A few closing thoughts...

I've been back home for just under two weeks, which is hard to believe. I jumped back into the shift-work scene all too quickly, which I soon learned to regret. Don't get me wrong, I do love my job, but it was a bit of a shock to the system to face the music only 3 and a half days after getting back to London (I only have myself to blame, I'm afraid). I can't honestly say there haven't been a few 'meltdown' moments, and I basically feel very much like the Grinch most of the time, but besides that I suppose I'm learning to adjust a little more each day. I thought it would be really wonderful to be back in good ol' Canada, but as it happens I just really miss what my life looked like for the past four months. I'd like to think my priorities (and certainly my view of the world) have shifted significantly over the past couple of months.

Stepping out of one's comfortable, safe little existence and into something strange and new (and, might I add, risky) is an invaluable experience. Walking a mile or two in the shoes of another teaches you not only about what life is like for others, but it also teaches you a great deal about yourself; your character, namely. But what matters most is not what you saw or what you did there, but rather what you DO with such an experience. If it holds no lasting bearing, no true meaning that lives on, then what will have been the point? And so this is the question that I am faced with every moment of every day. I only hope that it won't wear off, and that I'll make all of this matter somehow, someday....

Here comes goodbye...

I can't believe we're leaving Nairobi tonight, and boarding some jumbo jet to fly in the sky across countless miles of land and vast oceans. It's all a little (ok, A LOT) surreal. Jenny and I have had an eventful couple of days getting back to Nairobi (long story, but no worries - we arrived in one piece if not slightly less sane than when we left Kampala. hehe). We've both said our goodbyes to our respective projects, and are trying to adjust to the fact that we'll be back in the land of snow, organization and responsibility (oh, and did I mention safety? :D) in just over a day. Insane. There are a lot of thoughts running through our minds, the predominant one being disbelief that this trip is coming to a close. We've certainly learned a lot over these past few months. I'll probably sit down with paper and pen and write some reflective thoughts in the next few hours, but for now this is it, I'm afraid. Until later!

Tick...tick....tick....

"Time flies when you're having fun"... or something like that. Haha. I can't believe I've been on this continent for 3 months now. Craziness! In just a couple of weeks I'll be back to the land of schedules and snow, which is a little bittersweet. I can't honestly say that this experience has been enjoyable every step of the way, but has it been worth it? Absolutely.

It would seem that my camera has picked up a virus on one of the computers I've used somewhere along the way, so it looks as though I won't be able to upload photos after all. Let's hope my memory card hasn't been affected. Hmm.

The main project I've been focusing on this week has been trying to connect power at the small clinic I've been working at (it's not exactly in the patient's best interest to receive an injection while the nurse is trying to work by flashlight or candlelight). This, like everything else, seems to be a bit of a process. Well, a lot, actually. Yesterday the electrician and surveyor came by to assess the situation and start wiring a few things, which looked promising. Today, however, we spent all day waiting for a guy from the electrical company to bring us the agreement that we then have to sign and then take to the office in town for processing, before they proceed further. He ended up never showing up, as the man he was supposed to consult prior to coming to us was away from the office, in the field (all too typical, I'm afraid). And so, the plan is to meet with him tomorrow morning....but, of course, this could all change. In my mind it's not a very complex issue to resolve - you pay for a service, the responsible individual carries out whatever necessary task, and the job is done. But such is not the case here. It's a process, always. Negotiate, talk some more, renegociate... Time is certainly not held is such high esteem as I'm used to, and for an impatient individual like myself it can be a bit...umm..challenging :-) Ah well. I'm hoping to see the lights come on before I leave, but time will tell.

I don't think I've written much about the food on this blog, so perhaps it's about time I did. The typical Ugandan diet is basically entirely comprised of starches; filling, but not exactly a balanced diet. The kids eat a lot of beans and posho (which looks like mashed potatoes, but is made of maize flour and is very bland in flavour), mainly because they're the cheapest foods to prepare in large quantities. Most people survive off either matoke (a certain variety of green bananas that are boiled and served in a similar manner to pototoes), posho, beans, rice, sweet potatoes, or(occasionally) Irish potatoes, and sometimes accompanied by a bit of kale/cabbage or meat of some variety or another (which, if you've ever visited a butchery around here, you may choose to pass on. Haha).

