Kwaheri kenya!

I'm in germany now, heading for stockholm soon. I don't think im gonig to blog anymore. linn and i will spend most of our time being drunk and theres no point in writing about that everyday lol. anyway, MISS YOU GUYS xoxoxoxooxx

Wappa Linn?

My lindor has left me all alone in Nairobi!! Wewe!!!!!!! I leave early tuesday morning so I just have 2 days to kill until Sweden! Today I walked down to dormans (the Kenyan version of starbucks) and read my book.. I'm gonna buy some things at nakumatt before I leave for sweden cause they'll be much cheaper here (ie toothbrush, vodka, and maybe another book. Linn was supposed to text me in amsterdam... She forgot! Wewe. Pole sana for typing mistakes, I'm on myipod with the wifi at dorman's and it's hard to type. Love
Xoxo oxoox

T minus 5 days!

Alright, so I leave on tuesday, and its thursday. HOLY F. Time went by way too fast. I think that if I wasn't going to europe, I'd definitely have to stay longer in africa. I want to see mozambique rwanda. I'm going to have to come back, possibly next summer, or for clinical in 4th year.

WEMA
The day before yesterday we had to tell this man that he was HIV positive, it was really sad, but definitely a good experience. He took it fairly well, and I told him to make sure his wife and children come in for testing. Hopefully they aren't positive as well.
Yesterday at WEMA, we were hanging out with these kids, they come and sit with us like everyday. We found out that both of their parents died of AIDS and they live with their aunt and uncle. There is 5 of them, 12 year old twins (one is named nelson mandela lol) a ten year old named mikey, a 4 year old girl beatrice and a little 1.5 year old named barack obama lol. They are the sweetest kids I've met. Most kids here beg, and constantly ask for candy. These kids are soo quiet and they just wanted to hang out. So Linn and I took them for sodas and chips (healthy, i know) and they were sooo happy, but so reluctant to take anything. The 2 older twins ate hardly anything so that the younger ones would have more. Linn and I just kept buying them food until they couldn't eat anymore. Mikey's shoes are soo tattered that they are like hanging together by a thread, I'm going to buy him some new ones today. I feel bad not buying anything for the others but their shoes are in good shape .. maybe i'll give them some school supplies. Anyway, tomorrow is my last day volunteering, we are going out for margaritas again on friday and then its time for SWEDEN!

Last night we went out for margaritas, and no one believed me when I said I don't get brain freezes. So they we're all "drink that fast you'll get one" . I didn't get a brain freeze, but I was gone by 9 oclock lol. At some point I went to take a drink from my straw, missed my mouth, and it hit my forehead, so now I have this straw shaped wound on my forehead. nice life.

Hell's Gate etc

This weekend Lindor, Mike and I took a matatu to Hell's Gate National Park. We stayed at Crayfish camp, it was okay... they were VERY slow to do everything, like give us our room, call a cab... typical africa. I miss efficiency. Anyway, we rented mountain bikes to bike through the national park, which I am in no shape to do. It was really cool because we biked with zebras and warthogs (Pumba) and its beautiful there. We climbed down into the gorge and walked along it (not as easy as it sounds) Lindor got drenched by a hot spring ahahahahha, and I ALMOST fell, but I managed to get my balance. The bike back to the park entrance was what killed me lol. It was soo hot, and I was so thirsty, and there was like all these hills. I almost died. But anyway, we made it, and I will never bike that far again. My ass still hurts, and my back hurts too.

Today I realized that I leave on Tuesday, not Monday, now I need to make plans for that weekend. Maybe I'll see what meghan is up to! I could go back to Uganda for the weekend.. but that's expensive, maybe i'll just hang around here, but our new roommates are GRUMPY! I miss our orig crew, they've all went home. They are like really hardcore volunteers, like "i'm going to save the world, there's no fun allowed in africa" so when linn and I sleep in and show up late to volunteering, and stumble in drunk or take long weekend, they give us shit. they suck.
Oh well, 7 DAYS UNTIL SWEDEN! <3

WEMA and IDP

Well today was our second day at WEMA. It's a clinic in the slums. We work with Dr. George, and he is awesome!! I learned how to put an IV in today. I practiced on Linn and Dr. George. We also helped to treat a little girl with a really bad burn on her arm; it was so bad that her skin wasn't even black anymore. She just had like a mzungu arm, I didn't even know it was a burn until I asked Dr. George. Then we talked to some patients with HIV. One patient has had HIV for 19 years. He told Linn and I all about it today.

