Earthquakes!!!

I'm back in Nairobi and yesterday some people were discussing 'the earthquakes'. I had no clue what was going on and asked where were all these big earthquakes. Apparently when I was in Tanzania there was a really big one there. I'm not sure how I missed it...actually maybe that was the day that the tide never really came in...hmm. Anyways, then I've been back here for 3 days and we've been having 4 or 5 everyday and I still didn't notice it until yesterday afternoon when things started falling off the table. Good thing I caught my glass or it would have broken. They're not too big, not like things are falling off the walls or buildings are falling over or anything, just enough for you to feel and wonder if you should get in a doorway or not and then it stops 5 minutes later. Being from TX I've never really experienced an earthquake, nor did I ever expect to experience one....it's kind of weird. Oh well, although I'm not sure how this contributes to the restful and low-stress environment I'm supposed to be in!!!!

Chaco Tan

First, more African travel: 3 hours delay for a 15 minute flight....should have thought twice before putting the snacks in the checked bags!

So I have this pair of chacos (a kind of sandal) that I wear about 6 days a week. They are the most practical for desert living and comfortable and match just about everything. The straps are adjustable which comes in very handy since it's so hot and my feet are always swelling up...kind of weird but a fact of life in the Sandbox. After wearing them all the time for over a year my feet have developed this sort of permanent chaco tan. When I take off my black sandals my feet look like I put on a pair of white ones b/c there are white stripes all over my tanned and permanently dirty feet.

At the beach this week I knew that I would have to use extra sunscreen since it's been a long time since things like my knees have seen the sun. I reapplied every hour just to be sure that I didn't fry. We spent the whole day at the beach and then showered and went out to dinner. I noticed that my chacos were hurting my feet a little but just figured that maybe the sun made them swell or something, no big deal. I didn't really think twice about it until the next morning when my friend was like 'what is wrong with your feet?!?!?' Turns out it didn't matter how much sunscreen I had put on, my white chaco lines are now bright red!!! Apparantly a year is too long to keep parts of your feet out of the sun. I didn't get sunburned anywhere else, just the red lines criss-crossing all over my feet....lovely!

African Air Travel

I'm traveling for vacation today. I confirmed my flight 2 days ago, but I've heard of some other people's experiences with this airline before (they checked in at midnight and then waited for 8 hours. They asked alot of questions and didn't get any answers. Finally at 8am the airline lady came out and told them that their 3am flight didn't come and they should probably rebook) I figured I should call again today just in case. So I talk to the lady and tell her I just want to be sure what time my flight leaves. My tickets say 5:30 but the lady says 'yes, we have you on the 10:05 flight'. I was like 'well see, my tickets say 5:30 and I would really rather be on that flight. Is it it possible that we could change me to that one?' and she says 'well there's not a 5:30 flight. We're not going to have that one today.' '...you're just not going to have that one?' 'No, but we've scheduled you for the 10:05 flight.(like she did me the biggest favor in the world)' 'Were you going to notify me of that schedule change?' and she says 'oh no, we don't do notifications.' What could I say besides 'alright, well thank you'

So it looks like I'll be spending a few more hours here before I head out....African air travel, you gotta love it!