Kikuyu Lodge Hotel Nairobi

... opportunity to see some other groups. I was delighted at my luck! The groups at this time were really traditional. They had fantastic costumes and very unusual instruments. One old man was gently shaking a basket of broken glass and china, which made a lovely tinkling sound. The women wore these fantastic dancing skirts made of pieces of wool, which swished beautifully around their waists.

The Juakali drummers performed, and drew in the crowds. Their energy is infectious ...

... and waited for it to start. Frigging Kenyan time. I am getting sick of it! haha The meeting was supposed to start at 10, and did not get going until noon-ish. When the meeting did finally start, I began to experience the most intense boredom. Not only was the discussion dry material, it was in mostly Swahili.. a language that I only really understand words taken directly out of the Lion King (hakuna matata, rafiki (means friend), simba (means lion ...

... city centre, and passed Kibera (the second biggest slum in the world), which was very sad but interesting to see, and we also passed a graveyard. This is when it really hit me the amount of death there is in this country-- there were at least 4 funerals going on at the same time from what we could see -- the caskets were out, and many people gathered around. They sell tombstones everywhere here too.

We ate lunch at a little restaurant, and ...

... before leaving. I had been devastated and had tried to figure out a way around it when Joe had offered of his own accord; I was so grateful and Gabe and I thanked him profusely, deciding if an opportunity to send it somehow arose we would let them off the hook.

But, now the post office in Tanzania was closed and on the Kenyan side they would not accept credit card or American dollars. When I walked back to the truck Joe ...

... of 7or 8 including various ages of young); about 1.5 million flamingo; 2 tree-climbing lions (1 was hiding in the tree).

In the park, due to the drought, some of the rhinos have been shipped to other parks. We spotted several dead water buffalo and more would be on the way until the rains come later this month.

Back at the campsite I ended up learning Backgammon from John and playing Monopoly with Jess, Sam and ...

... were not engrained thoroughly enough in the local community to stand the test of time. Perhaps, with ongoing communication between the volunteers and the community this can be sustained.

In short, I don’t regret my time at either project and feel I gained a lot of experience and knowledge, but I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t take part in short term volunteering again. I think it’s very different to long term projects where ...

... We were able to help with vaccinations and weights. Turns out, it is easier to give a shot to a tiny baby than to a toddler- they cry less! The line of mothers and children just kept getting longer. The clinic hands out immunization records and growth charts that the parents keep bringing with them. It is great to see that the babies are weighed on a regular basis until they are small people. Nutrition is so important, and weight is a simple way to ensure ...

... full of food and soda. Luckily, they agreed to let Jackie and I share a Tangawizi (Ginger soda) and a piece of cake. The video finished, but our host restarted it so we could watch from the beginning. After the show and refreshments were finished we walked outside to check out the livestock. Zero-graze is a way for people to utilize animals, especially milking cows, in areas where land is scarce. All feed is brought to the cows who remain in their stalls. Although ...

... supper at Carnivore restaurant, an incredible place to eat. So many different grilled kinds of meat(beef, pork, chicken...), and every day, 2 different exotic meats. We can taste ostrich and crocodile: much better ostrich meat for us.
With our stomachs completely full, go back to hotel for some sleep. Tomorrow will be again a long day on the road.