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So im getting really worn out. I mean, I was to begin with. But Im physically exhausted now. Tomorrow we literally have nothing to do. I mean there was always the option of like a 12 mile hike up Mt Longonot, a still active volcano, but hiking isnt really my thing. Aka I hate it. I prefer flat ground if Im going to be walking for four hours. Andrea has become addicted to Sally Spa on my phone, and I dont blame her. I finally found wifi in the house. THANK GOD. So I have been able to tweet from my phone, which is a relief. I skyped with Sara for almost two hours. Which was good! I miss her! and everyone! I know I say this too much, but I wish I was home. I want a cheeseburger, my bed, my mom and my friends. We only have one more real day in Kijabe. Thats tomorrow. Then on Wednesday after chapel, were driving to Nairobi to catch a flight to Mombasa for two days. Were going to tour Old Town, Fort Jesus, and then spend time on the beach! YESSSS. I just wish I didnt have to wear a one piece... They just arent that flattering on me. Oh well, the price you pay for mission trips right? And I actually found a relatively cute one at Old Navy for only 10 dollars about a week or so before I left. And when I get home, Sara and I are probably going to the beach! Staying in John's apartment for free is the best thing ever. I was reading a book today, and in it a girl said, "Blogs are for people who dont have lives!" Boy is that true. Hahaha. Im hoping that the rest of the trip will fly by. Because I want to be home sweet home. I keep forgetting that were stopping and spending a day in London. That is so exciting because I have been in the London Heathrow Airport before, but never outside into the city! Tomorrow I have to pack my large bag by the night, and pack everything I need for like 3 days in a small backpack! Im so American. Its going to be hard. And Im not sure if Im allowed to pack a razor on a plane... Probably not. But I need to shave my legs if Im going to be at the beach!!!! DISMAY. I have collected soooo many bottle caps. I could make infinity pairs of earrings probably. Or at least 20. I also really miss my phone working. Cause being in Africa, I have no service. The second I get back to Dallas, I am texting. And its going to feel so right. The strange texting app isnt really the same. I think my hair has gotten blonder. Weird. I guess its cause the sun is so strong here, being so close to the equator and all. We did inventory and cleaned up the hospital today. So were basically ready to leave. Just have to pack. Oy. I have way too much stuff here. I still havent gotten any cool souveneirs for Sara, my mom, Melina, or Trey! I would like to get them all something. But I havent found anything. Rahhh. Also, I am so sick of looking at the scar on the top of my foot. And its weirdly swollen and it hurts. I am going to have my dad fix it when I get home. My feet are so cold right now. Ah. And Im not sure what I should do tomorrow while people are hiking Longonot. Jake just told me that he got sad at one point, so he sat in his room on safari, in the middle of the night and ate an entire box of PopTarts..... I would be doing the same, but food sounds gross. I wont want any food until after I have that cheeseburger. I have an insatiable craving for a cheeseburger. It is insatiable because there is nothing like a good burger here in Kenya. Im positively craving it. Also, my hair is annoying. My bangs are too long, so they keep getting in my face. I think Im just getting annoyed by everything. I guess thats all for now. I will try to get on in Mombasa. Apparently the hotel has wifi! Who knows if its free or not, fingers crossed! Bye for now!!!

only 7 more days left

pray for me that it goes by fast. im dying out here.

i want to come home.

omg. now. i miss my mom.

