Blogs from Africa - page 2695

It's the final countdown... Last weekend, as a special treat, I stayed overnight at the orphanage with the kids. They absolutely loved it and even gave me my own bed (quite a few of them sleep on mattresses on the floor). We were served dinner of ugali and vegetables and we all ate the traditional Swhaili way - with our fingers! I brought along popcorn and biscuits for pudding which they all gratefully finished off with no hesitation! After a bit of tv watching and clearing up we all went into the corridor where some of the kids sang worship songs and the rest of us danced! Then there was a prayer time where everyone had a private few moments to pray. It was bed time by 9:45pm! Breakfast was at 7am though so I ... read more

No pude resistir la tentación de un safari en Africa, el lugar que escogi se llama Lake Nakuru, el cual queda como a 4 hrs de Nairobi, la capital de Kenia. LO MAS IMRESIONANTE Los flamingos: Cientos de miles de flamingos llegan año con año a este lago. Cuando vez el lago a lo lejos, se ve una nata rosa a as orillas de todo el lago, cuando te acercas es cuando te das cuenta que no es nata rosa, sino todos los flamingos, IMPRESIONANTE! ¿QUE OTROS ANIMALILLOS VI? Rinocerontes blancos, hienas, jirafas, bisontes, ñus, gacelas, mandriles y muchas ZEBRAS. ¿CON QUIEN? Llegando al guest house en Nairobi, habia un grupo de personas que estaban puestos para ir, y pues les quedaba un lugar en la combi, asi que me apunte...el grupo estaba muy agradable, ... read more

On Monday, after our Constitutional Law exam, Maura, Yasmin, Eric, Katie and I decided to go to Kirstenbosch Gardens, one of the largest botanical gardens in the world. It was a beautiful day outside, so I’m really glad we decided to spend it outdoors. I think the best part of the whole afternoon was when I successfully argued to get us the student discount for admission. They said we needed to have student IDs from a South African school, but all we had was our UF IDs. Soooo I used my fantastic lawyer skills, demonstrated our participation in the Cape Town program with the aid of evidentiary items like our course syllabi, and generally badgered the poor man asking to speak to his supervisor until we were given the discount. I considered it a great ... read more

Something isn't right...I'm in bed...which bed...Virginia...no....theres a spring poking in my back...smells damp...whattha..ohh....right...Africa. Morning?...no. night. why the hell am I awake?...its quiet...damn thats uncomfortable...what is?...stomach...no..."lower left quadrant"..wait....awwwww MO-THER-FU.....where my headlamp...not here...WOW..no time...wheres the toilet paper? on the fridge!...where?...too dark..HERE!!...no thats deodorant..there!! on the floor!! Get it...got it...no shoes..who cares...outside!!! COLD! I'm awake at this point..never has my mind been more focused on the "goal" at hand. I take a sharp left out of my room and spot the bathroom door slightly right-diagonal across the couryard from me. I try walking..doubled over clutching my stomach...I force myself to stand more upright and walk a little faster...halting brisk walk quickly making the transition ... read more

On tuesday the 10th we left Mole national park on the only bus available which happens to be at 4am. As we waited we were again met by a posse of grunting warthogs. Each stop we made villagers would pile on with overflowing baskets. The 5 hour trip was overcrowded and bumpy. I had a very tired woman asleep on my shoulder, occasionally snoring. When we reached Tamale we went in search of our favourite street food -fried cows milk. It sounds awful but it tastes like a mixture of feta and haloumi. When we got there the stalls which usually line the street were gone and there were policemen patrolling the strip. Apparently a new law is being enforced to which does not allow any stalls without a permit. This is sad because its a ... read more