Little Hamlin's Excellent Adventure: No News is Good News

I had planned to give you an update a few days ago, but I'll be completely honest. The primary purpose of this blog is to let my grandmother know I'm safe, having fun, and still alive. But thanks to the wonderful world of technology, she was actually able to see my face the other day on Skype when she was in Ipswich for the weekend. So, sorry for the rest of you, the post wasn't really necessary when I could tell her all about my latest adventures “in person”. But I guess I should still share with the rest of you.

I've eased back into city life after enjoying a relaxing time in Tanzania. Our ISP period is in full swing and the clock is ticking! (I won't go into detail about how crazy it seems I only have a month left in the program because then I'll just get stressed out about all the ISP work that I need to get done...) And because we're in Kenya which runs on Africa time, it usually takes a whole lot longer to get anything done, but I'm trying my best and hoping that things will start to come together.

Because the goal of ISP is to let us loose and see what we can come back with, they really let us make all our own decisions, one of which is housing arrangements. Last week, five of my friends and I moved into an apartment fairly close to our school where we'll be living for the month. It's been weird to be living out of my homestay and I've been missing my family and my mama's incredible chai, but it's been nice having a little bit more independence. Our apartment is also really nice, complete with wood floors, a TV and DVD player, excellent internet, and really comfy couches. So on the few days that I was busy at home writing my final paper, I had to force myself to get out of the house just so I could remember that I was still living in Kenya... I'm not particularly proud of this, but it makes me all the more excited to get out in the field for my ISP.

I have nothing else especially exciting to share. My friends and I went on an upcountry adventure this weekend to hike Mt. Longonot, which was once a volcano (like Ngorongoro Crater) but on a much smaller scale. But, it was still a great climb. I'm really not motivated to write any more (sorry), so I'll just post some pictures instead. Enjoy!