In the early 90's, he was in his 20's, and his wife at the time was HIV positive. The doctors knew this, but didn't tell them. They gave them 3 condoms, and told them to come back next month. Every month they would come back, and the doctors would take his blood for testing, and not tell him why. This went on for about 4 months until he finally asked why they kept asking him to come back. Then, they told him he was HIV positive. He believes that the doctors were trying to see how long it would take him to get the virus. A couple years later his wife died. Then in like 1995, he went to the dentist (this was after his wife died). The dentist asked him if he had any health issues, and when he told the dentist that he was HIV positive, the dentist wrote HIV + in huge capital letters on his chart and walked out of the room. The he came back half an hour later, with like 30 other dentists/doctors/nurses and they all just crowded around him and whispered. Then they all left the room and didn't come back. After a few hours, he just left the dentist's, and pulled his tooth out by himself. He decided he would never tell anyone again. So, then like 10 years later his health was really deteriorating, and he had a giant ulcer on his leg. Finally he went to the hospital, and they treated him a little bit better than the dentist had. He still felt like there was a really bad stigma with HIV, but he had to have surgery for his leg, so he couldn't avoid the hospital. When they did a CD4 count on his blood before his surgery, it was 36. He basically should have been dead. So they started him on antiretroviral treatment. ART is very expensive, like thousands/week, but the UK and Canada have started funding some ART in African countries, and this is literally keeping him alive. Within 2 years his CD4 count is up to 240 which is AMAZING! He has remarried, and has 2 kids, and they are all still HIV negative. But he still has very little money, so his kids and wife are living outside of Nairobi, where its cheaper, and he has to live in a slum in nairobi, to be close to WEMA and Dr George. Dr George treats him for free, and everyday he has to have his ulcer dressing changed, it isn't healing well at all. If Dr G didn't treat him for free, he would have no healthcare. He works like 14 hours a week as a security guard, and makes around 4000 shillings a month (around 50 CAD a month) and his rent is 2000, and he sends 1500 to his family, and lives off 500 himself, which is like $6 a month. Linn and I are going to do his home visit on friday, which basically involves making sure he is living in an environment that is clean and healthy (he lives in the hood in africa, so i can tell you already that it will not be healthy at all).

Tomorrow we are going to an IDP (internally displaced persons) camp. The IDPs are people who have had there homes burned in the 2007 elections violence. The really super basic story of the election violence is that a Kikuyu presential candidate won by rigging the election somehow, and then everyone else got pissed off at the Kikuyu people and started killing them/burning their houses/throwing bombs at them etc. So all the Kikuyu people who have had their homes burned are living in a little tent village in mid-kenya. The last group of Fadhili volunteers have gone to visit the IDP camps, and basically found out that the government cut off aid. So these people have no food, and live in absolute filth. We have been feeding all the people (around 340 people) and are working on buying them land, and building a mill so they can be self-sustainable. We are also planning on testing everyone at the camp for HIV. The problem is we don't have the money to treat all the people that will be HIV positive.

I can't believe I have only a week and a half left! I'm really looking forward to europe, and I'm going to try and volunteer alot in these last 2 weeks.

Back in Nairobi!

Okay, so its smelly and crowded, but I am SO happy to be back here. I'm at the Nakumatt junction, the cleanest mall in Kenya, with more white people than I've seen in 2 months. I'm pumped to be staying at Regina's again, with running water, toilets, and like 7 other volunteers. We had french toast today... it was like the best thing ever. Tomorrow we start working at Dr. George's clinic, and everyone has said its awesome. Apparently he lets you do whatever your comfortable with.. a few volunteers, have delivered babies, sutured up wounds, put in IVs, and done blood testing for malaria, HIV, and typhoid. I'M EXCITED!

We took the overnight bus from Mombasa last night. It was AWFUL! It is the bumpiest road in the world, seriously. Linn and I did not sleep at all. When we got to Nairobi, it was like 430 am, so we took a cab to Regina's. I haven't been to Regina's in 6 weeks, and Linn has never been. So we had such a hard time finding it, esp cause it was dark. Anyway, we finally found it, although I had to call James at like 6am to ask him where the f we were.

I cannot believe how fast time has gone by! We have one weekend left!!!! We're planning to go to Hell's Gate National Park and ride bikes. This will be interesting (picture me riding a bike lmao). Apparently monkeys chase you, too. I'm going to cry! Every time we are somewhere with monkeys I think "this time I will feed the monkeys and not run away" but when they come for me I panic and throw the food on the ground lol. Everyone is like "don't be stupid monkeys won't hurt you". BUT I would like to point out that 2 volunteers have been bitten by monkeys so far, and then they had to get like 23847239874923784923874 injections. f that s. I don't want to feed monkeys badly enough to get rabies....

In exactly 2 weeks I'll be on a flight to Amsterdam! This summer is going by too fast. I don't want to be back in stupid thunder bay, and go back to stupid school, and have to scrape stupid ice off my window. Linn is working on trying to set up her clinical placement in tbay though, she'll be my comic relief. huleh huleh.

swedzibar.

