Now that we have steady ground under our feet again I've finally found some time to reflect on The Trip. Since returning many people have asked me for the best and worst parts, but it has actually been surprisingly hard to answer this question. This experience has been so multi- faceted that I really struggle to distill the essence out of the past seven months. But after a few lively conversations V. and I have come up with the following random categories for your reading pleasure ;-):
- Magical moments: singing the ABC song with the kids at Pipeline IDP camp / a tv crew filming our income-generating project / discharging nine-month-old Joseph from Nakuru Hospital after a near fatal case of malaria & gastroentritis / falling stars during our Samburu village stay / being a guest at a Tanzanian wedding / entering a tomb chamber inside Dahshur Pyramid / the Egyptian Museum right before closing time / sunset at the Great Pyramids of Giza / Trevi Fountain in Rome on our tenth anniversary :-)
- V's vehicular curse: the radiator of our safari vehicle exploding in the middle of Samburu National Reserve / our motor boat running out of fuel on the way to Lamu Island/ the table at the outdoor cafe in Morogoro we were sitting at being hit by a jeep (!) / Peter's cute car breaking down in the Uluguru Mountains, again on the way to the wedding, and lastly just before our bus to Dar es Salaam was leaving (we were rescued in the end by the rest of the lovely NZAID crowd!)
- What I couldn't get enough of: breakfast mandazi / nightly sessions of 'In the Name of Love' with my host family / hugs from the camp kids / learning from the IDPs about Kikuyu life / reunions with NZAID scholars (ASANTE SANA again to Richard & Quin, Joseph & Jennifer, Hans & Anna, Peter & Bertha, Muganda & Elizabeth, Ummy & Alfan!) / spicy Swahili tea / friendly locals / freshly made Cairo fruit juice / Arabic music
- What I had too much of: mosquito bites / midnight runs to the outdoor toilet / bumpy, sweaty matatu rides / being called "mzungu" (= "white person") all the time / pushy touts / noisy guest houses / long-distance buses that stop every five minutes for no reason whatsoever / haggling / Cairo heat / out-of-control Egyptian men
- Favourite scenery: Great Rift Valley for its sheer scale and vastness / Lake Baringo / the pink flamingos at Lake Nakuru / elephants & baobab trees in Tarangire National Park / Zanzibar's Stone Town with its Muslim architecture & intricately carved doors / herds of wildebeest in the awe-inspiring Ngorongoro Crater / Uganda's lush countryside / hippo pool in Murchison Falls National Park / Sinai desert
- Most interesting encounters: meeting Kenyan singer Achieng Abura and her entourage before they played a pro-referendum concert in Nakuru/ being interviewed by Daily News journalist Daniel Sitole / a conversation with a former Sudanese refugee about his resettlement experience in Canada / hearing the opinions of a Masaai leader during a Kenya Human Rights conference / everyone we spoke to a Sokoine University of Agriculture (with a special notice to Bart Weetjens of HeroRats) / Rachel M., a British aid worker for Medair in the Democratic Republic of Congo / veteran wildlife ranger George in Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park / and MANY more fascinating, hardworking people who crossed our paths...
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