Tuesday Travels

Happy Tuesday! As you can see from my selfie, all is well in my commute to lunch. I'm so lucky with the prettiest walk to and from the office. (Also, proof that I am, indeed, still alive and well.)For those of you who are not aware of my minor medical crisis, I ended up arriving to Kenya with not enough Malaria medication. It was just a simple miscommunication with the doctor and we hadn't bothered to actual count and check the tablets (my fault). I should've had 90 (6o for the trip, 30 for home) and ended up with exactly 30. Ut-oh.My mom, Lisa Fleming, Professor Khan, and countless others have been working to try and ensure the safe delivery of my medication from home, but unfortunately, it has yet to arrive in Mbita. Yesterday, I took my last Malaria medication. This could be real bad or real okay. Real bad because I'm in a malaria-prone area, next to a lake, and outdoors for some parts of my day. This morning, I lathered (literally) in mosquito repellent, wore long pants and a jacket, and have a bottle of bug spray in my bag just to be safe. Real okay because I may not get malaria, the medicine I've been taking is in effect at least for a little bit, and I'm sure medicine will be here soon. After all, there are dozens of Americans and people who live here and have lived in this region for years that don't take the medication and do just fine (or even get Malaria...and do just fine). That being said, I still liked having the extra protection from the Malaria medication and I hope it gets here soon! Joey sent me a care package (sweet boy I have), but it wasn't the smartest idea as mail here takes a very long time to arrive.(Side note: I've probably taken the least amount of pills out of anyone you know! I was always a liquid-chewable-Children's Tylenol person (still am) and thus, never took pills...even if I had a headache or something a pill could probably remedy. Taking my Typhoid pills back home was a nightmare and my family made fun of me every time I endured the two-hour ritual to force the "huge pill" down my throat. It's gotten a bit easier by having the daily medication of Doxycycline for Malaria prevention. I'm growing up one day at a time!)There is a clinic on campus and I met with the Pharmacist on Friday (who also happens to be the trainer at the gym!) and he wasn't able to get my medicine but he could get an alternative. At least I have a back-up if I absolutely have to. I'll be sure to send pictures of the clinic because it's very pretty and much nicer than I had originally anticipated.On my travels to lunch, I passed two girls who were traveling the opposite way to go home for lunch. I said hi (it's like I'm a celebrity - EVERYONE wants a mzungu to say hi to them!) and they asked where I was going. One asked if they could have my phone. I politely told her no, but told them I could show them how it works. I opened the camera and turned on front-facing so that they could see themselves. One was so excited she ran away from the camera! The other, pictured at left, stayed for the selfie of the day. Thankful for the many kiddos that love mzungus as much as I love Kenya.To close, I'll leave you with the beautiful canopy of trees that I get to pass under on each trek to and from the office, to and from the gym, to and from the Guest Centre. It is prettiest at sunrise and at sunset...it was about 6PM whenever I shot this photo. How lucky am I to have such a beautiful (long) walk to work every morning.  Bye for now,Holly