Chivalry is NOT Dead!

I repeat, "Chivalry is NOT dead!"

Chivalry; the word that most people nowadays have to read about in books, as it seems to be vanishing from our society, replaced by mean-spirited, sexist and insensitive beings. Having spent years and years being a hopeless romantic with such a positive attitude about most things, I've been living that pessimistic lifestyle for the past year or so, due to a series of unfortunate events which led to the (slight) destruction of my faith in humanity. Well, not that my opinion matters much in a world populated by at least seven billion people, but it does to the ones close to me.

Chivalry as we know it is still alive (hoorah!). I found it in the last place I’d have ever imagined to meet gentlemen, kind-hearted people, and a friendly smile, let alone a helping hand. This happened as I made my way back home from university. I have to pass through London (don’t we all :/ *sigh) and that means dragging my thirty-tonne suitcase up and down the stairs on the underground trains. When I first got to Liverpool Street Station, I dragged my suitcase slowly (it had all my books, I’m not a crazy packer :P). Everyone was about their business; hardly anyone paid attention to the girl struggling to pull her heavy luggage (well, to be honest, it wasn't really their problem, was it?) Then when I tried to carry it up the stairs, two men at once rushed to help me. I was surprised but so thankful because my back was already killing me! Only one of them carried my bag up and I could tell even he was wondering what on earth was in my bag! He took it up two flights of stairs and left me to my own devices as I dragged it to the platform.

Soon afterwards, when I had to get the Hammersmith and City Line from Liverpool Street, another set of steps presented themselves to me. As usual, I attempted to pull, and within minutes, the most handsome Italian guy I've ever set eyes on asked if I needed help. I grinned like a fool and allowed him to carry my luggage. He actually struck conversation and the more he spoke, the more I noticed he was gay :/ (The tight leather trousers, an undoubtedly feminine V-neck top, a floral scarf and the copy of Vogue in his hand should have given it away to be honest, but oh well). We parted ways when I got to the platform and I carried on with my journey.

When I arrived at Baker Street, another set of stairs presented themselves to me! (seriously, why can’t they put lifts or something for people like me L such discrimination should have ended in 1928 to be honest lol) However, another person offered to carry my suitcase when he noticed that there was clearly no way I was going to do it on my own. I was grateful once again, and thanked him as I carried on, with a big smile on my face. Once again, I had to get down to my platform, and that required me to drag my suitcase and pray nothing breaks. A nice Nigerian woman asked her son to help me carry my bag down. I had earphones in (guilty) so I couldn't hear her at first, until I felt some resistance when I tried to pull my bag down. That’s when I realised what was happening. Again, I thanked them both and carried on to my platform. (Yes, the journey was a long one and I had to connect trains like a gazillion times!) I finally got to London Marylebone (yay, escalators!), but before coming out, I had one more flight of stairs to conquer. Another nice gentleman helped me up and I just knew it’s going to be a great Christmas holiday! The spirit of loving, giving, caring, sharing and helping is definitely alive in this place.

You might be wondering, “Well, what’s so surprising about someone offering to help?” Well, the answer is because it’s the twenty-first century, and this was London! In London, most times I travel, nobody pays anybody any attention; people are too busy rushing to different destinations. When I’m in quiet areas like Aylesbury or Colchester, I rarely get such treatment. Not just in London, anywhere to be honest. We've all become too busy, too consumed by our “busy” lives to care about the next person. We've shut the world out and grabbed our smart phone to stay “connected”. If only there was an app that could carry my luggage for me or magically summon an elevator whenever I needed one, I’d fully rate this new age of technology! But, it’s nice to see more and more people willing to spread the Christmas cheer in the littlest ways possible, because it’s the small things that go a long way. A tiny spark can set the whole forest on fire!

Black Friday - The Negative Effects of a Consumerist Society

"Today is Black Friday!" and I say this not with excitement and enthusiasm, but with dread. While in smaller towns, people get on with their businesses, moving from one shop to the next prowling for bargains, the same can't be said for relatively larger towns and cities. When I woke up this morning, I logged onto Facebook and saw a video of the chaotic atmosphere in some Tesco store somewhere in England, and what I saw made me want to weep for our society. The pure animosity of the whole thing made me stop the video and pick up my laptop to type this up.

