Ok you have waited for news long enough, here goes, all going very well here. The trip to Mount Kenya was a little more than we bargained on as far as energy expended. It took us three hours travelling time to get to Mount Kenya...... we sat in the Matatu for two hours in the scorching heat waiting for the thing to fill up, when I realised that there was only one seat left to fill I insisted on paying for the empty seat as we were dying in the back, it was like sitting in a tin can over a flame, we were being pestered every two seconds by people trying to sell us things in the windows so we had to close the windows. How many pairs of men's socks or watches with Bin Laden on it can a woman possibly want!!!
The three hour trip was not a pleasant one the roads were loosely called roads, mostly dirt tracks with lots and lots of holes. We arrived at the hostel we booked and it was pure heaven.... The place had the most beautiful gardens and not a car horn blaring within ear shot.
We were given a fab evening meal and we all slept together, six girls and one young guy called Nigel, we had a room with 4 bunk beds, I had a top bunk, Nigel was on the bottom one........um!
On Saturday we had a lovely breakfast and got ready for our trek which we were told was 3 hours to a set of caves. When we had assembled with rucksacks we were given loo roll which should have been a bad sign, we were checked for hiking boots, water and given a packed lunch. Our guide then told us that the hike would be 7 hours..........Oh my God!!!! We treked through streams, bogs, up and down crag's and eventually got to the caves, the guide told us to get out our flash lights, no one had told us to take any, mine was on my bunkbed post!! We wandered round the caves with one small flash light between us. We couldn't see anything!!!!! Very very unsafe, we shuffled our feet a lot!
The walk back was exhausting it was very very hot and we had managed to finish all the water we had. W
e struggled to get back to the hostel, I was the last one, and I cried with exhaustion when I got through the gates, the guide didn't know what to do with me, he made someone run for a bottle of water, I sat for a while before getting the energy reserves to w
alk into the shower. We were all totally whacked, none of us talked through dinner and we headed to their on site thatched pub for a well earned drink before bed.
The walk back was exhausting it was very very hot and we had managed to finish all the water we had. W
e struggled to get back to the hostel, I was the last one, and I cried with exhaustion when I got through the gates, the guide didn't know what to do with me, he made someone run for a bottle of water, I sat for a while before getting the energy reserves to w
alk into the shower. We were all totally whacked, none of us talked through dinner and we headed to their on site thatched pub for a well earned drink before bed.On Sunday we could hardly walk, we just sat in the garden and wrote letters, read etc. On the way back the vehicle we were in had a burst hose, so we were further delayed in a hot vehicle.
Sunday night was chill night, the girls in my apartment and I (Jo & Mad) sat in the empty apartment upstairs (where the other girls stayed who were away in Mombassa for the week and where we eat our meals) we watched Lion King, it was lovely. Unfortunately we got no sleep that night there were too many revellers outside the apartment, I think there may be a brothel as the noise and disturbances are awful.
Yesterday I took two classes, it felt great, although I have a problem with the fact that they have black boards and chalk, sets my teeth on edge just holding the chalk let alone writing with it. Yesterday we were honoured to help hand out uniforms for the boys, it was a great occasion for them all, they looked great. The older boys still had no shorts in their sizes and no shoes.
Sunday night was chill night, the girls in my apartment and I (Jo & Mad) sat in the empty apartment upstairs (where the other girls stayed who were away in Mombassa for the week and where we eat our meals) we watched Lion King, it was lovely. Unfortunately we got no sleep that night there were too many revellers outside the apartment, I think there may be a brothel as the noise and disturbances are awful.
Yesterday I took two classes, it felt great, although I have a problem with the fact that they have black boards and chalk, sets my teeth on edge just holding the chalk let alone writing with it. Yesterday we were honoured to help hand out uniforms for the boys, it was a great occasion for them all, they looked great. The older boys still had no shorts in their sizes and no shoes.
Today, Debbie and I went into town with one of the teachers and I bought 24 pairs of boys charcoal shorts and Debbie bought 39 pairs of shoes. We looked very strange on the boda bodas getting back to SCANN, we had one guy with the sack of shoes on the back of his bike.
We were allowed to hand out the shorts and the shoes this afternoon and we duly took loads of photos, the boys looked so proud of their new uniforms, they have never had one before, only the bigger boys who attend the funded schools get them.
The head teacher from SCANN wanted lots of group photos with the teachers in too, we had a fabulous day, it was emotionally exhausting
though, just watching the reaction of the boys made me want to cry.They have got used to me know and many come up and hold my hand. I was honoured today as I had had the presence of mind to take in my sewing kit as we need to make some alterations and the tiny boys need elastic putting in the back of their shorts, that will be a weekend job I feel, when they aren't wearing them.
Ok that is the news for now........... I am supposed to be going to the Masai Mara at the weekend but am trying to get out of it and postpone until later in my trip........ so you may have another email break if I go, it will be from Friday until Sunday night.
Bye for now, having a totally rewarding time out here.
Susannah
Going going gone ........................
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