Home.

Well, that's it.

I am officially home. My African adventure is over and it's time to transition back into my "normal" life, whatever that really is. I am both excited and apprehensive to say goodbye to my month overseas... but more than anything, I feel proud. I'm proud of myself for adjusting to new situations, for traveling alone for the first time, and for embarking on a trip that pushed me far out of my comfort zone. I'm proud of my immune system for holding up for four weeks without even the slightest hint of a cold. I'm proud of my hair for being awesome enough to attract attention, yet just un-awesome enough to force me into taking several bucket showers.

The last few days of my trip were a whirlwind. Meghan and I met up in Kigali and ventured to Nyungwe National Park to go camping in the middle of the rain forest. It truly was just as amazing as it sounds. The next morning, we went on a monkey-viewing hike in the forest and even convinced our guide to let us walk across the rain forest canopy bridge without paying. Our hike was physically demanding and a little bit scary at times, but more than anything, it was fun. We also visited Butare, the main university town in Rwanda. In Butare, we were able to treat ourselves to two "American" meals at restaurants aimed toward tourists. I don't think I need to explain how awesome that was. On my last day in Rwanda, Meghan and I rode the bus back to Kigali and ran a few errands around town. Our time together was brief, but it was full of great conversations, shared laughs, and fabulous memories that more than made up for the scheduling difficulties we ran into. I was sad to say goodbye to Meghan... especially with the knowledge that I won't see her again for more than a year. Here are a couple of photos from our time together in Rwanda:

Nyungwe National Park at dusk.

Meghan and I got walking sticks. We are that cool.

Rain forest!

Please enjoy the grammatical errors on this Rwandan water bottle. 

The plane ride(s) back to America went smoothly, aside from the unexpected stop in Uganda during my first flight from Kigali to Amsterdam. Other than that, however, I managed to pass the time by watching movies, sleeping for tiny pockets of time, and daydreaming about the entourage that awaited me at the airport in Detroit. I even made friends with an old Indian woman, who gave me some sound advice about life and told me to call her if I am ever in India. In Detroit, I waited in a passport control line, passed through customs, and burst through the sliding doors of the waiting area. Even my extraordinarily high fatigue levels couldn't hinder the awesomeness of seeing my parents, my best friend Kendra, and Matt on the other side of that metal barrier rail. Hugs, food-sharing, and laughter followed. And now I am home. 

I want to thank each and everyone one of you for following my travels, leaving your thoughts (both on this blog and via email/Facebook... it's ok, I know that the internet is hard for old people), and encouraging and entertaining me as I made my way through this journey. One of the greatest feelings is being an entire world away from home, yet still feeling like the people you care about are right next to you. I hope you took something away from my blog entries, even if it was the just the knowledge that I will continue to make lame jokes, regardless of which continent I am on.

I love you guys. It's time for my next chapter.

Matt, me, and Kendra at my "welcome home" lunch in Ann Arbor!

I got TWO cakes. I love my BFFs/family.

I'm alive!

I'm back!

I hope you guys were able to survive the past several days without an update from me... but you're in luck, because I'm back in Kigali, Rwanda and I'm chilling at an internet cafe while I wait for Meghan to arrive tonight. I have experienced so much in the past week that it's probably going to be impossible to accurately describe it, but that seems to be a theme on this blog.

Hope (Meghan's friend) picked me up from the airport on Monday night and we spent the night here in Kigali. On Tuesday morning, we started the long trek to Hope's tiny mountainside village, Bumba. Let's just put it this way: traveling through the Rwandan mountains with an oversized suitcase, a backpack, a purse, AND a new puppy (which Hope picked up from a friend on our way home) was a... unique experience. On the bright side, I have officially become an expert at dragging my rolling suitcase up steep, rocky roads.

Once at Hope's village, things slowed down significantly. I don't feel like going into every little detail of what we did, who we met, and how beautiful the scenery was (you can see Lake Kivu from Hope's house...), but here's an overview: during my four-ish days with Hope, I pretty much lived the Peace Corps life. I made the hour-long walk to the market, attended a day of classes at Hope's school, conversed (with Hope as a translator) with villagers, and roughed it with pitcher showers and a squat hole toilet. I'm thankful that my time in Kenya prepared me for most of these things! Hope and I got along wonderfully, and I'm so glad that she graciously allowed me into her life for the week. We also bonded over the new puppy, who turned out to be not so wonderful... by yesterday, Hope decided that she just couldn't deal with the puppy's constant whining and neediness (I know, I know, it's a puppy... but it was just too much for her to handle long-term), so we ended up dropping him back off with his original owner today.

