Homeland Glory: Mastering the art of living out of a Jansport, and Post African Reflections

The past two weeks have been absolutely lovely and have been really enjoyable although they have been extremely difficult at times in terms of readjusting. My first full day back I went to go get some clothes as about half my wardrobe was either peppered with holes or still had a pungent aroma of Africa and small African children. I saw a genuinely fat child outside McDonalds and he was a right chav and burst out saying " OH MY GOD THEY AINT GOT NO F***ING BIG MACS AT MACCY D'S,"and proceeded to go on about the lack of big macs at Mcdonalds. I felt the urge to go up slap the child and kindly tell him to shut up because he has two legs, gets more than 3 meals a day judging by the size of him, and has access to hot water which he can shower in..... wether he chooses to on the other hand is entirely at his digression.

Probably the most embarrassing moment of readjusting to life in white people land was on the Tube heading to the Olympic Park in Stratford. On the Dalla Dalla when you want to get off right before your stop you smack the roof or the nearest metal part and go "SHUSHA!" Of course, Anna being the extremely intelligent person that she is did this on the Tube and proceeded to get some strange looks and burry herself in her hair.

The atmosphere at the Olympics was absolutely brilliant and i'm very pleased that I went up to London. I can now confirm that the British Army are a bunch of absolute piss heads, but an extremely generous bunch of piss heads and proceeded to buy a sizeable chunk of the people in the bar rounds of Italian Larger. It was their day off before the closing ceremony and were going on a 15 hour booze up..... one of them however didn't quite last that long and proceeded to try hold a conversation and then promptly fell over. It was half past one in the afternoon.

The Olympics has been really good for London as well as England as a whole. There is a new life to the country and the city which is great to see, now its just a question of how long it will last. One thing that I have always liked about England is I can walk around go into a shop buy some milk or whatever and not be harassed. In Africa and Canada, people always want to talk to you and start conversation even if you are just buying milk which gets annoying as sometimes you don't really want to nor can you be particularly bothered to, so its really nice being able to buy what you need then getting on with your day.

I genuinely love London its probably my favourite place in the world to be honest. I enjoy being able to find solace in chaos, forever wandering down the streets looking at the periods of architecture, sitting in a park, getting a pint to go on the South Bank, or taking a Boris Bike around the city there is just something about it where every time I return to it I find my self more in love with it than before and my love for the city grows.  London is a city which is as expensive as you make it  and is just a question of what you know. I have a fairly extensive knowledge of the city buy now and I can now take a visitor they're find them a place to get a pint to go for 3 dollars, where to get a 3 course meal for 15 dollars and  world class theatre for 7 dollars. The city is continuously changing but there are still some comforts that will always remain their. St. Pauls' and Big Ben still keep a watchful eye over Londoners strolling on the Thames, Waterloo station provides a easy meeting place, Primrose Hill,  Russell Square, and St. James park provide a solace for those looking for a lunch time escape from the fast rhythms of the city.

Boris Johnson as much of a muppet as he is with his "wif waf"speeches, rugby tackling at charity football matches and dancing to the Spice Girls at the closing ceremonies( ok I admit that was absolutely brilliant and made me realize that Boris is an absolute legend) has done a tremendous amount of good for London. He's cut down traffic and congestion considerably, got people to cycle more by the invention of the Boris Bikes ( bike you take out at a docking station and return at another when your finished) he's made the place a lot cleaner and has some how encouraged Londoners to be friendly.... absolutely no idea how but either way its quite impressive. Granted this was probably done as a result of the olympics but still its impressive and I applaud Boris for it tremendously.

As much as I love London I also do love England as a whole, granted the economy has gone down the toilet in the past years, traffic can be horrible, weather can be rubbish( but that applies to anywhere). After being in Africa for three months you realize people can't really complain about England at the end of the day. The minimum standard of living is much higher than sub-saharan Africa, free primary and secondary education, the concept student loans to finance higher education levels, a more equal level distribution of wealth, a comparatively low crime alcoholism rate to many African countries despite it being probably the highest in Europe( ok the Irish might beat us but thats about it) and a much stronger economy. Putting it in that context you realize they're really is not much to complain about at all, but then again that goes for any Developed country.

My time in England has been marvellous having reunions seeing people I haven't seen in 9 years( which was amazing), cycling lots, and spending time with some of my favourite people in the world. The past week has been manic as I have been commuting between different relatives in parts of London and have been living out of a Jansport( small backpack in which according to a friend of mine, Ruby their are a large amount of in Holland). I have mastered the art of packing this in the most efficient way. As London can be hot or cold in the summer you pack 2 pairs of shorts and tights to wear under the shorts if it gets cold, 1 dress you can dress up or dress down a few nice bits of jewellery a few semi-posh tops, toiletries knickers and socks. All of these must be rolled in order to make room for spontaneous bits of shopping.  Its very funny whenever i'm in England it doesn't seem like i'm travelling just feels like i am completely at home and that what whatever i'm doing is just life, not travelling just living.

