Thursday 5th April - The bed that i slept in last night was so good. the most comfortable one ie been in since being in Africa. Had another early start as another drive day ahead so i just sayed in my pjs as i new i would just sleep on the truck. whilst driving we passed anothr drago truck and so we stopped, jumped out (me still in my pjs) and had a bit of a chat, much to the locals amusement. its so funny, whenever we stop for lunch or something we always draw crowds of curious people. they must think were crazy, especially when we start our flapping (our effective method of drying plates etc, highly amusing!)! Anyway we stopped for lunch, changed some money and then went to the border. We completed the border (me still in my pjs!!) and headed to chitimba beach. The first thing i did after set up was head to the showers. it was so good to get in there cos it was so hot. i finally changed into some clothes for the evening, granted they were dirty, but it felt so good. We met another truck at the beach and it was one of their guys bdays so they had an interesting night. The moonlight on the beach was so pretty!
Friday 6th - We drove in Mzuzu today and then headed on to Kande beach. First thing i did on arriving was gather my clothes and give them to some laundry person. Met some peeps who were working in Malawi with VSO and spent evening chatting with them and playing table football. Buffalo steak for dinner - so good!
Saturday 7th - Borrowed a tshirt off Elton today as had put all mine in for washing. spent morning lying on beach reading and chatting to some peeps from the other truck and VSO. Went swimming in the lake after lunch, felt so wierd to be calling it a lake. We dressed each other up and headed to the bar. Changed again (into normal clothes) and then played some more table football. was good, me n hill won at pool, with me doing the most flukey shot ever to pot the black! Was the most amazing lightening stom and so we sat on the beach watching tht for ages. so lovely.
Sunday 8th - Went to the loo at 7 and then straight back to sleep, only to be woken rather rudely at 9 by the heat. man it was hot. chatted to liz for a while and then joined the other truck swimming in the lake. was great fun as it had amazingly large waves today. Lay in the sun and then went riding with zoe in the afternoon. was well funny - she had had a bit of a heavy night the night before and was quite hungover. The ride was awesome, however my shoes were pants to ride in so i went barefoot. It was the funniest thing ive seen in so long, but zoe, bless her, as we passed some strongly smelling thing ended up throwing up over the side of her hose. so so so funny. giggled so much. We took the horses into the sea after the ride and went swimming with them. i got pushed off by a wave which was highly amusing. Chatted ith Peter in the bar and had an early night.
Monday 9th - Left Kande beach today without any of us having taking any photos of the area. good one. lol. We got to our campsite and were shown where abouts on the ;lawn not to put our tents due to the tarantula (chris) living there. Managed to update my blog to the end of Chagaik today. go me! lol.
Tuesday 10th - We spent the day in Lilongwe today n me tom n harry decided to play golf. was so amusing. the guys had to borrow shoes off random people before they were allowed onto the course and the prices was were amusing cos they kept saying its this for this, plus this for this plus this plus this ... etc. lol. Went to the supermarket and headed back to campsite. When i went to bed i saw the largest spider in my tent ( i had stupidly left my tent open during the day) and so i went and fetched some peeps to remove it for me. such a girl. lol.
Monday 23 April 2007
Sunday 22 April 2007
Tanzania!!!
Sat 24th - We were meant to have an early start today as we were crossing the border however the truck wouldnt start. Two hours after our intended leave time (and after a pull from a tractor) we were finally on our way! We passed by Chagaik and Kericho on our way which was so cool. I got really excited! We crossed into Tanzania and i left Kenya after 46 days! Despite our late satrt we still arrived at our motel half an hour before the original time estimate due to a really quick border crossing.
Sun 25th - We passed by Lake Victoria on our drive to th Serengeti. It was so beautiful, hard to believe it was only a lake! They had wicked loos as well!! We had some lunch before entering the serengeti and we sat on the roof seats to get a wicked view. Saw loads of animals and then we were camping in the middle of the park. was so cool as animas could just wander through. Had an en mass loo trip before bed just for the safety! lol.
