sarah has visited the city of nairobi.I am osmond,i have been taking her around. I am a kenyan.I am in university. I hope to visit America one day. My email is:osmondmose@yahoo.com

Hi everyone, at this point, you have probably guessed that i have arrived in Kenya safely. I was sick for some time with flu, but I seem to be recovering well. I am staying with Dr. monda's family, and he lives in a community of doctor housing, so if I were to get sick anywhere it is good to get sick here. Today he is busy though, taking out somebody's spleen. Richard's family is treating me like royalty, although I have managed to help with the dishes a few times... In the mornings at 4 or 5am, a very very loud call to worship wakes me, and I finally opened the curtains to learn that the mosque is about 25 feet away, and the speakers are pointed at the bedroom window. This happens 4 times a day, and the house shakes with sounds of arabic. Actually, the man singing has a very nice voice except the speakers are blaring it so loudly, that you can't really hear it. On Wednesday night, Gladys prepared an enormous feast of rice, ugali, chapati, meat, managu, peas, and pudding (fruit salad). The next day, I went to town to change money and get a cell phone (P.S. You may all feel free to call anytime -- it doesn't cost that much for a few minutes 011 254 735 805 379) I can also accept SMS messages on that number, but I haven't been able to send them. This morning I took a very very hot shower from a jug, and ate some breakfast. Gladys made some donuty things that were yummy and now I'm going to see some more of nairobi with my personal tour guide and nairobi expert and exceptional laundry washer and business student friend Osmond. Talk to you all later Love, sarah
- posted by Sarah @ 1:28 AM

 
Dear people that I miss dearly, I am back in Maputo after a wonderful week of beachside living. There are way to many details to tell without paying a bizillion dollars for internet usage, so here's a brief summary. Finished PADI advanced diving course. Went on many really great dives in Indian ocean, saw whale sharks and manta rays up close. Lived on the beach in a tent for one week and made a ton of friends, some very good friends from Italy, and Chile. Bought and cooked lobster, ate tons of really fresh seafood. Started dating someone I went diving with -- a sailor. Well, rather a skipper. Runs large sailboats from Mozambique to Madagascar. Met lots of locals, learned some portugese and MaZulu. Played with cute babies of people who lived in village. Spent night with locals in grass hut with no running water or electricity. Hung out with Irish, Swedes,and people from many other nations. Danced a lot at local bar, swam in warm clear waters, spent evenings around campfire telling stories and singing with friends. Went to see "Ismael lo" live last night in Maputo with friends, and was a great great concert. He's from Senegal. Then went out on the town, with safety escorts of course, and met peace corps worker from San Jose who was lots of fun. She and I told each other all our secrets that we haven't been able to tell anyone else the rest of the trip. Tomorrow, I will be on a bus all day to Johannesburg, on Friday, I fly to Malawi, going bug hunting for the weekend with an entomologist, then off to Kenya. Really wonderful trip so far, really good friends here, miss Ayla and everyone at home. Please take care, I love you all lots. Also, grandma/mom, please please send e-mail updates about Sam and yourselves at least once a week. Also, Mitch, please outfit Havanna as dive boat and meet me in Mozambique. Have skipper. P.S. Meat is pretty much exactly like I remembered it, I don't really like the texture. Goat is much better than beef, but also too chewy and stringy. Was tempted to try Gazelle yesterday, but didn't smell good. Meat never smells good to me. I have been eating it when I have to, but I think I just fundamentally don't like it. Exception for seafood which I can't seem to get enough of. Had pizza with mussels, calamari, extra garlic, and shrimp for dinner last night. mmmmmmmmmmm...Traveling alone is weird, because I think so far, I've only managed to be alone for 20 min or so, and only one meal. Anyway, it's 2:30, and the Swedenator is sitting at the computer next to me asking me to finish so we can go have lunch. Bye!
- posted by Sarah @ 5:33 AM

 
P.S. I forgot to add that you can view pictures of Malawi at www.the-compound.org/pictures/malawi I also want to add that I really like getting short e-mails knowing what you are up to. hint hint. sarahdoty@ekit.com hint hint. Also there are a lot of young brits here that are annoying. Found some other solo women travelers though to hang out with. Love, Sarah
- posted by Sarah @ 7:12 AM

