Category Archives: Travel

Maasai Market

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Today, I visited Maasai Market in Nairobi and was pretty overwhelmed.  The bright colors everywhere are what immediately catch your attention and the range of product is immense.  There is handmade jewelry, baskets, bags, clothes, wooden kitchen utensils and much more.  However, the place is covered in “brokers” who take you around and tell you ridiculous prices for everything.  One tried selling me an item for 15000 KSH and I easily talked him down to 1500 KSH.  The brokers at the market have some pretty unique marketing tactics too, one told me that a particular piece I was looking at was so special it could be put in a museum when I was finished with it.  Luckily, I am a hard bargainer and got some great deals (I think?).  I left feeling pretty exhausted from all the bargaining and intense badgering.  Be warned: Maasai Market is not the place to go for leisure shopping.

Hope I can fit all the goods in my suitcase on the way home!

xoxo

-s

Kikoys from Mombasa

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Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful coast of Kenya-Diani Beach, Mombasa.  I got a chance to get out of the city with some truly genuine people and found what has become one of my favorite Kenya souvenirs-the kikoy.  They can be used as a sarong, wrap, head cover, towel, scarf, blanket or really anything you want.  For awhile, I was accidentally calling them kiokos, which incidentally is a common African last name and was causing a lot of confusion when I was asking the women on the beach if they were selling Kiokos….

Several of the kikoys I bought at Diani Beach

Kikoys can be bought for about 500 ksh (roughly $6.50) with some bargaining.  The ones that I especially love with towels sewn on one side (shown in photo above-purple stripe one side, solid purple towel other) can be bought for about 900 ksh (roughly $10.50) with some serious bargaining.  One late afternoon on the beach, on the suggestion of my new friend, Philip, I took a picture of the women who sell the kikoys leaving after a days work.

I think this picture is really beautiful.
Thank you for the kikoys, women of Kenya.

I am planning another trip to the coast in November, it is safe to say I will be on the lookout for more kikoys.

xoxo

-s

Developing a Taste for Coffee

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I have been a regular coffee drinker for almost seven years.  The year I got my drivers license, I cruised through coffee stands ordering lattes like I had been doing it for years.  I drank lattes all through high school, but when I got to college my budget shifted and I needed a cheaper drink.  I switched to americanos and drip coffees with milk added.  Still, I think I never have devolved a real taste for distinguishing the difference between blends and roasts.  One of the quality specialist at Dormans Coffee has challenged me to develop this taste.  Each day, when they are quality testing, (called cupping) he calls me to come  taste the coffee too.  Today, I tried our Espresso and Suprema blends side-by-side and then the dark vs. medium roast Suprema blend.  He tells me that before I leave he is going to test me with all of the coffees (thirteen blends in all) and have me guess which is which.

Hope I am up for the challenge!

xoxo

-s

Chai on my mind

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What’s not to love about a great chai tea?  Most coffee shops make chai tea with similar ingredients, one specifically-chai concentrate.  Chai concentrate makes for creating a delicious chai tea quickly.  It contains a blend of teas accented with sweet cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and vanilla.  After it is combined with steamed milk, it creates a hard to beat combination-or so I thought.

Here in Kenya, they make their chai just a little differently.  It seems to be a staple throughout the country.  Dormans Coffee for one, provides chai tea for a morning and afternoon teatime every day for all employees.  It is made in massive amounts and no one misses it when teatime rolls around.

Although chai concentrate makes a killer chai, I personally believe the fresher the better.  If you want to try the Kenyan way at home, check out this recipe (this is a large batch and from one of the amazing women who makes it at Dormans):

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups water
  • 7 teaspoons tea leaves (or five bags)  black tea
  • 6 cups milk
  • 10-15 teaspoons sugar (to taste)

Directions:

  1. Heat together water and tea leaves in a saucepan.
  2. Boil 10 minutes and add milk.  Heat to near boiling.
  3. Strain leaves.
  4. Add sugar to taste.

Teatime Chai at Dormans

Maybe you can drink  it with the  Chai Shortbread Cookies with Pink Salt recipe H recently posted.

xoxo

-s

Giraffe Life

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Yesterday I went to a place just outside Nairobi called the Giraffe Center.  It was a beautiful place with many giraffes roaming around to see.  If you google “Giraffe Center”, you will find many pictures of people’s up close and personal contact with the giraffes.  I admit, after doing some research and seeing pictures of people getting their faces licked by giraffes, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get that same opportunity.  There were a lot of people there, so the giraffes needed a lot of coaxing to come close.  Although I didn’t get my face licked, I did get to feed a 7 month old giraffe named Abraham.  It was pretty amazing being so close to these creatures, I think they are truly amazing.

Feeding Abraham

Beautiful area for the giraffes to roam

There were warthogs too, but they aren’t quite as breathtaking as the giraffes…

I love this picture with the shadow of the giraffe

xoxo

-s

 

 

 

Being the New Girl

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I started work here in Kenya on Monday and am already learning so much about the coffee industry.  Like all new jobs, the first week starts the same; meeting, greeting and following.  It’s always overwhelming to meet so many people at once and remember their names.  In the meantime, you get shown around and fed with a firehouse of information which you try you’re hardest to retain as fast as possible.  The facility that I will be working in is incredible and I want to bring in my camera to take pictures soon.

I have already started working on some process flows for the roasting and packaging areas and look forward to what else there is to come for me while here.

Changes

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As H mentioned, I have ventured to Nairobi, Kenya.  I arrived just a few hours ago and the current time is 1:35am.  The thirty hours of traveling and ten hour time change has left me severely jet-lagged and unable to sleep.

This year has brought a lot of change for me.  I think that if you would have asked me this time last year what I was going to do after graduation, I never would have said moving to Kenya for the Fall.  This opportunity sprung on me, so I took it.  Unaware that when the time came to actually go, I would be shaking in my boots.  I can tell you that four hours into my three month stay I have felt an array of things; mostly scared and lonely, but also very excited.

I will keep everyone updated, especially when I see this place in the daylight.

xoxo

-s

Tuesday….Newsday

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I’ve been brainstorming what kind of shoes I’m lusting for for the past couple of days, and although there are several pairs, I thought that it would be more fitting to share some exciting news. So today instead of Shoesday, I’m here with Newsday. Tomorrow, Sarah will be leaving for perhaps her greatest adventure to date. She will be embarking on the internship of a lifetime in Kenya working for a coffee company.

I know that there is some lingering nervousness paired with excitement that she is feeling right now. I think that anyone who has made a decision that is new, knows that feeling in the pit of your stomach. There is always the fear of the “what ifs” but traveling is the best way to learn a lot about how you handle those moments of unknown. I’m so proud of how far S has come in the past year and how she has grown and developed professionally. I can’t say how jealous I am that she is taking advantage of this opportunity. S will update on her 3 month long adventure here on 1000 Wonderful Things. I can’t wait to read her posts.

“You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.” ~ Ella Maillart

xx

h