Almost home

In heathrow now. Eight hours away now from Kenya. I miss the place a ton already Paul was/is a good host and awesome friend and i'll miss the good times.

I'm still excited though to get home and see friends i haven't seen for over a month. Also can't wait to see my dog Syd.

See you all when i get back.

Pauls parents both have/had surgery so keep them in prayer for the procedures/recoveries.

Amboseli

Had a nice last 2 full days in Kenya at Amboseli. Probably will just touch a few highlights as it was a long time and i think the pictures will speak for themselves.

We stayed at Ol Tukai lodge and it was incredible. great atmosphere, great food, a pool (oh man so nice), and nice service. Probably the most posh place i've ever stayed and it was like seventy dollars a night.

Biggest highlight of the trip though was seeing a female lion run 3 cheetah off a fresh kill and seeing her dragging the corpse of the antelope and eventually calling the rest of her pride and eating it. Probably one of the coolest things i've seen.

I have more stories but i'd have too much to write so ask me in person. :) Got around 600 pics from the park alone. O.o

Excited to be home but sad to leave. See you all soon.

P.S. Paul is looking for a bride and he's pretty much incredible. so ladies. i'll give you his number. :P

Nakuru National park

Went to my first game park today. My knees are scorched. Spent the whole day, roof off, sitting on top of Pauls SUV cruising the park, photoing game, and just relaxing.

First thing we did when we got there was buy tickets to get into the park. That was our first sighting of animals. Just a few feet away there was a monkey running all over someones car. All the people were inside and it just sat there. They tried to scare it off by turning on the windshield wipers and it just stood there resting its hands on their windshield when they werent moving.

After that we made our way into the park. Even though there hadn't been much rain the place was beautiful. Much more green and lush than the camp. Almost as soon as we entered the park there was a herd of about one hundred buffalo. Not even 30 feet off the road next to us was a lone hyena. I yelled at it, it looked up and i got some decent shots. Went a bit farther and closer to Lake Nakuru and saw a whole horde of flamingo, pelican, and various other water fowl. Also spotted some various antelope, gazelles, waterbucks, and a rhino.

Took another route and headed up a huge cliff to a humongous over look. It looked over most of the park and especially the lake area. It was breathtaking looking down and seeing animals and seeing the great vastness and beauty of the area from above.

Made our way into the bush. It was beautiful lots of animals lots of beautiful scenery. Even spotted a lions leg. Unfortunately couldn't even get a full shot of the beast. Only the leg and the belly of the the 2nd lion.

Looking forward to going to ambiselli on monday .

Those first shots that i'm uploading are of the semi active volcano longonot.

Goodbyes

Camp is officially over and i said alot of goodbyes. I'll miss alot of the good people i spent time with. One dude in particular Julius Juma was the man (pictured) well it's not working now so later it'll be up lol.

Got a nice letter from the neighboring orphan kids thanking me for befriending them. It put a smile on my face.

Went to jane's house again and had another great time. I took some pictures this time some of her house which are uploading as i'm writing this. Also a vid of me quad riding in there. Also she took us into her house and saw a huge bunch of trophys. Tons of tusks and skulls and a huge lion skin on the wall. Quite incredible.

Leaving tommorow for some game parks and really looking forward too it.

AHHH HUGE THINGY

sorry that was just to get your attention. last few days have been good. last full day of camp ended tonight.

Dad caught an egytptian cobra today. luckily it was too young to even bite. I thought it was a mamba but paul was convinced it was a cobra.

Also caught a lizard the other day too. He was running. i grabbed his tail. Of course being a lizard it popped off and started bleeding and he ran under a desk. i finally wore him out and grabbed the little bugger.

Paul baked us a cake today. It was real sweet of him. He's pretty much my cooking rolemodel.

next week getting ready to go to some game parks. WOOO HOOO

Climbing mount Lukenya

First full day of camp today and finally got a chance during free time to climb the mount.

It was a great hike. Lotsa uphill of course but fun and definetly not a cakewalk. There was lots of cow poop everywhere. Apparently the maasai who are a nomad cow herding tribe take them up the mountain. Don't ask me how i dind't think cows were that nimble but they do.