Monday 25th - Had an early start today so we could watch the sun rise whilst on our game drive. We had to leave our tents open and empty so any animals could satisfy any curiousity whilst we were away. We went round an information point to do with the migration. was really interesting! Found out a wilderbeast baby can stannd within 1 min of being born and run full speed within an hour!! nice! We got told off about where we stopped for lunch and asked to leave but we didnt and instead went inside and bought drinks and watched an really good view of the park. Had loads of good hippo spottings as were driving along the river. Had an interestin thing today actually, as we were driving zoe n elton heard a funny noise from one of the tyres so they popped out to check it out. mags is looking around and suddenly says isnt tht a pair of ears? we look a bit harder and it turns out to be lion ears. needless to say they get back in the truck quickly. we drive on and find about 16 lions in the grass so close to where we were!!! haha.
Tuesday 26th - The hyenas were really close to our tents during the night, found tracks just outside them. was glad i hadnt needed to get up to pee during the night! did you no female hyenas also have a penis! We saw a leopard in a tree as we were on our way out of the serengeti which was so cool. it made us all well happy! After we left the park and were driving towrds to ngorongoro crater we came across the migration. And man it was spectacular. Again, like the flamingoes it was just indescribable. there were so many it was so good. came across a big group of lions too. We drove up to the top of the crater to get a look and then went to our campsite.
Wednesday 28th - We had a drive through the crater today and saw a black hino which was awesome. Was a bit of a rush getting out of the park so we too a well snazzy route. the guy on the gate wanted to charge us an extra day as we were a bit late but we were like no. lol. we drove to arusha and were staying at the snake park. got to see all the snakes and i held a 6 month old crocodile and some snake! eek! lol. The bar was wicked - had loads of cool tshirts attached to the ceiling!
Thursday 29th - My tent leaked on me during the night which was great so i got it swapped for another one in the morning. We visited a Masai village today and met some cute kids! watched them give a cow an injection an got a tour of some houses. we visited a computer centre (!) and a medical centre. we had originally been going to ride there on a camel but it was too wet so we walked and got muddy! We drove to see Mount Killi and then on to or campsite. There were loads of ants and after putting my tent up found i could go into a dorm for 2000 so i was like yeah. put tent away and went there. got some ant caught in my trousers and they bit me lots so stripped them off asap and jumped in the pool (in my swimstuff of course!) 4 years today! happy us! texted ryan!
Friday 30th - Harry woke us up in the night with his sleep taking and just after one of these just as we were going back to sleep the room started to shake. turns out there was a little earthquake! how cool! It was Toms 20th today so we had bday music on the truck. Got into Dar es Salaam and then onto our campsite. We did a kind of secret santa thing but for the name we picked out the hat we had to design a costume for tht person to wear tht evening, made out of bin bags. was fun! We played Frisbee on the beach n swam in the sea. we met another drago truck (headed in the opposite direction) and spent the evening at the bar with them. was quite a laugh. they had an awesome alcoholic slush puppy drink. so good! some of our guys did flaming sambuka shots and stuck them to their behinds. well amusing! good evening.
Saturday 31st - We headed over to Zanzibar on a couple of ferries today which was interesting as everyone was shattered from a distinct lack of sleep the night before. On arriving we got some lunch, wandered along the beach, sat in a bar and looked at some shops. on our way back to the bungalows the heavens opened and we got soaked. ooh. i bought a well nice skirt! went for tea at paradise beach hotel. wasnt too impressed with what i got for the price but shrug. lol.
