Shoes and Chocolate...

I absolutely love the way Kenyans talk. My American accent must sound so harsh and coarse compared to the way words just flow out of Ruth's mouth. I realized this during our regular morning chat. There is something so peaceful and soothing in the way Kenyans form english words. I tried imitating a true African accent the other day. It was embarrassing to say the least; I couldn't quite grasp the necessary warmth in my speech.
When I first arrived in Kenya, it was difficult for me to understand the accent when spoken to. Now I understand everything, with exception to some phone conversations. Ruth tells me my accent is hard to understand. I suppose it is a challenge for both parties.
My Swahili is coming along nicely. Self-taught, with a lot of help with pronunciation from Frank, I am getting into noun classes, which are extremely complex and convoluted from an english speaking standpoint. Or maybe I'm just seeing them that way since I lack any proper instruction.
I think this approach is good for me. I'm learning Swahili differently than I've learned other languages. Instead of pen and paper, my lessons come from the people themselves. This is a way of learning I haven't done before, so it is challenging a part of my brain that has, for lack of better words, gotten pretty lazy. (That laziness also might have something to do with the many episodes of Vampire Diaries I've seen in my lifetime.)

I realize I haven't put up many pictures from the safari. My bad. Here are some. We didn't have such great luck with cameras so most of the good shots are in my mind. Too bad I can't draw, or else I could share those too.

 babooooooons

 our mealtime visitor

don't have to tell me twice

My hair grows so fast here. I was looking back at a picture right before I left and goodness gracious, I had no idea it had grown so much. Today, Ruth told me that when I first arrived, she thought I was a boy...... great, but now I'm "beautiful like a girl."

Yesterday, Ben and I had some quality cousin bonding time playing catch in the yard. It felt really nice to just play catch since I haven't thrown a softball in about 10 months. My care package, the one that came yesterday, was complete with 2 softball mitts. Maybe my parents were hoping I would teach my Kenyan friends to love baseball as much as we do. The care package also contained a pair of Birkenstocks and plenty of chocolate. If I was happy before, I am completely content now. 

I'm finishing up preparation for heading West ie. Transportation, packing, all that fun stuff. Only a few more days til I'm heading off on an 8 hour bus ride into the great unknown.