It is such a shame that we have grown increasingly into such a consumerist society, where we spend a lot of money on things we do not need but merely because it's on sale or "trending" (of which the trends change every few months - meaning you're frequently in shops looking for the next best thing), or purely for a hoarding disease which most people like to disguise as "retail therapy". We focus too much energy on what we don't have that by the time we get back home trying to pack it all away, suddenly our houses seem too small and so we want more space. With more space, it feels too empty so we go shopping again and this becomes a tedious, endless cycle which clearly needs to be broken. I am guilty too of compulsive shopping, but lately I've been trying to focus my energy on things that I DO have, bearing in mind that many people don't have it. Why waste my hard-earned money on cheap items that I will probably wear only once or twice before throwing away or getting tired of?

Many people are being injured severely while racing to a shop for sample sales and all sorts. The question that's burning on my mind is "Do you even need this, or are you buying it just for the sake of buying it?". Instead of saving up and investing in our future, my generation is guilty of satisficing and living in the moment without giving tomorrow a second thought. How then are we supposed to be future leaders when we channel our energy on trivial issues while our economy is going down the drain under our watch? We choose to turn a blind eye on things that affect us and wear our rose-tinted glasses all the time, but a time shall come when all this is gone and we need to face up to reality. We are drowning in our own greed, selfishness and hatred. We are not building anything concrete for the future of our children and our children's children and generations to come. We have very little to show for the time we've spent here, besides destroying the environment to feed our egos. to feel rich and powerful or merely for "banter". New species of animals are becoming endangered every year, trees being cut down, oxygen levels growing lower and lower as we destroy the ozone layer during the production of goods we don't even need. SIGH. I weep for our society...

"What is Pretty?" - Final Day

It's been a lovely week altogether. I've been so busy trying to balance school work, part time job, a social life AND taking care of myself with some "me" time. I started doing the "What is Pretty?" challenge in order to train myself to love myself just the way I am. I also wanted to understand exactly why some girls simply cannot step out with no make up on. During the past few days when I've been trying hard to sleep on time but also do my assignments, I realised that sometimes one simply doesn't have enough time to sleep if they're chasing their dreams, so they wake up looking like a panda. Some people simply cannot casually stroll past hundreds of students looking like that, but I decided to brave it and just go with it, because this is exactly who I am. And I'm happy because not once, not twice, but three times I got hit on at work when I thought I looked my worst, with bags slightly showing under my eyes. I'm happy because I never hexperrerit :P Not getting big-headed or anything, it just felt good and boosted my self-confidence, even if it was only by a tiny fraction. But still, you get my point.

I have also learnt that there's nothing wrong with wearing make up. Make up is fun and it's fun to play around with different shades, different looks and try out different brands! However, the whole point of this was to show somebody out there, anybody reading, that you shouldn't wear make up because of the pressure around you. You shouldn't wear make up to please somebody else. If there are insecurities that you're concerned about, fair enough, but my message to you is "embrace yourself!" If you do wear make up, make sure you wash your face thoroughly but gently before going to bed to avoid spotty, blotchy skin. Eat well and drink at the very least 1 litre of water every day.

I've also realised that my skin was getting too attached to make up that it no longer has that smooth feeling it used to have only a few months back. Even my eyebrows, they're shedding because of manipulation with them brushes and eyebrow kits. Make up actually ruins my skin and makes me become more reliant on it, buying more and more products in an effort to "look good". (Swear these manufacturers are smart, aye? Get you addicted and hooked for the rest of your life. Business will ALWAYS be there.) Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that I should start taking greater care of myself, take in more and more water for that smooth skin and try to leave my eyebrows alone whenver possible. I plan to only wear make up when I feel it's necessary i.e. when I'm dressed up or when I look like a Halloween mask, or maybe just for bants. My final look for today is this:

Do I feel good about myself now? Heck Yeah!

I'm wearing a smile because I know that at the end of the day, somebody out there somewhere is going to have to take me as I am, and I'm going to have to embrace myself and love myself even more without feeling less of a woman or less "glamorous" simply because I have no make up on. Make up is a mask; I'm choosing not to wear mine every single day of my life. Hope you've all had a lovely weekend and I do hope somebody is even the slightest bit motivated to look after themselves better! The problem isn't make up; the problem is society making us feel as if we're inadequate if we don't have make up on; the problem is the photoshopped model in the magazine setting unrealistic standards of "beauty"; the problem is that we're not taking care of ourselves enough hence we do feel inadequate at times! :D