safari and such

So Im writing this into a word document since I cant find an internet connection out here. I just dont want to forget everything while I attempt to find the internet. Last night we got into the Mara, and checked into Keekorok Lodge. On the way in we saw a leopard, cheetahs, lions, elephants, zebras, antelope, gazelle, wildebeest, and giraffes! Food is delicious, but I cant say that I dont want a nice cheeseburger right now. One of the doctors, Grady Arnold, and I were discussing how thats the first thing were going to get off of the flight from London. My first stop in Dallas is going to be Fuddruckers, and his stop in Chicago is going to be Five Guys. Oh the little things. While walking to the van for an early game ride at 6:15 this morning, I watched a man cutting the grass with a machete. Only in Africa. Or another third world country I guess. Im sitting on the back porch of mine and Andreas room and I am literally looking out onto the plains. There was just an elephant about thirty feet from me, but he wandered away. This is such an immense priveldge, and I know that my homesickness and my sadness have been taking away from me appreciating it, but its hard to just turn your feelings off. I was talking to my dad this morning, saying, "Dad, two weeks is such a long time!" with tears in my voice, and he just reminded me that its downhill from here. We've crested the hill and we can just coast. PAUSE MY DRAMATIC STORY BECAUSE THERE IS A HERD OF THOMPSONS GAZELLE LIKE 50 FEET FROM ME RIGHT NOW. Wow. That is just spectacular. Okay. Back. I am kind of selfishly hoping that we dont have too many surgeries to do next week. Dont get me wrong, I love that they are changing lives and helping people and that is 100% the reason that we are here, but sitting around in the hospital while all the surgeons change lives and I just assist with little tasks, gets boring. And it gives me time to think. A slow day full of thinking is definitely NOT good for me right now. So if they are done operating by Tuesday, and we go to Mombasa on Wednesday, the week will positively fly by. And I think I need that. This is an invaluable experience, but I need my mom right now! And my friends!!! I know I say that just about every single entry, but its so true! You might think that I am super occupied while Im here, I know that some people do ): , but I really am not. I do a lot of sitting and waiting to be needed. I am not that huge of a help, although Andrea insists that I am. There are monkeys everywhere here. Like all over the lodge. Everywhere you look, another monkey. While Jake and Dad and a few others visited the Masai Village (I skipped out because I was feeling exhausted and had seen it before) Grady, Bruce, Jim, Andrea and I sat by the pool and rested (it was much to cold  to swim, but thats not stopping Jake!) While I was napping, Grady witnessed a monkey stealing an Indian family's Cheetos! Haha. He said that the woman went to go take the Cheetos back and her husband grabbed her by the scarf to stop her, because the Cheetos were already full of monkey germs! I think I am going to pause my typing for now, because I have no internet anyways, and Jake is waiting for me at the pool. I will probably extend this entry later. I am going on another game park ride at 4. which is in about 2 hours. I have a lot of pictures already, but internet is much too slow to try to upload them. Alright. Bye for now! :)

country club in africa?

So today we finished surgeries at like 9... So we went to this country club in the valley. I dont know about you, but when I think Africa, I do NOT think country club. But there it was, about 40 minutes from Kijabe. It was nice. We had a delicious lunch, WITH SPAGHETTI. You have no idea how pumped I was for some familiar food. There were water buck and zebras wandering around the lawn we ate on! Hahah. After lunch, when it took like 30 minutes to get the bill, bless that little Kenyan's heart, we took a teeeeeny little boat across Lake Naivesha to Cresent Island, a game park of sorts. The lake was infested with hippos. (by the way, hippos kill more people than lions!) And this boat was small. One snap of the hippos mouth and we would have been goners. But anyways! They had giraffes, zebras, dick dicks, antelope, eagles, more water buck, and a bunch of other stuff. I got a lot of pictures, but uploading takes AGES so I think I will put most of my pictures up when I get home. We took the tiny boat back, had tea, and then made our way back to Kijabe. It was such a bumpy road. We passed a sign that said "Hotdogs Ahead!" and I immediately thought of Sara Styles! :) Also, on the way back up the mountain, we passed a crowd of school children in their uniforms just getting out! So cute! The most heartwarming thing about people here, is no matter what, if you smile and wave, they will smile and wave back! So sweet. Little kids always seem genuinely excited to see you, which is something you dont really see in the US. Dick and Millie Bransford, some long term missionaries, came to eat dinner with us tonight. (And when I say long term, Im talking they havent lived Stateside since 1974...) We had pizza! Which was relatively normal tasting. Tomorrow is safari. We will be going to the Masai Mara until Sunday evening. Then Monday they will be operating their last five cases. Tuesday we will be visiting a Kenyan school for the mentally and physically handicapped, started  by the Salvation Army, called Joytown. Then Wednesday we will be off to Mombasa for the last two days, and then Nairobi on Friday to start making our way home. Stopping in London, and then I will be home. This is a great experience. But I miss home. It is such an easy feeling to take for granted, being at home. I miss it. And my friends, and my mom and my sister. OH! Also, some vendors came to the house this evening. I got three pieces of fabric!!! One for Ellie to make a dress out of, fingers crossed that she likes it. And two more just because. I bought a little leather bracelet for Jordan and I picked up a pair of leaf shaped earrings for 100 Kenya Shillings (about 80 cents). The woman who sold me the first fabric was a little person, which shocked me at first, but she was very nice and gave me a good deal on a large piece of fabric. The second woman tried to sell me two pieces for 4000 Shillings. NO! That is almost 50 dollars. I told her there was no way, and I got it for only 1800, which wasnt idea, but it was less than half of the original. I am still on the lookout for something elephanty for Sara. So wish me luck!!! okay. I guess thats all for now. I am absolutely exhausted. xoxo

