymore, it's about seeing Germany as a kenyan.


Right now I'm busy with updating the layouts and thinking about a new structure.
I may ask you not to wonder if this website will look a bit disorganised and unfinished the next days/weeks.

Building progress...
However I can't wait to write about the million things I've already seen and experienced the last three months!

let the good times roll!
Here we cooomee

Cheers,

Imani 

Bye's & Hi's - FINAL Blogspot

This is my final blogpost.

The last post I am publishing on kenyan ground.

Almost 10 months in Kenya are over. Just gone. Part of the past.
Of course I knew and everybody else knew the day of departure would come.
And all over sudden it HAS come!
Once again I realize: Time never stops.

However if there is one thing I've learned in the past months then it is saying good-bye.
Once you have shared a room with over 15 different people, you have to get used to "hello's" and "good-bye's". It is not easy at all being left behind. Again. And again. And again.
Even though I wouldn't regret the experiences I've gained.

I've learned how to cope with all kind of people. About their behaviors, point of views and how Kenya appears to them, when they visit for the first time.
It had something of a small psychology study.



Now it's me to leave everyone here behind. 
The children of Heritage, my family and relatives and my friends.


The ten months of staying in Kenya were the most precious time I could have had.

For me it was coming home, knowing I'll have my entire social life already in and around Nairobi.

My peace is here. 

Finding myself meant for me getting to know my roots.

Now after staying for quite some time I got to know myself even better.

I know now that my positivity comes from my beloved grandmother (Cucu in Kiswahili). She's the jolliest and most ironic woman I've ever met. Except she's lacking food haha.
She concludes her small speech with: "This is all I know. ..... NOTHING!"


My Guka (grandfather) loves the sun!


He can't do a lot since he got Alzheimer's a very long time ago.
BUT if there's just the sliiiightest stroke of sunlight you'll see him carrying his chair outside to catch every bit of it. Once he's in the sun he can stay there. For the rest of the day. Nothing more afforded.

Now it makes sense where I got my sun addiction from. I swear it's in the genes!

When I came here I thought I might be having a lot of work, a full schedule. Because I came to do voluntary WORK. In the end I can say the 10 months have been more of an amazing holiday instead!

There were people telling me I've wasted life time. I should have gone straight to university instead of blowing my parents money for having fun.

It is not true.

The ten months made me grow older, at least a few years. Because if you soak all the impressions and information like a sponge, if you open your mind to be objective and add your own thoughts you gain...you gain a lot.
To the complex picture of Africa, the world, life and myself more and more jigsaws were added.
Things are getting clearer and I would lie if I'd say I didn't discover the one or other secret of life.
At least I know now my quintessences to coping with myself.
Even though my mind has grown older - and hell yeah, I have changed! - I am still a child.
Thanks to the fun and the bright side of life I've stayed a child from the bottom of my soul.
That's how it's supposed to be I guess...

So this is the point I should give thanks to all my people, who made this vacation unforgetable.



My parents I can never thank enough! And I really hope they know how much I appreciate the things they do. Before I never got to think that we might be "a perfect family", but now when I look back I see exactly this! The way they raised me, the love and advice they give me is almost always right.
 Now it's time for me to make use of the education they gave me and get self responsible.

For me it is the right time to regret all the lies and trouble I gave my parents.
I'm sorry for the mistakes I did and I feel blessed knowing my parents know how to forgive.
When I was a small girl I told my mother: "In case I get rich one day I'll buy you a golden gravestone".
Nowadays I know, even if I get rich one day there's no way I can equally pay back my parents what they've done for me. Especially not in money.
Again I can just say, dad, mum I love you.
You are the most inspiring people in my life.

Same goes for my big brother Felix. Even though we are quite different we are getting closer and closer the older we get. He has always been my role model, a good one! Without him I wouldn't even know what Hip Hop is >.< I know I can count on him at any time of the day or the night.
If my dad fails to teach me maths my brother comes all the way to dry my tears and have another creative try to help me out of the maths-desperation.
Felix we'll be coming to Kenya in October and I would really love if he'd write a guestpost about his experiences.