Man o man the view at the top was incredible. We climbed onto this rock jutting off the mountain and could see for miles and miles in almost every direction. The elevation was i want to say around 7000 feet. I think we just sat there for around fifteen minutes. it was that beautiful.

Dad was panting all the way. but he made it :)

After we got down the mountain there was a nice sized rock face that we could freeclimb so me and paul did that while my dad stood at the bottom taking pictures. Was a good view as well. Not quite as high but still a fun climb.

I'll post a couple pics in this post and some more on my album later.

Start of the last week

Last week of camp is starting today. Have around 100 new kids and quite a few new counselors all of whom it was a pleasure to meet.

One of the new counselors this week, mark, is only twenty five and is already a doctor. Maybe i'm out of touch but that seems really young.

My padre is here and having a good time. he's taken lots of pictures and videos and had some good times i hope.

Talked to my mom this morning over skype. Even used videochat. It's pretty amazing. If both people have the skype program it's free computer to computer calling and something like 2cents a minute for computer to phone. Definetly worth a look into.

I'll be posting some new pics shortly.

Stoneys

If you haven't tried it we need it in the states. It's a tasty beverage made from ginger root and it makes your tummy tingle. That sounds pretty retarded but that's the best way to describe it.

Oh yah i was watching a show called timewarp and there's something i saw i have to try. Apparently if you fill a beer bottle with water, cup your hand over the top, then smack the top of the bottle the bottom of the bottle will explode.

Definitely on the to do list.

Watched some will ferell SnL tonight. Jeoporday is brilliant. Wow i didn't think i spelled that right but the interwebs aren't underlining it so it must be ok.

So i need to be filled in on what's going on in the states. Any big news? How are gas prices? i'm really curious. It's only been two weeks but it feels like an eternity.

That girl with the devil hair is gatwiri. hahaha.

Another week done

Another full week of camp done. it's been a good one and i'm just chilling now.

After camp I traveled with some of the orphans, james, amigo, samuel went back to their place and hung out for a bit. then i watched a rousing game of football between them and a team from aonther camp place. They lost 2 to 1 but it was still fun to watch.

After the game there was a huge pack of camel right next to the field it was pretty great.

Dads arriving tommorow and then we're off to the whitie market.

Wazemu day

It was a good day today. Last full day before camp is over.

Got the group together and played a rousing game of big ball volleyball.

Then me and james just chilled and talked with people during freetime. Some people from the orphanage where james is from came down and i met a buncha cool people. Also met this really cool swedish girl named moa who's training to be a nursing assistant. Seems like everywhere i go i meet someone taking up that career.

After a bit we got a real game of volleyball going. it was pretty rousing. Had a few good volleys and bump, set, spikes combos. It was a good time.

My buddy julius went to town today because apparently he won a phone for some contest. After he got there they told him they wouldn't get it till monday. how dismal.

Right before dinner played a crazy game of four square. Paul is a savage, a savage at taking out peoples knees and crushing their feet. haha. Paul is cruel but i still like him. hahaha. I hope he reads this.

Mm

I guess i choose the title as a sort of sigh of contentedness. Just got back from a good service tonight and took a look up at the open skies, the stars, and the blowing grass revealed by the moonlight. It's a beautiful night. It is more often than not here in africa and it's nice.

It was another smooth day at camp. Went during afternoon freetime and helped paul paint the bedroom of his house. It's really quite an amazing house on the camp property. Built it from the ground up with his own plans, materials, and hired work.

Looking forward to another good day tommorow.

Somebody shake your neighbor!

Start of week 2 at camp

The week has started a little slow. The camp this week was really slow to arrive. Some of the campers didn't arrive till around 8 pm. Most were supposed to arrive around 3 pm.

That doesn't mean the day was bad tho. It was really fun meeting lots of new people and getting a new sense of comfort around people i already knew. Me, Zach (a kenyan zach), Amigo, James, and Samuel played some smaller games i've never seen before and they were pretty fun. Definetly a good laugh and definetly something i'll bring back to the states.

Good night all a new day awaits tommorow.

edit: O YAH how could i forget. so i'm asking paul for swahili phrases. I was how i say "you are cool" he tells me "wewe ni Matako." Silly me for believing him. So a counselor claire walks by and i unknowingly say this to her. Apparently it means "You are a butt" in an extremely derogatory way....haha. Thanks paul. haha.