xoxo

Too Young To Make a Difference

Sigh. Writing the title of this blog almost drained me of all my energy and dried up my mouth. I am officially lost for words! Right, first of all, I am a 20 year old girl who is currently on a gap year, awaiting the start of her first year at university in September. To not beat about the bush, I am what most people would call "young". As a young lady, I've been told many times that I'm "too young" to do this, "too young" to focus on this; basically, I'm constantly reminded that I am young. Unfortunately, most young people live up to the standards people set for them e.g. "You're too young to achieve such a huge task". Sound familiar? Well, fortunately for me, I choose to ignore such negativity in my life, well, 90% of the time it is plain negativity to be honest, and allow myself to let my being determine just how far I can go, how much I can do with the "little experience" that I have of life. When I decided to take a gap year, many voices told me it was the biggest mistake ever and that I should just go straight to university. The whole purpose of this gap year was to discover myself, discover my capabilities and discover what I really want to do with the rest of my life. Plunging straight into the university hype with little to no knowledge of the real world seemed (to me) a greater risk than taking things slow, one step at a time. So I went ahead with the gap year and I experienced so much in just 1 year. I moved out for a job for 3 months and lived on my own, a time during which I got an idea of what being independent is all about, I went on an adventure teaching in Tanzania, I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and went on safari: I can truthfully say it was the best decision of my life so far. I just wish more young people would feel the same way and not limit themselves by setting goals so low; afraid of failing because society says they're "too young" to achieve anything great.

The reason why I am writing this post right this moment is because I've been inspired. Yes, who hasn't, you may say, but I haven't been as inspired as I am today. On Saturday the 14th of June, I had the privilege of attending the first ever Zimbabwean International Women's Awards (ZIWA) ceremony at the Macdonald Burlington Hotel in Birmingham, courtesy of Simba, a man who believes that young people like me can achieve great things if they put their mind to it. I met many women who have achieved phenomenal things I couldn't keep my excitement in! At the ceremony, a young girl of 16 called Maud Chifamba received an award for her academic achievements and how inspirational she is to young generations; she started university in Zimbabwe at the fresh age of 14!  I was mind-blown. I mean, at 14 I was more concerned about "Do I have enough food in my trunk? When is the next visiting day?" and all kinds of trivial issues most teenagers think about. But this girl, (You can read her story here or here), against all odds, worked so hard to achieve great academic achievements, such that they made her carry on to higher classes and eventually end up at university at just 14. Many people might have possibly told her something like, "You're too young to go to university, who do you think you are?", but she showed them and the rest of the world that age, poverty or lack of support is never a barrier between you and your dreams; it is your attitude towards life and your capabilities that stands between you and your goals. If you're passionate about, work hard for it. If you work hard for it, you will always find a way forward! So if you're a young person reading this, what excuse do you have for not being awesome? You are never too young to make a difference; the fact that you exist on this planet means that you are an integral part of a great network - without you, society is handicapped. Don't limit yourselves, guys; go on and be awesome!

Have a great week

xx

Week 6 in Tanzania, days before the climb!

"There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
There's always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose"

The final week before the climb was hectic! I was busy trying to help the kids learn their lines and stop using the scripts altogether. It was a tough challenge for them and at some point I felt like giving up because we were running out of time. However, these kids never stopped to impress me!

We went on to prepare costumes and having fun all throughout the week. I had to pull them from lessons from time to time in order to rehearse, and then the day finally came! It was also my last day at the school with them, and I can't even begin to describe how emotional it all was. The performance was beautiful it brought me to tears, but unfortunately there is no recording of the actual play. Below are extracts from rehearsals taken by Amanda on her ipad, and some singing rehearsals from my camcorder. Sound on the videos here is sometimes off because Amanda had unknowingly been blocking the speakers. But the action will speak for itself, I hope :)

click here for the song rehearsals video

Before the performance, I took pictures of the characters in their "costumes", something that I will always cherish (the pictures) as I can look at them and relive the Tanzanian days! At the performance, Mama Anna, the founder of the school on whom the story is based, graced us with her presence. Daniphord also came and took loads of pictures. All the teachers were present and the rest of the school lined up to watch the performance which was in a promenade style. There were showers on the day, but that didn't stop the performance. Afterwards I was asked to give a speech but I hadn't prepared myself for this. However, the words that came from my mouth, came from the bottom of my heart. I reminded the kids about everything that I'd taught them, and I told them to remember that education is indeed a light that will shine their paths to greatness. I reminded them of how privileged they were to be in school when other children had to work, herd cattle or do chores for their large families. The whole experience opened my eyes as well, because here in England, education is free until university, and even then, you have a foundation for your life, you can make something for yourself; yet we take it for granted and choose a life of delinquency. 

