Africa

I think I'm probably going to create a separate blog for the Africa trip, mostly to organize more effectively and to keep things straight in my head. And it will possibly make posting images easier, I don't know. I'll mention it as soon as it's up.

But the trip was incredible. I have a lot of different memories and stories that will bear telling. I saw lions on my birthday (dude). I saw lots of other animals, and I witnessed a lion stalking a buffalo (it gave up about ten feet away). I saw cheetahs climbing on a land cruiser (with some stupid lady taking pictures / video of them about two feet away). I walked through the Kibera slums (and almost got attacked by a guy with a hammer in the process—it was a nice shiny Stanley, if you're curious). I ate lots of very good food (Indian, Ethiopian, Kenyan—the roasted goat was actually pretty tasty, even though very well done). I met several different people at the market and learned a bit about Maasai life (they drink blood and curdled milk in some rituals). I learned about Kenyan politics a little and rode in a matatu (a bus). I also learned a tiny bit of Swahili and read about four books. I met a LOT of people from Ohio there (many of whom went to OSU, and one of whom was at the 2002 version of The Game).

The travel was not terrible, though it's about a lost day on either end of the trip. We left Nairobi around 11:30PM and got into JFK at 6:05PM the next day. There's a seven hour difference between Nairobi and New York, so I'll let you do the math.

The weather was amazing, if a bit overcast. It never got above 73 in Nairobi while I was there, and only slightly warmer in the Mara (where we went to look at wild animals). It's the dry season there, but evidently it's been a fairly wet dry season; the Rift Valley was unusually green this time of year.

It was an incredible trip, and I would definitely go back. The most awkward thing was figuring out how to flush the toilets, since the water works sometimes doesn't, if you take my meaning. I got used to taking showers every other day, too, which was surprisingly not that bad.


Today is my bday celebration. The bro and SIL are coming to town, and I expect we'll have steak and a good time tonight. I'll be gradually adding stories and pictures as time permits, and as soon as my web site is back up, I'll post some pictures there also.

Thanks to all for the well-wishes and so on. Postcards will go out today if I can get them!