Not too much other news, I suppose. I keep myself pretty busy most days, which is sometimes challenging as I can't seem to get a solid night's sleep (partly due to the antimalarials I'm taking, partly due to the fact that I'm a pathetically light sleeper at the best of times). Meh. I'll try to update again with a bit more interesting news in the coming days...

Back to the southern hemisphere...just for a couple of days, though

I'm currently in Nyendo, which is just outside of Masaka, visiting Jenny and seeing what she's been up to these past few weeks. It was nice to get away for a few days and just catch up (while doing nothing related to volunteering, which was a necessary break for us both). That said, it's been great to be surrounded by laughing children again, even though the ones at this children's home speak VERY little english, so that always poses a bit of a challenge :-)

I was hoping to post a few pictures, but it looks as though that will have to wait another couple of days, probably when I'm heading back through Kampala to Jinja...but who knows. The whole uploading situation has been pretty unpredictable, so...no promises!

I can hardly believe that there are now less than three weeks before flying home. A couple of days ago I would have said that was forever, but now it seems too short. This trip has had its share of challenges, to be sure. But I wouldn't change it for the world.

Ugh...so many thoughts bouncing around in my head tonight. But I'll have to save them for another time, probably in a couple of days....(to be continued :-) ...... )

Entebbe...green, traquil...Brilliant!

After spending a couple of days in a very noisy part of Kampala (the perks of budget travel), we made our way to Entebbe, which is a quiet little city just off Lake Victoria. It used to be the capital years ago, so is clean and organized, but doesn't have the chaotic, crowded feel that Kampala does, so escaping there for a couple of days has been really nice. It being rainy season, the vegetation is particularly green and beautiful. We even got to camp outside in a tent for a couple of nights - what a treat! :) (and remarkably, we stayed dry despite the torrential downpours!!)

Sadly, we're now back in noisy Kampala, where we'll stay the night, and from here head out to Masaka tomorrow. The plan is to spend a couple of days with Jenny at her project, before heading back to STAO until the end of November. These past few days have been a wonderful escape from the sometimes chaotic pace of volunteering, but I do miss the kids and am looking forward to spending a couple more weeks with them.

Anywho, I hope to post a few photos in the next couple of days, if at all possible. Here's hoping! Until next time...

Ahhhh, Kampala

We (Jenny and I have found each other once again, which has been really nice) are spending the week in the Kampala area, and a few days with a friend we met in Tanzania. Before making our way here, Jenny came to STAO to see what it was all about, for 3 days. It has been really nice to spend time together again, and share our experiences and frustrations. There's a lot we seem to share....even ringworm. Haha (strangely, we've discovered we both have it, but must've acquired it independently, at our respective projects. Odd. But not really that odd. The odd thing will be if we walk away only having picked up a little ringworm). Haha.

After our time in the Kampala area, I'll be joining Jenny for a couple of days near Masaka, after which time I'll be heading back to STAO until the end of November. I'll update again within the next week, I hope, if I think of anything exciting to report :-) Thanks again to everyone who has sent emails - so good to hear news from home. Strange to think that there's snow in some parts of the world right now. Hmm.

'Just keep swimming, just keeping swimming'...

Well, there's not really much to add from last week's entry, I'm afraid. My duties haven't really changed a whole lot, and so my days have been filled with most of the same things. And so I've been trudging along. Jenny is coming to visit in a few days, and she'll stay for a couple of days here, after which we're going to Kampala to spend the week together. Following that time I'm planning on joining her at her project for a couple of days before returning here. I spoke with her briefly on the phone this morning, and we're both looking forward to spending time together and catching up after these few weeks. Things are challenging. I love these kids and wish I could somehow guarantee each and every one a happy and successful future, or at the very least a loving home, but I am only one small person...Ugh. I get discouraged sometimes.

