so i realize i've been really bad at writing here lately... i haven't written much at all, actually. i brought my journal to kenya, fully expecting to write in it every single day, but i haven't written in that for probably a month. i'm sure that i will regret that some day. i'm sure i will forget so many things, even things that seem so real to me right now - and some day soon i will be mad at myself for not taking more pictures and writing more journal entries. but i've been too lazy to write. and i always want to write something meaningful and then i get too stressed by that thought and i don't write anything b/c i just don't care.

so anyway, sorry! but i will try to write about my past month or so.

i officially finished my internship last week. honestly, i spent the last two weeks there basically doing nothing productive. i did build a shelf and painted it green, though! i thought green would be a good color, since it's a shelf for environmental materials. plus, the office i worked in was so blah and boring that i wanted to give it some color. however, the green paint was not what i expected, and it sort of looks like the color of the grinch, but oh well.

my last few weeks were really good in other ways. i spent a lot of time at one of the other intern's workplaces. there's a tailoring program and a carpentery program there, so there are always lots of people around. i had one of the carpenters help me make a shelf (he basically did all the work, although i think the guys were impressed to see a girl attempting to use a hammer) - and i also had one of the tailoring girls make me a dress. the material is so beautiful and she made it in literally 2 hours, which is incredible to me. i highly doubt that i will ever actually wear the dress in the US - i love it, but african-tight-and-foofy isn't really my style - but still, it's really gorgeous and i'll keep it forever.

i also spent a lot of time w/ my host family. i regret not spending more time w/ them while i was here - they are all really amazing people. they took really good care of me, and the way that they were really influenced how i will want to live my life in certain ways. except the polygamy thing. still against that.

so, my last week can be summed up by saying i felt melancholy.

on friday, i went to work for one last day, then went to my favorite lunch place in town. that night, the interns all had a "good-bye" party for max (the other intern leaving on the same day) and i.

on saturday morning, i woke up at 6 am, did my normal morning routine, and waited to get picked up to go to the bus stop. it was a very quick and rushed morning - getting ready, packing, cleaning, saying goodbye, etc... - but i am glad it was that way. i hate long, drawn-out goodbyes, and i would kind of rather not deal w/ them, although i'm sure that having to have so many emotional goodbyes are breaking down some emotional walls in me, which i guess is a good thing!

then... the bus ride back to nairobi. summertime on the equator. smelly bus. really really really bad roads. 10 1/2 hours. yes, it was hellish and i threw up. it basicaly felt like being in a 7 point earthquake for an entire day. i was so thankful to finally get to nairobi, even though i continued to feel sick for the next two days and everyone thought i might have malaria ( i think it was just motion sickness - i've been very good about taking my pills every day!)

sooooooooooo nairobi, blah blah blah, not very exciting.

but now, hayley (another intern) and i are in mombasa until saturday! it's a different world here - i love it but i'm also thankful for where i was. it's nice to have this time to sort of decompress before leaving. we have no agenda and no pressure - all we want to do is relax and get some sun. so it's been good. the humidity here is ridiculous, though. i'm sure most of you are in really cold weather right now, and can't believe i'm complaining about heat - so sorry for that :) but i'm pretty sure i'm sweating away most of the weight i've gained in the past three months. it's nice to be in the sun but i'm going to totally embrace the snow when i come home.

so we have 3 more days here, then we'll drive back to nairobi on saturday. then i'll fly to london on sunday morning, and fly home home home on monday morning!