After my speech, Mama Anna gave a moving speech too! She is that kind of woman who is so humble it gives you chills. When she opens her mouth to speak, every single word is laced with compassion and love, and I couldn't help but shed a tear or two when she presented me with a kanga (a cloth) and said, "May it protect you from the rain, wind, sun and mud as you've endured all that throughout your time here!" The headteacher announced of my leaving, and the kids started to cry. I couldn't help but cry too. We had an awkward group hug full of tears - tears of joy and also sadness that I was leaving now. The rest of the afternoon was rather melancholic, even though I tried my best to cheer them up with candy! It was indeed an experience of a lifetime!

the kids were crying after the performance! aw

Friday night I went out for a meal at Mt Meru Hotel with Amanda and Theo. The live band was playing and it was busier than ever! The service was really slow but it was happy hour so we occupied ourselves with drinks. We made plans to go swimming the following day, before Amanda and Theo would go to pick up her other son, Ben. Saturday I went to the Maasai Market to buy more souvenirs, and then went back home to rest in preparation for the first day of the climb the following day!

xx

Hakuna matata - week 5 in Tanzania, 1 week 'til the climb

"Hakuna Matata; what a wonderful phrase. 
 Hakuna Matata; It ain't no passing craze. 
 It means no worries, for the rest of your days. 
 Its our problem free, philosophy,
 HAKUNA MATATA!"

This week has been awesome! School holidays are over so Monday morning I woke up bright and early and got ready for school. I was running late so instead of walking for twenty minutes to the school, I got onto a piki-piki (motorbike). I made it to school fifteen minutes early, which was a first! I was with the kindergarten class today, although we call it 'baby class. They're little boys and girls ranging from 2-5. Today they were in uniform and it was so cute seeing them with their miniature ties on, tiny school shoes and tiny jumpers. First, I observed as their teacher taught them, then I called them one by one to read the alphabet. Many of them could go up to f, then start to stutter, but a few couldn't make it past B, bless them. Afterwards, I tried to teach them a new rhyme, but they were all so excitable it was pretty much impossible! On Tuesday I spent the day with the nursery class (4-6 year olds) but they were more serious than the baby-class; too serious in fact. When I introduced fun activities they all responded so well and seemed to love spending time doing something stimulating  to their fun side rather than sit in class all day reading and writing. On Wednesday, I informed the class 5 students that I have a short play for them to learn and perform. I did some colouring with class 3, wall painting with baby class and bubbles with class 5! They really had the time of their lives.

 Thursday was May Day, so school was out. Amanda, Theo, Jordan and I went to Maji Moto (hot springs) in a place called Bomang'ombe, near Moshi. We were going to swim there for the day. Town was packed with people doing processions, celebrating May Day, so Jordan advised us to hold on to our belongings as it was too crowded. We took a bus going towards Moshi, with a few street vendors trying to sell us radios and other things we definitely did not need. When we got to Bomang'ombe, we took a bajaji (mini 3-wheeled vehicle) to Maji Moto. It was half an hour's drive away in a very remote area. 

The "pool" itself was breath-taking! The water was so clean and clear that it looked blue! Tiny fishes swam away in there too, tickling us along the way. The water was too deep for me so I stayed near the roots of a massive tree ont he edge to hold on to them. There was a swing and I attempted it, swung into the water and fell before I was ready. I started to panic and so I was drowning! I tried to scream for help but the moment I opened my mouth, water rushed in! Suddenly I felt hands on me, these three Dutch girls came to my rescue. IT was an embarrassing ordeal! After that, I stayed away from the water, for obvious reasons! I met a lady and she had this accent that seemed all too familiar, so I asked her where she's from and she's Zimbabwean! The first Zimbabwean I've met on my trip so far! 

Friday at school, I introduced the play and we started rehearsals. The kids were so excited about it and so was I. I was worried though about whether we can pull it off in a week or not, since next week would be my last week at the school. But after that one session, I was quite impressed with how quick they learn things. 

Friday night we went out for meal at this Indian restaurant with Samina, Dani, Amanda and Theo. The place was quite nice and we were the only people there at first, then a large group of tourists came later to join us. Theo was entertaining us with his multi-accent talents, which included doing the Smeagol voice. It was rather stupendous! Saturday I started making props for the play with Theo, and we were very excited and pleased with our progress. We were both hoping the play would go well! It was a great week!

xx

Two weeks until the climb! - week 4 in Tanzania

Writing the title of this blog post has made me somewhat emotional - I've realised that I've only got 2 weeks left with the kids, and 3 weeks left in Tanzania before going back to my life of mediocrity! (Well, that's soon about to change, the average life I led back then). It's been wonderful so far and I know it will get even better before I leave.