Last night, we got an exciting phone call from Meghan! She is flying into Kigali tonight, so Hope sent me away on a bus to book a room at St. Paul's (a hostel-ish place here) and wait for Meghan's arrival. The journey here was not an easy one, but it was definitely an experience to remember. In order to get to the bus station, Hope and I (plus the puppy) had to be driven out of the village and down the mountainside on motorcycles. Keep in mind that my large suitcase had to make this journey as well. Needless to say, my life flashed before my eyes on numerous occasions, but we managed to survive the 40-minute ride. When we got to the station, Hope sent me on my way, and I made the 3-hour bus ride to Kigali alone. Once here, I had to drag my suitcase, backpack, and purse through the busy city and figure out how to book a room at St. Paul's-- but I'm proud to say that I survived with nothing more than a few patches of sunburn on my face and some very, VERY dirty feet.

I just made a quick run to the Nakumatt (yes, they have them in Rwanda too!) and now I'm sitting here at the cafe waiting for my delicious chicken pesto sandwich to be delivered... so excited to have some "real" food, considering the fact that the Peace Corps diet consists mainly of bread, rice, and the occasional bit of fruit. I'm glad to have three days with Meghan. I'm thrilled to see my friends and family soon. All is well.

Pictures from my time with Hope:

View of the sunset from Hope's house!

Hope and her next-door neighbors

Bumba!

Part of my room at Hope's house.

Nakupenda, Kenya.

I'm being driven to the airport in approximately 50 minutes, so this will be my last update from Kenya. It's such a weird feeling (I've been having lots of those lately) because I remember typing my first Kenya entry so vividly. There are a million reflective thoughts rolling around in my head and I wish I had time to put them all into this brief entry, but I have to say my goodbyes and make sure I'm not forgetting anything before I hop into Loyd's car and head off to catch my plane.

I'm nervous about the upcoming week, but I'm going to try to be as positive and happy as I can, no matter what comes my way. It's going to be an adventure, that's for sure. I don't think I'll have internet access at the Peace Corps site where I'm staying, but I'll try my best to find a way to post at least one update before heading back to the States on July 12th. Keep checking. Also, expect a reaaaaally detailed, reflective blog when I get back home to Michigan!

Until next time (whenever that may be)...

Sophie

Sawa sawa...

I'm sitting here in my room at the guest house with such a strange combination of emotions. I am sad because we are officially done with all of our group outings here in Kenya. I am elated because I've had a lifetime's worth of experiences in the past three weeks. I am anxious yet excited because tomorrow marks the start of a whole new adventure in Rwanda. Time has moved so fast, yet this trip has still managed to feel endless at times.

Today was awesome. We drove two hours west to Lake Naivasha and enjoyed an amazing "water safari" and tour of the area. The water safari itself was incredible, as we pulled our boat up right next to hippos and watched African eagles swoop down and grab fish from the water with amazing precision. I think the scenery today was more beautiful than anything I've experienced in Africa thus far. After a lunch on the lake, we drove to a lookout point and gazed at the gorgeous Great Rift Valley, which is basically like a much cooler version of the Grand Canyon. As usual, my pictures just can't do it justice.

We're back at MGH now, mentally preparing for our last dinner with the group as a whole. Loyd is driving me to the airport at around 3 pm tomorrow, so I'll have to say goodbye to everyone early and make sure I'm ready to go. This means that I need to do some serious repacking tonight! I hope Rwanda is ready for the world's most notorious over-packer...

I got a serious sunburn on my legs from our boat ride this afternoon, so I should probably go attend to that by slathering aloe all over my skin. In the meantime, here are some more of the thrilling pictures you've come to expect from me:

View of Lake Naivasha before we headed out. 

Random roadside rock decor.

Me looking slightly touristy at the Great Rift Valley.

Panorama from the Rift Valley lookout point.

Taking the good with the bad

Hi guys.

