Category Archives: My Thoughts

MIQ Adventures – The Food

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My cousin Cath was in MIQ a while back and posted lots of photos of her day-to-day adventures. She had the most amazing gluten-free meals and it gave me confidence that I wouldn’t starve when we were in there.

I was SO wrong. We’re at a different hotel than Cath (you don’t get a choice) was and the meals are very different too.

When you arrive at MIQ you’re given a whole lot of paperwork, including a meal choice for the next 2 weeks. Later in the day we were phoned up and had to choose every meal, right there and then – so great after flying for about 36 hours. Breakfast was either scrambled eggs, waffles or porridge. We chose the scrambled eggs.

What we didn’t know is that all of the meals would come lukewarm or cold. There’s no microwave to reheat anything so you have to eat it really fast.

Basically, the food is horrible. There’s been many a time that Pete has refused to eat it. His ‘toast’ at breakfast is this limpy thing that doesn’t have one bit of brown on it, and it goes straight into the bin.

Thankfully there’s online orders but no use ordering meals like pizza as they’ll be cold by the time it arrives. We’ve resorted to ordering from Countdown to help us have snacks on the days when it’s really bad.

Check out this video of our latest order.

Life as a Refugee

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The dictionary states that a refugee is ‘a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.’

Okay, we weren’t forced to flee our country of Kenya but with the COVID-19 virus, doesn’t it count as a natural disaster? Conspiracy theories aside, it definitely has thrown a spanner in the works for billions of people.

Lives have been lost, livelihoods destroyed, families separated, lots of online fearmongering.

I know of quite a few people, who like us, have been totally displaced and nothing we do can plan for the future. The very Sunday before we were locked down in New Zealand, we were at a church and as I was speaking to a lady there, her son and soon-to-be daughter in-law were meant to get married that Saturday. They had travelled from England to get married in front of their families. They left their homes, jobs and friends and like us, are now stuck here without any idea of when they can return. On one of our daily walks with the grandkids I’ve met a man whose wife is back in England and he is locked down here while visiting their grandkids. Another friend was out from Tanzania was visiting family, with her husband back home, and again, can’t get back.

These are but a few of the hundreds of thousands of people in the same boat.

lockdown

Lockdown means something different in every country. In New Zealand for 4 weeks the only time you were permitted out of your house was to go out for fresh air or one family member to visit the supermarket. I broke a tooth so had an online appointment with a dentist and then went in the next day to get it fixed. Their doors were locked, so had to let them know when I arrived, I had to use hand sanitizer and then glove up.

For most, they are bunked down at family or friends homes. They have no income and no way to even think of employment in a country they haven’t lived in for decades. The only clothes you have are the few you packed for a short trip, and the weather is changing.

We are SO grateful to our daughter and son-in-law who have allowed us to bunk on an airbed at their place. We get to see our grandkids every day and can fit some work in between entertaining them. One of the things I’ve always said is that I love my kids, but I don’t want to live with them. For the first 5 weeks of lockdown I didn’t even unpack my hand luggage which has all of my clothes. It was easier to deny than to accept the situation.

As development workers we solely rely on our friends and family for financial support. Thankfully we have not seen a drop in donations, but we only live on $500 a week and a lot of that goes on rent and other expenses we are still paying for in Nairobi. You get something like a broken tooth that costs you $450 and it leaves you really stretched for important items like food. Without the support of our kids I have no idea what we would do. It’s also put them out a lot. Luke has to teach online so a lot of the time he has to hide in the kids room. They were going to put 6 month old Naomi into the room we’re sleeping in, but now can’t. Sure, we’re giving back where we can but for people who are hosting us refugees, it’s a real labour of love. Good news is, we haven’t killed each other yet.

We anticipated that we would be speaking most of the time in schools or business groups so would be wearing one of two dresses I packed. Besides that, it’s black tee shirts and jeans. Oh for some variety.

Like everyone else, lockdown is a mental challenge, not just a physical one.

The big question on every human’s mind is ‘when will this end’ or more importantly ‘when will life get back to normal’?