Sunday 1st April - We decided to get a boat to take us snorkeling today and so after breakfast we headed out. On the way to the snorkeling spot our driver pointed out some dolphins and asked if we wanted to swim with them. obv we were like yeah. so we got our snorkels n flippers on n jumped in. and man it was amazing. there were loads of them, about 30 and we got to swim with them for ages and they kept coming so close! was awesome. so happy. was also cool cos even if you pay specially to do a dolphin trip its not very likely for you to actually get to swim with them or anything! so was amazing! After our dolphin swim we went on to the coral which was so cool too. very pretty, and it rained a bit so seeing the rain from under the water was snazzy! We got some lunch and then lay on the beach for a bit. me and zoe headed back to get showered before returning to the beach to watch the sunset in a bar with a cocktail. we then joined the others and joined some peeps that we had met for tea. went to cholos bar which was so cool. it had like a motorbike suspended between 2 trees! and a doorway just in the middle of the beach! zoe met some guys who lived over there and worked at a diff resort and they asked if we wanted to go there. so we did. it was so pretty (and they gave us free alcohol from behind the bar) and it was just us there! We sat cahtting for ages and then went for a swim in the sea at lyk 4 in the morning. was well funny. seemed just like a scene from jaws or something. the moon was so pretty!!! i made friends with a cat and it kept trying to put it head in my shirt. well funny. we sat up and watched the sunrise and then they gave us a room in their hotel (for free). Was the funniest thing cos were were wet and dirty and it was quite a posh place - it had like white pressed sheets. we didnt want to get in the bed and ended p in a giggling fit. Got home at 9.30 in the morning. was a wicked day n evening!
Monday 2nd - we got back in time for breakfast and then i read for a bit and packed my stuff as were heading into stone town for the night. we got to the hotel which had tvs and air con in the rooms! luxury! lol. spent afternoon with tom n harry watching the disney channel / dozing. went to afria house in the evening and sat in the sunset cafe to watch the sunset. in the evening we wandered to the fish market and got a zanzibar pizza and fresh fish cooked on the bbq things. the shrimp was so good!
Tuesday 3rd - We did a spice tour today which was really cool. we visited the church at the site of the old slave market which was so interesting. then (did some other visits to) went to the farm and got shown all the spices and given loads of things made out of leaves. we had a tasting session and actually had the most perfect avocado ever. we were taken for lunch at a house and then me and zoe got henna tattoos. When we finished we went back to the hotel and left at 3 to go back to the main land. Had an interesting journey. Everything went wrong. The first ferry was fine but after having the lights cut out on us in the queue we got on the 2nd ferry only to find we didnt move. A mini tug boat came up to us n tried to nudge us (turns out we were stuck!). it was ridiculous. it was so small. it didnt do anything so a medium sized boat came along. it succeeded in moving us from side to side but tht was it. so a big boat came and ended up snapping 2 ropes and still failing to moves us. we got off and got on the back of a pick up truck to drive round instead. the traffic was awful as well. was quite a laugh though cos we were all really hyper! we eventually got back to the campsite at 11.30 after 8 1/2 hours instead of 4! ha. Found out Elton hadnt been able to get his visa for SA (he had stayed behind to try and sort it out). Tis a shame.
Wednesday 4th - We had a long drive day today so left at 6 and did breakfast on the road. We drove through a national park on the way and stopped for lunch by a river. We were staying at the old farm house campsite in Kisolanzo and we had a meal prepared for us by them which was good. We met an ATC truck and after chatting to some of the girls for a while it turned out one of them, jenny, had done the killi climb with Hannah! isnt it a small world! lol. We had upgraded to little rooms and on trying to find where we were we got a bit lost. i ended up trying to open the wrong little hut and proceeded to scare the lady inside. whoops. lol. finished my fist diary book too! lol.
Sun 25th - We passed by Lake Victoria on our drive to th Serengeti. It was so beautiful, hard to believe it was only a lake! They had wicked loos as well!! We had some lunch before entering the serengeti and we sat on the roof seats to get a wicked view. Saw loads of animals and then we were camping in the middle of the park. was so cool as animas could just wander through. Had an en mass loo trip before bed just for the safety! lol.
Monday 25th - Had an early start today so we could watch the sun rise whilst on our game drive. We had to leave our tents open and empty so any animals could satisfy any curiousity whilst we were away. We went round an information point to do with the migration. was really interesting! Found out a wilderbeast baby can stannd within 1 min of being born and run full speed within an hour!! nice! We got told off about where we stopped for lunch and asked to leave but we didnt and instead went inside and bought drinks and watched an really good view of the park. Had loads of good hippo spottings as were driving along the river. Had an interestin thing today actually, as we were driving zoe n elton heard a funny noise from one of the tyres so they popped out to check it out. mags is looking around and suddenly says isnt tht a pair of ears? we look a bit harder and it turns out to be lion ears. needless to say they get back in the truck quickly. we drive on and find about 16 lions in the grass so close to where we were!!! haha.
