my last 2 weeks of craziness.

Africa
January 6th 2010

Published: January 6th 2010

wow...i have already been home for over 2 weeks and just now finding the time to post my final blog. so i guess this means it's been over a month since i wrote and so much has happened since then. i had to look at my last blog to see where i left off. =)

The last week at the farm consisted of saying my goodbye's to everyone =( and finishing my final assignments (yes, i was actually doing busy work there). it was such a relief to turn in my last paper and know i was officially done with college! sad but amazing at the same time.

i've never been one to be very good at goodbye's so it was hard for me to do this with the family, teachers, children, and everyone that i got close to over the last couple months. but being excited about seeing everyone at home again made it a little easier.

As mentioned in the previous blog, we left that Thursday and took an overnight bus to Mombasa which was about a 16 hr. interesting drive. Mombasa is on the Eastern coast of Kenya. We arrived friday morning and took a taxi to Diani Beach, south of Mombasa. Mombasa is a big island right off the coast so we had to cross the water on a ferry. The drive took about an hr. and as we were getting closer to Diani Beach I was so excited. There were palm trees everywhere and just a relaxed, tropical atmosphere. it kind of felt like we weren't in africa anymore...a mini vacation from our vacation. =) I couldn't get my swimsuit on fast enough. When we finally got to the beach I was so surprised at how beautiful the beach and ocean were. The sand was so white and the ocean so prestine. I was not expecting it to be so nice. I loved it! It was really weird to think how in a week I was going to be in snow. It was so stinkin hot there!! Like in the mid 90s-100. I walked the beach, played in the ocean and layed out like it was my job. =) Saturday morning, I went out on a glass- bottom boat and snorkling. I saw lots of pretty cool fish and coral. my back got pretty burnt and hurt bad for a couple days but it was worth it. =) I also went to the nearby market a couple times and finished my christmas shopping. All of my family got carvings and things made out of african fabric from me this year. =)

I had tons of amazing food while there. Pizza, cheeseburgers, chicken...finally. =) Each day we layed out in front of this really nice restaurant/bar called 40 Thieves. It was this huge open cluster of amazing huts and tables. We went out there a couple nights into the wee hours of the morning which was fun too. The place we stayed was called Stilts. Each room is in individual bandas, built on stilts. and you actually have to climb a ladder to get up into it. i thought i would surely fall at least once but i carefully managed to make it without doing so. =) It was hard to sleep though...for 2 reasons. 1) it was hot. really really hot like you sweat all night while sleeping hot. 2) stinkin monkey bandits that like to get into your room and throw things at you. not kidding. monkeys were everywhere here and loved to get into people's rooms and go through their stuff. i caught them twice. they are so stinkin smart! one morning, i woke up to 3 monkeys squeezing between the wooden bars into our room. then, one of them picked up sidney's makeup bag and chucked it at us. crazy, right? anyway, i had an awesome few days on the coast and was so glad i went. =)

We left diani monday which was a very long day, spent in vehicles. we took about a 2 hr taxi drive (an hour of it waiting for the ferry) then an 8 hr. bus ride to Nairobi. Getting into the city was heck. There's so many dang people in Nairobi. it took us like an hour just to get down a few blocks. we stayed the night in nairobi and woke up the next day ready to go again!

Tuesday morning we left on SAFARI with our fearless guide/driver, Simon! It took us about 5 hours to get to the Masai Mara...one of the best places to go on safari! Man, we were definitely deep in the heart of Africa! This was was i kind of pictured africa to be like when i didn't know anything about it...it was like a picture right out of the Lion King. hehe.. we were driving and there seemed to be no sign of modern life anywhere. so it was so surprising when we were driving down this narrow, bumpy road and pulled up to this awesome place that we would be staying. we first walked into the restaurant that was soo nice, with chefs that cooked the best food ever! we stayed in what they called 'tents' but they were really nice with bathrooms and HOT showers! =) the masai mara was breathtaking. it is 65,000 square km and just beautiful...endless green meadows, mountains and rivers. we went out for our first "game drive" tuesday evening and saw so much in just a couple hours! ...zebras, elephants, giraffes, gazelles, impalas, a leapord, and lions!!! the leapord we saw had put an animal it killed in a tree and was just waiting by until it was hungry to eat. we then saw 3 lions EAT AN ENTIRE COW! it was quite grose, but honestly it just seemed so natural.