Im Kind of Bad at Titling These Things

Today has been a tiny bit difficult. It started early like all of the days, and it has barely even started yet. Its barely nine o clock. But it was made even harder with a nasty comment from the little brother. I mean, its hard enough being away from home and this sad without him making it worse. All of the surgeries are done. And its only 9 am on the first Thursday. There are five planned for next week. So we have planned to go to a country club in the valley and take a walking tour this afternoon. Tomorrow we leave for Masai Mara game park, so Im not sure how good of an internet connection I will have. Hopefully it will be even better than Kijabe, with this silly orange stick. We are going to try to stay in the park until Monday, because there isnt a lot to do here at the hospital. We have discussed going to Mombasa on Wednesday, a supposedly beautiful beach town on the coast. I think that would be a beautiful distraction, sitting on a white sand beach for the last two days of the trip? count me in. If we do end up not getting anymore surgeries and we go to Mombasa, we will be flying out of Nairobi there, and then after two days, flying to Nairobi from Mombasa, then to London where we are going to spend a day sightseeing. Apparently you can get a pretty good rate for Mombasa that includes airfare, two nights in a hotel, and all of your meals for less than $300. Which I think is pretty impressive. Mombasa is a really historic town with a lot of Arab influence, where the slave trade used to happen. So Jake isnt too excited to see where Arabs used to trade slaves, but I just want to lay on the beach for two days. To be honest, if we aren't needed here I would rather just go home and sleep in my own bed and hug my mom and my sister and see my friends. But I guess we cant just change all of our flights around. So if we have to pick something to do, I think Mombasa sounds absolutely divine. I was in a relatively better mood last night, playing a little game of "soccer" with Jake between the clothes lines. Apparently, Im an okay shooter. WHO KNEW?!??! I was an athlete all along. I should have joined the soccer team. Haha. Dont worry. I only jest. There is also talk of staying in Kijabe on the days off to climb Mt Longonaut. I know that if that is an plan, I will definitely take part. But a 12 mile hike isnt exactly my style... But I dont plan on being a party pooper. Bruce really likes to take Jake and I to explore around Kijabe, which is nice. I didnt see much of it last time I was here, just the house, the hospital and the path in between. This time I have seen the International boarding school, Rift Valley Academy, alma matter of missionary kids, and the offspring of politicians alike, I have seen Kijabe Station, the town here, I have seen a part of the compound where the make prosthetics and braces. I have taken a new path to the hospital. I have just explored a lot. Its been a lot more fun that being stuck in the hospital playroom (our headquarters at AIC Cure Childrens Hospital) waiting for the surgeons to get out of surgery, or for Andrea to get the discharge papers so that I can mix medicine. There is literally only one surgery today... We obviously arent needed, so Im just gonna hop on a mutatu and come home? okay? Okay! Just kidding. I wish. I know I say it too much, and I need to appreciate the experience, but right now I want to be home. Every morning I wake up, and I forget that Im here. I get excited to text my friends, see Melina and Mom, and just be at home. And then I look around and I realize. I AM IN AFRICA. Its so much harder this time. Last time I had a complete and total blast while I was here. The two weeks flew by. But this time, each minute crawls by. I made Dad a Facebook so that Mom can talk to him while were here. She thinks he is going to get addicted and keep it forever... I dont doubt it. Dr. and Dr. Boyd are leaving tomorrow. Ann was on the phone with her daughter yesterday talking about how she would be home soon, and I was quite jealous. First off, cause I would love to talk to my mom and sister without all the hassle of trying to find internet, making sure theyre online etc, and second of all because i miss them and I want to see them now!!! When I get home I need to see my girls too. I miss my friends. Maybe it was easier last time because I didnt have any super close friends. And I was 13 so I hated my family, you know? Haha. Im only kidding, I never hated my family. But I definitely was more eager from freedom and time away from my family. This time around, I feel really dependent from my family and I miss them a lot. Jake and Dad are only a 1/3 of my family. I miss the other 2/3. Another thing I would like to address in this post, is the every present smell of the hospital, and Africa in general. It is a very distinct smell, Africa. The hospital and the clinic smells like Africa mixed with unchanged diapers. The one part of this hospital that actually smells really nice, is the nurses' bathroom. But Africa smells how one would expect. Very African.... Andrea just got a new high score on Fruit Ninja on my iPhone. Hahaha. We really dont have anything to do at this point... So i guess this is bye for now. Hopefully I will be able to blog from the game park and tell you all about the safari... If not, I guess I will see you Monday night, or Tuesday!
xoxo

