Nile Rafting

Happy 2011 to all!
I hope that everyone had a lovely holiday season. While I would have gladly enjoyed sipping egg nog, listening to the Mariah Carey Christmas cd, and decorating a tree, my Christmas season was quite nice. A few nearby peace corps volunteers came to my house for the Christmas weekend. We enjoyed a delicious meal with my family next door. They, unlike the rest of my village, even had Christmas decorations! While the absence of cold weather and constant Christmas advertisements may have made this Xmas not seem too Christmas-y, it was being with my Kenyan family and good company that made this holiday special for me.
I was able to meet my neighbour’s youngest daughter Sophie who is coincidently studying in California and is back in Kenya visiting for the holidays. It was interesting to discuss with her the reverse experiences and adjustments we have had. While I’m getting used to ugali and choo usage, she had to get used to big macs and flushing toilets. Here’s a picture of us after Christmas dinner.



After Christmas, a few friends and I travelled to Jinja, Uganda, to go white water rafting down the Nile. I was initially very scared; the pictures of flipping rafts and class 5 rapids were intimidating. However, it ended up being very exciting and lots of fun. Here is a picture of our group before the adventure began.



The rapids ranged from class 2 to class 5. Some being mild, but fun.......



............and a few resulted in our raft flipping.



And here is a picture of us going over a 2.5 metre waterfall. Looks kind of like a Disneyland ride doesn’t it? Ahhhhh!


Now that the adventures/vacations/2010 are all over, it’s time to start school again. It’s hard to believe I only have one year left here. Sometimes it seems like such a short time and other days it seems like forever. At least I have nine puppies and Nala to keep me company!