Wednesday, we went out the entire day. In the morning we actually saw 2 lions mating. nearby, 3 male lions were waiting for the male that was with the female to get tired so they could take over. while mating, lions...you know what...every 15 minutes for 7 days! ...no wonder they get tired and have to switch out. hehe.. Then, we saw lions watching a nearby group of zebras and wildabeasts. wildabeasts can't see very far, so they stay close to zebras who can. lions like to eat wildabeasts the best! so we were patient and waited, hoping to actually witness a feeding. after watching a female lion watch her prey for about 45 minutes, she finally attacked...and we saw it!!! As soon as it happened, Simon put the pedal to the medal to try and get closer to see. as soon as he hit the gas, we all fell over since we were standing up looking out through the roof. it was hilarious. we raced over to the kill and we actually watched the lion choke and kill the wildabeast! we were like 10 feet away! it was so amazing! i have insane pictures i can't wait to show everyone.

we also went to the Mara River on wednesday, which is where the great wildabeast migration occurs every year. i had seen this on like the discovery channel or something once so new just a little about it. a park ranger had to escort us around the river with his big manly gun...otherwise we weren't allowed to get out of our safari vehicles. we saw tons of hippos and some Nile crocodiles in the river too. we ate lunch by the river and tons of more bandit monkeys kept stealing people's food! I got really close to one to video it and the little bugar tried to attack me! he jumped off this table onto my leg and i screamed like a little girl. i have a really funny video of this too... =)

wednesday, after our full day game driving, we went to a local Masai village. i studied the masai tribe quite a bit before i went to africa, so it was really neat actually getting to see them and they way they live. they showed us traditional dances and we even got to join in. they gave us a tour of their village and inside one of the homes, which are made to last for about 5 years before they move again, as they are nomads. we asked them tons of questions and their culture is just so interesting. cows are their form of money. when a man wants a wife, he must pay for her with 10 cows. men try to have as many wives as they can.

thursday morning we went out on our last game drive before breakfast and saw several cheetahs, which we hadn't seen yet. they are the fastest animal in the world. we were up for sunrise, which was soooo gorgeous over the mountains. safari was everything i dreamed it would be and more. =) after breakfast, we drove back to nairobi and got back in the early evening. we spent thursday and friday night in nairobi. we stayed in these cabins and got to see more of the city which was cool. i was sooo excited to get home though. =)

saturday morning i took a 9:00 taxi to catch my 12:30 pm flight. we get to the airport and our flight has been delayed 5 more hours (on top of the orliginal 5 when we were supposed to leave at 7:30)!! I talked to so many people and finally talked to a manager (trying to stay as calm and nice as possible which didn't go very well). She was sure that we would still make our connecting flight in Dubai even though i knew it wasn't possible...there were so many mixups and everything seemed to be so unorganized. To make a really long story short though...we got to dubai and sure enough missed our connecting flight to atlanta. in dubai, we were told by delta that this flight to atlanta was the only flight they had to the states and it left at the same time every day (11:30 pm). so we had to wait until the next night to try and catch the flight again. so saturday, i got a full day of exploring dubai and shopping! it was definitely cool but i would have enjoyed it more if i wasn't so anxious about catching the flight that night. we get to the airport at like 9 pm and find out that the flight is actually overbooked by 15 people and we are several down the waiting list. soo...like 20 people have to miss their flight in order for us to make it. i thought impossible. and this would be the case for every flight, everywhere in the world from then until the day after christmas, since everyone was traveling for the holidays. i was kind of an emotional wreck. we honestly thought we were not getting home until after christmas. but by some miracle they called our names to let us know we had made it on shortly before the plane was to take off. i've never felt such relief in my life. we then ran through the entire huge airport (while singing run run rudolph like in home alone hehe) and made it on the plane. 80% of the plane were soldiers going home for the holidays...most of whom hadn't been home in like a year. ...and i thought i was anxious to get home.

after a 15 hour flight to atl, 3 hour layover, and another 2 hour flight...i was finally home. =) seeing nate for the first time was just amazing. =) i've never enjoyed and appreciated christmas as much before.

i can't believe it's only been 2 weeks since i've been home. christmas and newyears were so fun, i've moved into a new house and got a new puppy yesterday! nate and i have been busy getting the home ready and making wedding plans! we are currently planning our next trip...a honeymoon in jamaica! =) life is just wonderful. =)

Welp...I guess that's it. It has been an amazing, life-changing few months. And i really really appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers for some of the craziness that's happened. It means sooo much to me that people have followed along and been reading my blog. i'm so glad i did this, as it would have been really hard to explain things i've experienced to everyone otherwise. i guess all i have left to say is that i really encourage everyone to get out there and experince things. the world has so much to offer and in my opinion, it would be a waste to not see some of it.

lots and lots of love,

jenny

xoxo

my last 2 weeks of craziness.

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