RAIN!!

In Canada when it rains, people get grouchy, complain, and run for cover... not here. Rain here is a blessing.

I arrived in Kenya on December 28th, until today I had not seen any significant rainfall.

The area where we are working has been facing a very serious drought... and had not received a good rain for quite some time. We arrived at the build site (Emori Joi), with a looming black cloud hovering over in the distance. Our guides began making bets on how long it would be before the rain came... it was around 5 minutes before we started getting pelted.

Although our building was cut short, I was so happy for the famers and families in the area. Freshly planted crops were given the boost that they needed today, and the dusty earth was temporarily replaced with puddles and mud.

Excellent.

lala salama.

Best Safari EVER!

SAFARI TODAY!! what a blast. I only have a minute to write, but we saw some incredible things. Here is a point form list:

• gazelles
• elephants (about 25)
• 2 lions
• hippos
• dik diks
• giraffes
• ostriches
• buffalo
• impalas
• zebras galore
• and a tonne of other animals

this is just one of a bunch of the elephants we saw.

beautiful giraffe walking in the distance

Buffaloes are very social, and enjoy relaxing with one another in the midday heat

Two of our guides, Sam and Felix... they taught me how to brush my teeth the natural way. I felt minty fresh for the rest of the day!

More to come... I was just so excited to get this part written... have a great day!

Diani Beach... Mombasa

Heat. Unlike any other heat I have ever experienced. I don't think I stopped sweating from the beginning of the trip until the last minute... I really should not complain because I know most of you reading this are looking out your windows and seeing snow, lots of snow.

To wrap up our 6 weeks of training (I can't believe I have already been here for that long), we took a trip to Diani Beach (South beach from Mombasa). The five of us shared a wicked cottage, from a place called kijiji (not the classified site, it is the actual name of the "resort").

Aside from swimming in the warmest natural water ever, dining feet from the rising tide, and seeing camels walk by, my favorite part was an excursion we took to Wasini island. We boarded a small wooden "ship" (looked like a pirate ship), and headed out on the Indian ocean to a nearby marine park. On the way there, we ate mangoes and oranges, and watched for dolphins. We saw about 10 dolphins playing and following the boats, and headed for the reef.

The reef was totally cool. I have been snorkelling before, and have seen some really cool creatures... but here, there were SOOO MANY fish. Not many were big, nothing too shocking... but i was constantly surrounded, I felt like I was one of the fish in the school. VERY VERY VERY cool. The reef went on for about a kilometre, and we didn't even have enough time to go all the way. INCREDIBLE!

Once we finished scoping the reef, we swam back to the ship and took turns cannonballing and back diving off the side. Jumping into water is one of my all time favorite things, so this was a definite highlight for me.

We sailed back to Wasini Island (population of about 800, almost fully Muslim) for lunch at a restaurant with a beautiful view >. They served us crab... so fresh... and white snapper. I enjoyed it so much I spilled most of the sauce on my white tank top (kind of an aside). We toured the island, and saw many other tourists handing out sweets and toys to the local children. This is something that always leaves a bit of a weird feeling with me. In our work in the Mara, we are quite strict about gift giving... because our work is not about hand outs... it is about empowerment and sustainability. To give a child sweets may make you feel a sense of instant gratification, and may make that child hold your hand for a while... but wouldn't you rather build a relationship based on friendship and caring, instead of one sided giving? Just something I have been thinking of since being there.

We sailed back into shore, and drove home exhausted and sun burnt. What an awesome day.

Here are some other random shots from in and around Diani beach...

Emily and I... after having been proposed to by a warrior on the beach.

One night Emily and I raced the tide back to our cottage...

Home Sweet Home

I just realized that I still haven't spoken about, or shown pictures of where I am living. Since it is sooo beautiful, and right now, we are spending sooo much time here, I figure I need to give it the attention it deserves.

The house where I am living is in Nairobi, in a subdivision called Gigiri, in an area called Roslyn. It is a beautiful neighbourhood surrounded by lush vegetation. Downtown Nairobi itself can be quite a dangerous city at night, but where we live is very safe. Our compound is surrounded by electric fencing and has security guards on duty 24 hours a day. We actually share one fence with the Canadian High Commissioner, so if we ever had any trouble, that is where we would need to be anyway. It is a beautiful home that can sleep up to about 40 guests at one time.

The home itself was purchased from an Indian business man that had been going through a rough divorce and wanted to get rid of it fast! So Leaders Today (now Me to We) bought it to make the transition from Nairobi to the Mara easier for their participants.

So here are some pictures... in a months time we will only have a few days every month here, most of our time will be spent in the mara working on development projects.

The kitchen... where all our wonderful meals are made

chai table... mmm.. One of the bedrooms

The dining room table... right now it is our "office", and this is the view from our "office"

my computer is fussy right now... so i will post more pics of my home later

tutaonana :)

snapshots from Emori Joi

Good monday... just on here to post some beautiful pics from a community that we work with... Emori Joi. I can't take credit for the photos though, they were taken by a staff member from Toronto.

Public Transport

A big part of being in Nairobi without a car (not that I would ever be crazy enough to drive downtown Nairobi...) is being able to navigate public transit. The only difference here, is that there really isn't a controlled public mode of transit... the system here is private, either matatu or taxi. Taxi fare is relatively affordable in comparison to Toronto, but the matatu's are very inexpensive. For a 10 minute trip, we pay about 10 Kenyan Shillings, which is under 20 cents... pretty sweet.... however, each matatu ride is quite the adventure. Each one is smaller than the average North American mini van, and by law they are allowed up to 13 passengers at a time.

On poorly monitored roads, they will often cram up to 18 or 20 people into one. Aside from being loaded with people, they often come equipped with a video screen and pounding music... I have heard everything from reggae, popular rap, boys to men, and Mariah Carey, but it is all LOUD. Some have fluorescent lights inside and most are themed, with the inside walls plastered in posters and fabric.

The matatu business is also one of the most exploited in the country of Kenya, police officers will often pull over matatus and charge the driver a "tax" based upon the number of people using the service.

Here is the inside of a busy matatu...

O'Bama Inauguration night

What a night. I feel like yesterday was one of those times that I will look back and tell my children about... Barack O'Bama's father was born in a small village in Kenya and the people here really take pride in him as the new president.

We went to a large bar/restaurant where they had about 10 large screen tvs set up, and two more two storey high screens to show the inauguration and speech. I usually find moments of empowerment and significance last night emotional... but last night was definitely more emotional than usual for me. Every time Kenya was mentioned everyone cheered... and there were people of ALL ages and walks of life.

Anyway, the energy of the night was an overwhelming feeling of hope... we will see how it goes.

goodnight :)