Being in Africa isn’t as far sounding as it seems. There are many things similar to life on Kauai. The plants and flowers that they have around are the same ones that we have growing at home. There are spider lilies right out side of our hotel rooms. Driving outside of the cities, you see lots of empty plains, farmland and little houses with low lying mountains in the background, much like driving on the west side.

Many of the public bathrooms are on the same level as restrooms at Haiena beach park and Kalapaki bay. And if it so happens that on our long drives we need to pull over and squat, hey man, Kauai style. There hasn’t been anyone that grew up there who didn’t have to go in the bushes.

Driving by one of the lookouts over the Rift Valley on our way to Nakuru, I couldn’t help think of Hanalei’s taro fields and the river. The worst roads are no dustier or bumpier then some of the dirt roads we have at home. At least here there’s no red dirt! The sun is hot like our sun, but the air is much cooler and dryer than the humidity we have at home.

The children here are just as beautiful and happy as the keiki at home. They all stick together in their communities and look out for one another. I thought that it would be hard to see these children, many barefoot with ragged clothing and flies flying all around, but they are healthy, and smart.

On Kauai, it is not unusual to see chickens, cats, dogs, nene geese and horses wandering on the side of the road. Here, it is not unusual to see chicken either, though the chickens and roosters here are twice or three times as large as the ones at home, if you could even imagine. There are also cows, goats and sheep grazing along side the road.Also it is not out of the ordinary to see giraffes, impalas or zebras just enjoying the afternoon sun right in your backyard.