Blogs from Africa - page 3332

Hola a toda mi familia, estoy muy bien gracias a Dios y como cada 8 días una nueva experiencia que contar al paso que vamos cada 8 días les tendré algo diferente. Camerún es una caja de regalos este fin de semana me invitaron a una reunión supuestamente familiar y yo como he estado haciendo últimamente me fui de pato, no mentiras un amigo quería pedir la mano de su novia a los padres y me invito (yo trate de convencerlo de que no lo hiciera pero el muchacho no se dejo ayudar), yo pensé que era algo normal y simple que solo era hablar con los padres y cuadrar lo del matrimonio y listo, y listo??? no es mas complicado de lo que parece, nos tuvimos que desplazar a Cosamba un pueblito a 3 horas ... read more

Hi again, It's been a week since I've arrived and time has both flown by and gone really really slowly. I have adjusted more to the heat so do not sweat as profusely as I did in the first few days. I actually find it a little cool in the mornings and in the evenings! It also helps that I take about 3 showers a day! As for life here, I have had my little ups and downs. I have met many people here, both expats and locals, and all are extremely friendly and kind. Everyone has gone out of their way to show me around and take care of me - I must seem very clueless and/or helpless! The food here is very varied both in price and type - have had local food (samaki ... read more

Monday 14th February After a feverish night I swallowed some paracetamol and got up early. The morning sun was shining through the flimsy curtain, and there were African morning sounds coming from outside; chickens, dogs barking in the distance, askaris talking softly to each other. Harriet had left breakfast for us as she had gone briefly to her office, which is just walking distance from her house. We ate breakfast outside on the veranda, bacon, eggs and toast. Harriet’s houseboy Charles was in the kitchen cooking food for Dessie and the cats. We liked Charles immediately, he was a gentle person with a lovely smile. He absolutely adores the animals, and would miss Dessie I think more than anyone else when the family leave. The kittens had an eye infection and he would painstakingly put ointment ... read more

I've been taking it very easy for a few days, in fact I spent several days in bed! The morning after I arrived in Bamako I fell ill, with Malaria. That is despite the prophylaxis I have been taking. Malaria can never be taken lightly - it kills one million children in Africa every year. I arrived in Bamako on the evening of Tuesday 8th of February. At that point I felt fine. When I got up on the Wednesday morning I didn't feel rested. I also had loose bowel movements and felt nauseous. I went into town to find the banks - they wouldn't accept my travellers cheques and Mali's only ATM didn't like my Visa card. I wasn't desperate for money so I went to an Internet cafe. I had to give up on ... read more

Saturday 12th February Even though it must have been a late night for Harriet and Jon-Erik, they were up bright and early - how do they do it? ‘Knock, knock’ came the wake-up call on our door and we had to leave those soft beds. Today was Jon-Erik’s birthday, so we had a present prepared for him to open at the breakfast table. We all trouped downstairs and sang Happy Birthday for him, and luckily our teen-agers did not have to cringe with embarrassment as we were the only ones in the restaurant. He had quite a few presents and we gave him a pedometer to measure how far he walks and how many steps he takes. After a shower we were ready for our beach day. I had always gone north of the Msasani Peninsula ... read more