For we refugees, the big question is ‘when can we go home’?  Sure, airlines are giving credit for cancelled flights but then you have to pay the price difference when you rebook and where do you find the cash for this? It was heartbreaking to cancel our trip to Hawaii for a conference and then slowly cancel all of the other flights. I had got such sale prices on all of our flights that we will need to find thousands of dollars to rebook.

Of course for us this was meant to be our big fundraising tour for the year. It has caused us to rethink how we do things and bring plans forward a year. Storage facilities, online meetings, making sales via Facebook. We’re doing what we can to bring in funds to keep our staff and projects going but we will have a big shortfall in 2020.

We’re not the only ones though. It’s affecting thousands of development organisations like BeyondWater. People are being laid off from work, projects can’t operate because of a drop in funding and vulnerable people are in even more dire situations than ever before.

So, what does a refugee do in a situation like this? Like everyone else we take one day at a time and hope that we all adjust to the new ‘normal’ future we all will have to embrace. It is also a huge bonus that we have a personal faith that rests on such scriptures as Romans 8:28 ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.‘

 

 

 

 

 

Why I Went Grey

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Whether you spell it gray or grey, it’s not blonde, brown or red.

I got my first grey hair at the age of 21. I was sitting outside a friends house when another person said “Sharon, you’ve got a grey hair!” and promptly pulled it out (thanks Mrs. Haines). It’s all been downhill from there.

In the end I ended up colouring my hair once a month. In Kenya it’s pretty expensive to buy the hair dye so I would get it in bulk when I was back in Australia and it would keep me going for a year. I’d do it myself because it was way cheaper than going to a hair salon.

I made a decision that by the age of 50 I wanted to stop dying my hair. That was easy to say but what about the important thing – what my husband thought.

I started by researching online, watching YouTube videos and seeing photos of people who looked fantastic with silver hair. Silver sounds more glamorous than grey. Pete was silent on the matter, which meant he didn’t approve. Basically he didn’t want an ‘old looking’ wife. Fair enough, but he wasn’t the one putting chemicals on his hair and therefore going into your body.

So, I stopped colouring my hair about August and when the skunky look happened I started using a coloured hair spray. It’s one where you match your hair colour with the bottle and just spray it on. It’s fantastic, but only till you wash your hair again. When you go running every second day, it was becoming a drag.

hairWe were heading to the US in December on a speaking tour so Pete suggested that I invest the most money I’ve spent and get my hair professionally done. I went into the salon in Nairobi that specialises in foreigners hair, which is totally different from Kenyans. I told the lady that I wanted it to be highlighted as I was growing it out. I walked out exactly the same, and cried. Thankfully the owner organised for it to get redone and I absolutely loved it.

The first thing Pete said was “You look just like your cousin Jeanette” This is the only thing I felt I had ever really been selfish and done for myself, and I was okay with that.

And I’m never going back to colouring my hair.

In most cultures, having grey hair is really not appreciated, in fact, it is very much looked down upon. Well, too bad, my grey hair is going to stay. I stopped colouring my hair simply because I decided enough is enough – for me.

I’m over 50 and I’m embracing the more senior years of my life. We should enjoy each stage of our life and what it offers. Be comfortable in your own skin, and if you feel you need a few adjustments or something that makes you view yourself better – then go for it.

So if you want to go grey here’s some things to consider:

  • It will take at least 2 years to grow it out
  • You’ll need to put oil in the ends of your hair to stop it going straw like
  • There’s a high probability that you’ll need to change your makeup colours
  • Use purple shampoo once a week to stop the ‘brassiness’ that can occur
  • Get regular hair cuts to promote hair growth

 

 

 

 

 

My Problem with Essential Oils

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There are so many fads out there it’s really hard to know what’s legit and what’s a scam. Diets, winning millions of dollars, organic versus ‘certified organics’ and even essential oils that only cost a couple of dollars.

A couple of years ago I was in remote Kenya doing a school program  and got badly sunburnt on my forehead. I didn’t even know it until I got to the Ngoswani Health Clinic to look at a potential project. Straight away Dr. Tonya marched me to an examination room and I had one of their international visitors apply a mixture of coconut oil and lavender essential oil.