Im currently at Heathrow heading to Canada in two hours and the nostalgia is starting to kick in. Everything has its pros and cons and the only cons with travel are it does cost money and secondly it all feels a bit like a dream when it comes to an end. It's hard to believe the past three months have actually happened and looking at my pictures I can't quite believe its all over. I have met so many incredible people in the past three months and I wish I could repeat it all over again but alas I cant really... at least not for a very long time. I guess the thing I miss about Africa right now is my kids ( yes Simran if you are reading this you will say "they are not your kids!"). My friends at uni have all sort of given me the nick name "mother Anna" or say " your such a mum" and I suppose the past three months I have been being a bit motherly with all my kids seeing them grow up, get better and develop personalities and start to see their true character. I remember in my last week at Plaster House there was a little girl and a little boy when I first got their in May (Baba and Naynoori who I have mentioned before in this blog), they were babies when I got their and could walk but in terms of height were just below my knees and bye the time I left. People always say kids grow up so fast and they really do, they aren't my babies anymore they're my little kids now.

Im pretty sure the post Africa depression will kick in when I'm back in Canada cause thats when it will really really hit me " Wow its really over", and the emotions will have come full circle. I'm not sure what it is about Africa but they're is just something about it. I always had an interest in it from a small age, and it continued to flourish when I started university. It's difficult to describe how Africa make one feel but all I can really say is they're is just something about it. That once you go, you will be hungry for more. My best advice is to just go out they're and discover it for yourself. Don't be a tourist and do the white mans Africa, be a traveller do the touristy things but make an effort to go out meet the locals, eat local food, pick up some of the language however rubbish you may be at it, go off the beaten track but not to far off, and if an experience that comes up that you may never have again do it Because that is where you will find the true treasures of Africa.

After the African Sun

Well this is it I am back in the homeland as of 7 am this morning that the last week has been a bit of a emotional roller coaster. Driving through the Masai lands surrounding Arusha town with one of my many African mothers/sisters as the sunsets softly over the landscape with clouds looming over Mount Meru and the rolling hill that surround it as the sky turns a soft pink and purple hue, and I find myself falling in love with Africa all over again as I watch one of my last African sunset.

I honestly don't know where the past three months have gone but they have by far been the most productive, rewarding and entertaining months of my life. I have gained an amazing group of friends from all around the world and have had the pleasure of working with some the most talented people I have ever met. I have had the joy of meeting and working with the best kids in the world who will forever have a special place in my heart.

Coming to Africa and working at Plaster House has led me to question a lot of things including what is the real world? What is living? Are we really better off? I use to be a firm believer in Karma but after coming to Africa I am not so sure anymore especially after meeting Natazomowaki. Natazomowaki is nine years and  is one of the best children in the world she would help me organize activities, take the little ones to the bathroom, and read stories to the little ones, overall and extremely helpful child. Natazomowaki has  heart disease as well as a foot problem making it difficult for her to walk. She has been at Plaster House two years and is still waiting to go to Kenya to get open heart surgery and once she gets her heart surgery then she is able get an operation on her foot. Needless to say why my belief in Karma has been questioned as what can a little girl do that is so horrible that she is in the situation that she is now.

I also didn't use to believe in Magic until I came here but Plaster House made me think that their is some sort of Magic out there. Stefano is a little boy who is around four years old. He fell in a cooking fire, something which is far to common in Masai communities leaving third degree burns all over his face, arms, legs and stomach as well large head wound and psychological trauma. He was abandoned after the incident and the outreach co-ordinator found him and brought him to Plaster House where he is waiting for a skin graph. When he first came to Plaster House about a month ago he use to sit in a corner on his own and not interact with any of the other children or he would rip his clothes of start screaming and running around. Now he participates in story time, shares books, helps the other kids out if they need it and communicates with the other children. Despite being their only a month he has come amazingly far and it makes me unbelievably happy.

It's unfortunate that Africa has such a negative connotation courtesy of the media and that many people believe its a continent full of AIDS, War and Crime. Unfortunately some places in Africa have large amount of these, giving the continent a negative image. It's amazing how such a few number of countries have an affect on the others, like Uganda. Uganda borders two not exactly desirable neighbours, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo, therefore creating the impression that it is an unsafe country. The truth is, its only the borders of these regions which are a bit dodgy and Uganda's tourism industry is booming with Gorilla and Chimpanzee tracking, some of the best national parks in Africa, the discovery of White Water Rafting on the Nile( some of the best in the world) and the development of Adventure Tourism. In 2012 Uganda was named by Lonely Planet as "Best Travel Destination of 2012." I'm pretty certain that many of you reading were unaware of this and thought of Uganda as a country of Child Soldiers, Violence and Joseph Kony.

Being back in England now i feel the cleanest I have ever felt in the past three months and have had the biggest culture shock coming back. The taxi ride from heathrow was the weirdest, wearing a seatbelt, not being in a taxi with 9 other people, people signalling and seeing lots of white people was a very odd experience. Showing up at Jess house was even stranger having a glass of tap water, walking into the kitchen I thought I saw an African baby sitting on the floor.....turns out it was just the dog, which I could now stroke knowing that I wont contract rabies.

Well the East African Adventure has come to a close. 14 weeks, 13 forms for entering and exiting the Republic of Kenya, 12 times sitting in a field to steal a posh hotels wifi, 11 new British friends, 10 new favourite foods, 9 new African bands on my Ipod, 8 trips to the Masai market, 7 chickens placed under my feet, 6 long bus rides, 5 walks through no mans land, 4 new countries, 3 children I want to bring home, 2 African mothers and 1 incredible experience I will never forget.


oh by the way the dala record is 29 people 5 chickens and 3 babies.... one of which was placed on my lap.