Its my B-day : Part I

so today i am 1 year older. the day so far has been good and bad, or should i say, ok. at the present time i'm feeling a bit depressed. the morning was great as i got to talk to folks at home and they were wishing me the best but the day has gone down hill from there as i found myself with more time on my hands. normally i love having extra time. i don't mind my own company but today is a day when i really want people around and there is no one to hang with me. people are busy or tired, some people can't make it to dinner tonight so i kind of feel like everyone is bailing on me. i guess it is hitting me harder than normal cause it is my birthday and i am away from home. in one sense Australia is home to me, yet in many ways it isn't. especially at this time. i miss my mom and dad. there is just something about having them with me on my b-day. knowing that my mom will bake my cake, which i have had to do for myself the past few years. even though we might not do anything special on the day, just having them makes a difference. i miss my brothers and sister, my niece and my friends, most of whom i have spoken to today already. here i have friends, but the culture and the nature of our lives are just so different. we are all so busy and usually i am too busy to be bothered by loneliness. but i do get lonely here. it is at these times, when i find myself with time on my hands, that i really wish i was in a relationship. just to have someone here with me, who would really share this day with me. man it feels like a pipe dream. i am so lonely, not alone, but lonely at this time.

now that i have written all of this down, i have gotten it out of my system, so i feel a bit better. still a little down but we'll see if my day picks up from here. i am having dinner with a bunch of friends to look forward to, even though i sense that not many people will show ( as some people have gotten sick, which i understand), those that do get to make is their presence will be much appreciated. my flatmates are great and have cooked a feast. i am alive for another year. i am almost finished with school, so i will be a doctor within this year, scary thought, but true. no relationship on the horizon but that by the grace of god will come. i do have the lord so all my need are and will be met...:) i'll come back and tell you whether my day picked up......

Birthday Eve

so it's the night before my B-day, and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.....no stockings by the chimney, though its winter here, and no true hopes for the b-day fairy. my wish for the day, one year older, is that it is a good one. that i am safe and that it is not too tiring at hospital. i'm looking forward to dinner that night, as my flat mates are cooking for me and friends are coming over. hopefully they bring Pressies and wine....:) i have decided that this year i will not make my own b-day cake, i just won't have the time. Peta is very disappointed, but i'll make up for it by baking on the weekend. instead, i will be getting my cake from this place called the French Kitchen. they do the most divine French Mud cake. i had it at Zeke's party and i must say that it is worthy of my B-day....lol.

today is also the day that i mail in my internship applications. i'm a bit apprehensive about it all. i need to pray over it. it will be in the Lord's hands. so it is a momentous week folks. neways... my head is killing me, so its sleep time for me....

Psych

So 2 weeks into the Psychiatry term and things are going ok. its a busy time and the term is more tiring than i thought it would be. interviews with crazy people can be so tiring mentally. i'm learning a lot but i can't help but pray every time i'm in an interview that one day that won't be me. a lot of what i have seen is so sad, and it is hard to see patients who are on medication for schizophrenia for example, try to rationalize or come to terms with the delusions that they have had for years. can u imagine being told that something that u have believed has been real for 10 years isn't really real. man that would just kill me. so yea, i feel it for my patients. i do know that i'm more than likely not going to be a psychiatrist. but so far so good. i'm getting it. although i am fighting some serious feelings of laziness. i just don't want to do anything, but hey, i'm winning that battle. apart from that school is school (pic). and i'm almost done..... thank the good lord.

I've been back for over a week

so gentle people i have been back for almost 2 weeks now, and it has been both good and ok. nothing really bad, just a bit frustrating. i got back to find that the girls that had moved into my room when i had left had dismatled my furniture and packed up my things totally. it would be a little unfair of me to say that and not say that they thought they had good reason to do it. there was a bed bug incident, and they went a bit berzerk and crazy and was like they can hide in anything wood...... so they took apart my bookcases and other furniture...... so i had to rebuild my room. it was a pain in the rear end, but i did get a chance to re-think my room and change it around a bit. i also discovered that my bed was broken, thank goodness that Robynn (one of my flatmates) was getting a new bed, so Peta's extra bed (which is what she was using before) became available. so i now have that bed and my bed, which was a futon, is now a futon couch. the living room looks great and my room looks very differnt. the bed is higher than my original bed, which is a bit weird but im getting used to it. i have such great sleeps in there, i feel really snuggled up in there amidst all my pillows and cushions. so the majority of the week was spent rebuilding the room and gradually unpacking. i still have the closet to touch, but im happy with my room as it is which is prob why i'm not rushing to get that underway. but i know there are stuff in there that i will eventually want, so i better get to it this weekend, atleast so i know where things are when i want them.

