Saturday, May 27, 2006

Malewa, Nairobi, Brilliant

Here are some pictures from my trip to Kenya in January! This is an old update i never finished to post but better late than never cause some major posts of the last few months are coming...






I spent time with Margaret while visiting Rosslyn. It was wonderful to drink chai with her and show her all the new baby pictures of Benjamin, Rosie and Jillian. I talked with her and Wanjella late into the evening. I couldn't believe it had been 5 years since I was last in Kenya, crazy. If I had known that would be the case when i stepped on a plane from Jomo Kenyatta airport freshman year of college I may have jumped back off the plane.




Here is a picture of Matt Scwhandt and baby girl at Rosslyn.




I went to visit Than in Malewa, where he was volunteering. Building outdoor recreational climbing/ ropes courses, and doing tons of other stuff. We had to go rescue a dead camel one morning that had fallen and drowned in a river. I got a pic of Than falling in the water. I think he got scared when he touched it and it said his name. not really. The camels stomach was so bloated and hard people were standing on it. They failed trying to tie it with ropes and dragging it up a steep bank via land rover. The ropes snapped and almost took off someones head! there were way too many trees and brush and the camel kept flopping over with its dangly legs like it was also going to drop kick someone. They knifed the stomach to see if they could get some water out since he was so heavy, but it just let out this putrid air, gas, that had made it so hard in the first place. they then decided it best to chop it up and then remove it from the premises.

it was a wonderful relaxing time with Than though, I really needed a break/vacation at that point in time!







Malewa was absolutley gorgeous. Its a animal conservation/ eco-tourism site.



While in Nairobi with Than I did some essential and non-essential things like cut my hair, bought real coffee, went out for ethi, went to a movie (Narnia)and saw another one of my old bestest friends, Mac, our beloved border collie. It was an awesome trip, and great to meet old friends again. I was a bit in culture shock part of the time. Running hot water. Grocery stores too big for their own good. The new US embassy housing. crazy. crazy thing was I walked out of village market and saw the housing and it reminded me exactly of what Israeli settlements look like in the West Bank. it was just bizarre. Then Than had a good laugh at me when i ordered an incredible breakfast (omelette) and a latte (A LATTE!) and i was getting stressed knowing what to eat or sip first, my head was spinning i could feel my shoulders rocking and my hands hesitating what to do next. thats so pathetic.

had some wonderful visits with great people...thanks to Melanie Mckee and the Harrell's for letting me crash with them!

Kenya still feels like home to me in many ways. Just the drive to Nairobi through the rift valley brought back floods of memories and emotions. I love it immensely, and look forward to exploring more of it and meeting the wonderful people that reside there.

alright below is me and mac!