Hello to the most patient followers EVER!  Yes, it has been nearly two months since I came home from Africa and I have hardly shared anything here on the old blog.  Many of you have been asking about my trip and I have been promising posts.  Being really unsure about how to share this unbelievable experience, I have decided to share my day-to-day(ish) journal.  To be honest something exciting didn’t happen every day but it is the only way I have managed to break-down 6 weeks of amazing people, concerts, cities, countries.  I honestly can’t wait to get going; I haven’t read these journal entries myself yet, so I am actually really looking forward to looking back and sharing this journey with you!  So here we go…

DAY 1- November 2
GOOD MORNING KENYA!
I have been awoken by the sounds of roosters, followed by the barking of dogs and then a plethora of sounds I have never heard before! Eeeek, I LOVE it. I cannot wait to get out there today and do a little exploring.
We arrived at the Mennonite Guesthouse, in Kenya, late last night after way to many hours on planes and in airports. I kid you not, my butt is STILL sore!  So far everyone we have met has been very kind, including the two superstar Kenyan drivers, Allan & Joseph, who we traded Canada/Kenya info with on the late night drive to the Guesthouse.
And wow, the Guesthouse looks gorgeous, well at night anyway (the sun is up now but I haven’t ventured outside yet).  It was so amazing to be able to walk around, shower and climb into a clean bed after more then 24 hours in transit. Although, I must admit that there was a small moment of panic as a teeny bit of water got in my mouth while showering, haha ya, I am a little paranoid.  And since there was no one here to show us around the guesthouse at night, I haven’t had any water and am so thirsty. I guess it will have to wait until breakfast.
Well, some guy in a blue shirt is ringing a bell, which I can only assume means breakfast and (hopefully) safe water. So I am outta here!

Day 2- November 3
Well our gorgeous, care-free Africa days ended about an hour after I wrote that last journal entry.  We were picked up yesterday by Stephan, a wonderfully awesome guy from the CRWRC office here in Kenya, to go for our security briefing (due to the bombings that happened just before we arrived) and be dropped off at a university & hotel for the African Youth Conference for Climate Change.
After an inspiring afternoon of listening to Stephan and Fred (another CRWRC member), we were feeling pumped about telling the story of the We Have Faith Caravan……. And then, the jet lag began to kick in and we were dropped of at a not-so-secure, not-so-clean, body-odour filled hotel & conference centre. Though we had moments of good spirits, things were suddenly not looking so bright. The bathroom was a breeding ground for mosquitoes, we had to Jerry-rig a pad-lock on the cupboard for a sense of security, and to top it off Ruth and I shared an uncomfortable night in a single bed since her mosquito net had holes in it. Needless to say not much sleep was had.
Yes, our adventure has officially begun. And after talking to the very ‘care-free’ leader/organizers of the caravan we are thinking it is definitely not the end.
Bring it on.

Day#3- November 4
I am happy to say that after a good nights rest, and meeting many people from the caravan I am again super excited. I am overwhelmed with all the information I have received, and by the stories and passion of both locals and foreigners participating in the caravan. I haven’t yet processed how to best tell these stories, but will just continue shooting in hopes that it will simply reveal itself.
Outside of the ‘photography’ side of things, we have FINALLY found out more about the actual caravan! We will be traveling in 6 trucks (each seating 28 people) and camping along the way. Yup, camping. Although totally awesome, I am totally unprepared!
The countries we will be traveling through are Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia & South Africa. There will be days we get up, take down our tents and jump on the truck before sunrise and get in to camp long after sunset. That is a looong time for this girl to plopped in a truck, but it will be totally worth it!
Well I think I am going to leave it at that, since my mind is quite literally about to crash.  Jet-lag is something else today, need a nap.

Whew!  Well that is a start.  It is becoming clear to me that this is going to make me look like I was on some sort of emotional roller coaster ride, but I promise it was just the jet-lag talking!  It gets better (I hope)…… Yikes, also I just want you to know that I am not really editing these posts, I really want to share what I was actually feeling and experiencing, the good and the bad, SORRY!  And to help this along I must, of course, include some pictures!!!  ENJOY!!

Truly,
Karmen

Ruth unpacking in our room and our super high security protecting thousands of dollars worth of camera and video equipment….

While this was certainly NOT the worst bathroom we encountered on our trip, the standing water on the floor and in the toilet which served as a mosquito breeding ground in our very own room was a bit of an inconvenience.  Another fun tid-bit about this specific bathroom is that we were having to take those freezing cold, take you breath away kind of showers.  We later found out that everyone else was taking steamy, hot showers; our room was the exception… sigh.

I promised my Mama I would try to take some photos of myself in Africa too! p.s.  How can one person be so pasty??

Much needed TEA TIME, between sessions at the African Youth Conference on Climate Change.

Ruth and I found a little time for a nature walk on the university campus.  Yup, on the campus alone we saw a variety of birds, bugs, warthogs, and monkeys!!!!  Also, you can picture me making a total fool of myself chasing the monkeys all over campus… turns out they are a little camera shy.

And what would an African Youth Conference be without a good ol’ dance off! So Fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by and definitely let me know if you have any questions!!!  Hope you come back for more, this is just the beginning.

© Karmen Meyer Photography 2012. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.

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