i also came back to having to get new authorisation to work. that too a bit of time but tha tis finally done. and i have started working again, thanks to the good lord. i need some mula. i contacted my agent and she was happy that i was back, so that is cool. hopefully i can get some jobs in for the end of this year. neways that was me. i'll talk about school in another post....... friends are all good, i got to see some of the new babies in my world, they are adorable. got to spend time with various friends catching up, they missed me as i did them so that was cool. it is good to be back. sometimes feels a bit weird at church cause my church is always on the move. so it means i look around and don't know half the people there, but as someone pointed out to me, that half the people DO know me, and that is great and amazing too. so there is a positive in everything. i'm rostered to sing for the first time since i've been back, on sunday. i'm excited about that, it will be cool. ok peeps..... later

Thanks to great people

Well I have left Kenya, this is a little summary of the cool people I met while I was here…..

Lets start with the people that housed me this past month, mom and dad, my friend's parents. they are simply amazing people. such natural leaders and using what God has gifted them with (that leadership quality) to help better the lives of those around them. that is why they were so busy while i was here, Dad is running for member of Parliament for his area. so they are focused on that and things are going well so far....

Next comes my friends sister, and i'll put and her man in this little chat too. she is focused and brilliant. doing very well in school and like her parents, is into this leadership thing too....lol. yep she trains young people to be the best they can be and she is only 23/24 herself. actually the whole family is like that and it just helped me to see why my friend is the way she is. its in the genes. her fella is a cool cat, funny and brilliant too. he was fun to be around and we shared lots of things including DVDs and music. yes folks i got 14GB more music from him. so i'm set for a while now....

the next set of great people are the med students at kenyatta. represented by Sylvia (in burgundy), Alice (in green) and Wambui (in white). they were awesome. i was only with them for Peads, which was just two weeks, but we became close. i got used to them being around. the rotation was so much better because of them. they were generous with their time and knowledge. they took me to wash my hair, around the town, all over, even to recording ads. we just hung out together, lunch and tea were our things. it was great, and i'll miss you girls. we'll keep in touch, definitely

My wonderful friend Mugambi, was simply a blessing. i told you earlier of some of the things he did for me when i had just met him, and he really was a life saver this weekend. he got up at the awful hour of 4 am to drop me to the airport, and he and Kangai waited till i was all checked in etc. then he was such a dear and gave me his Jonny Depp Pirates poster. now that is love ladies and gentlemen. he was great and we have had such great chats about movies and such. i'll miss Mugash, but we'll talk.

there are more folks to acknowledge but i'm on paid time here in the airport in Jo'berg, so i'll have to finish it up when i get home. heaps of love and thanks to everyone who made my trip a blast and an amazing, God blessed time.

Safari Expanded

Let me just warn you from now, this is a very, very long post......

So peeps, here is the blow by blow (for as much of this I can handle) of my Safari into the Masai Mara. Let’s just start off by saying it was great. I went for 3 days and 2 nights. We departed Nairobi in a brown land cruiser. There were 6 of us, 3 Aussies (myself, Stewart, Catherine), 2 Canadians (Penny and Sarah) and one Belgian (Lizbeth) plus a driver (Humphrey) and cook (Bernard). The drive to the mara was slated to take us 7 hours, that folks was not about to happen as out cruiser was having some difficulty getting up the hills. There was no acceleration on the hills so the trip took much longer. It wasn’t long before we were all chatting and finding out where each other was from, what we were doing in Nairobi etc. on the way to the mara we passed through the spectacular rift valley and the view was breathtaking as you can see. We stopped for lunch about 5 hrs or so into the trip and dined on cheese, salami and veggie sandwiches. At least that was the combo that I made. While we were packing up, I spotted some mushrooms growing in the damp soil around an abandoned car, so you know I had to take a pic of that. I wish I had taken more. I think it came out quite well. So now we were on our way again. At this time we were in the ‘suburbs’ or the Mara. Here we saw wildebeests that didn’t go on the migration back to the Serengeti and who ran to the burbs to escape the lions in the park as well as zebras (who are always in the company of the wildebeests because they can’t eat the tall grasses of the savannahs, so they let the beasts eat it down then they can feast), impala and giraffes.

