Weekends are Wonderful

Hello again from the rainy south coast of Mombasa! They’ve had quite a drought here, so the thunderstorms that rolled in last night and this morning have brought some welcome relief to the dryness and heat. Hopefully the rain will be good for the crops, because hunger is really starting to be a problem in Kenya (the Minister of Agriculture released an estimate last week that up to 10 million Kenyans, or nearly 1/3 of the population, will be affected by hunger in the near future). Thankfully as of yet this region has not been affected much yet.

I’ve had quite the adventurous weekend… Saturday Jael and I went into Mombasa to do some shopping in what I have decided to (somewhat sarcastically) call the “Mombasa Mall” – you’ll understand the sarcasm when you look at the picture below. All the clothes come second-hand from America, which was really interesting to see because I’ve been wondering where on earth people are getting their Michigan Wolverines shirts and USA flag shirts from. I have yet to see any OSU clothing… sad story : (



The entire day yesterday was spent taking a trip out a marine park about an hour away and doing diving and snorkeling in the Indian Ocean, which was a really great experience. The water was so clear and blue and gorgeous, and I’ve never seen anything like it in my life! I did what is called a “fun dive” – i.e. you dive and have someone else beside you controlling all your gear. The other diver literally held my hand through the first half of the time, and later he let me swim on my own and just stuck by my side as I swam.



The reef was so beautiful, and the coral and big schools of brightly-colored fish were impressive… but my favorite parts were watching a sea turtle and swimming after him for awhile, as well as swimming about 5 or 6 meters away from dolphins. It was amazing to hear them “talking” under the water, and… WOW. That’s really all I can say!



Unfortunately for me, I didn’t think about the fact that all the salt water was going to wash off my SPF 50 sunscreen in no time, and I am burned to a crisp at the moment. Thankfully I was convinced to bring my aloe vera while I was packing for this trip, which I’ve been using like crazy! The blisters on my back and shoulders don't feel so good, but... I'll get over it. Learned my lesson for next time, that's for sure!