I bless the rains down in Africa...

So here it is nearly August already, and as usual I am abysmally behind on my blogging.  This time I have a few semi-valid excuses, such as a dearth of internet cafes in most major cities (why didn't anyone tell me wifi had already driven internet cafes nearly to extinction?  I figured they were at least still in the cretaceous period...), a lack of internet connection of any kind at all (sorry mom) while farming on a mountain in Thessaly (that's in Greece) for 3 weeks, or my personal favorite:  "wishing to focus on enjoying the moment rather than capturing it," which is code for "I'm tired and my camera is out of batteries."

So to sum up how I spent the rest of June:

After I fell asleep in front of a hotel computer after my last blog post (you know, the one where I didn't have the energy to write about climbing Kilimanjaro because I'd just climbed Kilimanjaro?) I took a shuttle bus from Arusha to Nairobi, where I joined a tour group on a 2-week safari across Kenya and Northern Tanzania.  Places and activities I can now cross off my list:  Lake Nakuru and white rhinos (I'd seen one of the seven in Zambia, but in this fenced park there are actually more than seven!); walking with giraffes near Lake Naivasha; dancing with Maasai women in a cow pasture, and watching their men jump extremely high into the air; drinking a beer on the shores of Lake Victoria; endless driving through the Maasai Mara and Serengeti National Parks; visiting Kisii soapstone carving community and seeing how they make those little bowls and coasters and animal-shaped paperweights and candle-holders which I've been seeing strewn about from Nairobi to Livingstone for years without knowing what sort of material they were or where they came from; watching the sun rise as we descend into Ngorongoro crater, where the cloud blocks the sky like foggy icing on a cupcake; watched small groups of wildebeest give into their migratory instincts and RUN.

Other things I can now cross off my list: living with 22 people on a bus for 2 weeks; driving through a game park packed into a massive truck like cattle; watching the driver replace tires on said truck, twice; putting up an unnecessarily tough and heavy tent every day; watching tourists lean out their gas-guzzling lane-hogging windows to take pictures of normal people going about their normal lives as if they were exhibits in a zoo (Maasai people going about their Maasai lives, but still); being dragged in a broken-down minibus by another minibus; not being able to use the bathroom because a couple of buffalo are standing between the campsite and the outhouse; sitting in a room of 25 people at dinner and being the only one eating my nshima properly, which is to say with my hands (even the 3 Kenyan crew members ate with forks...they called it "civilized," I call it poor ettiquette-- Miss Manners says: always eat a dish with the proper and intended utensil!).  While I was very happy to see new parts of Africa and have new experiences, this safari doesn't really compare to the smaller groups in jeeps, the night drives, walks with cheetahs, elephant rides, horseback rides, etc. that I had in Zambia.  Still, I can't complain (or, rather, I can and should-- roughing it in Africa and complaining about it is the best part--it's where all the stories come from).  At least I didn't get attacked by a baboon (we kept stopping in the parks to look at the baboons...I'm just not that into it).

When the 22 of us stumbled off the bus in Nairobi 14 days later, tired and dirty etc etc etc, I quickly found a lovely hostel so I could rest for a few days before my flight out of Africa.  The hostel I stayed at is called Manyatta and it is a lovely little place with cheerfully painted walls (giraffes, sunsets, etc.), a friendly crew, and a bar/restaurant.  When I get a chance I'll be writing them a very good review.  I did my laundry, ate a cheeseburger, took a nap (I came here for a night between Kilimanjaro and my safari too, and it was the perfect place for a rest!), ran some errands in town (Nairobi is much nicer (and safer) than its reputation-- always be cautious, but don't let fear keep you away!) and paid a visit to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage.  Yes you read that right: BABY ELEPHANTS!  Some of them were so young their skin was still brown and fuzzy, and the bigger ones guzzled water and milk from bottles eagerly, and the keepers walked them all around the feeding paddock so we could photograph them and even TOUCH them.  It was so cool!  They were so sweet and so beautiful and so sad, and the people who killed their parents are just so heartless and foolish-- ivory just isn't worth this price.  Someday when I have a job and stuff I'm going to "adopt" a baby elephant, which just means making a donation; for now I had to be satisfied with a little stuffed elephant ornament.  I love elephants.

Seeing baby elephants may have been the perfect final activity for my extended stay in Africa; while I have every intention of returning someday in the vague and undefined future, I also know that life works out in strange and surprising ways, and if this does turn out to be my last visit to Africa, I'm glad it was spent here.

My flight out of Africa departed July 1st.  I spent the last of my shillings on chocolate and postcards, checked my e-mail on my phone one last time (I tried to hook it up to the internet in Greece this morning, but after nearly an hour of valiant attempts the nice people at the Vodaphone store admitted defeat, so while I can make calls in Europe I apparently will not be using this phone to get online again anytime soon), and boarded the plane.  I had an 8-hour layover in Dubai, where I thought about going into the city for a bit but ultimately decided to just take a nap in the lounge chairs at the Dubai airport and browse the airport bookstore-- Dubai must be pretty cool, considering how impressively nice the airport was-- and then another flight to Istanbul to meet my father, my stepmother, and my cousin for a week in Turkey.  I spent most of the flight watching free episodes of Downton Abbey season 3-- omg when did that show get so sad???

tbc...