When we got into the Masai Mara national reserve we went on a mini game drive and started out seeing an elephant and lots and lots of buffalo. Then, we saw the most amazing thing….. Lions. I mean they were just sitting there in the brush and of course all the other vehicles were around, then they drove off and the lions were beside out car. It was amazing. Then they were on the move, on the hunt for buffalo. It was the most awesome thing, seeing the lionesses doing their thing. They had a rough time with these buffalo as they were not afraid and chased the lionesses in return. It was crazy. There was this man though in another vehicle who was an idiot, he was sitting on the window, half his body is outside. Humphrey said to us that that is something that should never be done, as the lions are hungry and can easily take him from the car and if that happened, no one would be able to intervene, we would all have to sit and watch as they tore him limb from limb. Thank god that didn’t happen. So our first day out was amazing. We then went on to camp, which was just outside the reserve. Here we had our pick of log cabins or tents as it was low season and there was no one else at camp but us. We chose cabins which had a single bed and bunk beds. We met our Masai security guards and ate food. We planned out next day where we were to leave at 6:30 am for a morning drive, back for lunch and a visit to the Masai village and then out again for an afternoon game drive. By this time bed was calling me, so I went to sleep.

The next morning I was up before dawn at 5 am or so. I decided that I would take a shower then, hoping that the boiler had been going for enough time to heat the water. Catherine and I went on our way, oh I had forgotten to take a flashlight so we got the guard Moses to take us to the showers. The water was not warm, but it was not freezing either, so I had a very tepid shower, that couldn’t even be described as a shower as the water was just a dribble. While I was showering, using Moses’ flashlight as light, he was telling Catherine that a lion was near our camp last night. It was amazing. It was coughing up a hairball. Lol… can u believe that. Well neways, showers over we went back and got dressed and prepared to leave. On this morning the sunrise was simply amazing and since I am usually never up that early to see it, it was a treat for me. The orange and pinks were spectacular as u saw in my previous post. This morning the first thing was saw were lionesses on the hunt again, this time they were a different pride. Soon we found the King lying around keeping an eye on the cubs who were a little ways off playing while the moms found them breakfast. Two lionesses were left with the kids. Then a little ways off we found another King chowing down on his breakfast of Impala (see video previously posted). That was so crazy as u could hear the bones crunching away. It was so cool.

A little more driving and then we saw cheetahs. There were three brothers, who had just had breakfast, so they were just kind of lying around being bums. It was cool. Over the next hill was a lone female cheetah who was watching the brothers (seen in the earlier post). We were told that she will eventually be the destruction of the brotherly relationship as they will fight to determine which one of them will be her mate. But for the moment she was content to simply watch them. After the cheetahs we went to the river to watch the hippos. U could hear them as u approached. Hippos are cool creatures, Very playful. They spend all day in water since their skin is very sensitive and gets burned easily. They only come out when it is dark, at night. But till then, they stay in the river, playing with each other (see video). They created this symphony of breath sounds as they each came up for air at different times. It was so cool. I just watched them for ages. That was the only place that we were allowed to get out the car and go to the rivers edge. After that we went in search of a leopard or black rhino but alas no such luck. There are only 46 black rhinos in the park and the park is over 1500 square km, plus they are shy creatures and hide, so they are very difficult to spot. Leopards are the same in that they hide and are very difficult to spot in the trees. We did see elephants, olive baboons, dick dicks, hyenas, foxes, ostriches, tokies and more lions though (I have pics of all of those too, of course).

We headed back to camp for brunch and then went to one of the Masai villages where we got to see the Masai warriors dance as well as got a welcome from the women. We were taught about the Masai culture, showed how they light a fire using two types of wood and got a view into a hut. It was very cool. They kept saying that it was an easy life, and I was like, yea right, if that is all you have known, but to someone like me, I couldn’t do it at all. An no I didn’t go there and fall in love with a warrior, that life is not for me, I love my conveniences too much. At the warrior dance, they said that the one that jumps the highest gets many girlfriends…lol… and it was all about the killing of a male lion. The first to spear the lion is the winner. (On an aside, our guide, Buddy has killed 2 lions, has 2 wives, 4 children, owns 60 cows and over 100 goats… he is a very rich. It was very interesting he was only 27 or 28) so I learned that the men are circumcised at 15, and the girls, that after that the men become warriors. They are permitted to marry between 20 and 26 or so but their first wife is the choice of their parents and then any wife after that is their choice. They have to have enough cows though to support two wives and their children. The houses are built by the women using sticks and cow dung. It is actually divided into rooms with walls and everything but the houses was very small. It made me wonder how these tall men seriously handled it, cause they would have to crouch all the time. Anyway everything was in these houses, it was very interesting. After all of this they had set up a market for us to buy their wares. They wouldn’t let us leave without us getting something, and bargaining was apart of that. So I had to master the art of walking away if I didn’t get the price I wanted until they came down. I only bought a bracelet anyway mainly cause I knew that I was gonna come back to Nairobi and go to the Masai market where I got a Kenyan to go with me to talk them down to the price I wanted. And everything was cheaper, waaaay cheaper.

