In Bloom

Ah, Kenya. The land where there are no crosswalks and red lights and car lanes are optional. Forget assaults, beatings, kidnappings - the biggest danger in Nairobi, by far, is getting hit by a car. Or more likely a matatu, which is a banged-up minivan used as a taxi that fits about, oh, twenty-five people, and the driver always speeds like he's just escaped from prison. Makes crossing the street quite an adventure and probably takes a couple years off my life every time. Choking on the polluted air, that's another danger. Needless to say, both of these factors make spending time outside rather tricky, which is a shame because October is a beautiful month to be here - it's springtime and the weather is mild and the flowers are in full bloom and the colors are gorgeous at sunset.

Aside from the occasional hiccup things are going well - I have an office at the museum with plenty of lab space, which means that I can work after hours and go in on the weekend. The work is going exceptionally well - have some interesting fossils and am reminded why I fell in love with paleoanthropology in the first place. I've been working long hours and am considering extending my stay here by a week as there is quite a bit of material and my plans for South Africa seem like they're getting a bit complicated. And complicated is the last thing I want right now.