THIS PLACE IS CRAWLING WITH SWEDES. Lindor was in her glory. huleh huleh huleh (no one besides lindor and jb will get that). Christian (aka johnny bravo) does not have malaria (yay!) and Lindor is no longer homesick due to the ridiculous amounts of Swedish people on our boat. Today we went snorkelling. We sailed out (on a boat, i got my swimmin trunks, and my flippy floppies) and then snorkelled around the reef for about an hour and a half. IT WAS AMAZING! We saw most of the nemo fish, and lots of sea urchins (my nemisis) and some gross sea slug thing, and lots of ocean plant things. It was gorgeous. Even Lindor managed to get in the water, JB and I were proud. Then we went to a remote beach for lunch, and then sailed back. The water was turquoise and the sand was white, it was so beautiful!! There was 5 Swedish people on our snorkelling boat, not including Linn. I was outnumbered. They were talking about me in their secret language, I think. JB and I have told Lindor to stop using that devilspeak in our presence. THEN, after that we were on the beach, smoking some huka, minding our own, and this guy comes up to us, and hes all "can you take a picture of us? (with swedish accent)" and i'm like "SERIOUSLY?" and lindor goes "where you from?" "sweden" huleh huleh huleh. more swedes. AND!! ABBA WAS PLAYING ALL NIGHT! it was like a greatest hits of ABBA cd on repeat. THEN more swedes approacheth. like 5 more just came and sat down (huleh huleh huleh).
wtf?

Zanzibar!

I LOVE IT HERE!!!!!!!!!! It is soo beautiful, and the people are soo nice! On monday we took a fairy to Stonetown from Dar es Saalam. Once we got to Stonetown, we had lunch in Freddy Mercury's restaurant, and then checked into our hotel. Our room was called the "Treasure Chamber" hahaha. Christian's plane broke, so he was late getting in, but eventually he made to the treasure chamber safely. The hotel guys made him a bed because they did not believe all 3 of us would fit in one bed. On Tuesday, we explored stone town, and we saw a couple museums, and the old slave trade site. It was like the pit where they chained the slaves up, it was pretty sad. Today we went on a spice tour. Zanzibar is known for its spices, especially cloves. We saw cinnamon trees, lemon grass, cloves trees, cocoa bean trees, vanilla plants, and a bunch of other plants. Then we went to see slave caves, where they were kept after slavery was made illegal. The sultan hid over 200 slaves from the British in this gross cave filled with bats, GIANT spiders, and pythons. Then we took a daladala to Nengwi, a little resort town on the north coast. Daladalas are so much fun. They are way better than matatus. Its like a pick up truck with seats in the back and a little roof. Tanzania is like a weird version of Kenya. Its like Shelbyville and Springfield. Examples: in Kenya hello is jambo, and in tanzania its mambo, and in Kenya we take matatus, and here its daladalas, and tanzania has all the same souvenirs as kenya (like exact same things) but they say tanzania lol. Christian and Linn are both sick. Christian probably has malaria... Linn, I think, is just homesick. I'm the last one standing! Tomorrow christian and I are going snorkelling, Linn is sitting that one out. And then we are getting massages and maybe going for a sunset Dhow boat ride.

LOVE

Tanzania!

Quick little update.. On our way to Tanga we talked to the bus driver, and it turned out we couldn't get a ferry to Zanzibar from Tanga, so we stayed on the bus to Dar es Saalum. We are spending tonight in Dar, then heading for Zanzibar tomorrow! I'm pretty excited. I like Dar, its a lot nicer than Nairobi, but it has more creepy men. I literally cannot walk 3 feet without someone saying/doing something creepy or just staring. My poor Lindor is sick-ish. She was worse on the bus but she's doing better now. Fragile Swede can't take all the fat in African food lol. I told her in Canada we eat deep fried cheesecake dipped in ice cream and she almost died of shock.

xo

My Last Days In Diani

I'm soooo sad because today is my last day in Diani!!! We are catching the bus tomorrow morning to Tanga, then taking a boat to Zanzibar to meet Christian, another Fadhili volunteer. Then after Zanzibar we are going to come back for a day to pick up our luggage, then its back to Nairobi to work with Dr. George. This weekend we met up with some volunteers we met in Uganda and hung around the beach. They are from the UK and we are planning to meet up with them when we're there. Our plan is this:
July 1-5:
EVERYONE who is someone is coming to Sweden for our africa reunion party. It's gonna be me, the Brits, and the Sweds...
July 5:
Fly to Dublin, and go to the pub that night. Then we will hang around Dublin for a bit, and wonder around Ireland, look at some castles, you know, the usual.
July 23:
Fly to Glasgow and wonder around Scotland for 4-5 days. Take a bus or something to Nottingham to see Robin Hood, obvs. Then Jamie is picking us up in Nottingham, because we would die trying to drive on the wrong side. We are going to spend a couple days at Jamie's in Oxford, then going to pick up Racheal in Bath, spend a couple days there. Then we are driving down to Cornwall, to body board/surf.
August 6:
Fly to Paris from Glasgow, or maybe we will cancel the flight and take a boat from somewhere near Cornwall.

August10-14:
I fly from Paris to Glasgow to Stockholm, spend one night there, then fly Hamburg to Amsterdam, spend one night there, then I fly to Minneapolis and finally t-bay.

