Dairy Queen!?

Today I took a haul to the local mall, bushwhacked hair and all, to meet a friend in the lunch hall- of Dairy Queen! I had mentioned previously that I had yet to see any American food chain, so I was uber-stoked to check it out (in the lingo of my 16 year sis). As I opened the menu and scanned the dessert section for the various Blizzard flavors, the waiter came over without the little hats they always wear: my first hint that something was awry. To my horror there were no Blizzards to speak of, and upon inquiry all I got was a quizzical look and a hesitant finger pointing to the milkshake section. Needless to say, I didn’t settle for less and went with a chicken sandwich- a heavily-mayonnaised salad with shredded meat of some sort smashed between matza bread. No longer do I wonder why there are no American chains here.

My experience did not ruin lunch, however, as I had a wonderful time with my friend, Hannah Ndung’u. She is a Kenyan who I met at DCPC in Davidson, NC, when she visited the church. She works for ADRA (Adventist Development & Relief Agency) in Somalia, although she is based out of Nairobi due to the security situation. In two weeks she is going to Somalia to scope out a project involving drilling water wells for different communities, as potable water is a problem there. Without a government to work with, she has to negotiate between the various clan elders who now control different sections of Somalia. It sounded very fascinating and I was so close to asking if I could go, but that would have been rude in Kenyan standards and I’d prefer my mother’s blood pressure to remain low.

Other events (oddities) of the day:
- In a sporting goods store I found field hockey sticks; apparently a very popular sport among the Indians and Pakistanis in the area (men)
- I found a local market near our apartment with used books, DVDs and other essentials like produce
- Investigating a small gathering of men I saw a man being carried from a moped to a car to be taken to the hospital. I noticed a red popsicle by his calf tucked into his shoe, and only later after the hand motions of another spectator did I realize it was his bone.
- I nearly got my camera taken away today not by a thief but by a security guard for taking a picture of statue- apparently Kenya has their own Homeland Security