Long overdue update

Wow, time has been flying by and I've been doing so much travelling around in the past two weeks I think it's beginning to wear on me. I've spent more than 3 whole days in the past week just in transit on a bus or train. I am also keeping a written travel journal which will contain a bit more detail on my toughts etc than this blog, because it's hard to repeat my experiences 2 or three times over various mediums (email, blog, journal). So if this blog doesn't satisfy you, then I may be kind enough to let you read the journal when I get home :)

Also a quick note about pictures. If I find myself with a lot of time on my hands and a decent connection I will try my best to upload pictures, but as it stands, it takes wayy too long to post even one picture (15-20 minutes) and it could get very expensive. That's just one of the luxuries that I've become used to back home. More striking is the horrible effort the government here makes at providing basic services to its people. The power goes out at LEAST once a day, and sometimes 3 or 4 times. Water is rationed all over the country and not even the wealthier residents get a constant flow of water. Here in Ukunda at my homestay, I've never actually seen the taps function. Our family and our neighbours buy barrels of water at 10ksh each.

So my aforementioned trip has gone very well, but there was a little hiccup at the beginning that has been a hassle for two weeks now. I lost my wallet on the train into Nairobi, and had to bug my friends at the bank quite a few times to get emergency money, but I'm hoping my new visa has finally arrived in Nairobi today. Other than that, the safari in the Masaai Mara was great, and we got to see every single animal the park has to offer (with the exception of the endangered black rhino). We even saw a leopard sleeping in a tree, and our guide told us there was a 3-5% chance of even seeing a leopard in the park since they're mainly nocturnal. Some local Masaai people came by our camp one night and showed us a traditional dance, and also let us join in for a bit. It involves a lot of jumping up and down and and groaning noises, kind of scary at first...We hung out in Nairobi for a few days after this, and took a bus up to Uganda with 5 other volunteers. I only spent three days in Uganda, but wow what a beautiful country, the people there are so polite and welcoming to tourists. Went white water rafting on the Nile on Saturday, which was soooo awesome and equally as intense...sitting in the front of the raft and staring down a class 5 rapid, knowing that I was about to barrel into it was quite a rush. I also got to bungee jump over the river back at the lodge..what an experience, but so short lived. I definitely recommend Adrift river base near Jinja (the town in Uganda) for any thrill seeker.

We got back to Ukunda this week and got right back to work. We planted 4 banana trees within the school grounds, as well as many flowers and trees along the school's perimiter. We also put in a passion fruit tree and sugarcane plant. Just about all the fertile ground in the school yard has now been plowed and has various food growing within. Beans, tomatos, skooma (like spinach), and maize make up for most of it.

Well, the cyber here is getting quite expensive, so that's all for now, more updates to come of course, hope everyone is well at home :)

Merci pour les beaux messages encourageants mes chères tantes, and glad to see you're keeping up with my blog Khalidah.

Cheers