Tuesday 26th - The hyenas were really close to our tents during the night, found tracks just outside them. was glad i hadnt needed to get up to pee during the night! did you no female hyenas also have a penis! We saw a leopard in a tree as we were on our way out of the serengeti which was so cool. it made us all well happy! After we left the park and were driving towrds to ngorongoro crater we came across the migration. And man it was spectacular. Again, like the flamingoes it was just indescribable. there were so many it was so good. came across a big group of lions too. We drove up to the top of the crater to get a look and then went to our campsite.
Wednesday 28th - We had a drive through the crater today and saw a black hino which was awesome. Was a bit of a rush getting out of the park so we too a well snazzy route. the guy on the gate wanted to charge us an extra day as we were a bit late but we were like no. lol. we drove to arusha and were staying at the snake park. got to see all the snakes and i held a 6 month old crocodile and some snake! eek! lol. The bar was wicked - had loads of cool tshirts attached to the ceiling!
Thursday 29th - My tent leaked on me during the night which was great so i got it swapped for another one in the morning. We visited a Masai village today and met some cute kids! watched them give a cow an injection an got a tour of some houses. we visited a computer centre (!) and a medical centre. we had originally been going to ride there on a camel but it was too wet so we walked and got muddy! We drove to see Mount Killi and then on to or campsite. There were loads of ants and after putting my tent up found i could go into a dorm for 2000 so i was like yeah. put tent away and went there. got some ant caught in my trousers and they bit me lots so stripped them off asap and jumped in the pool (in my swimstuff of course!) 4 years today! happy us! texted ryan!
Friday 30th - Harry woke us up in the night with his sleep taking and just after one of these just as we were going back to sleep the room started to shake. turns out there was a little earthquake! how cool! It was Toms 20th today so we had bday music on the truck. Got into Dar es Salaam and then onto our campsite. We did a kind of secret santa thing but for the name we picked out the hat we had to design a costume for tht person to wear tht evening, made out of bin bags. was fun! We played Frisbee on the beach n swam in the sea. we met another drago truck (headed in the opposite direction) and spent the evening at the bar with them. was quite a laugh. they had an awesome alcoholic slush puppy drink. so good! some of our guys did flaming sambuka shots and stuck them to their behinds. well amusing! good evening.
Saturday 31st - We headed over to Zanzibar on a couple of ferries today which was interesting as everyone was shattered from a distinct lack of sleep the night before. On arriving we got some lunch, wandered along the beach, sat in a bar and looked at some shops. on our way back to the bungalows the heavens opened and we got soaked. ooh. i bought a well nice skirt! went for tea at paradise beach hotel. wasnt too impressed with what i got for the price but shrug. lol.
Sunday 1st April - We decided to get a boat to take us snorkeling today and so after breakfast we headed out. On the way to the snorkeling spot our driver pointed out some dolphins and asked if we wanted to swim with them. obv we were like yeah. so we got our snorkels n flippers on n jumped in. and man it was amazing. there were loads of them, about 30 and we got to swim with them for ages and they kept coming so close! was awesome. so happy. was also cool cos even if you pay specially to do a dolphin trip its not very likely for you to actually get to swim with them or anything! so was amazing! After our dolphin swim we went on to the coral which was so cool too. very pretty, and it rained a bit so seeing the rain from under the water was snazzy! We got some lunch and then lay on the beach for a bit. me and zoe headed back to get showered before returning to the beach to watch the sunset in a bar with a cocktail. we then joined the others and joined some peeps that we had met for tea. went to cholos bar which was so cool. it had like a motorbike suspended between 2 trees! and a doorway just in the middle of the beach! zoe met some guys who lived over there and worked at a diff resort and they asked if we wanted to go there. so we did. it was so pretty (and they gave us free alcohol from behind the bar) and it was just us there! We sat cahtting for ages and then went for a swim in the sea at lyk 4 in the morning. was well funny. seemed just like a scene from jaws or something. the moon was so pretty!!! i made friends with a cat and it kept trying to put it head in my shirt. well funny. we sat up and watched the sunrise and then they gave us a room in their hotel (for free). Was the funniest thing cos were were wet and dirty and it was quite a posh place - it had like white pressed sheets. we didnt want to get in the bed and ended p in a giggling fit. Got home at 9.30 in the morning. was a wicked day n evening!
