Turning 25 in Kenya

For the last three years I have celebrated my birthday here in Kenya.  I've found that there's nothing really new or special about celebrating here other than maybe not getting your first choice in birthday dinner options or the traditional birthday cake.

This year was nothing out of the ordinary as I woke up early to catch the shuttle to work.  I spent most of the  morning catching up with my clinicians in the field and completing the day to day work of my study.  I did get to head home early though and spent those extra hours completing a photo book project Josh and I had started the night before.  Afterwards we settled into a relaxing evening of catching up on some of our favorite TV shows and enjoyed a home-cooked dinner of stir fry.

Overall it was a pretty quiet night, but that's ok.  We got to celebrate with friends last Sunday when they surprised me with a cake and candles.

I'm sorry to those who expected some big and elaborate story.  This year it wasn't about that.  I was just happy to spend some relaxing time at home with Josh.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes and cards!

Stuck in My Head

I just can't seem to get this song out of my head today......Everytime I hear it I am reminded about the meaning of home.  Home is a lot of places but most of all its wherever I am with you :)

Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa

Not the way that I do love you

Holy Moley, Me-oh-My, you're the apple of my eye

Girl, I've never loved one like you

Man, oh man, you're my best friend, 

I scream it to the nothingness

There ain't nothin' that I need

Well, hot & heavy, pumpkin pie, 

chocolate candy, Jesus Christ

There ain't nothin' please me more than you

Ahh, Home

Let me come Home

Home is wherever I'm with you (2x)

La la la la, take me Home

Baby, I'm coming Home

Ahh, Home

Let me come Home

Home is whenever I'm with you

Ahh, Home

Let me come Home

Home is when I'm alone with you 

Home

Let me come Home

Home is wherever I'm with you

Ahh, Home

Yes, I am Home

Home is when I'm alone with you.

Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa

Moats & boats & waterfalls & pay phone calls

Ahh, Home

Let me come Home

Home is wherever I'm with you

Ahh, Home

Let me come Home

Home is when I'm alone with you

Happy Father's Day!

The traditional countdown to the States

So the last time I came back to the states I did a count down to help the time go faster.  This time around I'm feeling the same pull to get back and have a little rest and relaxation.  Although Kenya is home (for now), I do miss the creature comforts of the US and can't wait for this fun filled trip!  So here it is.....

34 days till I leave Kenya
35 days till I land in Chicago
35 days till I get to see my mom, aunt mary, dad and little brother
37 days till the wedding planning craziness begins
38 days till I get to see my bestie Arthi
40 days till I head to Chicago to visit with my amazing girlfriends
41 days till bridesmaid dress shopping with my lovely bridesmaids
42 days till chinese buffet with my aunts
43 days till Stephenitch Taco Tuesday (I can't wait for the craziness to begin)
47 days till meeting up with Josh and visiting with family in WI
50 days till shooting engagement pictures (one thing I didn't think we'd get the opportunity to do :)
53 days till Mal's rehearsal dinner
54 days till one of my best friends becomes Mrs. Mallory Kleckner
56 days till I leave Chicago
57 days till I land in Nairobi
58 days till I'm back in Kisumu

Buddy

I've been meaning to post a blog about our cat Buddy.  We always catch him in the craziest positions, usually when he's sleeping.  I just wanted to share a few of my favorites.

I'm not sure how he gets his body like this

Playing dead or an afternoon nap

This chair is just right for a quick snooze

The one picture he's awake but he looks so sad

Passed out after a hard day of being Buddy

The Aberdares

Josh and I have been talking about going to the Aberdares for a year now.  We finally got the opportunity to visit a few weeks ago when Josh had a conference in nearby Nyeri.  With the car all packed up for a week at the conference and three days in the park we headed out from Kisumu.  Its important to note that at this time our car was having some slight transmission issues.  Josh was having trouble getting it into gear when first starting out but the mechanic gave us the go ahead.  On the way there we started to notice some "power" issues.  The car was having trouble climbing hills and overtaking other cars.  We didn't think too much of it and made it to Nyeri in about 7 hours.


Yeah we can be a bit rediclous at time

For the remainder of the week I worked from the hotel's cafe while Josh attended the conference next door.  It was great to focus solely on the work and I got a lot done.  Our last night we went into the park and stayed at the world famous Treetops hotel.  Its famous because it was here Queen Elizabeth got word of her father's death and her ascension onto the thrown.  It charm is that you can literally see elephants from your bedroom window when they come to the watering hole at night.  It does have that touristy feel but is great for one or two nights. 

I can't resist

After a night at Treetops we headed back to Nyeri to stock up on supplies and head back into the park.  The day before we had spent a frustrating 2 hours at the park's headquarters paying for our stay.  At every park we go to there always seems to be some problem with my residence card.  Although the rules are "standard" throughout Kenya, every park seems to want to see a different form of identification.  This gets frustrating and this time they wanted my passport.  Needless to say I left my passport at home.  After a few calls to Nicholas, our housekeeper, we finally got a picture of it sent to Josh's IPhone.  Love smart phones! 