Yesterday, the big event of the evening was hair-cutting for many of the kids. There are certain standards at many of the schools, and if your hair is even a few millimeters too long, the headmaster chases you away and refuses for you to attend. This has occurred a number of times over the past three weeks (I find it rather ridiculous) and so I thought it would be wise to purchase a clipper for the childrens' home to keep and use, rather than spend money each time for the kids to get their heads shaved. This afternoon, once school was out for the primary kids, the hair-cutting has resumed.

This afternoon I am going to try to complete a lesson plan for a health & hygiene talk I want to do with the kids tomorrow morning (basics, such as covering one's mouth when coughing, etc). Getting the message across might be a challenge, but I'm hoping a few visual aids I'm going to draw up will help a bit.

Well, not much else in terms of exciting news, I guess. I'll post again, perhaps next week. By the way, how is it the end of October already? Crazy, how the time flies!

Hello.
I thought maybe I should update again, seeing as a few days have passed since I posted last. Things here are busy, and fairly exhausting, but being surrounded by children nearly every moment of the day helps to distract me from this fact :)

I continue to divide my time between the clinic and the childrens' home. Having had no previous experience in tropical medicine, the learning curve has been steep, but I'm grateful for it. I've seen several cases of malaria (some really serious...scary. Here, people get it so frequently they don't make a big deal about it. Most adults I've spoken to have had malaria at least twice). The conditions at the clinic are certainly nowhere near sterile, but we're doing our best to provide appropriate medical care to these people who need it so desperately (and most of whom cannot afford to seek such services at the nearby hospitals or larger clinics).

Although it's rainy season, it seems to pour every couple of days and then be ridiculously hot the next (today is another scorcher). Although the rains produce ridiculous amounts of mud, I enjoy it, probably because listening the the sounds of the raindrops bouncing off the tin roof at night is somehow soothing.

Well, not too much news to report, really. Just keeping busy, mostly (sometimes too much so. I'm so tired!). I'll update if I think of anything noteworthy :D

Here in Mafubira (Uganda)

Hey everyone.
Thanks to all who've sent emails - great to hear from everyone! (Alas, I don't have the time to respond to them all). I'm now in Uganda, in a small community outside of Jinja, at STAO (standing from Save the Aids Orphans). I am constantly surrounded by children, which ensures there is never a dull moment :D I'm further outside of the city centre than I had initially expected, but it's turning out to be an ongoing adventure (in virtually every sense of the word). Things I had been spoiled with even a couple of weeks ago while traveling are no longer available (such as showers, flushable toilets...etc). Also, I ran out of shampoo some time ago, so I've resorted to using bar soap on the mane...which has produced mediocre results. Meh. It's all good. I am reminded, daily, of all that I have been blessed with and all that I still take for granted. These orphans have nothing in terms of possessions, but they teach me every day what it means to be happy, truly happy. I am certain they will end up helping me more than I would even hope to help them.

Every day is a little different here, and there's no strict routine, so mostly I jump from this to that (time spent in the clinic treating kids or members from the community) and play A LOT in between. The good news is that I've been tired enough to sleep fairly soundly (only waking up two or three times per night, which is an improvement), due to being tuckered out from playing so hard. Haha. The language barrier is an issue, and one that frustrates me a lot (hopefully enough to pick up a bit of Lugandan in the next few weeks) but luckily smiles and laughter are universal...and frequent here :) Being here, living with the kids and spending so much time with them makes me wish I had more to offer (funds, mostly. There is SO much need!!), other than just time and some medical knowledge. But I hope that, in some small way, I will be helpful to some along the way.

I should keep my time online brief, as there are others waiting to use this computer. I will update again when I can. Hope you're all doing well (and to those in Canada...Happy Thanksgiving!)