this place is just absolutely beautiful. seriously.

are those not just the most beautiful views you have ever seen? i am so blessed to get to witness that.

this place is just absolutely beautiful. seriously.

are those not just the most beautiful views you have ever seen? i am so blessed to get to witness that.

CHAMELEON

So Bruce and Jake and I went up to Rift Valley Academy this afternoon. We went into their bandroom, where Bruces friend works as a music teacher, and a little boy playing the trumpet had a chameleon on his face while playing the instrument!!! only in Africa I swear. So we adopted the chameleon and took it back to the hospital. I will put up the picture that Jake took later. The school is so amazing. Huge and tons of facilities and just beautiful. anyways. thats all.

what to do next week?

So apparently, we only have two more surgeries planned for the entire two weeks... If its okay with everyone, I just want to come home. They are all trying to plan crazy things like trips to the beach in Mombasa, or hiking mountains, but I just want to come home and sleep in my own bed if nothing is going on. We are probably going to extend the Safari trip for an extra day because we dont have anything to do. Literally no more surgeries after tomorrow..... What are we supposed to do for another week??? I want to come home. Two weeks is a long time to be away. Especially this far from home. When it gets late, I just wish that I was in my own bed where I could cry if I wanted, or call my friends, or be like MOMMMMYYYY. and talk to my mom. Its really quite hard to be away from home. Which is making me question my readiness to go to college. This isnt really Africa related, but I have been dreading August, for just that reason. I dont want to go to USC. I mean, not now anyways. People here keep asking me what I am doing next year, and I dont feel proud or excited or even a little happy when I tell them I will be going to USC to study retail. I feel forced. I dont care at all about going there. I dont even know if i want to study retail. I think that I should stay and take a free year at Greenville Tech with my friends to figure out what I want. Because I will be figuring it out either place. And it would make more sense to figure it out somewhere that is free, instead of wasting my time and my parents money in Columbia. This is so very unrelated to my trip, but it has been on my mind A LOT lately. So I felt like getting it out. On a brighter note, Jake and I have been collecting quite a few bottle caps, so I will be making a ton of earrings out of those! A lot of orange Fanta ones, which I think would be great for all those ~~CLEMSON GURLZZ~~ out there. Haha. Food here is weird to say the least. I had a sandwich with pineapple on it. And I barely even like pineapple, but I ate it. Because there is a motto here "Remember the F Word!!!" (The F word is Flexibility) AKA: go with the flow, things are different because YOU ARENT AT HOME YOURE IN AFRICA. So we have to deal with things. Samosas come with every lunch so far. Samosas are SO good. And interesting flavors of chips (Tingly Cheese and Onion, Tangy Tomato, which is my favorite, and Zingy Salt and Vinegar). A lot of fresh fruit, pineapple, mango, papaya, tangelo, orange. Which is very nice. I havent had the easiest time sleeping, but thank God that Dad is a doctor, (hello Ambien!) My job as house mother is a bit difficult, because I have an issue with waking up early. I usually get up around 5:45 am, aka nearly 1 am SC time!!! I havent gotten a lot of chances to talk to friends. Skyped with Jordan, and Sara, and of course my mom and Melina. Patty described me as "pathetic" on Skype... Rightfully so. Just one look at my moms face and I started to cry. It was the first night and adjusting has been a lot harder this time, considering. I teared up a tiny bit while talking to Jordan, but by the third day when I talked to Sara, I managed to hold it together mostly. Talking to her really cheered me up. Made the whole day 10x better!! Friends are seriously one of the best parts of life. We had Chapel this morning. Which was fun. I just love the African twist that is put on traditional church songs. Grady spoke, it was nice. But at 8am, so I was a little sleepy. Only one more day before Safari! I guess the time is going a little faster than I thought. 11 more days until I am home!!! Andrea is occupied playing Angry Birds on my iPhone while the hospital is slow. Hahahaha. Being a missionary in Tanzania, she doesnt really get to caught up with fancy technology, which is a trait I admire, but obviously dont possess. Yesterday the boys found the camera on my phone and  took nearly 100 pictures of nothing. Jake and I spent the day with them again, taking them to the playground, trying to teach them English, and of course Jake tried to teach them breakdancing. But they left this morning, back to Tanzania and the Safina Street Kids Ministry, which was a little bit of a bummer. Hearing Nixon and Patrick speak about the ministry was very touching. I have so much that I take for granted. With my gracious and loving family at the very top. I have been mixing medicine, exploring with Bruce and Jake, filling toy bags, and always bringing up lunch :) Bruce kidnaped Jake and I to go see Kijabe Station, the town here. It is full of small shops and "hotels" which are really more of restaurants. On the way we passed Kijabe Boys High School, a gas station (where gas was 114.9 Kenyan Shillings per liter, which roughly is about 5 dollars a gallon... ow.), and a lot of locals. Seeing how this is a town really makes me appreciate downtown Greenville. This is about all I can think of to talk about right now... So I guess this is bye!!!
xoxo, Christine and Jake

