Email home: 28/08/2011 (aged 26)

Kenya - week 2

Hello!

Thanks for the responses to my last update – am sorry I don’t have time to respond to all, but be assured I look forward to logging onto my emails! Where to pick up from last time….??

Last weekend a group of us went to Shimoni, which is on the south coast of Kenya. There's another GVI project going on down there (mainly wildlife and sealife conservation), so we met up with those guys on the Friday night. Saturday we went on a FIVE hour forest walk across the harshest coral and tree-trunk terrain - it was exhausting. We then got the boat over to an island where the majority of residents are Muslim (we had to cover our heads) where we had a Swahili cooking class and stayed there. The next day we went on a boat trip where we saw dolphins and then did some snorkelling before making our way back to Mombasa.

A Blog About Yog!

Having discovered Snog frozen yoghurt outlets last year, I'm now an enthusiastic follower of the 'fro-yo' movement. I adore mango or passion fruit flavour with raspberries dotted around the outside. I spotted this tub yesterday in Waitrose (the John Lewis food hall on Oxford St.) and prayed that it didn't melt on the bus home. Luckily it's fairly slow melting so was fine. 

This tastes exactly like the pumped stuff and the passion fruit flavour is Out Of This World. It's gorgeously exotic and best of all, it's fat free! Totally guiltless pleasure! I'm a huge fan and spent last night wrapped around this tub. Here it is, posing on my rug.


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My first cheesecake

Give someone a cake and they'll like you. Give them a cake you made, and they'll love you forever.

I like sharing the fruits of my labour with colleagues, so I asked for requests last week. The general consensus was a cheesecake with specific instruction to wait until next week, when S is back from holidays. Once I had the idea in my head, though, I couldn't wait!

I'm not a huge cheesecake fan, but after a wonderful past experience with a lime cheesecake (with a ginger biscuit base), I decided that was The One. I went for this recipe by foodforfriendsyeah which reminded me of the one I'd tasted before. It was really easy to make and tasted lovely! There's a nice contrast between the citric, slightly tart topping and the sweet, buttery base *drool*. I used half-fat creme fraiche so it wasn't quite as sinful, but the reduced fat content did mean it didn't set as hard as you would expect. Not a problem though.

NB: It looks like pond weed on the top, but it's not. It's lime zest.

The only issue now is that my impatience  has made its way to S, who is not happy that I couldn't wait for her return, so I have to face her wrath tomorrow (and possibly make another to placate her!).

I've made another one today at mum's! Nueva favorita!

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Blogosphere: Week 2

Ok, I have well and truly caught the blogging bug. At the end of my second week I have reached 1,000 page views and am really chuffed that so many people have shown interest. Thank you! A couple of people have left lovely comments and I have found some great blogs to enjoy, particularly I Covet Thee, Emily Charlotte and Zoella. What's the antidote for Blogger's Addiction?

Yesterday I caught the bus from mine up to Oxford Street yesterday for a spot of shopping - had to take some bits back to Primark and John Lewis. Although I've lived in zone 2 for three years, I still get awestruck by the tourist sights and snap away merrily as the 159 crosses the Thames! Loser.

Dear Diary: 21/01/1997 (aged 12)

I got my refreshers from Lucy and ate them during break. I took Shout and T.O.T.P [magazines] into school but I barely got to look at them! In English we were being real idiots but it was funny. Catherine was doing when the boy turns into the mouse in the witches. It was really funny and she threw herself into it.

Best thing today: That was the best bit.

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Dear Diary: 20/01/1997 (aged 12)

Got up, went to school, came home. Biology and French homework took AGES. Lucy Jay is going to buy me a pack of refreshers since I gave her the money. Today in Bio we looked at dead sea animals and Candy thought we were dissecting them.

Best thing today: Calling M[rs] Chambers the cellulite queen. It was quite funny.

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Mystery Jets gig!

Last night I went to see Mystery Jets at O2 Academy Brixton with Lisa and two friends. It was the fourth time I've seen them live - the first time they were supporting the Kooks at Brixton (wearing unforgettable sequinned jackets), the second at the iTunes festival and thirdly at the Hippodrome in Kingston which was a brilliantly small and energetic gig. Every show of theirs feels like a big party. They're not too active on stage, but I think the crowd they attract know and love their hits (Two Doors Down, Half in Love with Elizabeth, Flakes, Seratonin) and just want to have a dance and sing along!

Dear Diary: 18/01/1997 (aged 12)

Today I went round to Catherine's house and it was really cool, first we played on her SNES, then we went to Sutton but I didn't buy much but we saw Sarah and Natalie. When we got back all of Robert's friends were there.

Best thing today: Seeing all those boys. It was a bit overwhelming!

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Dear Diary: 15/01/1997 (aged 12)

I might be going round to Catherine's on Saturday because it is her brother's birthday and he's having loads of friends over. I might be staying over as well! COR! Lucy Jay is over at the moment and at school Amy really got on my nerves.

Best thing today: At school with Cath and Lucy. They are really good friends.

Email Home: 18/08/2011 (aged 26)

Kenya - Week 1

Hi all!

After one full week away, it seemed an appropriate point to send my first email home! My time in Kenya so far has been better than expected (although I didn’t have any preconceptions) and everyone is really nice. I was surprised just how quickly you get settled in, and I can’t believe a week has passed! I've sent this email just to those whose emails I had, but please feel free to pass on!

I arrived at the Voyager hotel in Mombasa last Friday morning and stayed one night. All inclusive meant you could order snacks throughout the day (including pancakes) so I made the most of that! Nyali beach is lovely – the sand is like icing sugar but there’s a fair bit of seaweed when the tide is out.

The volunteers live in two houses on an estate near the slums. They’re fairly basic but definitely do the job (given I expected to be in a mud hut). We stay in bunk beds and have fans in the bedroom so heat isn’t generally a problem at night. There’s a chore rota so we take it in turns to clean and cook. We live near the Bombolulu slum (‘village’) which is where the ‘school’ is based. Olives Rehabilitation Centre is essentially a school which is not yet recognized by the government, but that’s the aim for the place going forward.