Rwanda....land of a thousand hills

I could live here, truly. Perhaps it's related to the fact that you can take moto-taxis anywhere for really reasonable prices - definitely something that North America needs to introduce!! :)
We're in Kigali, Rwanda, and loving every bit of it - the people, the culture, the language, the breathtaking landscapes of rolling green hills and quaint communities dispersed throughout - so much beauty. And yet there is an undertone of unspoken griefs and losses too huge to mention in words. We visited the main genocide memorial earlier this week, which was very well done but a brutal reminder of the evils that we humans inflict on each other. Tragic. I don't really have words to describe all that goes through ones mind when faced with such vivid, horrific events, and to stand by the graves of thousands who lost their lives needlessly. I haven't cried that hard in a very long time.

We've spent a few days in the city and hope to venture out to smaller communities within the next day or so, depending on transportation, etc. By this time next week we'll both have begun our volunteer work in our respective communities in southern Uganda. We're sad that this part of the journey will soon be coming to a close...it has been both trying and wonderful to be guests in these countries, and the stories we've gained along the way will certainly never be forgotten by either of us!

I think that's about it for now. I'll try to update again when I get to Jinja (Uganda). Later!

Animals, animals, animals...

Well, as much as the formatting is pretty brutal, I'm pretty happy to be able to post a few photos of the animals we've spotted during our visit to various national parks in the past few weeks. It's amazing how plentiful these animals are, roaming free without a care in the world (well, except the lack of water, which is a concern for every living thing in this part of the world, I'm afraid). As brutal as the formatting is, these give a small suggestion of how beautiful it is out here, I think. They're pretty self-explanatory, so I won't bore you all with descriptions, etc.

In other news, we're off to Rwanda tomorrow at the crack of dawn (by bus), which will likely take us a couple of days. We'll be spending some time in Kigali to start, and maybe venture out from there, depending on how safe things are, etc. I'll try to update sometime within the next week or so. That's it for now!

No climb, ah well

Jambo!
I have exactly 3 minutes before I'm booted off this computer, so I thought I'd update with a sentence or two. Jenny and I are spending one more night in Moshi. We didn't end up summiting Kili (deciding the money could be put to better use, especially in this part of the world). We've been on some amazing day hikes, though (hopefully photos to follow soon-ish, but don't hold your breath on that one!!) and met some amazing people along the way. We'll be in Tanzania for another 3 or 4 days, and then hope to take the treacherous journey to Kigali, Rwanda (something like 27 hours? Bus, ferry, foot...camel...donkey...dung beatle? Bahaha.) What an adventure! Nightmare, says Jenny.)
Sorry, that's it for now!

One more photo

As you can see, I haven't completely mastered the art of blogging, and posting photos (the layout seems a bit off, but I can't seem to do much about it. Ah well). The teeny-tiny photo, above, was taken from the balcony of the museum in Stone Town. Because it's so little, it doesn't really capture how beautiful the harbour was from there, which is too bad. For obvious reasons, it's much quicker to upload little photos, but they don't really do the scenery any justice.

Sadly, that's all I can muster at the moment. This uploading thing is a bit of a headache. Better luck at our next destination, perhaps?

Jambo!

Here we now are in Moshi, Tanzania, at the foot of beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro. In the next couple of days we hope (or at least I do...Jenny is undecided as of yet) to be on the mountain, making the long and undoubtedly beautiful trek up the summit. It's pricey but I'm hopeful that it will be worthwhile. Of course, anything could change in the next few days, but here's hoping we'll have scaled Kili by next week sometime (it'll probably take us a full week to climb)!

We spent a wonderful few days in Stone Town, on Zanibar which was amazing - such an incredible place, so multicultural and full of life! We're traveling during Ramadan, so we've had to be a bit creative at times with regards to mid-day meals, but it's all good :) Zanzibar is probably the safest place we've been thus far (we were even able to stroll around after dark - a rare treat!! :D), and it was nice to spend a few days at a more relaxed pace, seeing some sights, taking a few photos (not enough, I'm afraid) and getting to know some great people. One of the most enjoyable things was the wide variety of street food that was available (after sundown, of course) - probably the most delicious food I've ever eaten. Good food, good conversation, good prices...brilliant! The ferry trip to and from the mainland was a little rough (Jenny would say A LOT rough, poor girl), and the bus ride here from Dar es Salaam long (quoted at 8 hrs, it ended up being more than 9), though we were entertained by the cutest little 3-yr old girl who was quite content to bounce up and down on our laps and chat away in Swahili for a good part of the ride.

