This is what I saw as I ran:
>the green banana and acacia trees sharing their shade with me from the light sun;

>the butcher plopping down two giant bull heads into a wheel barrow spilling over with blood;

>chickens bobbing their heads up and down as they cross my path (accompanied by the rooster who is probably responsible for my annoying 4am wake up calls);

>the sound of gospel music waving from behind bars of the mud walled shopette;

>barefoot children excited to see a foreigner near their home greet me with a respectful “Shikamo” and then giggle to each other;

>Massai men in a crimson and purple wrap with beaded headbands and bracelets carrying a stick headed to town;

>well dressed ladies balancing buckets on their heads after just coming from the water pump;

>40 men from the local security company running in exact lines for morning calisthenics (not to be shown up, I ran faster);

>the most beautiful red and yellow flowers and plants you can imagine lining the road;

>overstuffed taxi vans decorated with silly names and colorful stickers polluting heavily;

>buses full of people headed to a factory for work;

>a lady sweeping the ground where a market full of onions, potatoes, tomatoes and carrots will soon appear.

But the best part of the morning was this:

I heard the sloshing of a backpack and patter of little feet behind me. I slowed my run to turn around and discover the shy smile of a little girl dressed in her green school uniform with black and white striped knee-high socks. She was carrying a homemade hand broom to dust off her seat on the floor at school later and an empty plastic container to collect milk at the market for her family after school.

At first, I thought it was sweet that one little girl wanted to jog with me (she said nothing and very carefully stayed just behind me by a few steps). Then, we continued to run and pass other children on their way to school, so they also joined in the jog behind me.

The next thing you know, I had a tail of over 12 kids in green school uniforms running behind me. What a sight! I could not stop laughing. It would be great inspiration if they came to hike Kilimanjaro with me, too!