Monday 2nd - we got back in time for breakfast and then i read for a bit and packed my stuff as were heading into stone town for the night. we got to the hotel which had tvs and air con in the rooms! luxury! lol. spent afternoon with tom n harry watching the disney channel / dozing. went to afria house in the evening and sat in the sunset cafe to watch the sunset. in the evening we wandered to the fish market and got a zanzibar pizza and fresh fish cooked on the bbq things. the shrimp was so good!
Tuesday 3rd - We did a spice tour today which was really cool. we visited the church at the site of the old slave market which was so interesting. then (did some other visits to) went to the farm and got shown all the spices and given loads of things made out of leaves. we had a tasting session and actually had the most perfect avocado ever. we were taken for lunch at a house and then me and zoe got henna tattoos. When we finished we went back to the hotel and left at 3 to go back to the main land. Had an interesting journey. Everything went wrong. The first ferry was fine but after having the lights cut out on us in the queue we got on the 2nd ferry only to find we didnt move. A mini tug boat came up to us n tried to nudge us (turns out we were stuck!). it was ridiculous. it was so small. it didnt do anything so a medium sized boat came along. it succeeded in moving us from side to side but tht was it. so a big boat came and ended up snapping 2 ropes and still failing to moves us. we got off and got on the back of a pick up truck to drive round instead. the traffic was awful as well. was quite a laugh though cos we were all really hyper! we eventually got back to the campsite at 11.30 after 8 1/2 hours instead of 4! ha. Found out Elton hadnt been able to get his visa for SA (he had stayed behind to try and sort it out). Tis a shame.
Wednesday 4th - We had a long drive day today so left at 6 and did breakfast on the road. We drove through a national park on the way and stopped for lunch by a river. We were staying at the old farm house campsite in Kisolanzo and we had a meal prepared for us by them which was good. We met an ATC truck and after chatting to some of the girls for a while it turned out one of them, jenny, had done the killi climb with Hannah! isnt it a small world! lol. We had upgraded to little rooms and on trying to find where we were we got a bit lost. i ended up trying to open the wrong little hut and proceeded to scare the lady inside. whoops. lol. finished my fist diary book too! lol.
Tuesday 10 April 2007
Kenya
So started the 2nd stage of my trip on Monday 19th, where i left my hotel and joined the dragoman crew at upperhill campsite. we had a bit of a late night - well, not really, but it was for me who had usually been going to bed at 9 when at school. lol. visited giraffes as i said earlier.
Tuesday 20th - We headed to lake Naivasha today and had a bit of a chilled out day. Visited the Born Free place n saw a film about elsa and then had tea on the garden. did a sunset boat ride to see the hippos which was fun fun. and then sat round the fire chattin n me and tom got introduced to the delights of shakey face!!!! produces some amusin photos!!!
Wednesday 21st - We visited an orphanage / rescue centre today which was really nice but really sad at the same time. these kids had really had a bad time of it but they were so sweet. we spent ages playing with them and they actually loved playing with my hair! There was one lil girl who at the age of 3 only weighed 4kg due to mistreatment. she was so cute n i held her for ages whilst playing with the other kids n as she was so light it didnt even make my arm ache. Camped in a school ground tonight.
Thursday 22nd - Visited Nakuru today. There was a bit of a mix up so we couldnt go into the park on the truck so made plans to go in the next day. spent time in town bargoning with the people n getting cool souvenirs. met another truck at the campsite this evening which was cool.
Friday 23rd - Me and Tom went to the national park with 2 girls from new zealand. Was a pain gettin tom up cos he was hung over n we had a lack of food cos elton didnt get up either so i took us aloaf of bread for lunch. nice. lol. the park was amazing and the flamingoes in the lake were indescribable!! so amazing. Visited the menengai crater on our way home and on arriving at the campsite i got my clothes back and had an awesome shower
Tuesday 20th - We headed to lake Naivasha today and had a bit of a chilled out day. Visited the Born Free place n saw a film about elsa and then had tea on the garden. did a sunset boat ride to see the hippos which was fun fun. and then sat round the fire chattin n me and tom got introduced to the delights of shakey face!!!! produces some amusin photos!!!