Although I have a few more pictures of Zanzibar that I wanted to post, it would seem that this computer has maxed out after this one, so maybe I'll have to try again another day. Everything takes time, such is life. Hakuna matata, as they say :-)

Until next time (when hopefully I'll have more photos and some good Kili stories)!

In Tanzania...

So we've arrived in Dar es Salaam, on the coast of Tanzania. We spent a few days on the Kenyan coast, which was really nice (sorry, no pictures; the place was notorious for muggings, so we decided not to take more risks than necessary. One poor guy who was just arriving the one day and got his pack and everything stolen, by three guys in the forest with machetes. Scary stuff. Another reminder that we can never been too safe here). We arrived here yesterday evening, after a fairly brutal bus ride. Let me paint the picture: it took us nearly 11 hours to travel the 400km from Mombasa to Dar. Eleven hours!!! In addition, there were some shady business transactions going on, which made the two of us feel pretty nervous. By the end of it Jenny and I felt as though all our teeth had shattered, the rattling was so bad. Also, because we had to stow our stuff in the luggage compartments below, all our stuff has a distinct fish odor to it. Slightly unpleasant, especially because we had just washed a number of items by hand prior to making the trip. Also, I seem to have acquired some GI bug along the way, but ah well. Such are the joys of traveling :) All in all, despite the mind fatigue, we're doing well.

The plan is to visit Zanzibar for a few days (likely 3), hopefully seeing some of the history of the island and also see some wildlife. That's the tentative plan, anyway - we've learned by now that it's sometimes best just to fly by the seat of your pants :D

Anywho, it's another cooker today, so before I melt into a puddle I should sign off. I'll try to upload photos again soon - probably in another few days, when we're back from Zanzibar. The computer I'm on now won't allow me to upload for some reason. Ah well.

Pictures paint a thousand words...

i

Hi!
I've FINALLY been successful in finding a computer that will upload a few pictures, which is reason for celebration (it has only taken 2 weeks!!). Jenny and I are back in Nairobi until tomorrow, after having been running around these past 5 days, camping, hiking and visiting various national parks/reserves. We started with a night of camping in Naivasha (a lot of fun!) at a place called Fisherman's Camp, just off (sadly very polluted) Lake Naivasha. We then spent a couple of nights in Nakuru, where we visited Nakuru National Park (to the left is a picture taken from one of the look-out areas. Doesn't really capture the grandeur of it all, but what can ya do). We saw tonnes of wildlife there, including White Rhinos, gazelles, kudu, flamingos, monkeys, baboons, antelope, waterbuck...and loads of different species of birds. Sadly, the zoom on my camera has decided to call it quits, so I don't have a lot of close-ups, but I got a couple of fairly decent ones, I think. Entry fees for the National Parks and Reserves are pretty steep if you're a non-resident, so we have to be a bit choosy when it comes to visiting these places (generally we've been gravitating towards the parks where we can view the area on foot/by bicycle). The discrepency between what residents pay and what foreigner pay is pretty outrageous, really. But, try as we might, they don't believe us when we try to tell them we're Kenyan. Weird.... :)

After Nakuru, we headed slightly North to Lake Bogoria, where we found some honest folks in a small community that put us up in their humble little guesthouse (complete with cockroaches). It was really nice to get away from the noise of the bigger city and spend some time in a rural area. I think we were maybe the first white people some of the kids has seen; when walking down the road they'd run from their huts to the roadside yelling in their high-pitched little voices 'mzungu! mzungu!' (white man! white man!). Too cute. We visited the park there, on these sketch bicycles we'd rented from a couple of people in the village. Mine was far too big for me (I wiped out going through the main gates of the park, much to the amusement of all the onlookers) and Jenny's had this tempermental chain that would fall off whenever on an uphill/rough road, which was probably 90% of the time. Frustrating, yes, and very hot (our timing was poor, being out in the middle of the park during the hottest part of the day, with little water and no shade to be found. But we made it back, if exhausted and beyond sweaty. Good times.