This previous week, the students were on holiday for their Easter Break. I spent most of the time making materials for them (when I wasn't watching Vampire Diaries or exploring Arusha, that is), and I'm quite pleased with what I've produced for them so far. They're so eager to learn and I'm here to help them in any way I can, providing them with extra material to learn from and improve; be it their grammar, speech, mathematical skills or just confidence in general. Being a former student who has absolutely no teaching background, sometimes it is daunting to take up this responsibility. It requires patience, compassion, hard work and friendliness because children respond so well to smiling faces and gentle voices. They're all so lovely it makes it so exciting to wake up each morning, looking forward to seeing their big smiles and toothless grins!

My skin was peeling (still is) from the sunburn and I felt very tempted to just scrape it all off! I did scrub it extra hard but sadly, nature takes its time and if it's not time for the peeling to stop yet, the peeling won't stop! I also tried to do some maths revision and I managed to do Chapter 1 exercise 1 and that was it!

I know it's not too bad

On Thursday, for the first time in my life, I went to a yoga class, accompanied by Samina who is a regular. It was located at this beautiful lodge in the quietest area with green grass and tall trees everywhere, accommodating melodious song birds that were chirping away, with the crickets backing them up to compose a beautiful, peaceful sound that made me feel in touch with nature. It was the best setting for something like this, as we did meditation afterwards with not a sound disturbing us. We got there on a piki-piki (motorbike), after a dala-dala ride from near the Impala Hotel. The session kicked off with a series of stretches with deep-breathing techniques incorporated in-between each stretch. It was very difficult for me to keep my balance and I was scared I'd be that girl who falls over doing the weirdest stretches ever, knocking down the person next to me like a domino effect. The meditation was called "The Arch Angels meditation" or something like that. My mind wandered off after the first 5 minutes because my attention span isn't that great. Clearly I need to discipline my mind and body. It was really nice though.

Saturday I spent the afternoon at a cafe near Shoprite shopping centre, using the free WiFi and enjoying a slice of chocolate cake. Later I went back to Sekei before going with Dani to Samina's house for dinner. First we took her dog Kichichi, named after avocados (Parachichi) for a walk. She is a very energetic dog that loves running around and jumping about (to be frank that sounds like the typical dog). I held her on her leash once just to get over my fear of dogs. It was quite fun although passers-by got scared thinking she was on a leash because she's dangerous! After the nice walk, Samina prepared us a delicious vegetarian meal with kidney beans (my favourite) and also some salad. It was a nice, relaxed evening with music and soft drinks, after which Dani and I went back to Sekei.

Yesterday, I went hiking again as the weather was lovely and it hadn't rained for a while. We went near Moshi where we could actually see Uhuru Peak! (the top of Mt Kilimanjaro). 

I covered myself in sun screen, not wanting a repeat of the last time I went hiking when I got sun burnt. Every once in a while I reapplied because the sun was just too strong! We trekked for a bit and got to a hill which seemed easy and small from afar, but rather draining once on it. I was starting to get a headache even though I must have drank like 1.5 litres of water within 3 hours. We had a couple of breaks to have a bite and rest a bit, then carried on to another hill which had these massive rocks that we were somehow meant to go over. I was terrified! The guides just walked up effortlessly, like it was nothing and I was quite impressed. 

An old train track that's going to be reconstructed in the near future

Uhuru Peak (top of Mt Kilimanjaro) zoomed in

Uhuru Peak (top of Mt Kilimanjaro)

Descending was even worse as the hill was covered in pebbles and I constantly slipped, almost sliding all the way down, through the thorny acacia trees and that. We walked some more and finally we got back to the car. I still had a headache and I tried to sleep on the way back, but the speed bumps woke me with a start all the time! I had to drag my feet across the ground to go home with a serious face on as I couldn't be bothered to smile or anything. People occasionally called out "Mambo!" (like "What's up?") and I'd just mumble "Poa" (like "nothing much" or something like that). They probably thought I was being rude. When I got home, I couldn't wait for a nice cold shower, shampooed my hair and then tried to take a nap. Unfortunately the church next door decided to blare out music, just for bants. It wasn't even a service, just randomly playing CDs. How lovely!