I was SUPER sceptical but you know what, after a few minutes the burning started to subside. The attendant told me that the Masai love using the oils, even the men, which says a lot on this side of the world. I was given a 5ml bottle of the lavender oil to take home.

lavender

So all I know is what works for me – and that bottle is still being used.

The lavender is great because you can put it directly on your skin, which you can’t do for all oils. So mossie bites and eczema is now under control.

Frankincense is pretty expensive but man, it’s a great ‘natural drug’. I ended up with a frozen shoulder (not pleasant) and Pete would mix this with coconut oil and massage my shoulder blade. It has a anti inflammatory effect. It doesn’t go super hot like Deep Heat, it’s a gentle warmth.

frankincense

When I got a massive blood clot in my leg, our youngest daughter, Hannah, made up for me a mixture of coconut oil, frankincense, lavender and Panaway (a combo of oils). I would rub it in a couple of times a day and while it smelt really nice, I wasn’t sure it was doing much. I was in so much pain, I was hoping for a magical quick fix. However, I kept persisting. I figured that at the least, my legs would be nicely moisturised. What I did find was that it totally cleared up a large eczema patch on my leg. Even now, months later, I still put the mixture on each day.

panaway

Because we live in a pretty warm country and I have to wear a compression stocking all day, I’ve found I get Athlete’s Foot occasionally. The same thing can happen if you don’t wear socks in your shoes, especially flats. I thought I would give Purification a go after researching for something that had antiseptic properties. Four days in and the rash has nearly gone.

purification

I’m now slowly expanding the use of oils into things that we use daily like cleaners, moisturiser and even our toilet spray. I’ve already got face serum made with jojoba oil and some essential oils which I use once a day.

 

However, there’s three problems I have with essential oils:

  1. The market isn’t totally regulated. So while the label might say ‘essential’ it could be a mixture of a carrier oil (coconut, jojoba etc) and not pure. If you can buy an oil for a couple of dollars, it’s not the real deal. That’s why I stick with a well known brand like Young Living.
  2. Availability where I live. Because we’re only in New Zealand for a few months of the year, I have to plan out what I can order to get it on time. We can’t get them delivered here (yet), so I have to be super organised. I order through our daughter Hannah so I can pick them up in Auckland.
  3. I have to get into the habit of not using much. We’re used to using a lot of anything, but with essential oils, you only need a few drops. Even with the oil mixture I use instead of a moisturiser, I only use three drops from an eye dropper.

Essential oils are not the answer to the world’s problems but at my age I’ve only got just over 30 years left on this planet. I’d like to cut down on the chemicals and live a healthier lifestyle.

If you want to know more, or are keen to start using essential oils, feel free to contact Hannah, she’ll be more than happy to help you out. You can also follow her on Instagram as #oilymummanz

 

 

 

Living With A DVT

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April 9th

I thought to myself “I’m definitely going for a walk along the beach tomorrow morning.’

 

April 10th

‘Something is wrong and I think I need to go to hospital.’

 

5.45am

I work up with what felt like a pulled muscle on my left inner thigh. I got up and did some stretches, which made absolutely no difference. I went back to bed and couldn’t even stand having a sheet over my leg.

 

7.00am

I woke up Pete and said ‘Something is wrong with my leg, I think I need to go to a medical clinic.’ When I got up I saw that my leg was swollen to twice the size from my knee up, except I didn’t actually have a knee to speak of. I knew the day was going to be long so I insisted on a 30 second shower even though standing was a killer.

Then I discovered that I couldn’t even dress myself. Another reason husbands are handy.

 

7.45am

We finally got to a health clinic in Whangaparoa. I hobbled into the reception and they got me a wheelchair. I’ve never been so relieved. The doctor there wondered if Elephantiasis was rampant. My thought was ’Dude, that was a waste of your medical studies’. Even I knew what it was.

$98 later we were told to go to the hospital because they would get the blood results back faster.

leg

Rest of the Day

We got in pretty fast to the Emergency Department of the North Shore Hospital. The first doctor, who was from South Africa agreed it was probably a Deep Vein Thrombosis. Basically the rest of the day was having blood tests, waiting for results, getting injections, and having an ultrasound. Because it came on so suddenly and had been 5 weeks after I had flown they needed to check that the clot hadn’t broken off and gone to my lungs or heart.

