Well! I just have to say that yesterday I had the most fantastic day! I hooked up with a little tour group that was taking a trip off the southern coast of Kenya to an island called Wasini. The boat ride was about an hour and then it anchored to let us snorkel along the coral reefs. First, the water was beautiful and the perfect temperature. Second, there were heaps of fish I could only ever imagine being the real things. When I was a kid I got this tropical fish puzzle, put it together with family, and then glued it, and I always wondered if the fish in the puzzle were based on real fish or if it was just an artists colorful collage of make believe animals. I'm pretty sure all of the fish were based on real fish. The colors were incredible!
To top things off, we saw a sea turtle swimming and were able to follow him right along until he went too deep and things got dark and blurry.
I was completely satisfied with the snorkel trip after the sea turtle, but then our captain said he saw dolphins so we hopped back on the boat and rushed after the dolphins. When we found them the tour guide told us to hurry up and put our flippers and masks back on. I couldn't believe it! I was going to be swimming alongside the wild dolphins in the middle of the Indian Ocean! And I did. It was so incredible. I could have reached out and touched the dolphins. There were about six and they were playing in the water, going up and down, not even paying any attention to the semi-freaked out but awed tourists flipping alongside them.
After the snorkeling we had a big fat meal of crab and kingfish with fried coconut.
I'm signed up for another snorkeling tour for tomorrow. hehe, just can't get enough.
Today I purchased 2 tomatoes, 1 mango, and a coconut that was cut up for me right then and there from a fruit stand on the street for 40 shillings. That's about 50 cents. Yum!
Be home in a week!
Love you all!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Jambo!
Hello from Kenya!
After a grueling bus ride and eventful time crossing the ugandan/kenyan border at 1am I am finally on the kenyan coast! For the sake of a super expensive internet cafe, I am going to briefly run through 2 things so far about my stay on the coast.
1. yesterday i got robbed, twice. i had just bought a fresh mango from a little old man on the beach and set it down on a table to get ready to eat. out of nowhere comes a devilish little monkey who steals it right off the table and goes to eat it in my plain view high in a tree. Feeling a bit sorry for me, one of my snorkeling companions gave me one of his mangos. I was holding it in my hand expressing my gratitude and what do you know, another larger monkey runs up along the window ledge and wrestles me for the second mango! I held on to it thinking the monkey would back off, but he didn't, he only grabbed harder at the mango. my adrenaline quickly died down and i gave in to the wild animal. meanwhile there was a pack of local kenyans crowded around me laughing, silly Mzungu should know better not to have fruit in front of the monkeys.
2. ahh, the pristine white sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean. The other day I laid in the shade of a palm tree reading a book in between dips in the surf. This is definiately a place i would come back to! I think it competes with Mazunte, Mexico for one of the best eco friendly beaches.
And, I'm off for a little walking along the beach. For the next couple of days I am staying at Diani Beach in a really cute place with a swimming pool (just in case i get sick of the ocean) :-)
Cheers!
dana
After a grueling bus ride and eventful time crossing the ugandan/kenyan border at 1am I am finally on the kenyan coast! For the sake of a super expensive internet cafe, I am going to briefly run through 2 things so far about my stay on the coast.
1. yesterday i got robbed, twice. i had just bought a fresh mango from a little old man on the beach and set it down on a table to get ready to eat. out of nowhere comes a devilish little monkey who steals it right off the table and goes to eat it in my plain view high in a tree. Feeling a bit sorry for me, one of my snorkeling companions gave me one of his mangos. I was holding it in my hand expressing my gratitude and what do you know, another larger monkey runs up along the window ledge and wrestles me for the second mango! I held on to it thinking the monkey would back off, but he didn't, he only grabbed harder at the mango. my adrenaline quickly died down and i gave in to the wild animal. meanwhile there was a pack of local kenyans crowded around me laughing, silly Mzungu should know better not to have fruit in front of the monkeys.
2. ahh, the pristine white sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean. The other day I laid in the shade of a palm tree reading a book in between dips in the surf. This is definiately a place i would come back to! I think it competes with Mazunte, Mexico for one of the best eco friendly beaches.
And, I'm off for a little walking along the beach. For the next couple of days I am staying at Diani Beach in a really cute place with a swimming pool (just in case i get sick of the ocean) :-)
Cheers!
dana
Thursday, February 12, 2009
teaching, painting, bicycling, sunbathing
Hello!
Well, looks like I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. It's about time, I think. Last time I wrote I mentioned that I had gone to the Nile River to volunteer. And yes, I did. For two weeks I stayed on the Nile River painting and teaching. The first week I helped to paint one of the poor government owned primary schools. Normally the school walls are just bare cement, which is pretty un-inspiring to young minds. So, SoftPower comes in with volunteers (like myself) to spruce up the learning environment with color, designs, and teaching aids on the walls, both inside and outside. I got to work with other volunteers my age from Ireland, the UK, and Australia. We all stayed in the same hostel together and worked together so I was able to make some pretty good friends during my time here! The second week I spent in a pre-school, showing the teachers creative ways to use simple materials like paper and crayons as learning materials for the kids. From pre-school up through the university the main method of instruction is through "chalk and talk", which really only appeals to a very small number of students and makes the classroom a very dull place. So, I did some lessons with the kids that involved making their own number/fruit book and also they made some neat little paper necklaces. The teachers were so thankful. I hope that the little bit I did with them has given the teachers some insight on a variety of ways to get students learning.
