Hi
all,
Well
I've had an exciting weekend and a great week in total. Sara and I
had our last day at the orphanage on Friday. Sara is leaving to go
back to NY and I'm transferring to another home stay so I can
volunteer with HIV/ AIDS victims. It actually worked out really well
in regards to leaving the orphanage because just this week they have
a teacher coming to live with them. It means that the older children
will have the structure and classes that they need and won't require
our help as much.
Friday
afternoon we went with a group down to Naivarsha to buy and pack the
food for the IDP camp. Was definitely a combined effort to bag rice,
potatoes, sugar and fat with barely any light lol!! Had dinner and
stayed overnight for about $5!!– OH MY GOD – I can't believe
Michael Jackson died!!! I seriously stood with my mouth gaping open
for a good minute before I really believed it. (I know that was a bit
of a random change of topic but we were watching his tribute that
night so it made me think of him!!) In the morning we woke up at
about 6am, had breakfast and headed off to Hells Gate, which is like
a national park with lots of wildlife and gorges. We all hired bikes
and I swear it still hurts to sit down because those seats were so
damn uncomfortable. We rode for about an hour through some amazing
scenery. Zebras, gazelles, wart hogs and ostriches were just roaming
about freely all around us - it was really cool to see – like
something from a postcard. After that we went on a trek for a few
hours into the actual gorge. Saw and climbed some awesome rock
formations but the definite highlight were the hot springs. We were
all picturing something like a jacuzzi lol but it was more like a hot
waterfall. So half of us ended up getting soaked and mucking around.
Was a good way to get to the know some of the new guys I will be
staying with soon lol – real bonding session showering together
under a waterfall haha!! Other than that it was more walking uphill
and then another pain in the butt ride back to the beginning –
'Hells Gate' is definitely an appropriate name!! It really was a lot
of hard work but definitely worth it and I would love to go back and
do some of the other treks.
After
drying off we went down to the IDP camp and distributed all the food.
It went a lot more smoothly this time simply because we had
everything pre-packaged from the previous night, and also because the
crowd wasn't so rowdy. HUGE DAY - and we didn't end up getting home
until about 11pm but... because we are such party animals we decided
to go clubbing and didn't crawl into bed until 6am!!! I had to take
advantage of the one weekend that I was in Nairobi and it really was
a fun night, except for one thing...... My phone and camera were
stolen on the dance floor...ARGGHHHH how freaking annoying. Material
things can be replaced though and thank god for insurance. But it got
worse when one friend had her camera and phone stolen, another had
his camera stolen and ANOTHER had his phone stolen while he was
trying to make me feel better by dancing. omg it totally sucks but
was kinda, almost funny. It was like spot the white person in the
club and we obviously are prime targets. So now I get to buy a new
phone and camera. Lucky I have my laptop and all my photos have been
saved otherwise I would not be happy Jan. As it happens I've been
called a real trooper for being so calm and fine with the situation.
There's nothing to do so why dwell on it and waste energy. Plus I
just can't get upset over here!!! I'm so happy and content, I truly
feel like I was born to travel and I feel so at home – even though
I'm so far away from home!!! And you will all be happy to know that
after arriving home at 6am after a massive, MASSIVE day, I woke up at
8am to take the kids from the orphanage to church!!!
Now
for a bit more bad news, not sure how bad yet though. I'm writing
this blog while sitting in the hospital. Sara has gotten really sick,
her immune system is so weak at the moment. She's gone off to get
tests and I'm praying she doesn't have malaria or something just as
bad because she is supposed to fly home tomorrow. What a crappy way
to spend your last day in Kenya. But hopefully it's all good and she
just has a bad flu or something.
I'll
keep you updated on my placement change. I'm moving back in with
Rachael tonight and will start the HIV program in the next few days.
I'm gonna be living with a couple of guys I met on the weekend so
should be a change to living with so many girls but will definitely
be fun.
Love
you all and still loving Africa despite being pick pocketed. (It was
definitely a situation that can only be described as T.I.A – This
Is Africa, or even more appropriately in this case T.I.F.A or
T.I.M.F.A!!!!!)\
Ki
xoxox
