Smile you're in Kenya

As the days in our final phase are drawing to an end time is again slipping swiflty away, I have loved every minute living in Malindi and in a land of hakuna matata adn the friendliest of people warmed by the shimmering sun how could you not. My host family have welcomed Kiki and I into their home unreservedly showering us with love and support. Our host mum Priscilla has been nothing but patient with me as I pestered her each and everynight for the recipes of such tasty tropical delights; choclate has long been replaced by cubes of heaven in the form of vichete. We have provided our host siblings with some right laughs as I tried to learn not only kiswahili but giriama too, hinde!In to this cross cultural experience I have undertaken fasting for Ramazan, and yes this does include no water. No easy challenge in such sweltering temperatures and with a four o'clock alarm buzz but the rewards of Iftar are certainly deliciuous. Salma and I have loved our time at the health centre. We started our day early in the morning awaiting the onslaught of matatu conductors to hurl Watamu Watamu gede in our sleeping faces, before we hopped into a van to hurtle down rainbow flowered roads; sending cyclists wobbling as we bopped and bounced to banging beats. We were even privilaged enough to once board one with a flat screen tv. At the health centre we worked alongside such inspirational people who were deveoted to the betterment of their community. We undertook a plethora of tasks from taking blood pressure, sitting in on councelling sessions, encouraging others to test for HIV and encourage those midwives to continue doing the fantastic voluntary work that the community need compelled them to undertake initially. We ventured to distant villages for outreaches where we witnessed the shocking reality of a developing country and the health implications triggered by something as small as not having a pair of shoes. Again our fellow volunteers and workers at the health centre provided only the best of support especially in unexplored territory. They took us out to lunch to ensure we dined on only the finest African cuisine (and even provided mchicha seeds so I can continue to feast so back in the mother land), climbed coconut trees so that we drank only the sweetest madafu juice and took us on mini adventures allowing us to see the dazzling beauty of the marine park without paying muzungu prices. It has been the most incredible experience so a huge THANK YOU to all those who made it possible and made the experience what it is!!