The specialists told me I have a DVT that runs from the top of my thigh to my knee. It’s a super big one.

Just as I was to admit me to the hospital they realised my address was in another district, so I had to be transported to Middlemore Hospital. So, after picking up Liz, who had been waiting all day at a friends, we went through peak traffic to the other side of Auckland.

There we were at 7pm eating Subway while waiting for a bed.

Pete was flying out the next day to Canberra to do a painting job which couldn’t be cancelled, so we packed Liz off to Hannah’s and Pete went home to pack.

 

Since Then

Hospitals aren’t the quietest places to recuperate. Injections, more tests, blood pressure checks, bad food, noisy environment. Thankfully I was released the next afternoon once I had mastered injecting myself. All you do is make sure there’s no air bubbles in the needle, grab some fat, shove the needle in and push down until you hear a pop. Sounds easy right? Even after 10 days of this, it never became easy.

I left the hospital with crutches (on those for 2 weeks), lots of painkillers (drugs are awesome) and 6 months worth of blood thinners.

I made sure I wasn’t a martyr and took the painkillers religiously, not that I had a choice. The pain was incredible. I had to go and buy track pants because I couldn’t fit my jeans. I even had to buy bigger undies because mine were cutting into my swollen thigh.

Hannah made up for a leg rub of coconut oil, frankincense and a whole lot of other anti-inflammatory essential oils. Not sure if it helped, but it sure smelt good.

I came off crutches after two weeks, and just used them occasionally for another week. Thankfully I could still drive, but when Pete came back, he did all of the driving.

I have to be super religious about taking high dose blood thinners twice a day. I can’t skip a dose, and I have to have it with food. Even after 2 months I still forget to take them.

When I return to New Zealand in September I’ll go for a review to see when I can wean off the medication.

According to the specialists if I cut myself, I’ll just bleed more, but if I fall and hit my head, I need to go to the hospital immediately. I definitely bruise a lot easier and a wound takes weeks to repair itself.

 

Today:

I was told I need to wear a compression stocking, but what the doctors didn’t tell me is that I will have to wear it for 2 years. It’s quite warm here in Kenya, and dusty. By the afternoon my leg definitely swells up but nowhere near what it used to.

A weird thing is that my ankle, my knee and the inside of my thigh ache and burns. Mr. Google can’t tell me anything and I guess I’ll have to just live with it.

A really noticeable thing is my speed. I can walk for about 30 minutes before I have to rest and now I walk really, really slow. I have to swing my leg because it feels heavy. My goal is that by September I can start running, but I’m not super confident of that right now.

While it’s a major hassle, I’m really grateful the DVT happened in New Zealand. They have top medical care and it didn’t cost me a thing. If I was in Kenya there is a high chance that I might not be here today and if I could’ve got to a hospital, it would’ve cost thousands of dollars (which we don’t have).

People assume that everything is all better, but it’s not, but I am getting there. My leg aches a lot of the time, like 80% of my day and night.

So it will improve, and thankfully I have a patient husband who tries not to hit every pothole on the road (sometimes there’s more potholes than road) because he knows it’s painful for me.

 

Life is good, we need to make every day above the grave a good one – regardless of how we feel.

Why I Stopped Blogging

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I’ve had this blog up and running for some time now but I noticed last year that I was running out of gas. Sure, I’d proclaimed that I would be putting up stuff about our travels and our lives in Kenya, but to be honest, I hit a wall.

The last few years have been quite challenging for me, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping any time soon. I’ve had a growth in my throat that was removed last year. I didn’t realise it would take months to recover and even now I still have a numb spot just by my chin. But it’s way better than feeling like I always have tonsillitis.

Before that I’d ripped my left shoulder and then last year after returning from Canada, I did the right one. I went from that to having a frozen shoulder, then to physio.

I also ran out of brain power. One thing I’ve noticed here is that we get mentally tired. There’s so much going on, all of the time. Things in Kenya are complicated to say the least. I was worried that we were juggling too many balls and they would start dropping one by one.

