Off to Kenya

After I got back from holidays in the US, it was time to go to Kenya for work. Although we did do a lot of work in Kenya, we also had a very nice time.

Kenyans are still pretty into Obama (see top left, the sticker inside a taxi we took). I heard it was much more pronounced around the election, but it's still a big topic of conversation. Also, you see people wearing (and selling) Obama shirts, lots of cars with Obama bumper stickers, etc.

The place where we gave the workshop, at Lake Naivasha, was absolutely gorgeous. Here, you can see one of our giraffe friends wandering around.

This is Lake Naivasha. It's a bit hard to make out in this picture, but the photo shows a cart next to a pier that leads to the lake. Due to flower farming in the area, and a lack of rain, the water level in the lake has fallen dramatically, and they keep having the extend the pier.

The cart itself is actually quite ironic - every morning and evening, they hitch a donkey to the cart to bring it to and from the lake. What does it carry? An engine, for the tour boat that goes out on the lake. Nothing like modernity to get you donkey carts hauling engines...

This is one of the naughty monkeys that came into our conference room and stole candy off the tables. They really like to get into trouble. They are also not at all afraid of people, though still not terribly friendly. This little one was sitting on my balcony railing, less than an arm's length away.

Mid-week, we played a soccer match against the hotel staff (when I say "we," I mean the workshop participants...). It was great fun, and thanks to the staff lending us some star players, the game ended in a draw, 2-2. I think my cheering helped a lot.

This is our workshop room, and on the left, the coffee break tent. It was a brilliant place to give a workshop, except that in the middle of the day the sun beat on the stone building, causing it to become extremely hot. And monkeys stole our candy. Other than that, it was perfect!