Later in the evening, Amanda and her son, the new volunteers, finally arrived from Nairobi. Unfortunately for them, there'd been a power-cut literally minutes before they arrived. Dinner was already made so that wasn't a problem, but they had to use a candle for a bit. After almost 2 hours, the power came back on and we were all happy again! I went to bed quite early (11pm) so I'd be up for school in the morning to see my lovely kids again! Overall, it's been a great week!

Waterfalls and Bare-foot walks

Samina wanted to find something nice for me to do during the Easter break to take my mind off work for a while. She recommended the Arusha Water falls. At 10am sharp, Jordan, a part-time FutureSense employee who was to be my guide, turned up and we left. I took sun screen with me today because last time I went hiking I got sunburnt and only felt it in the shower! *gasp*

Jordan

It was only 10am but it was already boiling hot in Arusha! The cool breeze that made hiking bearable last weekend was nowhere to be found in these parts of Arusha and within 10 minutes of walking uphill I was sweating like a pig. The climb upwards was even more challenging due to the heat, and at this stage I have decided Kilimanjaro is going to absolutely MURDER me! Nonetheless, I took it easy and we walked steady, engaging in conversation (which probably slowed me down more than anything as I was quickly out of breath). This is definitely great practice for Kilimanjaro because I need to train my breathing when going uphill, and obviously talk less to save energy. Also, I’m going to need loads of water because my throat tends to dry really quickly here especially when I start breathing through my mouth because my nose is just too small (you’re lucky, Samantha Mudimu and Joseph Butawo :P)

teeny-tiny waterfall

We got to the edge and I realised we were meant to go down muddy “steps” into a valley-like place. It was absolutely beautiful beyond words! The whole place, the clean air, the birds chirping, not a single bug in sight (or so I thought)… this was like HEAVEN to me. We started to descend and I was terrified of sliding, but Jordan made a joke about it saying that’s the whole point of an adventure! Yeah, walking around with mud all over my body sounded like a great adventure indeed! About 10 minutes later we made it to the bottom and I was mesmerised. I took my shoes off quickly because I just couldn’t wait to get my feet into the cool, rushing water and feel the pebbles with my toes and just absolutely go ape. It was awesome.

keen much?!

We walked barefoot all the way to the actual waterfall, and Jordan helped me up slippery boulders and stuff. There was one point where I stopped and asked how on earth we were going to get to the other side. It looked so dangerous! But Jordan, all 5ft4 and tiny body, literally lifted me up between two massive boulders! Poor thing, I thought I was going to break him lol (Ok, maybe not… I’m not that heavy, I know). We carried on, with me chattering away as usual, and then I felt a tiny little thing in my mouth and I flipping swallowed it! I swallowed a bug!!! Highlight of my day I’d say. Just great!

We had to miraculously make our way up these boulders... Jordan lifted me somehow from the top

Anyway, the waterfall was so noisy and there was vapour everywhere! It was the coolest thing ever! Where the water reached the ground, there was some sort of “rainbow” effect because of the sun. It looked really cool. I entered the water and tried to get to the waterfall but the water was raging and it looked so dangerous but I was relentless. Within seconds I was soaking wet and fell onto my bum in the water as I lost balance. I decided not to go any further then but I was like a meter away from the waterfall! Would have been so cool to just get hit by the water on my back, I reckon it’s therapeutic.  Free massage you know… 

THE waterfall

yeah... that's as far as I could go!

all soaked!

We stayed there for a good 20 minutes just looking at the waterfall, playing with water and taking pictures. Then I decided it was time to get home now as I was starting to feel the chill. We walked back safely and just as we were about to come out of the water, I fell over all the way into the water! The first thing I thought about was my camera and my phone which were in my bag! I quickly lifted it up to Jordan who was trying to save me and cried “My camera!” Ha-ha! It was hilarious. Thank goodness I wasn’t hurt and the water flowing beneath me wasn’t strong enough to wash me away.  

On our way back we passed by a group of guys eating ugali (sadza) and fresh kapenta and they gave us a dish to wash our hands. It tasted lush! I only had one bite and we left started walking back home. It was so hot that by the time I got back to the volunteer house, I was completely dry, with just patches of mud dried onto my jeans. Overall, it was an awesome day and now I’m going to finish watching Vampire Diaries season 1 before making plans for tomorrow! I have a feeling my feet are going to be so sore and hurt like crazy tomorrow; I can already feel it now. Until then,

Ciao

xx