Despite a difficult start we were positive about our camping trip.  The first day we drove through the park checking out the beautiful scenery.  The Aberdares is at a much higher altitude than Kisumu.  It has beautiful forests and waterfalls.  We drove down the north side of the park toward our campground.  Along the way we stopped at one of the waterfalls in the park.  It had a spectacular view of not only it but two others.  We patiently waited for the mist to clear before taking multiple shots.  After setting up camp and building a fire, we enjoyed a quiet night in the tent. 

Karinia Falls

The next day we woke up and were gearing up for a morning game drive when Josh noticed a light on in the car.  We decided to not risk the car and packed up camp to head back to Nyeri.  In Nyeri we were lucky to find a Toyota dealership who quickly identified the "power" issue as simply a clogged air filter.  With a clean filter we headed back to the park and had a small picnic next to one of the gorgeous waterfalls. 

Our day got interesting when we decided to head down a road "less traveled".  It hadn't rained that day but the road wasn't gravel like the rest of the park's roads.  The first part was great but as we came to a stretch of plain (we would later find out that this was the airstrip) the road got a bit wet.  Josh had the car in control until a particular wet spot and despite his best efforts our tires logged in the wet ditch on the side of the road.  I pushed and he drove but we only managed to move the car perpendicular to the road. 

What to do now?!  Both of our phones showed no service so we decided it was in our best interest to walk back to our campground and radio up to the ranger station.  Lets not mention that there were lions, leopards, elephants and buffalo in the area....Still in good spirits we grabbed some water and our rain coats and started out not thinking that we wouldn't see our car for another five hours. 

Walking down to Chania Falls

The 6 km hike wasn't bad until halfway through when the sky opened up bringing down a sea of hail and rain.  At this point all we could do was keep pushing on in hopes that the rangers would have an answer to our problem.  When we reached the campground, another couple was just settling in and seeing their Land Rover we thought they may just be able to pull us out.  Their whole crew piled in (3 kids under 5 years, dad, mom, and nanny) and off we went. 

At this point it had been raining for about 2 hours and when we reached the junction the car barely got 500 feet down the road before almost getting stuck itself.  With our car a mile down the road we thought it best not to strand another car and instead asked the couple to take us up to the ranger's station.  In true Kenyan style, the rangers had no car to pull us out and the nearest one was about 60 km away and had no gas and no money to buy gas.  Frustrated we told them we would try again in the morning and headed back to the campground.

The caretaker took pity on us and allowed us to stay in one of the empty cabins.  At this point we were still soaked to the skin and had been in our wet clothes for 3 hours.  We thankfully huddled over a small charcoal stove (of course there was no dry firewood for the fireplace!) and tried to dry our clothes.  A few hours later we got word that Kenya Wildlife Service was on their way and planned to pull us out tonight.  "There's no way!" I thought, "Its been raining for five hours now!" 

My doubts were unwarranted though.  At 8:30pm, five hours after we got the car stuck, Josh headed out to get the car out.  A few hours later, one bumper loss the car sat outside the cabin.  Josh credits the lead driver and his 20+years of experience. 

Together at Queen's Cave

As the sun rose on Sunday, we still had one more day in the park.  What more could go wrong right?!  Our day was pretty calm.  We took a nature hike and then traveled to another waterfall.  We had saved some beautiful fish fillets for that night and I was looking forward to making a good meal for us.  My plans were dashed at 6pm when the rain started to fall.   For the most part we were able to stay dry but the pouring rain got the best of our tent as the seams started to leak and the bottom got wet.  Thankfully we had great sleeping pads and bags that kept us up off of the water and warm. 

A few curious visitors at our campsite

The next morning we got up early and packed up camp.  I think both of us were happy to head home!  The entire trip we prayed that the car would make it.  After getting stuck the transmission took a nosedive.  It rattled at every small hill and sounded like it was going to fall out at any minute.

"Lucy" (our car) after the ordeal

Pulling into the house on Monday was the greatest feeling in the world.  We made it!  Sure there was a lot of mishaps and most people would say the trip was a failure, but we still had a great time.  It was trying at points but definitely an adventure.  We will definitely use this stories in years to come!  "Remember when...."

1 year

Its been 1 year since I arrived in Kisumu.  Its been an amazing year filled with great trips, amazing friends and too many memories to count.  Here's just a few:

1. Josh and I got engaged-Cannot wait to marry him later this year!
2. I started at CDC-Kenya-The project has had its ups and down but overall its been a great learning experience.
3. We traveled around Kenya: Aberdares, Kericho, Kerio Valley, Mara, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Kakamega, Mfangano Island, Rusinga Island, Watamu, and Nairobi.
4. Ultimate Frisbee-Our small group in Kisumu has grown so large its hard to get everyone on the field at one time.
5. Met so many new friends and unfortunately seen some of them leave-Molly, Sarah, Jenny, Julianne, Elise, Julia, Steve, Jon, Steph, Ryan, Mike, Maggie, Megan

I can't believe how fast time flies here.  It seems like yesterday I got off the plane at Kisumu airport anxiously waiting for a glimpse of Josh.  Now its a year later and so much has happened.  Here's to next year and what Kenya will bring!