from the AIC Cure @ Kijabe Hospital.

arent they just beautiful? definitely my favorite part of the trip so far.

the little boys :)

most of the good stuff I have from the boys is in video format. so i probably wont upload those until i get home, or have a very stable internet connection. but i will put some pictures of them up!
these little boys got me through today.

really. his shirt actually says that. fml. 

a few pictures.

oooh look at all that money. im so rich. haha. but actually its worth less than fifty american dollars.

isnt esther a sweetie? Her Slipknot sweater thinks so too :) 

This is mine and Andrea's room. As you can guess, mine is the messy bed :) 

The View

So I am sitting on the front porch of the house, the only place where I can get adequate internet, and I am in a very weird mood. I am extraordinarily homesick. Things at home weren't the best when I left, and being thousands of miles away for two weeks certainly isn't helping anything. I am sad. But the view from the top of the Great Rift Valley is nonetheless breathtaking. Somehow, looking down on that makes me feel a little better. Another part of today that just made things seem a bit easier, were two children. Andrea has a friend, Patrick, and his family over. Two small boys, and his wife. One thing that I did today, was take the children to a playground. I firmly believe that a childs laughter is just a magnificent cure for anything. Especially heartache. I was feeling really down, but playing on a swingset with two 6 year old Tanzanian boys, made me forget how sad I was, and take part in their joy. That was beautiful. I plan to post videos and pictures of our time together on the playground. But now, its about 6 pm here. And believe it or not, sitting here is really cold. Its probably low 60s to high 50s, with strong winds. The wind here gets very loud and strong at night. I am struggling to adjust this time much more than the last trip. I just hope that it gets easier everyday. So far it hasn't, with everything I see reminding me of what I've left behind thousands of miles away.

So here I am, in Kijabe, Kenya. Missing all of you, and wishing to come home. I know I need to make the best of it, move on, and come home stronger than ever. Its hard, but all I can do is hope it will become better. 

xoxo.

blah

its harder than i thought it would be.
skyped with mom and melina. i cried.
i kind of just want to go home at this point.
heres hoping it will get better! :/

NEW BLOG

this is my new blog for africa.