Our afternoon game drive was pretty cool. We saw giraffes including babies, elephants, cheetahs again and an amazing sunset. We also saw a snake by the side of the road which had just eaten something, so it was rather slow. I have no idea what snake it was but it was cool to see. Oh I forgot to say that throughout the whole experience we saw some amazing birds with colours so bright and beautiful. I didn’t know their names but that was cool. Some I did know like one of the eagles, vultures and I saw and learned about the secretary bird (I think it’s the larges flying bird). Dinner was great and I had decided to take a shower a bit earlier while there was still light, and the water was hot….yeah…. I was glad about that. The next morning, Sunday morning, we packed up and departed with a visitor, Mr. Olive Baboon, seeing us off. We did a mini game drive on our way out of the park and saw what we perceived to be the usual by now. U know, lions, cheetahs, impalas, tokies and such. Neways we were on our way by 9:30 am and at our pit stop at the gate, the Masai women were sooooo pushy trying to well us stuff, u had to sometimes get down right rude and even that didn’t work. We saw the same things going as we saw coming, which was cool to see again.

The trip back was very, very dusty. When I got back I felt like my skin and pores were all clogged with dirt, oil and vehicle exhaust. It was nasty. I got back and had to have a good scrub. But I came back with amazing pictures and having had an amazing time. The Mara is beautiful, the landscape is simply amazing and it extends all the way to the mountains of Tanzania. There were places that as far as the eye could see there was just yellow green grass. Then there would be a lone tree. It was almost as if someone plucked out all the other trees and just left that one. Just amazing. I would love to do a photo shoot out there or in someplace with the same vista minus the wild animals…lol.

So that was my Safari. I know this was a long post but I did say that I would expound on what happened….lol. it was a good trip, the perfect length of time. But guys, when we come back here, we are gonna have to do a more luxury one at maybe the Savoy or Serena. The ultimate one would be the Governor’s, where our accommodations are in the middle of the Mara. They have to have guards around because at any time the animals can just roam into camp. Yea I know that’s like the most expensive one but the others are like that too, but not as expensive. So start saving. I’ll do the same. It’s a deal… cool…. The best time frame I think a 3 day 2 night one, cause then its still exciting and hasn’t become boring. Ok I’m gone…. chat to you later.

The King eating his Breakfast

here is the video of the Lion King eating his Impala for Breakfast. the sound of him munching on the bones could send chills down ur spine and the size of his teeth..... well lets just say i was glad i was in the cruiser...

Hippos playing in the Mara

Here is a video of Hippos having some fun in the river. They were amazing. hearing them in the river where they spend all of the day, once the sun is out, since they have sensitive skin was awesome. it literally created a symphony of puffs. each hippo coming up for air at different times. i was awed. so enjoy....

The Masai Mara

Folks there is so much i could write about last weekend and at the time it all happening, the words were coming to my head. if i had written this blog then, it would have been the most entertaining thing in the world. but alas, i am here in front of the comp and am so tired i can't even type straight. so what i might do is hold off on writing this blog till tomorrow, when i am not so tired. i really want to do my trip justice, cause man it was amazing..... what i will do though is give u little hints of what i saw with my pics and then tomorrow i will expound. ..... i will say that i was glad i went over the weekend. it was the perfect amount of time. (pics of sunset and sunrise in the Mara, that sight was amazing)




I saw lions and cheetahs, hippos and soooo much more including a visit to a Masai village. i even saw the lions on the hunt and saw the King (yes, the Lion king) eating his breakfast of Impala....lol. neways there was 6 of us on the trip and we all had a great time..... but more about this tomorrow....