But, our plan isn't fixed, we paid like nothing for our flights (ex: 15 pounds round trip to paris) so we can easily just book another one/miss a flight. I'm very excited for Zanzibar, everyone has said amazing things about it! So I should go pack! I'll write again sooon!!

when in kenya...

a) i'm running out of titles for these things
b) linn and i are running out of things to do... we mostly just sit on the beach, and we have some fierce tan lines might i add
c) nothing much going on here since the girls left!

we go to the beach alot. I still have a cold, which i'm now sure is just a cold, and not malaria. after zanzibar we are headed to nairobi to work at dr. george's hospital. I'm pretty excited about that because apparently there is a lot to see there!

i'm sooo looking forward to our europe trip! i'll probably write again after something exciting happens.. maybe after zanzibar!

love

Diani Beach

This weekend 8 girls from Nairobi came to visit! We rented a cottage for the eqivalent of $3.50 a night and it was gorgeous! We had a pool, hot showers, an oven, and a fridge. We spent most of the weekend at 40 theives and Diani Beach. There was a charity event going on just down the beach at the Sea Lodge, called Diani Rules. It basically a giant party with the profits from booze going to charity. So we went both friday and saturday. It was a lot of fun. We met up with some british volunteers on saturday, and they came with us to the sea lodge. We also went snorkelling on saturday, it wasnt nearly as good as the first time I went, but I paid $2 this time as opposed to $60 last time. We went out on this sketchy boat and Jo stepped on a sea urchin. Then saturday night, I went swimming at like 3 am, and I stepped on like 10 million sea urchins. I was picking them out sunday morning, and the pool boy came to help me. It was good times. I have the worst tan lines in kenya. People actually stop and stare. I like it cause its proof that I am darker than I once was.

And now, I have a cold. I'm quite surprised that its taken me this long to get sick while living with no running water and working in a clinic. The other day we were sooo close to delivering a baby. She was fully dilated but the head wouldn't come down, so she ended up having to go to a larger hospital. Linn and I bought the baby a little outfit, and bought the lady some chocolate and water while she was in labour. She said if it was a baby girl she was going to name it after me, and if it was a boy she was going to name it after linn's dad. It was a boy. I bet Emmanuel, another nurse 20 shillings that it would be a girl. lol, so i'm in debt 20 shillings now. Linn and I basically run the child immunization clinic in the morning, then go for lunch, and then after lunch we are in labour and delivery, or HIV/AIDS counselling, or in the lab where there are tests for HIV, malaria or typhoid fever. Today is a public holiday, so we are off. I think we are heading to the beach!

kwaheri! LOVE

Safari!!!

This will be a long one guys. 

So this weekend I went on a safari at Masaii Mara National Park and Lake Nakuru National Park. IT WAS AMAZING! Friday morning we drove to Maasai Mara and went for a little game drive. Saturday, we spent the entire day in Maasai Mara. We saw monkeys, baboons, elephants, cheetahs, water buffalo, lions, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, antelope, gazelles, rhinos, hippos, hienas and birds. The coolest things were a huge lion (Aslan, obvs) eating a water buffalo, a pack of hienna's eating a flamingo, hippos fighting, and antelope mating. We also saw babies of every single animal. Baby elephants and lion cubs are the cutest. I basically saw the cast of the lion king. Also on saturday, our safari van got stuck in the mud. We had to get out and push, and we all got splattered in mudd, and to add to the situation, there were lions really near, and we were surrounded by tall grass so we couldn't see them coming. That night I accidently deleted all my pictures when I was trying to delete the bad animal pictures. This means the naked bungee jump video is gone forever, and all my pictures of the orphanage. I had pictures of the kids with all the things people sent for them. I was pretty upset about it. After dinner, we watched a Maasai dance around the fire, and we joined in for a bit. They make these weird throat noises and jump a lot. They also smell bad because they never ever shower. I made of for my lack of pictures by taking lots of the Masaii and lots at Lake Nakuru on sunday. Lake Nakuru is amazing! It is full of flamingos (approx. 2 million) and its just like this sea of pink. This is where we saw the hienas eating one lol. We also saw rhinos and hippos here

On monday, linn and I headed back on the train to Mombasa. I'm happy to be back here. It's hot but its much less crowded and its way more beautiful. I took her to the hospital and showed her around, and we will start work tomorrow, because today we hit the beach. I missed the beach and i'm happy to be back! 

and here's my exciting news:
I'm not coming home after africa! I'm going to sweden to stay with linn for 4 days, then we are going to dublin for 3 weeks, then glasgow for 2 weeks, then paris for 5 days, then i'll spend one night in stockholm, one night in amsterdam, and i'll be home Aug 13 at 11:56pm! WOOOOOOOOO!

our plan is to rent a car in the UK and drive around the coast/sleep in our car. I'm so excited! 

LOVE :)

Uganda!

Jambo my mzungu rafikis!

I LOVE UGANDA. Seriously. If I could spend the rest of my time there, I would. We took the overnight bus from Nairobi. The only problem with the overnight bus is, if the extraordinarily bumpy road doesn't wake you up, then the police checkpoints where they flash lights and wave guns in your face will. Side note: the police here carry huge ass guns.