After Bogoria, we took a very scenic (but LONG) drive up to Nyahururu, which is the town highest north of Kenya (also a significant elevation, at 2303 meters. There we briefly visited Thompson Falls (to the right) , which ended up being a bit of a let-down - certainly no comparison to Niagara Falls or anything, but because there hasn't been any significant rainfall in over a year in most of these parts, it's no surprise that the falls are significantly less impressive than in years past. It is dry, so dry here. Many people have been unable to grow much of anything in the last few months, and there if fear that the food crisis will eventually result in thousands of deaths, not unlike the food shortage that Ethiopia had experienced a couple of decades ago. People are worried, and with reason. Whenever it does rain, it isn't significant enough to wake things up in order for growth to really occur. Concerning, to say the least.

Anywho, after being in Nyahururu we traveled to Nyanyuki, where we stayed at a Camel Camp, in a traditional Somali hut, as the nomadic pasturalists did in times past. There, just a few kilometers away from the foot of Mt Kenya, we were able to bask under the stars in the tranquility of nature, away from the chaos of the city. SO nice!!

Well, tomorrow we're off to the coast. We'll be taking a 15-hr long train ride there, which allegedly passes through/near Tsavo National Park and is supposed to be a very beautiful trip. It'll be nice to park our carcasses for a few days, after having been running around so much these last few days. I'll try to post more pictures soon-ish. It's a challenge, but at least now I know it can be done. That's it for now!

Jambo!

We're here in Nakuru, in a hot and noisy internet cafe, trying to work with a very slooooow internet connection. The sweet aromas of gasoline are drifting through the open window. We got here yesterday afternoon, and have checked in at a little place here in the city centre called the Care Guest House. The walls are pepto-bismol pink and the toilets have no seats, but the management is very helpful, the bugs are friendly, and the water is hot (bonus!!). We've been able to get some up-close pictures of a lot of wildlife up here, at a couple of the national parks (pictures to follow...it would seem the connection here is simply too slow to upload pictures. Rats!). Breathtaking, truly (you'll believe me when I'm finally able to upload some of these photos). We were able to do a night of camping at Naivasha Lake, which was a lot of fun, before heading here via matatu (public transport, consisting of '14 passenger' mini vans, which are usually crammed full with about 20 people. It's an experience, for sure...a bunch of sweaty people all shoved onto each other's laps...the word 'sardines' comes to mind...Good times). It's a little challenging to get by with the handful of Swahili words we've picked up along the way, but I'd like to think we're making progress (if very gradual!!) every day. Luckily for us, most people speak a fair bit of English, and sign language can really go a long way.

Well, I could probably ramble on for a while, but we've only got a couple of hours of daylight left and so we should get going before it gets dark (we've been advised not to walk about town after dark). According to the Lonely P., there's a hotel nearby that has a swimming pool that non-members can pay a small fee to access, so we're going to see if we can squeeze in a short swim before heading back to our little pink room. I, hopefully, will have pictures by the next time I update this....here's hoping, anyway...you just never know for sure :D

Traveling comes with its share of adventures...

Ok, where to start? The past couple of days have been a bit more eventful than I would have liked, but such is life. I could go into all kinds of ridiculous detail, but I think I'll spare you most of the details and sum it up as concisely as possible.

So, it would seem that prophylactic anti-malarials can have some nasty side effects, and we saw some of that in the recent past. I spent about 4 hours at a nearby hospital with Jenny yesterday, after she began to present with a variety of weird symptoms. In short, the doc told her it is most likely a toxicity to the anti-malaria pills she had been taking, and combined with likely dehydration I guess the drug reached a higher-than-normal level in her system. We were stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital (likely an hour or so), which was frustrating to say the least. But, all in all, we lived to tell the tale. The photo here (I wish I could take credit for it, but alas I borrowed it from google images :) ) depicts what Nairobi traffic looks like most of the time. Chaos, to say the least.

