Thursday Is the New Friday

In the last few months I have come to love and appreciate Thursdays as I never have before. Our midweek-days are typically ignored, and for good reason. If you are like me we are usually recuperating from Monday and trying so desperately to reach Friday that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all seem like a blur. I love the feeling one gets on Friday when you know you've made it through another week and the weekend lies fresh and free before you. And since I have been in school with classes only held Mon-Thurs I get to feel that one day sooner each week. So, all I can say today (Thursday) is TGIT!

Finals, Running Errands, Flat tires & Family Parties...oh and Merry Christmas!

I know. The title is exhausting. Living it was even more so. But I finished my first semester of finals! I'm so glad to have that behind me. One semester down, three to go. Not sure if I passed my classes but they keep telling us that 1) grades don't matter and 2) everyone survives so I am holding them to their word.

I found out last week that I got into the Moab 1/2 marathon to be held in March so I'm now trying to work up my endurance and speed. During finals I decided to multi-task by running my errands. Literally. So, I ran 1 mile to the post office then another 1/2 mile to the bank (3 miles round trip) and decided to keep going awhile longer and ended up running 6.5 miles! Not too bad, I think. Now I just have to double that and I'm good.

So, my friend Lynne was in town from Michigan this week and a couple of us drove up to Salt Lake Friday night to see her. We chatted until 11pm when we decided we should head back to Provo. On the way home I started to hear a strange noise and then came the strange shaking. I started to freak out and the girls riding with me at first thought it was just the road with construction and all. Well, long story short we finally made it off the University Parkway exit and I pulled into the closest gas station. When I got out I could see and smell my back tire smoking. Flat. Three girls, two guys (a new friend, Parker, and a not so new friend, Broderick, joined the ranks to help) and 45 minutes later we were on our way. Monday will now be devoted to getting my tire and oil changed. Merry Christmas to my car!

Sadly, our family Christmas party to be held on Saturday was canceled due to inclement weather but some of us still had an impromptu get together at my place. Pauline was driving to Nephi so she came the rest of the way to Provo with Jadon and some darling North Pole cupcakes. Danette came down with a sewing project. Glen stopped by with Ilham and the adorable Brody. Rebecca dropped in last with Lainie, Morgan and Nicole. We ate, held the baby and all had a great time. This is when I learned from Morgan taught me that "a hypothesis is an idea you can test." She's four, mind you. I also discovered how very un-kid friendly my condo really is but both the kids and my carpet survived so we're good.

Still Here

It's a strange time to finally pick this up again. Finals are creeping up and I should most certainly be studying right now but instead I started to catch up on everyone's blogs and decided that mine was well out of date.

I won't bore you with much detail of the last 3 months but I will say that it's been quite the ride. I started the MBA program at BYU with 2 weeks of orientation (whew!) and a river rafting trip in Idaho. I was given the best group of study partners anyone could ask for (The Six Pack, as we like to call ourselves) and have survived the great internship hunt which consisted of info sessions, informational interviews, first interviews, dinners, fly backs and...the wait. And the results are in! I will be working at HP in Palo Alto, CA for three months next summer. I'm quite excited for the opportunity and am glad to know where I will be going come May. School is great but I often miss the slow-pace of Mombasa. They say the grass is greener on the other side and as I sit here looking out my window I can most certainly guarantee that today it is!

Mombasa, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Over 300 matatu rides. 3 new scars. 7 roommates. 1 mosquito net. 1 case of the stomach flu. 3 new training programs. 1 (modest) beach bonfire. 5 blisters. Approximately 80 meals of beans & rice. Countless power outages. 1 trusty fan. The 1st World Cup in Africa. 1 cat. 3 geckos. 1 birthday (let's not count the candles). 4 evenings in the air conditioned movie theater. 2 Tilapia served with the head and skin still intact. 1 fantastic maid. 40+ loads of laundry washed by hand. 3 church callings. One reliable 10.1 inch red netbook. 18 mosques. 3 broken shoes. Not nearly enough mahambri. Thousands of ants. 1 school of dolphins. 3 GB worth of pictures. At least 6 sunburns. 1 unusually long rainy season (no complaints here). 3 umbrellas. 150 anti-malaria pills. 0 cases of malaria. 4 lovely and all too fleeting months.

The Final Countdown

It's official. I can now count the days I have remaining in Mombasa on one hand. And as one might guess, I'm having all sorts of mixed emotions. However, I won't bore you with all of that. I spent my last weekend (tear) in Mombasa by myself. Denise took off around 3am on Saturday which left me free to do whatever I wanted with the day. I decided to go visit yet another market and take in more of the sights. This time it was off to the Kongowea market.

I have a few pics to share but first I wanted to introduce you (below) to Mama Rose (left) and Rehema (right) from Yehu. I aspire to become like these two women. They are two of the most generous, sincere, funny and caring people I know. And I don't ever remember them not smiling...except perhaps when they're sick with Malaria and still trying to work. Oh yeah, did I mention that they never complain?

Okay, on to the market. Check out how they stack their produce...oranges in this case. You see stacks like this all over. I can't even get a straight line of dominoes up without knocking them over.

Nearly everyone tops the walls around their property with broken glass from coke and other soda bottles along with any other glass one can find. It's meant to be frightening, I suppose, but I find it pretty in its own way.

There is a building at the end of the market that houses thousands and thousands of bananas-or plantains? Someone please explain the difference to me. Guys with handcarts line up here every morning, fill up their carts and pull them across the bridge into town. We pass by this scene nearly everyday. It never ceases to amaze me to see them pull their huge carts through town and in bare feet. I was hoping to capture the crazy amount of bananas (or plantains) but this was as close as I could get before they started getting upset with me. Just imagine this stack times about 27 and you've about got it.

It's My Birthday!

The whole country celebrated today! Ok, maybe not specifically for the day of my birth but celebrations there were. President Kibaki announced that the new constitution was voted in successfully and there were celebrations all over town. We even passed an impromptu parade of motorbikes on the way home from work today. We asked Mama Rose about her voting experience. She said that she's never voted before because she never believed in someone enough to fight the crowds to vote but felt that this vote really mattered and she wanted to be a part of it. She showed us her finger that marks you've voted. You can see the black mark on her left pinkie. This keeps anyone from voting twice. Whatever happened to the "I Voted" stickers? It was quite exciting to watch Kenyan history in the making. It really is a great day!


So, Denise made some yummy scrambled eggs and toast for my birthday breakfast. Thanks, Denise! Here we are enjoying our Milo (chocolate malt drink).

Work was busy and quite routine but after work we went to Mikaye, a really great Kenyan restaurant that Andi & Aaron introduced me to in November. I got the Tilapia (this time with my camera handy) which was oh so delicious. We picked up some ice cream and cake on the way home for the restaurant and will spend the rest of the night chilling at home. Overall, it's been a great birthday! Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

Happy 4th...of August!

There may have not been any 4th of July celebrations here in Kenya but everyone is pretty excited for August 4th. Today has been declared a holiday because it is today the country votes on a new constitution. For months everyone has been discussing and debating this vote. You hear about it on the radio, see it on billboards and it's frequently discussed in the office. There has been some opposition to it along the way but everyone feels confident it will pass. And although I have no vote, I will still be (very much!) enjoying the day off.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Aunt Amy!