Out of Africa

We finished our assignment in Kenya on Friday afternoon and started our journey back already the same evening. We had a few hours to spend before the flight, so Gerald and Stefano went to one of the rescue centers to spend some time with the kids, while Ruslana, Eva and I wanted to see the Karen Blixen museum. Karen Blixen, who is one of the most famous Danish writers, spent a good part of her life in Kenya. You may have seen her in the movie 'Out of Africa' which is about her life in Africa. She had a farm at the foot of Ngong hills and today that whole area - the south west outskirts of Nairobi - is simply called Karen.

Eva and Ruslana are tough negotiators and decisive women, so since they could not agree with the taxi driver on a proper price for our trip to the Karen Blixen house they decided that we should go by Matatu. Matatus are small jam-packed vans that the locals use to get around. They are very inexpensive, but in terms of comfort and security they leave a lot room for improvement. The ride was an interesting experience and we eventually made it to our destination, or so we thought. Instead of being in the museum, we had ended up in Karen Blixen's house, which had been turned into a restaurant and coffee bar. It was too late to try to get to the museum, so instead we sat down and enjoyed a good Kenyan coffe and the biggest slices of chocolate cake I have ever seen.

Less than 24 hours later I was attending my Grandmas funeral in Denmark. A lot of people had showed up and the whole family was there. Although it was no fun to carry the coffin out then I still felt that I had been through the worst when I had visited her in the hospital the week before. I had said my goodbye and now we were 'just' completing the journey with her. She left with dignity and in the evening the whole extended family gathered for dinner at my uncle and aunt's place, so for one last time - as countless times before - she managed to bring us all together.

Thorsten