when you walk into an area where you think is un livable but then you find smiles and laughter and welcoming words you wonder about what really are necesities. today we did a walk through Kibera, we took photos and spoke with people. we learned hardships of a school and listened to the knowledge of a pharmacist. When you come from an island where water is something that surrounds you and is almost 99% swimable it is hard to imagine that for a town of almost the size of oahu there is almost no clean water to wash and clean let alone drink. This was the kinda of sites tourists dont see but the kind of thing that people should see. We were told that a picture can say a 1000 words but it has to first be viewed and shot before anyone can see those words.

Walking through an area that from an angle looks so unhappy and forgotten you find that everyone is moving and everyone is doing something. Children playing with their make shift soccer balls and women selling their vegis and mens even playing chess. everyone with their own purpose none of them truly unhappy it seems and none forgotten.

The one thing that i see everywhere i look in every set of eyes and every motion that is done in the towns we visit is the sense of hope. hope that what they are doing will change something. The pharmasisit hopes to help change the health of a million by selling condoms to those who need them and helping to solve ailments of those who come to his window. The women who clean the bathrooms that were donated by the movie the constant gardner. The children who run around us barefoot asking us how we are. All contain hope and strive for a better. this is something i dont always see in american nothing here is taken for granted, everything is used and everything is appreciated.

Hello people. How are you all doing out there? Well today we are heading over to Lake Nakuru and are going to do a tour through it. We are all excited on seeing all the animals and cant wait to see more monkeys well lemars as alec corrected us. Next we shall head off to Navasha where we shall relax for a couple of days and celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays. Hopefully the ride wont be too bumpy and we will arrive in one piece.

Last night we said our goodbyes to the Nakuru Jumper's it was sad but it also means that in the coming weeks we can all be jumping higher than ever. And that shortly we will be meeting up with another group of Jumper's in Nairobi. This is all so exciting and I can't wait to meet more people and to learn more things.

Also we are all starting to recover from our colds and are becoming even more lively.

Well then readers talk to you later!

Today is a relaxing day for my group. Most of the group is out on a hike toward a beautiful waterfall. The rest of the crew is feeling slightly under the weather and has retreated to a cyber cafe.
So far we have been working very hard with our Nakuru Jumpers creating pod casts and the start of digital stories; we have also begun working on the book we want to create that will illustrate the impact of HIV/AIDs on teens. We went to the Nakuru Youth Center yesterday to take photos. Our Leader Robin is working on creating a Flicker account where we can post all of our photos for everyone and the world to view since it is too difficult to post them on TIG.
Last night the Hawaii group was invited to go to a dinner at the homes of the Nakuru Jumpers. I went with Mercy and one of the adult leaders Dennis. I was able to meet Mercy's mother and her younger sister. We sat down to dinner and ate a delicious meal. We enjoyed Ugali (this resembles America's version of grits), a traditional beef stew, Terere (this resembled spinach laulau) which was so good and full of vitamins which we all need and we ate mokimo which is a mashed potato with maze and green bean dish. I learned that it was okay to eat with my hands and to not be shy about it; I felt very much at home. I was so full at the end of dinner, since the mother kept adding more food to my plate.
We then sat down to coffee and chatted the rest of the night. It was such a wonderful meal and night I went home full and sleepy from our long day.
I am getting very used to all of the Cultural aspects of Kenyan and I am enjoying all of them. I don’t want to leave and I am so glad that I still have three more weeks to spend here. Those weeks will be full of photos, friends and ugali. Haha. Well more next time.

So people I’m in Kenya. Which is a beautiful country, which I’m becoming more at home in everyday. So far we have met with our partnership youth group and have started to get acquainted with our surroundings. The weather feels like home (Hawaii). We have gotten the chance to meet some amazing people who want to make a difference like we do. I have gotten the chance to take some really cool pictures and will be posting them soon. I love it here. I love the change and the new experiences like mosquito nets and Chapati. I’m here with my friends and my favorite teacher, Robin and we are troopers. We survived three days straight of traveling and a two-hour bumping ride in a Matatu (which is kind of like a van from the seventies but can hold 14 of us.) I have no doubt that we will make it another three weeks.