Wednesday 21st - We visited an orphanage / rescue centre today which was really nice but really sad at the same time. these kids had really had a bad time of it but they were so sweet. we spent ages playing with them and they actually loved playing with my hair! There was one lil girl who at the age of 3 only weighed 4kg due to mistreatment. she was so cute n i held her for ages whilst playing with the other kids n as she was so light it didnt even make my arm ache. Camped in a school ground tonight.
Thursday 22nd - Visited Nakuru today. There was a bit of a mix up so we couldnt go into the park on the truck so made plans to go in the next day. spent time in town bargoning with the people n getting cool souvenirs. met another truck at the campsite this evening which was cool.
Friday 23rd - Me and Tom went to the national park with 2 girls from new zealand. Was a pain gettin tom up cos he was hung over n we had a lack of food cos elton didnt get up either so i took us aloaf of bread for lunch. nice. lol. the park was amazing and the flamingoes in the lake were indescribable!! so amazing. Visited the menengai crater on our way home and on arriving at the campsite i got my clothes back and had an awesome shower
Monday 9 April 2007
End of Stage One
Right..... Long time no right so loads to write..... hmm, i have appauling english. really shouldnt have been teaching that i gues... but hey. here goes!!!
Wednesday 7th - Away for 1 month. time has gone so quickly. was asked to do all of form 2w's geog lessons to which i agreed. obv! although, writing on the board for so long does actually make the arm ache! Had a chat with caroline - the new english teacher who replaced Faith. Shes 24 and this is her first job since completin uni. Spent the evening with her and Jackie and we wandered to moi tea. Then they taught me some kiswaheli whilst we were lounging on their bed. felt well at home. They cooked for me and then later in the evening Elizer (another teacher) came to their house to see if they knew where i was cos he hadnt seen my light and he wanted to check i was ok! So nice! Really nice evening.
Thursday 8th - Finished a geog topic with my class today but was just a pretty normal day. Again, spent evening wih Caroline and taught her some cards. went for a wander.
Friday 9th - After teaching a grammer lesson today i went to a drama festival with Caroline. There was some really good stuff going on - there was one which was done by an all guys school and some of them dressed as girls and i seriously wouldnt have realised they were guys if it hadnt have been pointed out. lol. we walked to town and i bumped into nick which was a nice suprise.
Sat 10th - I decided to spend the weekend at the school compound and after doing some washing i spent most of the day with caroline. get on really well with her so its really cool. we went for a walk in the evening with some students. Amazing lightening was going on, with the added bonus of no rain!
Sunday 11th - Spent the day with the same people today, Caroline, Jackie, Rob and Kennedy. We walked down to Brooke via the arboratum. Took loads of photos. Again, a really nice day! We went for another walk in the afternoon but in the other direction to the forest. On the way back we got caught in a bit of a storm so had to power walk back. lol.
Monday 12th - I finished marking the English books from my grammer lesson this morning and then took them for another lesson. went to rispers for the evening and helped her seperate some veg stalk and leaves.
Tuesday 13th - I sharpened some of the penils that i was giving to the students but gave myslef a blister and so stopped. decided they could sharpen them themselves. Mr langat took some photos of me teaching today. Was really wierd to think i would be leaving soon.
Wednesday 14th - My right hand around my knuckles was swollen due to some bites (i think) today and it was so so soo itchy. Went to visit the tea factory this afternoon which i found so intersting. we had to wear white jackets and hats to go in. tres amusing. i learnt there are 6 main stages to the tea process - i wont go into it in detail cos have loads still left to catch up with! (but the stages are 1-Reception, 2-Withering, 3-Cutting, 4-Oxidation, 5-Drying, 6-Sorting) Got told that on a really good day (24 hours) the factory could process 120000 cages, producing 20000kg of tea!! Went for drinks at joshuas house and then spent evening with Caroline and Jackie.