When you start giving thanks it can go on and on. Let me keep it brief. 

Last but not least I want to tell my big family and relatives here in Kenya a huuuuge thank you! They treat and take care of me as their own daughter. I know I always find an open door/ear, a towel and a toothbrush wherever I go. 
Family is so precious, especially when they stick together.

Oh and I shouldn't forget my friends, who I'll miss very much.
You are just amazing people! The spice of life.
Thanks for the good and bad times we've gone through!

And a big thanks to my best friend Nina, who came all the way from Germany to stay with me here for the 5 remaining weeks.
I still think she came to pick me to make sure that I'll come back home! ;) 

In the beginning I was planning just to have this blog for the time being here in Kenya.
But now I have so many people in Kenya, who might be interested about life in Germany.
It may be interesting to see all the changes in life.
So I'll continue blogging, no matter if you want it or not.



For now, I will close the chapter Kenya.

Not forever.
But for now.

Beautiful Places - Beautiful Faces! LAKE NAIVASHA

LAKE NAIVASHA

.....with Natascha!

The last station of my traveling vacation was Lake Naivasha!
Another volunteer, called Natascha, decided to join my stay there.

So we met in Naivasha and went looking for a camp to stay over for the weekend. 

Unfortunately most of the camps were booked out. By the time we found a place to spend the night it was extremely dark and we were tired... 

We had expected to cook for ourselves in the Banda. We had bought everything for cooking for three days!

Haha, nothing!

No kitchen, no fire place, no jiko (small fire-place using charcoal).

And once more I discovered kenyan hospitality!
The caretakers of the place offered us to use the kitchens of the expensive cottages.

We were delighted!

Love the people... <3

our banda :)

Even though there was no one else but us on the camping site it was still a very enjoyable there! 

And peaaaaceful...

However the reason why I/we wanted to visit Lake Naivasha was to visit Hell's Gate National Park.

It is the only national park in Kenya where you can move freely around.

Either by car, bike or foot. 

There are (of course) no lions, but so many other things to see!

I really recommend Hell's Gate to all the adventurous friends of nature!

Why? Just look at this view! 

The way mother nature shaped and "designed" the whole environment is breath-taking.

 It looks like a paradise to people, who love to do rock-climbing.

It was too much fun to get off the bike, whenever you felt like.

Take your time and better take a guide.

Natascha and me made the two mistakes of going entering the national park a bit late and refusing to take a guide.

Of course - we got lost. Soooo lost.

Even we followed all the signs, which were supposed to take us to the stalactite-cave and the nature-spa.

Instead of reaching there we biked through the middle of nowhere!

We wasted a lot of our very precious time and energy.

Buuuut it was still an unforgetable experience.

btw I love zebras ;P

and nyani's (monkeys) :D

I will go back to Hell's Gate National Park next time I'm in Kenya.

By then I should have some kind of kenyan identity so I won't be charged as a f***ing tourist.

Because that's not what I am :(

 Oh and next time I'll be in Naivasha I want to visit the flowerfarms, which doesn't seem as easy as it looks...
One of kenyas most exported goods are flowers! Most of them are grown around Lake Naivasha.

Did you know that each rosebush needs ~5 litres water daily? Isn't that way too much? Not even us guys drink that much?!
This blooming business is the reason why some people, especially farmers, only have restricted access to water...water they really need...

And then? Did you know that the flowers, which get harvested in the morning in Naivasha, Kenya are already on the international auctions in Europe in the afternoon?

Of course it's a good income and economical plus for this country..
But seriously? Personally I boycott this roses for 1,99€ from that far. 
It's a waste of ressources and the environment. It even hurts if you start thinking about it!

If you ever plan to make me happy with flowers, don't buy the ones from the other side of the world.
You better pluck your own flowerbundle.
This are things, which will definitely put a smile on my face! 

This was the end of my short & flattering holiday...

All the places have been seen.

All the stories are told.

All the impressions made.

But there'll always be a next time!