Uganda is gorgeous. Like rolling green hills, and the Nile is amazing. I also felt really comfortable in Jinja, our town. We stayed at this place in Uganda called Adrift. It's a little resort thing on the Nile. There is a bar, and little cabins to sleep, and its only $5-10 USD a night. There were also hot showers, and real toilets!!!! It's full of travellers from all over,and it was nice to meet people. We arrived there Saturday morning, and we took a couple of boda bodas to the camp from the bus stop. Boda bodas are these little motor cycles that drive you places for like 75 cents, like a way cheap taxi. I was so overtired, I just found them hilarious. There was like 6 of us, so it was like this fleet of boda bodas cruising through Jinja. We just hung around saturday, and napped, and then had some drinks at the bar. On Sunday, we went white water rafting down the Nile. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!! One of the best things I've ever done for sure. Some of the rapids were grade 5, anything over 5 can't be done cause you'll drown. We almost went over a water fall, but the water level was too high and we couldn't paddle to it fast enough. We flipped once which was hilarious. The water like sucks you away and you just float down to where is calmer. On the stretches of flat water, we just laid on the raft and tanned. Even with reapplying SPF 50 like 6 times, I still got a little burn. I also have mosquito bites all over my face due to lack of nettage at the camp haha. It looks like I have chicken pox. Apparently, as long as you can afford the malaria meds, its no big thing. Still, I'm hoping for no malaria.

That night, we went bungee jumping. Adrift let's you go for free if you go naked if you're a girl. It's 70 $US per jump. Need I say more? Linn, Becca, and I went together so it wasn't as bad. We did it at dusk because a) its darker and less visible and b) there is a muslim community across the river so we had to wait until they were in for the night. There is a video, and its far enough away that you can't see details, but I'm still debating putting it on facebook. It was soo much fun!! Apparently news travels fast, and like the whole village came to watch.

Monday night was a lot of fun too. Like the whole bar was jamming to hakuna matata and circle of life. I just got back to Nairobi today, and I am going on a safari this weekend!!! I'll get back to Mombasa on Tuesday. Apparently there are a lot more volunteers there now, so it should be a bit more exciting around there.

I really want to go back to Uganda, but I don't know if I'll have time this summer. BOOO!! Anyway, this internet cafe is expensive as shit (4 shillings/min and 1000 is 15$ lol you do the math) so I should wrap it up.

I've only heard good things about the safari so I'm prettty excited. The weekend after that, some volunteers are coming to visit us in Mombasa. Then, Zanzibar for a weekend!

RAIN

I woke up to torrential downpour today. Apparently when it rains, the health centre opens later. The nurse was like "yeah when it rains, we sleep in", gotta love Kenya. I'm also pretty pumped because she has my cell number to call me whenever someone goes into labour. I'm determined to deliver a baby. I gave some needles today again, and on thursday I am going to work in community outreach. I think its just like giving immunizations on the side of the road? I'm not exactly sure. I also managed to get the nurses to use purrell between patients, seeing as there is no running water to wash hands. Also, the power went out for most of the day today. So, Becky was holding up a flashlight while we gave injections. I think I eat more fries (chips) and drink more coke here than I do at home. I 'm addicted to masala chips. 

OH and I should update you on the camera incident. While charging my backup camera, after destroying my first camera, I knocked it off the nightstand and now the lens won't come out. I'm going to Mombasa after community outreach on thursday to buy yet another camera. Thursday night I am taking the overnight train to Nairobi. I'm excited, cause I've never been on a train before. Then I'm meeting up with the rest of the gang in Nairobi, and we are taking an overnight bus to Uganda. Bungee jumping and drinking saturday, white water rafting on sunday.

LOVE

Hospital

I started at the hospital today. I LOVE IT. I feel much more useful. I gave needles to babies like all day. DPT, measles, and BCG. Obviously, the hospital is no where near the Canadian standards. I saw a nurse sneeze on a needle (like right on the sharp part) and then give it to a baby. She did not wash her hands once. She just hands out needles like randomly with no system for identifying who should have which immunizations. Med-error central. Carol would seriously unleash. The scale for weighing the babies is attached to a rafter in the ceiling with a piece of tattered cloth. Naked baby after naked baby gets into this little piece of material to be weighed (hanging from the ceiling). Half of them can't hold their heads up, so they just kind of flop over. Today alone, 3 babies almost fell. There is also a maternity ward, and the nurse told me I will help her deliver if anyone goes into labour while I'm there.

Tonight I'm making poutine for my host family, this will be interesting lol.

I'm trying to put pictures on facebook now, but these computers are effing slow as hell so we shall see if it works.

Sea Turtles

On friday I did laundry. I got lots of laughs there. Me and Becky apparently do not wash our clothes up to the standards of the women in the village. They all came to laugh. It was pretty funny though I'll admit. They do this weird scrub thing with their wrists that I do not have the muscle power for. We were all done and they were hanging dry and then more women walked by saying that they were not clean. Meh, they don't smell anymore.