I haven't been in the mood to blog lately, and I'll explain why. Most of you know about my plans to fly to on my own to Rwanda on Monday and visit my boyfriend's sister, Meghan, a Peace Corps volunteer. I've been eagerly anticipating this weeklong adventure for months now, so you can imagine my distress when Meghan contacted me to let me know that she was being flown to South Africa for some health-related procedures. We knew about these issues before I even left the United States, and we never imagined she would be kept in South Africa for more than three weeks. However, a few additional problems recently arose, and Meghan is now stuck in South Africa until she's given a clean bill of health and a green light to head back to Rwanda. In the best case scenario, she may be able to be back in Rwanda on Saturday of next week...  just a couple of days before I'm scheduled to head home.

The last couple of days have been incredibly stressful for me as I try to decide on the best path of action while simultaneously striving to enjoy my remaining time with a new group of amazing friends in wonderful Kenya. After a few Skype conversations/phone calls, some frustrated tears, and a little bit of reflection, I have decided to continue on with my Rwanda travel plans. I will stay with Meghan's best friend and experience life as a teacher in a small Rwandan village for the week. If we're lucky, Meghan will be back for at least a day or two near the end of my trip. I'm choosing to view this as a lucky opportunity for personal growth instead of a frustrating misfortune. As far as I can imagine, no matter what happens, I will look back on my time in Rwanda and be proud that I chose to practice my adaptability skills (which have never been my strong suit) and step very, very far outside my comfort zone. This can only be good for me, right?

Now that you're caught up on the slightly depressing aspects of my life as of late, I'll give you a brief overview of the great things I've been doing since we got back to Nairobi. Today was probably one of the most eventful days I've had since arriving in Kenya nearly three weeks ago. We awoke early for breakfast and headed out to a nearby giraffe center, where I had the privilege of feeding a giraffe out of my very own mouth. That's right-- after being pressured by the giraffe center's staff members and some of my friends, I stuck a food pellet in between my lips and allowed a giraffe to eat it directly from my mouth. See the picture below for a good laugh. We also visited an elephant orphanage, which wasn't as cool as I expected it to be. There were some cute baby elephants, but it was sort of a tourist trap and I wasn't really in the mood to see a bunch of other obnoxious Americans yet. What's becoming of me?

Tonight was one of the most eagerly anticipated outings of our entire time here: a trip to Carnivore, a world-famous restaurant and nightclub here in Nairobi. Look it up, it even has its own Wikipedia page. I am proud to say that I consumed ox testicles, camel meat, ostrich, crocodile, chicken liver, and much, much more. I was pleasantly surprised by the non-repulsiveness of some of these bizarre foods, especially the ostrich! It tasted great with the right amount of garlic dipping sauce. Also, it was pretty liberating to be able to wear an outfit that revealed my knees. Since we're back in the city now, we are not required to follow such a strict/modest dress code.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Kenya. I am having a really hard time grasping the idea that I'm leaving this place so soon... what will I be if I am no longer a mzungu? I'm not sure if I'm ready to start transitioning back into a life where a typical morning doesn't include Kenyan tea and dinner is served without chapatti. We're driving north to some kind of flamingo lake tomorrow morning, where we will eat lunch and take a brief canoe trip. I hope it's a beautiful end to a beautiful adventure.

More soon. It's almost time for the second phase of my journey, and things are suddenly looking a lot less predictable and a lot more adventure-oriented than they once were. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.

Pictures:

Just thought I'd throw this one in to show you the kind of traffic we deal with in Nairobi.

Sharing a romantic moment with my favorite giraffe. Don't tell Matt...

Mo, Jenna, me, Johanna, and Beka at Carnivore!

Please notice the large chunk of camel meat being shaved onto my plate.

Pictures

In an effort to distract from my previous post (which was a little too depressing for my liking), here are the safari pictures I promised! :)

Ixchel, me, Johanna, and Andy before entering the national park!

Giraffe eating (this one's for you, CK McGraw!)

My room at the eco-lodge

My view of the sunset during our dusk game drive.

Zebras and a sunrise during the dawn drive! 

Ugh.

Hello, faithful bloggies...

We are back in Nairobi after a long and tiring day of travel from Meru. Today just doesn't seem to be my day, and I'm not sure if I'm going to be up for writing a long entry tonight. Without getting into all of the frustrating details, I will just say that the trip here was complicated and I was greeted with some troubling news about my trip to Rwanda next week. But please don't fret! I am in the process of sorting everything out, and I will be sure to keep you posted as my plans change/stay the same/become more or less awesome.

I love you guys! Stay tuned.