Makin' out is the thing to do!

Hello Everyone!
I am in Nairobi for the last day today as I am meeting my overland tour group tonight. The last few days have been great! I went with two guys I met at the backpackers hostel to the Giraffe Center. It was a small place with about eight giraffe. We walked up these stairs to be face to face with them. You get a handful of food and can feed them. The best part is that you can get a kiss by putting the food pellet in between your lips and they use their tongue to get it from you. It is a great make out session! LOL!
After that I came back to the backpackers to meet Bethany, this woman who invited me out to the orphanage she is working at. So we took the local bus about an hour and a half out of Nairobi into the gorgeous hills of Kenya. The air was so clean and fresh with evergreen trees everywhere. Once we got to the small town we took motorbikes up the hill to the orphanage. It was a little scary at first flying down the dirt roads, wind blowing in my hair, on the back of this motorbike, but then you start to look around and it so exciting. We arrived just in time to join the kids after dinner during their group time. It reminded me so much of boarding school or the group home the way they ran things and they way the place was set up. I spent the evening talking with the volunteers, from America, and cuddling a tiny kitten named Nala. She was the sweetest little kitty, made me miss my big kitty.
The next morning I went with the volunteers to the school and saw more children that they are helping through tutoring. I was given the opportunity to tutor a young boy, Michael, on his reading, writing, and comprehension. Then I sat in on an art class that the volunteer had put together. It was so wonderful to see an organization that was doing something so wonderful for the kids and being productive! I absolutely hope that I find a volunteer position in Malawi. After lunch, they were so generous!, we headed to the 'bus station'. I  took one of the local buses back home which took forever but I arrived before dark which was good.
The next day, after meeting many Americans at the hostel, I made my way to the Nairobi National Museum. It was an amazing place with some great exhibits like the one on international womans month, and the one about evolution. They have the oldest skeletons, from Kenya, in the world! Then I went to the snake park and had a volunteer take me around and tell me about all the different kinds of snakes. I spent over four hours doing all that.
I have been enjoying the backpackers hostel so much because I meet fellow travelers everyday that I have been doing fun things with or just getting some great ideas of things to do. Today I am going to meet my overland tour group. Luckily for me the hotel that I need to get to is just a block away from the backpackers I'm staying at! I am so excited about this tour and really getting going on this traveling trip!!! Miss everyone and when I get some more photos I will try to figure out how to put them up. Unfortunately I didn't really get any pictures of Nairobi because it just isn't smart to bring anything into town with you. Oh well. Update soon, maybe!

Nairobi

After spending a few days in Moshi Tanzania, after my climb, I was ready to go to Kenya. It was a small town with two roads, not a lot to do and my guide, who was fantastic about taking me around town was starting to cramp my style. So I was all set up to get on the 6am bus to Nairobi. I could hardly sleep because I was so worried I wouldn't wake up in time to catch the bus, my alarm is so quiet I can barely hear it when it is in my ear! I made the bus and boy was it a long ride. We didn't get into Nairobi until around 3pm! The greatest part of the drive was that at one point I looked out the window and there were about 15 or 20 giraffe staring back at me. They were just on the side of the road!  It was great I just wish I had my camera out at the ready, next time.

When I got into Nairobi I didn't really know where I would be staying so I had the bus drop me off at a backpackers. Their idea of dropping me off is still driving, but slowly, saying ok it's down that way. Luckily I had met a Canadian teacher on the bus and he got off with me and we walked up the road to the backpackers hostel which was like three buildings down. I feel a little bit better here than I did in Moshi, more people speak English, the hostel has internet on site, dorms, and oh my god a TV! Last night this guy I met, Steve, and I watched this hilarious show called the Ninja warrior. It is one of those Japanese game shows where they have to get through obstacle courses in a set time. Hilarious! He and I are going to go to the Giraffe center today and then if I get back in time this other woman I met is going to take me to the orphanage she is working with out in one of the slums. I am so looking forward to all these new things. I have a few more days to figure out what to do with before I meet my bus tour group at the Hotel down the street. I may stay in Nairobi to discover a few more things here, perhaps go to a movie or maybe find the elephant orphanage. Not sure, the options are endless. Anyway, I am doing well here and very excited about the people I am meeting and the places I will be going. 

What the Post!?!

