Good old ZAIN

As we landed in Dar the first thing I saw was a slew of ZAIN (a cell phone company) billboards. Oddly enough it made me feel very at home due to the prevalence of them in Kenya, it was a very familiar feeling. It’s interesting to me that I feel so at home here, it’s very comfortable for me...well except the heat. We’re now getting to spring here in Africa and as in Canada that means the temperature rises. It’s currently 0930 and 30 degrees in our bedroom where we’ve been very careful to keep the blinds drawn and the heat out whenever possible. Usually I take three or four days to really get used to the temperature of a place and then I’m pretty much good to go, in Hawaii I even had to wear a sweater, nuts I know! All this makes me dread the thought of returning to Calgary in November. Not that I won’t want to see all your smiling faces but let’s be honest, it gets bloody cold in Calgary. My only hope is that we have a Chinook that starts the day we arrive back. Don’t be surprised to see me walking around with four (or more) layers on and a touque!!

Our flight was good and again Eric slept for most of it. He’s caught a cold and been stuffy since we got on the plane in London so it’s a very good thing he’s had so much sleep. By now we should be on the new time zone sleeping-wise but we made a critical error yesterday. We laid down for an hour nap in the afternoon which we set the alarm for but unfortunately Eric had a minor problem in setting it and set it for am not pm. Needless to say we slept for about five hours by accident and that made going to bed more difficult. We tried to stay up later and set the alarm for early but the long nap has really messed up ‘the plan’. I have forgiven Eric, but only because he’s sick!!!

Marg, Tej and the kids are all well and it’s been really great to see and hug each of them. Naomi in particular has been a real joy despite her inherent shyness, or maybe because of it. Our nap yesterday limited the amount of time we got to spend with the kids as they of course go to bed earlier in order to be up in time for school. All those kids in Canada who complain about getting up early for school really should be thankful, these guys have to be up at 0545 in order to get to school by 0715 when it starts.

Today we’re going to head off to the ‘mall’ and take a look around. It’s not a mall like you would have but at least it will keep us awake for a while. Also, India has ballet this afternoon and we might go watch that. Finally we hope to get Eric’s trip to Kilo figured out so we can book our trip to Kenya around it.

I think the thing we both miss the most about Canada right now is the changes that start to happen in the fall. The air get’s cooler but the sun seems to hit you just right to keep you warm and the trees start to change color. If you ask Eric I’m sure he’d tell you about all the different bugs that hatch on the river and the new flies you get to bring out when fishing. It will be sad to miss out on all those changes and most likely the first snowfall of the year...but, on the other hand...

lisa