Looking after your mental health is REALLY, REALLY important, especially when you’re living in a complicated developing country. While I was looking after myself physically, I’d let the whole mental side of things down.

For the first time, we took a real holiday. Pete painted houses in Australia and New Zealand so we could take the kids and grand kids to Hawaii. We did 9 days of speaking and then took a total break for 2 weeks. It was the best medicine ever. We’ve decided that each year we’ll shut down the office, send all of our staff away and everyone can take a break over December. It worked well last year, so why not do it this year too.

I’ve found that people don’t like to talk too much about mental health, but it’s so important. I see the tide turning now, but generally you’re considered weak if you have a mental health issue. However, we’re all battling something, trying to improve ourselves in some way and be accepted.

I’ve observed lots of volunteers in developing countries and there are similar challenges for all (loneliness, finances, cultural issues, family). What you can cope with when you’re in your home country is magnified when you’re based in a developing country.

You’ve got to be tough, really tough – on the inside.

So while I don’t promise to blog regularly, I will try.

just us

 

 

 

Looking After Your Mental Health Abroad

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One thing I can tell you from living in parts of the world that are considered ‘developing’ there are many challenges you don’t have to face in a First World country. All of us expats agree that it’s not for the faint hearted.

mental

Lack of freedom would be the biggest loss you face. Not traveling far when it gets dark. Locking your car doors and not putting your windows down. Security checks for bombs and weapons to get into a mall, mosque, government office. Not to forget getting your bags checked several times a day. It’s a hassle but it’s life here and there are other places that are way more strict than Kenya.

The separation from family is a daily challenge. We’ve got it lucky though because of technology. But when you’re reminded how many birthdays and Christmases you miss, milestones in your grandkids and the fact that they only know you through a computer. It is 8 years since we have had Christmas with our kids. A few years ago we made the decision that 2018 we would get together and after much saving and scrimping, it is only a few weeks away.

christmas

One thing people aren’t aware of is the loneliness that can eat away at you. I’ve got expat friends who move every few years because of their spouses work. It’s hard for them to connect with people as they know they’ll be gone soon. It’s also hard to find info about basic things like where to buy stuff and how the system works here. It’s okay if you’ve got kids and work but what if you’re the trailing spouse?

It’s expensive. There’s the assumption that Africa is cheap to live in. Sure, the local fruit and veges are a good price but pretty much everything is as expensive as in Aussie, but mostly twice the price. For us our funds come from New Zealand and Australia and we lose about one third of our income because of the exchange rate. Some expats who are employed here get bonus packages (housing, travel, insurance etc) which makes it very attractive for them. Not in our case as development workers.

Some companies send out their expats every 3 months on a 6 day paid holiday. We saw that and totally understand why. The pressure of being a foreigner and the daily living conditions put on you a pressure you that you don’t have to face in your home country. A few times a year we try to get out of Nairobi, grab our tent and get among the wildlife. It’s really good therapy.

wild

A really big challenge is not having someone to talk to about the issues you face within your marriage, family or life. A local doesn’t understand what it’s like for foreigners and have those pressures. I’ve come to the thought that the challenges you might have in your home country and you get through them, become really big cracks when you are in a developing country. We’ve had good friends who didn’t really have issues until they went to another culture but through the pressure of having to come up with the finances of putting their kids through international schools (super expensive), trying to set up their work in a place where people didn’t understand English too well and struggling to get an income, was just too much for them. Some returned to their home country pretty quickly, while others separated.

Broken Relationship

Looking after your mental health is really important, anywhere in the world. So, if you’re out on foreign soil for a long time, here’s some of my suggestions to help you last the distance:

 

  • There’s nothing wrong with taking time out! Our Christmas break is actually an investment into our mental health. I’m calling it my mental health break after a really challenging year.

 

  • It’s okay to get out and have some fun every now and then. A missionary over here said to us ‘Don’t let people see you’re out having a coffee or people will think you’re mis-using their donation’. That’s ridiculous! You have to have an out. I go to the movies a few times a year (only $4 here) and Pete indulges in a bought coffee. Anywhere there’s nothing wrong with that. You have to live a real life.