Later, a few other volunteers came from Nairobi to visit for the weekend. We drank at 40 theives (as usual) and at like 2 am we went for a swim. We left our clothes and all our bags about 3 feet from the water. The tide came in, and everything was SOAKED. Both mine and Becca's cameras are ruined. We're past the mourning stage, its a laughing matter now. So then we decided to walk to the chalet that the other volunteers were staying at for the weekend, hahaha it was farther than we thought. We walked down the beach and the moonlight was soo bright and the water was so beautiful. BUT! there are these little gross sand crab things that run around, and they sneak up on you. We got to there chalet, and then security knocked on the door and said that we (becky and I) aren't registered guests, and that we had to leave. So we took a cab home at like 330 or so. And that was my friday!

Saturday, we went to see Fort Jesus. It is AMAZING! It was built in 1592 by the Portuguese. The view from the top is unbelievable. We also took a tuk tuk (cute little car like a golf cart but with 3 wheels, and they are taxis) around Old Mombasa. The coast has a very Islamic feel. There are mosques everywhere, and at around 8 every night you can hear the call to prayer. Its really cool, I wish I was allowed in lol.

And today we went snorkelling and to see the slave caves. Snorkelling was AMAZING! We took a boat to the reef and dived off. It was raining though, so it was a pretty cold boat ride. The lady next to me was sea sick, so I gave her some gum, and she was good to go. My goggles didn't fit right and I almost drowned trying to fix them, but then I got new ones and it was much better. We saw sea turtles, a sting ray, eels, and most of the fish from finding nemo. I will probably go back with Linn when it is sunny. Then we got back on the boat and went to an island, Wasini Island. It has no cars or bikes, and its really remote. We had lunch there (coconut rice, and everyone had crab but they made me chicken cause theyre super nice). Then we went to see the slave caves. OH MY GOD I AM TERRIFIED OF BATS. They fly at me and I get nauseas. Anyway, the slave caves are were the Arabs kept the slaves until they were shipping ot Zanzibar. There is still chains on the wall from where they chained up the ones who tried to escape. The slaves were kept there for 3 weeks. It was very creepy with the chains on the wall, and the scary gross bats.

Hopefully I will start at the hospital tomorrow. Tomorrow doesn't always mean tomorrow in Kenya time.

My Life as a Mzungu

I've got a little routine going:
Breakfast, School, Beach, Beach Bar, Sleep

I am still white as snow though. That SPF 50 is doing its job well... too well. People still point at me, and I still hear "Jambo, Jambo!" wherever I go. Becca and I are like
The orphanage is not really an orphanage at all. It's a school, and half the kids have village celebrities, we're kind of a big deal.
parents, and go home for lunch. Mama Hope asked me if I had anything planned for lunch, after I had given them tons of school supplies. She's not exactly greatful. Anyway, we are supposed to teach these kids, and about half speak fluent English. I've given up on teaching and just play games with them all day. It's not at all what I pictured. So, I am starting to volunteer at the hospital on monday. Becca worked at an orphanage in Thika and she said it was WAY DIFFERENT (and WAY better). She's also coming to the hospital instead. Mama Hope is in it for the money I think, and she grinds my gears lol. I hear good things about the hospital, so we shall see.

I'm starting to miss flushing toilets, running taps, and washing my hair. It'll pass I think. AND, UGANDA NEXT WEEKEND!! White water rafting down the Nile and bungee jumping!!

So, last night we ended up getting drunk with the British army guys and ended up at Shakatak's. Apparently, it's a common place for hookers to pick up white men. Imagine, there were about 7 white guys, and me and becca.

Well, that's all I can think of for now!
I'll write again soon!
XOXO

Orphanage

Today was the first full day of placement at the orphanage. The kids are alright, kind of cute, but very calm and quiet. During the day they are in school, and we are supposed to teach. I suck at teaching. The teachers suck at teaching worse than me though. After lunch they just kind of left (I'd like to point out that they are the ones that get paid while we run the school, literally). So, I gave up and we played football (soccer lol) and did puzzles all day. The only subject I can sort of teach is math because there is little English required. They all speak English, but it's their second language. I think next week I will work at the rehab center for teen boys, or at a hospital. I'm still having lots of fun. We met some British army boys at the beach. We're going back again tonight for margaritas.

This weekend will be fun! We are going out friday night for margaritas. Saturday we are going to explore Mombasa, and then to Fort Jesus and then to the elephant santuary. Sunday we are going snorkelling, swimming with dolphins, and to see these caves on an island.

I almost forgot to tell you how much of a spectical we are. I have been pet 3 times, and I had one little girl stop and stare with such awe that I couldn't help laughing. A lot of little boys try and tell you they are Barrack Obama's cousin, and one guy asked me if I was a celebrity lmao.

I'll try and put pictures on facebook next week sometime, after snorkelling and what not.

LOVE

Mama Hope

Jambo!
This will be short, I'm on my way to the beach. Becca and I started work at the orphanage today. Its a little hut with a grass roof. The kids are very shy. Some of them have AIDS, it's really sad. One little boy with AIDS was really sick today, and has really bad jaundice (his eyes were bright yellow). I asked when the last time he saw a doctor was, and they said last week. I'll keep an eye on him, and if it gets worse, I'll make sure he goes back.

