A Day at the University of Nairobi

We got the chance to head over to the University of Nairobi today to tour the campus and see if it would be possible to send MIT students here for a summer course similar to the one currently held at Strathmore University. We had several of our students who are from the university show us around. Derick and Eric met us in town, and we headed over to Debinairs and ate pizza, which was a buy one get one free day. we ordered like 10 pizzas for seven people. we finished everthing but one whole pizza, and saved it to go. We ended up giving it to one of the instructors at the university who we saw as we were walking up to the school of computing. i must say the campus was very beautiful. palm trees, open space, fresh air. i hope AITI decides to come here next summer. it would be really great for the students here to get the opportunity to work on mobile applications. we had a meeting with the head of the computer science department, and had our students talk about their experience so far.

i myself got to chat with derick and eric somemore. it was great finding out how the education system here in kenya works. i guess you can say similar to China: one national exam everyone takes, and depending on how you score, it will determine which universities you are eligible of attending. u. of n. is a great university, obviously from the students we got this year. it was just so much fun chatting with these guys....i'm starting to already miss them already. i wish we could have just hung out at least once a week, but i guess we were too busy, and wanted to keep it a professional relationship during the course.

after our stay at the university, we headed over to fly540 a couple of blocks down to pay for our airflights after the program. we'll be doing some traveling for two weeks after the program is finished, a well earned break if i must say before heading back home and school. zach wanted to get a haircut, and in the end i decided to get one too. glad i did...i look HOT! haha j/k. no but seriously, i look much better than before with my chinese afro! afro's are just not my style. Will, you'll be glad to know i look like my old self again....i didn't cut it short...just the way you like it. haha.

oh, and the weirdest coincidence.....as we were waiting to get a matatu into town, a car pulled up by us...and michelle recognized the driver. he was a recent graduate, class of 2009, yup, from MIT!!! it was so weird. really small world. his name was Gee, course 6, born in Rwanda. He offered us a ride into town, and so we squished into his little car...all five of us. four guys in the back....lovely. mike was touching me in all the wrong places the whole trip...haha, it was good. got really close with the boys...literally.

so yeah, went to town, bought our certificate paper, and headed home. we're going out tonight with john the driver, who drives us to school every morning and drops us home every afternoon. great guy...super nice. can't wait to hang with him.

that's about it for now. loving my new haircut by the way!