Leaving Bujagali was bittersweet. I was ready to do something different but at the same time sad to leave fellow travelers with interests similar to mine.
For the last 7 days I have been on another short cycling trip again to the west of Uganda. I met 9 Germans and our tour guide Patrick in Kampala. The trip was very nice. We started in Fort Portal and went to Kichwamba (to an orphanage) for a few days. We slept there but did day trips to different neat places in the area. We hiked a mountain on Saturday and my legs are finally not sore anymore! Another day we saw a pretty cave/waterfall and the crater lakes in the area. Another day we rode 40 miles into Bundibugo and stayed overnight. The next day was HELL on 2 wheels. The 40 miles there was mostly downhill, into Semliki Valley. The return trip was consistently uphill, up the most rugged rocky skinny dirt roads in intense sun. This was the most intense day of bicycling I've ever done in my life. But I'm glad I did it. I feel strong, and healthy, even though I've gained some weight from eating greasy, but fresh, chapatis with peanut butter everyday in JInja.
This afternoon I am off to see another part of East Africa. I am headed to Kenya! I am going to bypass most of the country though and head straight to the coast for some sun, (not that I've been lacking any), beach, and fresh seafood! Yumm...I am taking a 12 hour bus ride from Kampala to Nairobi and then getting a 1 hour flight to Mombasa (used to be the capital of the British' East African Empire and the largest trading post on the coast.) I will spend my last week or so in Africa relaxing on the coast and drinking ghastly amounts of Passion Fruit Juice.
I will be home in less than two weeks and I will say that I have gotten homesick at times. I think the loneliness sets in when I am enjoying myself the most because the pleasure makes me wish I were sharing it with my friends and family, not just sucking it up all by myself in vain. So, as far as traveling so far away for an extensive period of time, I can say that I probably will not do it again alone. Though yesterday when I was riding in the back of a rickety old pickup truck with my bicycle and backpack I pinched myself several times to see if I was really riding through the Ugandan countryside with an old couple that was headed to town to return their empty coca-cola bottles. I have been here nearly 6 weeks and I am still in awe at the experiences I am having everyday. I will never forget that ride in the truck because it was then that I truly realized how amazing this life is!
Well, signing off for now to go buy my bus ticket to Kenya!
Well, looks like I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. It's about time, I think. Last time I wrote I mentioned that I had gone to the Nile River to volunteer. And yes, I did. For two weeks I stayed on the Nile River painting and teaching. The first week I helped to paint one of the poor government owned primary schools. Normally the school walls are just bare cement, which is pretty un-inspiring to young minds. So, SoftPower comes in with volunteers (like myself) to spruce up the learning environment with color, designs, and teaching aids on the walls, both inside and outside. I got to work with other volunteers my age from Ireland, the UK, and Australia. We all stayed in the same hostel together and worked together so I was able to make some pretty good friends during my time here! The second week I spent in a pre-school, showing the teachers creative ways to use simple materials like paper and crayons as learning materials for the kids. From pre-school up through the university the main method of instruction is through "chalk and talk", which really only appeals to a very small number of students and makes the classroom a very dull place. So, I did some lessons with the kids that involved making their own number/fruit book and also they made some neat little paper necklaces. The teachers were so thankful. I hope that the little bit I did with them has given the teachers some insight on a variety of ways to get students learning.
Leaving Bujagali was bittersweet. I was ready to do something different but at the same time sad to leave fellow travelers with interests similar to mine.
For the last 7 days I have been on another short cycling trip again to the west of Uganda. I met 9 Germans and our tour guide Patrick in Kampala. The trip was very nice. We started in Fort Portal and went to Kichwamba (to an orphanage) for a few days. We slept there but did day trips to different neat places in the area. We hiked a mountain on Saturday and my legs are finally not sore anymore! Another day we saw a pretty cave/waterfall and the crater lakes in the area. Another day we rode 40 miles into Bundibugo and stayed overnight. The next day was HELL on 2 wheels. The 40 miles there was mostly downhill, into Semliki Valley. The return trip was consistently uphill, up the most rugged rocky skinny dirt roads in intense sun. This was the most intense day of bicycling I've ever done in my life. But I'm glad I did it. I feel strong, and healthy, even though I've gained some weight from eating greasy, but fresh, chapatis with peanut butter everyday in JInja.
This afternoon I am off to see another part of East Africa. I am headed to Kenya! I am going to bypass most of the country though and head straight to the coast for some sun, (not that I've been lacking any), beach, and fresh seafood! Yumm...I am taking a 12 hour bus ride from Kampala to Nairobi and then getting a 1 hour flight to Mombasa (used to be the capital of the British' East African Empire and the largest trading post on the coast.) I will spend my last week or so in Africa relaxing on the coast and drinking ghastly amounts of Passion Fruit Juice.
I will be home in less than two weeks and I will say that I have gotten homesick at times. I think the loneliness sets in when I am enjoying myself the most because the pleasure makes me wish I were sharing it with my friends and family, not just sucking it up all by myself in vain. So, as far as traveling so far away for an extensive period of time, I can say that I probably will not do it again alone. Though yesterday when I was riding in the back of a rickety old pickup truck with my bicycle and backpack I pinched myself several times to see if I was really riding through the Ugandan countryside with an old couple that was headed to town to return their empty coca-cola bottles. I have been here nearly 6 weeks and I am still in awe at the experiences I am having everyday. I will never forget that ride in the truck because it was then that I truly realized how amazing this life is!
Well, signing off for now to go buy my bus ticket to Kenya!
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