Anywho, that provided some excitement to our day yesterday. Needless to say, Jenny's not taking any more Mefloquine. As it happens, we were informed that it's actually better to just wear lots of bug juice and use mosquito nets than to take the prophylaxis (which apparently frequently cause symptoms of varying presentation and severity). Interesting.

So, besides feeling fairly exhausted, we're still in relatively good spirits. We're looking forward to (hopefully) being able to spend only another day or so in Nairobi before venturing out to see some wildlife and then head toward the coast.

That's about all for now. We're heading back to the hostel (after spending a number of hours in town, getting less done than we would have liked. Ah well), where we will probably strongly consider taking a nap. Ahh, sleep...

Voila! We're here

Well, we made here after a couple of looonnngg flights and inadequate sleep. Such are the joys of traveling. I retrieved my bag at arrivals in Nairobi, but Jenny's was missing, so we ended up spending a couple of hours trying to track it down (all this while our very patient driver was waiting to drive us to the hostel across town). As it happens, it somehow got stuck in Paris, so it had to be put on the next flight here (early this morning). So, back to the airport we went this morning, and Jenny was happily reunited with her things. A little bump in the road, but no matter.

'Nairobbery' really isn't so bad (during daylight, anyway). Yeah, it's crowded and I'm quite sure that I'll have black lung by the end of this (the diesel exhaust on the walk in is pretty thick. You feel as though you're walking in a blue cloud half the time), but all in all it's just another busy city, congested with people getting to wherever they're going.

The jetlag is a little rough, no lie, but other than that and the faint persistent nausea (hmm...maybe I shouldn't have had that tap water...?) we're doing great, though still finding it odd to think that we're actually here in East Africa. The next couple of days will most likely be spent in the Nairobi area, checking out a few sights and just getting used to the pace of life here. Hostels are great places to meet people - this afternoon we met a guy from the States who's been here for a couple of weeks and who might be able to show us some more of the city, which will be nice.

I'm getting hungry (again. I've already cracked open the giant bag of protein bars. Clearly, there's no way those will last this entire trip) and I think we're going to go find somewhere to eat in the next little while. There is a well-known Indian restaurant here in the city centre, that is supposed to be very good - authentic and affordable, so we're going to see if we can find it.

Well, I guess that's about all I've got for now. I'll try to update whnever possible. Until next time!

So, today marks only 5 days till departure!! I've begun to realize that I've really got to tackle the to-do list in the next couple of days, in order for everything to be organized before I fly. My favourite part is the actual packing. See this picture? That's just a prelim pile of necessities. I'll likely have to add a few things, but I'm trying to stick to the bare minimum (and perhaps leave enough room for a t-shirt and shorts and running shoes? :D)...who knows. Now that I have 2 of my visas, I'm much less stressed (hmm, not really stressed at all, which is interesting. Perhaps I should be, at least a little? Meh). Well, that's all I got for now. I still have a number of items to add to this pile, and I'm in the middle of doing last-minute laundry. Ah, I love packing! (Truly! The challenge of carrying all I'll need on my back for 4 months is uber exciting. Yeah, I'm a geek, but I've come to terms with it :D).

Beginnings...

Well, seeing as I created this blog a little while ago, I'm thinking I should probably post something. Today is the 9th of August, which means I fly to Nairobi in only 9 days. I know. I don't want to talk about. Or maybe I do, seeing as I find myself here, rambling. I (foolishly, perhaps, but this has yet to be determined) am working a few more shifts this week and will need to use my waking hours uber productively. Meh. I should maybe post a picture of my growing "to pack" pile next to my pack, to give you a better idea of what this will entail. Oh, and I'm still waiting for my passport to return to me (hopefully fully visa'ed), which is making me nervous. On the bright side, my to-do list is FINALLY getting shorter. It doesn't all seem quite real yet...