 

  • Enjoy the journey, don’t endure it. You are in a unique part of the world so go and experience the things you can only do there. A few years ago I went white water rafting on the Nile. Who else says they’ve done that? We have got to know some absolutely amazing people that we wouldn’t have if we’d stayed back in Aussie.

 

  • Mostly, remember why you’re here. I say to Pete when he gets over something ‘We chose to live here and have to put up with the crap that comes with it’. Stay focused on why you chose to come here and remember that no one forced you to do it.

 

Have you lived in a developing country before? What we’re some of your challenges?

 

The Unseen World

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The online world of social media is a one sided, glimpse of a moment kind of thing. None of us want to put the real us out there, just the smiley, it’s all awesome picture.

So I thought I’d share what goes on behind the scenes to get what people see about us and the work we do.

 

  1. Motorbike

bike

Actually this was one of the many frustrating moments in Kenya. The mechanic had promised to have our car repaired by the Thursday as we had planned out of town trips to do project work.  And of course, he didn’t deliver on time. In fact, it wasn’t ready to get picked up until the Monday.

Hence, we had to take our motorbike out to Isinya, which is a 90 minute ride. Doesn’t sound like much but the seat is harder than concrete. Mix that with lots of potholes, huge speed humps and crazy drivers. I had to get off twice each way just to stretch my legs and butt. While we are smiling, I never want to get on that bike again – but of course, I’ll have to.

 

  1. Eldoret

build

What people see is the nice finish of the first stage of a block of toilets. What they don’t see is the 4 days of Pete and Lucian trying to communicate with a non-English speaking team led by a guy who didn’t want to build the way we wanted. In fact, the labourers refused to unload a truckload of building material because they didn’t get paid extra. Hello, aren’t you getting paid by the day no matter what you do???

 

  1. Smiling Sharon

fam

I hate being in front of the camera but do so occasionally because we need it for our newsletter. What you don’t see is me with a frozen shoulder which aches 24/7 and especially when I’m trying to sleep, but can’t. Of course, we’ve always got to be smiling! Actually this was on a really bright day and I was dreading jumping on the motorbike for a trip home. We’ve been working non stop for weeks without a break but committed to the weekend of meetings for our friends. I don’t regret it, but knowing we haven’t had a day off for over 2 months is a bit much for my brain.

 

  1. Kids

me

Nothing gets raving reviews like a photo with kiddies. This one was done at a primary school in Kenya. What you don’t see is the little autistic boy in the green sweatshirt who kept running his greasy and dirty hands through my hair. And of course, we were staying at a place where it had a run around shower so couldn’t wash my hair – and I left the dry shampoo at home in Nairobi. He came alive when I brought my phone out, which meant it too was covered in goodness know what.

 

  1. Alice

alice

Here’s a nice photo of Alice, our Kiwi visitor with Scholar and her mum. When people see a photo like this, they usually go ‘oh that’s nice’. What they don’t see is the team walking through a slum area literally over a rubbish heap, with people shouting for the items we’re carrying in bags ‘You should give me the sugar’, going through alleyways not much wider than your body, having to watch you don’t whack your head on a sheet of metal. What you also don’t see is the hours young Scholar has put into preparing a meal for the four of us in her 3 by 3 metre home. Or meeting her mum who is super quiet because she thinks her English isn’t acceptable.

 

  1. Tonya

tonya

Tonya is a doctor who lives in a very remote area of Kenya. We see this awesome photo and go ‘Oh, so cute’. What we don’t understand that Tonya has been awake straight for 38 hours. She doesn’t get a day off unless she is away from the clinic. Her friend Linda who runs in a school in a Masai area, are the only white people in the area. They have lived for 10 years without electricity, running water and some of the most unreliable internet in the country. It is only this year that they had an x-ray machine. We don’t see the hardship, the times they’ve been robbed at gunpoint nor the loneliness that comes with being on the mission field.

 

Every photo has a story, both good and bad. However somehow in our minds we take that moment and don’t realise that there is so much more to the situation. We don’t understand the hours, the sacrifice, the loss, the struggle with mental health, the days when you want to be invisible.