Mama Hope, the lady who runs the orphanage is a bit sketchy. The only time she can speak English is when she's asking for money. Most of the time we will be teaching. We are just here printing some worksheets for school tomorrow, and then headed for the 40 theives. The 40 theives is a beach bar. It's AMAZING! It's like little tiki huts right on the white sand beach with palm trees all around. It's the hang out for volunteers. There is another volutneer program, Camp Kenya, just down the road.
I'll write more later. I'm having lots of fun, and I'm still working on starting a needle exchange program!

BYE :)

KENYA!!

JAMBO!!!
This is going to be a long one, bare with me.

I'M HERE!!! What a journey:3 planes, an 8 hour bus ride, a tuk tuk (<3), fairy boat, and matatu ride. I'll start from the beginning.So I arrived in Nairobi on time, but Cleo, the guy picking me up, was not. Some guy offered me his cell to call cleo and he said he was on his way, just stuck in traffic. I met up with a couple other volunteers at the airport and we waited together. We piled in the van and headed for Regina and George's house. They own an orphanage in Nairobi and some volunteers are placed there. It was cute, and there was about 10 or 11 other volunteers, all around my age. The next day we had orientation, and went to the mall to get phones and water (my cell # in Kenya is 00 254 731 114 1144). The next day a group of us went to the monkey park. The monkeys are quite accustomed to humans and its not uncommon for them to jump on you and snatch things. I had peanuts and I was all ready to feed them, and like 6 ran at me. I freaked out and dropped the peanuts. I was braver with the second bag of peanuts. I took one out and one was grabbing it out of my hand, distracting me (they are smart monekys) and then the other snatched the whole bag out of my other hand and the 2 ran up a tree and shared it. Then we went to the Masaii market: home to the pushiest sales people in Africa. This one guy followed me for 45 minutes, telling me that he is the "African Picasso" and I'll be sorry if I don't buy his masterpieces which will be worth billions one day. We then went back to Regina and George's for the night. Saturday night, I took the overnight bus to Mombasa with Becky, a volunteer from England.

I feel alot safer in Mombasa than in Nairobi, people stare at me in Nairobi like they are looking for something to steal, but in Mombasa they just stare cause I'm white. Mombasa is on an island, which I didn't know. Mombasa iS HOT! No, like really hot. A sauna 24/7. I sweat so much I pee like once a day, and that's saying something. I am ALWAYS hot and sticky. I'm getting used to it though. The home in Mombasa is not as nice at the one in Nairobi. I have no running water, and I think she said something about rats, I couldn't really understand, but I didn't want to know so I didn't ask her to clarify. I live in the hood. Needless to say, its dirty, and there are random goats and chickens hanging around. The family is really nice though. I actually really like Kenyan food. I eat lots of rice, and chipati (sp?) which is like a tortilla. Home is only a 3 minute matatu ride away from the beach. The beach is GORGEOUS!!! It's paradise. There is snorkelling and camel rides on the beach as well. Camels are HUGE!! I was thinking like cow-size ish, but no, they are really tall! The beach boys walk around trying to sell you stuff (they start by asking you if you are a celebrity). The best way I've discovered to handle the beach boys is to say you're here volunteering and you're not on vacation so to go down there (point far away) cause you think you saw some tourists on vacation over there.

Whenever Becca and I walk around town in Mombasa, the kids stop and stare and yell "mzungo mzugo!" (white person) and say "jambo" (hello). So we basically walk around saying Jambo Jambo Jambo, because every few feet a group of children are talking to us.
The traffic here deserves its own paragraph. CRAZY DRIVERS times a million. Like I've been in 2 accidents already. Well just other cars lightly bumping into us. The main way to travel is Matatus. THEY ARE NUTS. They are these little 14-seater vans that pack in up to 28 people ) the max I've seen). They take you places for like 20 shillings (1000 shillings=12 dollars, you do the math). They crank music and some have tv's and black lights. They are hilarious. People jump in and out and there is a faretaker who like hangs out the window trying to recruit people.

My placement is at Mama Hope's orphange. I met Mama Hope, she's alright. I didn't go to the orphanage today though, just a rehab center that is run by my host dad, who also runs the orphanage. The rehab center is for teen boys, but most are in their 20's. Becca and I cooked the boys (there is about 9 of them) spaghetti for lunch. They never had it before and had no idea how to eat it. Some ate with their hands, and some with 2 forks. I want to spend some time volunteering at the rehab center as well as the orphanage and a clinic. I've been talking to Cosmas (host dad), and he's trying to develop a rehab center for girls. We also talked about setting up a needle exchange program, as there is nothing like that in this city. I don't know how easy that will be to do, but if anyone has any idea's I'm open for suggestions. Cosmas also needs any type if information on rehab, and the process of stopping addiction. The common drug here is heroine. Anyway, if anyone has an information, ideas, or suggestions, send me an email (ally18_@hotmail.com).

