A few highlights of the last few days....

• We had our first girls class at the high school.  It was a little intimidating going in, but it went really well.  They were super engaged, shared a lot and really seemed to like the class.  We are going to do another one with sophomores next week.  We're in the process of putting together some lessons so they can keep doing it after we leave. 
• The girls at the school had been asking to talk about changes that happen in their bodies, etc so we did a little research and have been teaching them about all these important lady things….puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, etc etc.  Many of them have clearly never had anyone talk to them about this & they are hanging on every word.  They are asking a lot of questions & say they are enjoying it and learning a lot.  It’s great to be able to help educate them and clear up some of the inaccurate info they have in their heads.  We’re going to look up a few more topics today to work on in the upcoming week.  I’m really enjoying this part of my work here & feel it’s making an impact on these young girls.
• Smooching on a giraffe!  There is a giraffe center where they help to support the endangered roethschild giraffe.  They breed them at the center & release them into the wild when they are old enough.  There is a platform you can see below where giraffes will walk up to be fed by the trainers or visitors at the center.  If you want a slobbery kiss, you can put the food in your mouth & they will come over to take it with their long nasty blackish tongue.  It’s absolutely hilarious.

                                      

One of my MANY failed attempts at a kissing shot.  He's pretty much eating my face in this one, but there are several other pretty funny ones.  You can't imagine the amount of slobber.  I literally washed my whole face in the bathroom after.  

Finally a good one.  Ha!

• I really did have a monkey on my back!  We walked through city park in Nairobi & it is chock full of monkeys.  If you buy some peanuts, they are immediately at your feet begging.  They will grab the food out of your hands or if you invite them up (of sometimes even if you don’t) they will jump on your back to get some.  It was a little scary but a ton of fun.  

Feeding the monkeys.  This makes it look like it's way more controlled than it actually is.  It's actually chaos.

My new friend....sort of.  I was actually kind of afraid he was going to maul me, but he behaved himself.

One of the little bastards grabbed Lauren's whole bag of peanuts & I got a shot of him running away with it in his arms.  Too funny.

• Lauren is leaving on Thursday, so we decided to have a little day out before she goes.  We went to the giraffe center, monkey park, city center & the markets down there.  Then we sat and had a bite to eat & a couple of tuskers at city center before heading back toward our area to have a few drinks & a decent dinner.  We found a brewpub down the street from Junction & sampled a few of their beers, and ate some American food! I know this is a little ridiculous, but it actually felt great to be in a restaurant environment & kick back a little.  It was a very fun night & nice to spoil ourselves.