Thursday 15th - Went to the Masaai Mara today which was snazzy. A guy called edgar was driving us (an old student) and on the way there we got 2 flat tyres! It took us about 8 hours to get there and when we finally did arrive there was a bit of a problem to do with the cost of entering the park and so we nearly had to go straight home. Luckily it all worked out and we all got in for 500 shillings - beats having to pay $40!! lol. we only spent an hour and a half in the park but we still saw loads of stuff, including lots of lions n lion cubs. so cute!!! after having left the park we came across a large group of elephants which was well snazzy as we hadnt seen any in the actual park. On the way home we got another flat tyre. nice. lol. we stopped for a bite to eat at about 9.30 which was much appreciated as i had been needing the loo more n more!!!Davis bought us some reds on the way home and finally got home about 12ish.
Friday 16th - Last school day today! Got up early to attend the assembly and speak to the students to say goodbye. Joshua thanked me and then after the assembly we took some photos. Risper gave me a present, some nice flip flop things. At the beginning of my visit to Chagaik they said i could plant a tree but i think they forgot - sob! oh well! Went into town to change some money to give for the transport to the mara but made a mistake n didnt change enough. Said goodbye to risper and then met with some students (the ones who are coming to aylesbury in the summer) to go back to school. Mr Langat gave me some presents from him n the school which was cute! Spoke with Fred on returning to school (the geog teacher) and then he gave me a letter from the school which i can use as a reference.
Saturday 17th - Last day at Chagaik. Spent it with Caroline and it was a bit hectic. i had to go into town again to change some more money but everything went wrong and frist we missed a matatu thing, then they were all full n we had to walk to brooke. and by the time we got into town all the banks were shut apart from one which wasnt changing money that day. Caroline did some shopping and then we headed home. did some washing and then spent afternoon with Caroline.
Sunday 18th - Went to Carolines at 7 this morning as they had invited me for some breakfast before i left. The taxi came a bit later but then it ran out of petrol so the guy had to walk to get some more. i was like great. lol. but it all turned out fine, and i said goodbye to caroline, as she had walked down with me and elijah before going into town. i managed to withdraw some money which was a rel;ief and then we caught the coach to nairobi. It took about 6 hours and after dropping me at the hotel elijah said goodbye and went back to Chagaik. I was thoroughly excited to find my hotel room had a bath and hot water!! It actually made my day. the water was disgusting when i finished. lol. The hotel was next to a road and it was well wierd to be able to hear traffic cos where i had been staying it was 2km from the road! lol. Got a phone call from Auntie in the evening when i was about to go to sleep which was a well nice suprise! had a nice chat n then went to sleep.
And thats the end of Chagaik!!!! Actually had a wicked time there and an amazing experience. Was nice to have experienced life there a bit, rather than just being more of a tourist. Made some great friends and have some snazzy memories!
Wednesday 7th - Away for 1 month. time has gone so quickly. was asked to do all of form 2w's geog lessons to which i agreed. obv! although, writing on the board for so long does actually make the arm ache! Had a chat with caroline - the new english teacher who replaced Faith. Shes 24 and this is her first job since completin uni. Spent the evening with her and Jackie and we wandered to moi tea. Then they taught me some kiswaheli whilst we were lounging on their bed. felt well at home. They cooked for me and then later in the evening Elizer (another teacher) came to their house to see if they knew where i was cos he hadnt seen my light and he wanted to check i was ok! So nice! Really nice evening.
Thursday 8th - Finished a geog topic with my class today but was just a pretty normal day. Again, spent evening wih Caroline and taught her some cards. went for a wander.
Friday 9th - After teaching a grammer lesson today i went to a drama festival with Caroline. There was some really good stuff going on - there was one which was done by an all guys school and some of them dressed as girls and i seriously wouldnt have realised they were guys if it hadnt have been pointed out. lol. we walked to town and i bumped into nick which was a nice suprise.
Sat 10th - I decided to spend the weekend at the school compound and after doing some washing i spent most of the day with caroline. get on really well with her so its really cool. we went for a walk in the evening with some students. Amazing lightening was going on, with the added bonus of no rain!