Anyway, I'm going to the beach! I feel like I'm melting. I'll try and write again soon!!Kwaheri!

Amsterdam!

Woooo!!! Amsterdam!! Everyone is so friendly here!! I met a few people on my flight from Minneapolis that are flying to Nairobi on the same flight as me, a few older couples going on a safari and a kenyan lady. I'm soo messed up because I basically didn't have night last night. I left at 330pm minneapolis time and got here at 5 am which is like 10 pm to me ... It was dark for maybe 3 hours lol. I also got some mcdonalds at 6 am here. The best part: they serve lunch!!! Haha so many choices...


Anyway, time for me to hit the old dusty trail.... And by dusty trail I mean huge double decker plane (I haven't been on a 2-floor plane yet).

Next post will be from Kenya!!!!

Minneapolis, Mini flight

This plane is sketch!!!! I'm flying over Duluth right now lol. I needed something to keep me occupied, so I thought I'd let you all know that this plane smells like burning and the propellers have dark grey smoke coming off them hahaha. I'm so excited to get to Kenya and meet everyone (people I've been talking to on facebook, staff at fadhili, and the kids at the orphanage). Thanks for coming to the airport at that ridiculous hour in the morning guys! I heart you! And I'll miss you... I'll even admit that I almost cried ....almost. I'd also like to point out that the bathroom in this plane has no sink (INFECTION CONTROL!!!), but I've got some purell. Well that's about all the excitment I have for now, maybe I'll have some adventures on my way to Amsterdam, such as arguing with the northwest airlines lady who tried to charge me a $90 heavy bag fee instead of the $50 it's supposed to be. I won that battle.

2 More Days!!

T minus 39 hours until take off.

I've finally finished packing! It was like tetris, good times. I'm pretty sure I've thought of everything: suncreen to prevent sunburns, aftersun because I will get sunburnt, bugspray so I don't get eaten alive, afterbite because I will get eaten alive, clothes (no shorts, I hate shorts, and its rain season and I don't want malaria), candy, lots of meds, you know, the essentials.

Thanks to everyone who is sending money and things for the children! I will take lots of pictures! I will try and write a bit in Amsterdam!

18 days to go!

Well, with 18 days to go I suppose its time I get used to this blogging thing.

So, here's the basics:
I am going to Kenya with IVHQ, a New Zealand-based organization that partners with organizations of local communities in countries where volunteers are needed. I requested to be placed in Mombasa, a city on the coast, so hopefully that will go as planned. My flight leaves on a Wednesday, early in the morning. I have a layover in Minneapolis, and another layover in Amsterdam. I should get to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, by Thursday night. I will spend Thursday to Monday in Nairobi. Honestly, I think that will be the worst part of this whole trip: getting to Kenya that night and going to a stranger's house to stay the night, plus I'll be overtired and jet-lagged. But, I think by the next morning, in the light of day, I'll be so excited to be there and I'll have adjusted a little better with a night's sleep. After spending the weekend in Nairobi and having my orientation on Monday, I will hopefully head for Mombasa. I will probably take a bus, maybe a plane, I'll figure that out once I get there. The orphanage that I will be placed at will also be figured out during the orientation in Nairobi.

Anyway, a lot of people ask me if I'm scared to go. I wouldn't say scared is the right word. I'm a bit anxious, maybe. I have wanted to go to Africa for as long as I remember. I have wanted to go for so long, and its really important to me. I think that's why I wanted to go alone (not that anyone besides my mom would come anyway lol). I feel like I need to do it alone. I will make more friends by going alone, I think I'll learn a lot about myself, and I think it will help me grow as a person. Violence is not something I'm really worried about because Kenya is a relatively stable country. Tourism is a pretty common there, which makes me feel a little more comfortable. Really the only things I worry about are theft (pickpocketing is pretty common) and maybe what I will eat for 2 months. But, that being said, I've been stolen from in Canada so it seems stupid to let that stop me from going. As for food, I will pack as many granola bars and cup of soups that I can, and try and make due. It'll be good for me to eat something other than french fries and spaghetti.

So even though I don't know which orphanage I will be placed at, I do know that I am bringing as many things for the children as I can. I only have 1 suitcase for stuff for the kids. I need one for my stuff, and a carry-on with some of my clothes incase they lose my luggage. Anyway, everyone is welcome to send some stuff for the kids if they'd like. Keep in mind that I only have 1 suitcase for the kids, and it's already half full with medical supplies, stickers, puzzles, books, a soccer ball, colouring books, and school supplies. I hope to also pack some face paint for the kids, some candy and maybe some more school supplies. Orphanages in Kenya care for anywhere from 80 to 300 kids, so things you send should be things that everyone can use. Also, there is a weight restriction, so I need to try and find light things. Let me know if you want to send something along.

Well, I can't think of anything else to add other then I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! I will try and update this blog whenever I can while I'm on my trip. There are internet cafe's in the city, Mombasa (to clarify for people who were picturing me on a laptop in the middle of a Masai village).