As I head onto Nairobi I needed to lighten the load a little bit. I wouldn't be needing any of my heavy snow gear from the mountain so I figured I'd sent it on home. Wow was that a journey. One of the guides from the Kilimanjaro trip has been nice enough to take me around town each day, helping me figure out where things are and run errands. So we had to walk all over town to try to find a big enough box to fit everything in. Then go back to the post office buy the brown paper and tape to cover the box then buy the postage to send the box. This whole extravaganza took around two hours and was really expensive!!! It hurts the pocket book now but I'm sure when I am only lugging around one bag I will be happy the package was sent.

I finally took a dip in the pool the other day. I am staying at the YMCA and they have an enormous pool. It has been raining off and on but it is so hot and humid here the cold water felt great. Also due to the weather my laundry from the mountain was not finished, they dry everything in the sun. It was a fiasco to try to get everything back and when I did get my things, many enquiries later, things were wet and my vest was a bit ruined. So the moral of that story is do your own stinking laundry even if the sign in the room says not to hang damp clothing! At least you will know where it is and it won't cost anything.
Oh I forgot to mention in my rush the other day that on the mountain it was -15 C, what is that in F? As a result though my bottom lip got really chapped, :( It will get better quickly. Till Nairobi! Hope all is well with everyone at home.

Mt Kilimanjaro

Jambo (hello) from the roof of Africa!

After what seemed like the never ending day, two plane and over 36 hours of travel, I finally arrived in Tanzania. It was a bit overwhelming at first and I must admit I was pretty lonely at first. I was kinda going, shit what did I just get myself into?!" Then of course the tourists starting coming out and after just one day at the YMCA I was headed up to climb Kilimanjaro. It was an amazing trip! I spent 7 days on the mountain with two fantastic guides, five porters (they carry everything), and a cook. These guys were just amazing. The hiking was intense to say the least with anywhere from 4 to 7 hour on the trail each day. This wasn't walking on a flat trail mind you, we were going up over 1000 meters a day and then down 1000 meters to camp everyday, hike high, sleep low. Anyway it was really physically intense. The last day, summit day, we had to wake up at 11pm! We started our long journey up the mountain at midnight, in the snow, but it was so beautiful. With the bright moon we didn't need to use our head lamps at all. It was so steep that, even with the walking poles, we had to take a step, stop, take a step, stop. It was all you could do just to keep going. Luckily this entire trip I didn't have any altitude sickness, mostly in part to the medication my doctor prescribed I'm sure. We finally reached the roof of Africa, Uhuru peak, at 6:20am. We just caught the sun as it was coming up, took some photos before the clouds came back in and then were headed back down the mountain. The peak is 5895 meters high, I don't know what it is in feet but almost 20,000. So, anyway, running out of time here on the computer so I'll wrap it up. I'm completely in tact, well soar as hell but fine. I am figuring out how to take the bus to Nairobi and even met some fellow travelers that I might meet up with in about a months time. So I'll do my best to keep you all posted. Love to everyone, can't wait to show you pictures!!!!

Mechanical issues?

So, I'm at SFO two hours early even though its a domestic flight. You know me I can't be late. My Mom dropped me off after spending a hectic week with her getting everything ready for the trip. My Dad met me at the airport and spent some time with me before he thought he was sending me off, I thought so too! Our plane was forced to move to another gate as the previous plane was majorly delayed. So we get on the plane, we taxi out and were about to take off when the captain comes on and says we have a mechanical issue that needed to be checked but he thinks we can go without it. Well it turns out he's wrong so we all are sent off the plane to reschedule our flights and missed connections!

Despite having missed my two connections I was feelings good and I met some really great people in the same boat. I really great woman who works for UCSF researching HIV in Uganda was great company in our almost four hours of trying to find other flights to Africa. I also met a young woman who had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro a couple years ago and also done a similar bus tour with the same operator! She had some great things to same and I am more confidant that I will be able to reach the top! So I came up to Seattle, checked into my complimentary hotel and got together with Cousin Jessica her husband Paul and beautiful baby girl Charlotte for dinner. It was so wonderful to be able to finally see where they live and spend some time as we don't get to see each other very often. Something that could have "ruined" the beginning of my trip turned out to be a great way to start the trip. I am ready to go after a great nights sleep and some free internet time to set this thing up. Phew.

Ok, well I will try to keep you all posted. And wish me luck today on actually getting to Africa this time!!!