Sunday 11th - Spent the day with the same people today, Caroline, Jackie, Rob and Kennedy. We walked down to Brooke via the arboratum. Took loads of photos. Again, a really nice day! We went for another walk in the afternoon but in the other direction to the forest. On the way back we got caught in a bit of a storm so had to power walk back. lol.
Monday 12th - I finished marking the English books from my grammer lesson this morning and then took them for another lesson. went to rispers for the evening and helped her seperate some veg stalk and leaves.
Tuesday 13th - I sharpened some of the penils that i was giving to the students but gave myslef a blister and so stopped. decided they could sharpen them themselves. Mr langat took some photos of me teaching today. Was really wierd to think i would be leaving soon.
Wednesday 14th - My right hand around my knuckles was swollen due to some bites (i think) today and it was so so soo itchy. Went to visit the tea factory this afternoon which i found so intersting. we had to wear white jackets and hats to go in. tres amusing. i learnt there are 6 main stages to the tea process - i wont go into it in detail cos have loads still left to catch up with! (but the stages are 1-Reception, 2-Withering, 3-Cutting, 4-Oxidation, 5-Drying, 6-Sorting) Got told that on a really good day (24 hours) the factory could process 120000 cages, producing 20000kg of tea!! Went for drinks at joshuas house and then spent evening with Caroline and Jackie.
Thursday 15th - Went to the Masaai Mara today which was snazzy. A guy called edgar was driving us (an old student) and on the way there we got 2 flat tyres! It took us about 8 hours to get there and when we finally did arrive there was a bit of a problem to do with the cost of entering the park and so we nearly had to go straight home. Luckily it all worked out and we all got in for 500 shillings - beats having to pay $40!! lol. we only spent an hour and a half in the park but we still saw loads of stuff, including lots of lions n lion cubs. so cute!!! after having left the park we came across a large group of elephants which was well snazzy as we hadnt seen any in the actual park. On the way home we got another flat tyre. nice. lol. we stopped for a bite to eat at about 9.30 which was much appreciated as i had been needing the loo more n more!!!Davis bought us some reds on the way home and finally got home about 12ish.
Friday 16th - Last school day today! Got up early to attend the assembly and speak to the students to say goodbye. Joshua thanked me and then after the assembly we took some photos. Risper gave me a present, some nice flip flop things. At the beginning of my visit to Chagaik they said i could plant a tree but i think they forgot - sob! oh well! Went into town to change some money to give for the transport to the mara but made a mistake n didnt change enough. Said goodbye to risper and then met with some students (the ones who are coming to aylesbury in the summer) to go back to school. Mr Langat gave me some presents from him n the school which was cute! Spoke with Fred on returning to school (the geog teacher) and then he gave me a letter from the school which i can use as a reference.
Saturday 17th - Last day at Chagaik. Spent it with Caroline and it was a bit hectic. i had to go into town again to change some more money but everything went wrong and frist we missed a matatu thing, then they were all full n we had to walk to brooke. and by the time we got into town all the banks were shut apart from one which wasnt changing money that day. Caroline did some shopping and then we headed home. did some washing and then spent afternoon with Caroline.
Sunday 18th - Went to Carolines at 7 this morning as they had invited me for some breakfast before i left. The taxi came a bit later but then it ran out of petrol so the guy had to walk to get some more. i was like great. lol. but it all turned out fine, and i said goodbye to caroline, as she had walked down with me and elijah before going into town. i managed to withdraw some money which was a rel;ief and then we caught the coach to nairobi. It took about 6 hours and after dropping me at the hotel elijah said goodbye and went back to Chagaik. I was thoroughly excited to find my hotel room had a bath and hot water!! It actually made my day. the water was disgusting when i finished. lol. The hotel was next to a road and it was well wierd to be able to hear traffic cos where i had been staying it was 2km from the road! lol. Got a phone call from Auntie in the evening when i was about to go to sleep which was a well nice suprise! had a nice chat n then went to sleep.
And thats the end of Chagaik!!!! Actually had a wicked time there and an amazing experience. Was nice to have experienced life there a bit, rather than just being more of a tourist. Made some great friends and have some snazzy memories!
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