and the coke is aaamazing

After a matato trip from the village in which a 16 passenger van was packed with about 26 passangers --give or take a few extra, we are picking up supplies for Joyce and the fam for another week in Thomson Falls. This was after waking up to Sharol Crow and Kid Rock on the radio, after stepping out of our new room (the old one was being taken over by rats--no fear though, here in Africa the rats are more like large mice) to find the beloved cat falled dead at our door step, after a good night sleep in which the elephants have passed through from the forest not more than 50 yards from the house. And that was all just in the last 10 hours. I have also eaten about a foot (or two) of sugar cane, met a 120 year old woman, walked to the bottom of a huge water fall, possibly been witness to a demon-possessed child, eaten some of the most amazing food ever, had fellowship with the women of Joyce's church-which was an incredible honor to be welcomed into a small room of strong, beautiful, joyful african women, jill had rat poison fall onto her pillow (after many days of unrelentless attempts to kill them, they started to fight back).
We have been helping at the school that is about two miles from home here during the school day. They have a special unit for mentally and physically handicapped children and for what we can do that is where we have been assisting. They do without so much though and it seems like we are more of a distraction than anything else. When we return on Tuesday (got a 3 day weekend because of some holiday!) we will build a fence around their garden in which they depend on for some of the only fresh veggies they can provide the special needs children but that has been demolished by passing cattle, chickens, and people needing fire wood.
We are also extending our stay for an extra few days after Joyce's invitation. I can't yet put into the words the way I feel about being here and staying with Joyce and the family. It's incredible. And after thinking that it was going to take a bit to get used to because of the hole we use to go to the bathroom in, the dirt and lack of accessable water, the limited electricity and just lack of general conveniences--i have felt completely at ease and full of comfort, joy, and appreciation.

So, it seems like it may be another week or so before we get a hold of internet before we travel to Lamu. Isaac is making Jill get a phone to take with us, so maybe a call home is something we can manage sometime! But it also provides us with an extra security blanket.
Mom--I love you and life is really good here.
Nicole--OMG!!! the birds are soooo incredible. we just saw a hornbill off the street coming to do the internet and the ones on safari were incredible. got good pics too!
David and Jake--hope Milo/Zark are doing good, let me know!
The whole rest of the fam--tons of love!

And to everyone--write me!! It will be just as nice to hear how things are going at home.
Megan

nairobi

Jambo friends! We got into Nairobi early yesterday after two teriffic flights albeit very very long! Both airplanes were practically empty so we all got our own seats--three of them! The campsite we're at is very nice and only a quick matatu (mini bus) trip into the city. We met up with Isaac and the crew yesterday and planned out Africa's best safarri--we couldn't be more fortunate!! We'll be spending the next four days travelling through the Masai and Lake Nakuru, seeing plenty of the big sexy animals.
Nicole: I can't wait to report back about the birds, already in the city my eyes go straight for the tree tops to spot some pretty incredible birds. The crows are huge with big white breasts and we saw something that looked like a long-billed curlue (they are incredibly loud and travel in pack). i wish i would have invested in a good bird book. i know isaac with be just as informative though!
Also this a.m. there was a monkey in the tree outside of the campsite (where we will also happen to be sleeping tonight). The dogs went bizerk, but he was too far up to get a good picture. plenty of chances coming up to get them though!
again, leaving tomorrow early for safarii and then we will be staying with isaac's family in his village for 10 days or so. meaning, you probably won't hear from me for about two weeks. we'll be well taken care of and are already having an amazing time!!
love you all and much peace.

On photobucket

Last few hours until we depart and everything is in order!!
I also created a photobucket account to put my pics on, so worth it to check into that. I put graduation and party pics on already. Enjoy! & I love you
The link is on the right under "Link List".

Jill posted some pics and has another good rundown of what we're doing, plus the itinerary so check it out at mzungujill.blogspot.com!
Chicago has been great--we did the typical tourist thing and broke in the new shoes.
Hear from me some time next week!
Peace.

The Rundown...

It seems like the first question that automatically follows me telling anyone that I'm going to Africa this summer is "What are going to do there??" Assuming that the only people that travel to Africa are missionaries or students or volunteers--like there has to be some over-all much larger purpose of doing something for the Africans.

And, I am.

I am going to travel; to immerse myself in the various and rich cultures and society; to fall in love with the people and the wildlife and the land. And, in doing so I am making an investment in the people and the economy. I will come back with amazing stories and so much excitement and emotion that surely I will inspire others to travel Africa as well. There's amazing purpose in just doing that--you'll fall in love and want to return as I'm sure I will...



And to fulfill that now burning question of what we're going to be doing, a little more specifically---

We are getting a ride to Chicago tomorrow (Friday, May 16th) and are staying with a great friend (jill) for the weekend. We fly out on Sunday for an 8 hour flight to London and then from London we have another 8-10 hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya. There we will meet another good friend (Isaac) who is a wildlife guide (http://wildconnectionsafaris.com/profiles.aspx). He's going to take us on a short safari in Kenya and we will travel with him back to his village and stay with his family for a short time. Then we're travelling to Lamu, an island village on the coast of Kenya and staying there for a couple of weeks. We'll then travel back to Nairobi to meet Betty (the Doane prof that Jill went to Africa with the last two times, also author of Africa on Six Wheels: A Semester on Safari) and Carla (her partner and a good friend). We are all going to Uganda and Rwanda for a fairly short trip, then back to Nairobi, and down to Arusha, Tanzania. Lauren (the other friend travelling with Jill and I) and I are going to safari with Betty to the Ngorongoro Crater--it is literally a bowl full of animals, it's own self-contained ecosystem! We'll stay for quite a time in Tanzania before travelling down to Malawi and hopefully will run into our friends, Austin and Sara who are Peace Corps volunteers there. And that will conclude the trip--we'll travel back up through Tanzania and Kenya to Nairobi and leave for home on August 1st.



Now, for all those concerned family and friends. I love you first off. We will be safe and come home safe. You can expect to hear from me via the blog and maybe personal email at least every week and a half. The time in Kenya is 7 hours later than it is here, so if I call butt early in the morning you'll love it anyway!



Also, my personal email has changed for while I'm in Africa because I don't want to waste precious internet time filtering through chain letters and prayer forwards and over-all junk. SO personal emails should be sent to megmjackson@gmail.com. Don't forward me any junk or I will just have to block you :).



I love you all. Check in often and leave comments!!

Megan