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After The Football Match
Ladies and Gentlemen I present the Mkwiro version of Reading Football Team
Unfortunately the loosers also decided to join us (being West Ham and the team with no name)... The Marine and Wildlife Research and Community Development in East Africa.
I had actually managed to make it across Africa, overland in 7 days and join the expedition on time. Next up was the trip back down to Shimoni right in the South East corner of Kenya. In other words back the way I had come a couple of days before!!!
The journey took about 2 and a ½ hours. During which time I realised that I had lost my trusty fleece (which had doubled up as a pillow on more than one occasion), about 30 GBP and a sudoku book that I had been using to keep my mind busy. Damn.
We got to Shimoni and started to prepare for Mkwiro village on Wassini Island, the place where we would be living for the next 5 weeks.
I also noticed every one else’s kit. Shiny and new, and there where my boots duct taped together. I was almost jealous, but then I realised that the others had only just arrived and hadn’t had the adventure I had.
The place was not comfortable. 25 people crammed into 4 dorms, the place didn’t even look like as
The Team Of Love Hugs & Violation
Don't ask me how we came up with that name, i just came together after camp duty one day... if it had been finished properly.
The First Week The plan was too fill the first two weeks with training then start the actual research and teaching work that we had signed up for, which went pretty much too plan. Except the swim test which involved a 200 meter swim in the open sea. I failed.
I also found myself living in the midst of a Muslim community and on my first day decided to go to the mosque. I asked the way and was followed by a bunch of children shouting jambo with my every step.
I walked into the mosque and was greeted with surprised looks. I prayed and was shown the way back by some one kind enough to wait a couple of minutes.
I went back for evening prayers at which point a lot of people decided that they would introduce them selves to me. In total I had been given about 70 new names in the space of about 24 hours! On top of this the local scholar that runs the orphanage decided to introduce himself too me and talk to me in Urdu!
The training went as planned.
However some thing happened that was making me rather nervous…
On the second day I was asked to give a speech at the mosque. After Friday prayers. It could be on what ever I wanted it to be on, and then have lunch with the scholar afterwards. Friday prayers approached and I was at a loss as too what to give the speech on. It wasn’t until Thursday that I chose a topic. Friday morning saw me hastily jumble together a few notes on the importance of life long learning.
Prayers came and I stood up in front of about 70 people. THEN THEY PUT THE MICROPHONE UNDER MY FACE SO THE WHOLE VILLAGE COULD HEAR!!!!!!! I spent all of about two minutes putting the notes into a speech (in my head) and delivering it at the same time.
It was short and too the point. The translation into Swahili took a lot longer. I sat down before I fell down and afterwards went for the most delicious sea food dinner I have ever had.
Other points of note were me getting sea sick on the boat, the first expedition member to do so.
Then there was the incident when I was asked to follow some one to their house to meet their husband. On my way to the next place I was going I was introduced to 3 sisters in law. I said hello and after a moments awkward silence asked the directions to some one elses house.
On the way to the house the conversation about whether or not I was married came up. I think I had just been set up!!!!!!! No wonder people were shouting my name in the village.
Week 2 I was ill. I awoke one morning at 4 am very hot, skin tingling and with really bad stomach cramps as well as diarreah, a bad head ache and a sore back.
Off too hospital, for a malaria test, it was. The doctor tested and decided that it wasn’t malaria but a strong stomach infect coupled with severe dehydration. I was admitted and spent the next 4 nights there.
Now I was ready to go home.
At the end of the week all the expedition members went to Dyani Beach for a bit of rest and relaxation. There was a party mood in the atmosphere. I just wanted a bowl of ice cream and a pizza.
Week 3 This is when the actual work was supposed to start. We had a good day on Monday. Then the heavens opened and it pretty much washed away the whole week except one day, the day I had camp duty (which involves cooking for every one as well as cleaning base camp). On this day we were invited to the rebranding of the National Marine Park, so off to the mainland to watch a ceremony for a couple of hours it was.
Week 4 Rain again except for one day where I donned my Reading football shirt and ran around like a mad man with a bunch of kids. The Mkwiro (the village on Wassini we were living in) version of Reading Football Club beat their West Ham equivalent and the other team that had no name, winning the tournament that didn’t really exist. It was me being a bit too competitive.
We also started satellite projects in order to pass the time.
At the end of this week we also had a trip to Tsavo National Park (both east & west), but more about that later
I had also decided to retake the swim test, despite my fear of water deep enough to drown in. This time , with some encouragement from some of the others. This time, despite the last minute hesitation, I passed.
eek 5 The last week was finally here. I had developed a love of panga-ing things (chopping things down with the use of an African machete) and spent the first day dong just that. It was also sunny for the week.
I had my final camp duty. The team of Love, Hugs and Violation did some experimental cooking once again and we tried to make coconut cake with green dye in it. It almost worked…
Then came the community work that I had been looking forward too. School had come back after the Easter holidays and we could actually work with the children properly.
Then the last two days of marine research came up.
Most of the people on this expedition had signed up for dolphin research and were desperate to see them. The staff had realised this and were pulling out all the stops to try and get the 5 weekers involved in a dolphin sighting.
We went out on Friday and saw… nothing, so rather than let me do the land based work that I should have been doing on Saturday I went out again on the boat and saw… Almost nothing.
We saw an Eagle Ray. Apparently it jumped out of the water in front of the boat and swam away. I didn’t see the jump, but I did see how huge it was, and how quicly it swam.
Then it was time to finish packing and say my good byes to the people I had gotten to know in the village before being transferred over to the mainland and say my good byes to the other expedition members before heading up to Mombassa and the over night train to Nairobi.
There was no overnight train to Nairobi, so I hastily booked an over night bus and away we went, to start a safari to the Maasia Mara…
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