 
Greetings from Mozambique!!! I decided to come here from Swaziland because everyone recommended it, and it is really nice. I decided that I needed to come here instead of South Africa, because S.A. is really stressful due to racial tensions, and I didn't feel like being around that anymore. SO, I went to a beach resort in Mozambique, and I am going to park my butt on the beach for a few days at $7 a night in a town called Tofo at a place called Fatimas. There is great diving here, so tomorrow, I'm going diving, and I hope to see whale sharks!!!!! p.s. whale sharks have no teeth. Maputo was exactly like I pictured it would be. If the dirtiest part of New York mated with the most run down section of latin america and there was a portugese sailor theme, you would have Maputo. Yesterday, my Aussie bus driver took me to an abandoned 110 room hotel for a tour that he has dreams about fixing up, and the place was like a five star hotel from the 60s that was just left to rot since the war started. There was still beer in the fridge! After that, we had lunch and made our way to tofo. All of the minibuses from town that had left earlier that morning broke down, and we passed them one by one on the road, passengers stranded until morning in the middle of nowhere. This is Mozambique, in the middle of nowhere there are land mine fields. Needless to say, I am glad that I paid the extra $23 to take a private bus. People here are really nice, and I can get around fine using my spanish as it is so similar to Portugese. I have to stay here until Friday when the private bus comes back, so that I won't get stuck in some mine field. Oh darn...I hate getting stuck at the beach for a week. Also, They have the best and freshest seafood here I have ever eaten. Plus they cook everything in butter and lots of garlic. Oh darn again! Anyway, I plan to spend next weekend in Swaziland, home of the nicest people in the world, and some of the most beautiful scenery, then I'm going to Durban, and down the coast of South Africa until I have to return to Johannesburg on the 20th to catch my flight to Malawi on the 21st. I will be in Malawi for the weekend to go bug hunting with an entomolgist that is a friend of Marcs, then off to Nairobi. I hope that you had a wonderful mothers day, and I am quite well, and I miss you all. Love, Sarah
- posted by Sarah @ 6:15 AM

 
Hi everyone, I know that some of you probably think I am dead by now, but I'm fine, it's just hard to get to a computer sometimes. Anyway, my first few days in South Africa have been weird...I arrived in S.A. and was picked up by a youth hostel. The place was very friendly, and there seemed to be a gang of locals who lived there. I first met a group of 3 fun people from Denver, and a young brit doing volunteer work. The first night I got there was Friday night, and I hadn't had much sleep the night before as I was up late talking about moths with Tony the moth man in Malawi, and then drove Christi to the airport at 4am. But none of that seemed to matter, because I went bar hopping with the locals and the Denvers and we stayed out until like 4am. Saturday was relaxed, went to the mall and set up my cell phone, and ran some errands. Then Saturday night out again to go dancing. Johannesburg is weird. All of the white people seem to have BMW's or mercedes and blonde hair and are dressed like britney spears. For the most part, the neighborhoods are still racially segregated. Many of the white neighborhoods look like downtown Palo Alto, only more posh, and with a combination of 10-15 foot walls, barbed wire, electrified razor wire, and security alarms/guards surrounding each house. Most of the black neighborhoods look like the outskirts of Managua. How Nelson Mandela prevented a massive civil war here is completely beyond me!! Most white people in Joburg are terrified and they don't go outside. They travel from gated home to gated work, in secured cars, and basically live like isolated caged animals. Anyway, so on Sunday, I went on a trip to Soweto, and saw the museums and Nelson Mandela's house, and all of the main historical landmarks. I really enjoyed the museum, and I cried almost the whole time walking through it. The end of apartheid seems to have been just as beneficial to white people as to blacks. Anyway, now I am in Hazyview collecting bugs, and I plan to do a trip to Krueger National Park tomorrow. South Africa is really one of the most tourist-friendly countries in the world. There are hostels and buses everywhere, and they are nice, clean and friendly places for the most part. I plan to work my way around the coast by bus all the way to Cape Town. I plan to stop in Durban, Swaziland, and several other port cities, and possibly do some water-related activites. Hope all is well with all of you, Love, Sarah
- posted by Sarah @ 2:48 AM