Let’s just be careful to remember there is more to a person than what we see online. They have feelings, bad and awesome days.

 

 

Don’t judge your life by the snapshot, but by the movie.

Cairo in a Day

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Recently we had a 15 hour layover in Cairo on our way from Torotnto to Nairobi. I had booked a one way ticket and going via Cairo served a couple of purposes:

 

  1. It was the least amount of stopping.
  2. The baggage allowance was awesome.
  3. Going to Egypt was on my bucket list.

top

 

My grandfather, like thousands of other ANZAC’s spent time in North Africa for training before they were sent on to fight in the Second World War. I remember seeing this old black and white photo with my grandfather standing in front of a pyramid. At that stage I didn’t know that he wasn’t in many photos because he was actually a photographer. I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt and this fueled that desire.

 

It was a bit tricky booking a flight on the Egypt Air website, especially since I found out that Westpac in Australia blocked me from making the booking. Apparently they thought it was fraudulent until I called them about it. One thing I did note is that they didn’t offer a gluten free option.

city

Egypt Air have their own tour company (Karnak). You can choose a variety of ready made tours, or like in our case, they got us into the things we really wanted to see. For $90 USD each they said they would take us on a 9 hour tour of the Sphinx, Giza Pyramid, Museum, boat ride on the Nile and the Mosque. It sounded good, but wasn’t sure how it would work out.

 

What happened is that we waited 90 minutes for a transit visa (free) that was organized on arrival. They told us that they were booking us into a hotel before the tour, which freaked me out because we didn’t have the funds for it. Considering women are pretty invisible there, the nicest customer service guy told me ‘Madam, we have to look after you, you are here for a very long time’. After a 5 minute walk we ended up at the Le Meridien, one of the flashiest hotels I’ve seen for a long time.

us

When we got to our room I kind of wished that we weren’t going on tour. After an overnight flight where we hardly slept, the bed felt so luxurious and clean. But, we didn’t have time to  relax. After a quick shower we headed downstairs to a full on buffet breakfast – all taken care of by the airline. At 10am sharp, our driver picked us up just as we were told.

 

 

I had been forewarned about both the traffic and the dirtiness of Cairo – and it’s true. Both Pete and I agreed that we would never drive there. There’s no lanes, people weave in and out, and pretty much all the cars are dented. I never felt afraid, but I’m glad we were sitting in the back seat – if only my seatbelt worked!. After picking up our tour guide, as you do from the side of the road, we headed towards the pyramids. It was so cool when we approached the area which was full of security. Lots of people were walking in, which would’ve been faster. Unfortunately we didn’t get to touch the pyramids, which you can do. I think it was because there was nowhere for the car to park. Next we saw the sphinx, which was massive. I’m definitely going back there.

sphynx

We also visited a couple of other stores. One was a perfume store where you could buy the real deal (apparently) of lots of oils. We only bought one, 100ml of oil for $50USD. Now, I kick myself as we should’ve bought more. Another reason to return.

 

Like other tour companies, I’m sure the guides get a kickback from sales at places. They insisted on us going to a papyrus picture store. While they paintings were a good price, there wasn’t anything I wanted in my house – which they were disappointed with.

water

The boat ride was so calm that Pete nodded off during it. It was 43 degrees outside which we didn’t mind but the cool breeze off the river was appreciated. There were two more stops on what would only be a 5 hour tour. The first was at the museum. This was where we spent a little bit too much time, but our guide was so knowledgeable on what was in there. You could take some photos but definitely not in the room where King Tut’s coffin was. There’s a new museum being built where a lot of the artifacts would be transferred to which is good because this one was pretty crowded.

The last stop was the mosque. We’ve done a few mosques in the past in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and this was the least glamourous. We did get a fantastic view of the city and when you understand how old the surrounding buildings are, it puts things into perspective. Egypt is 90% Muslim and 10% Christian. According to our tour guide there’s never any problems between the two faith groups. Interesting considering the latest report from Open Doors reports that Egypt is the 17th top country in the world that it is dangerous to be a Christian.

mosque

Once we were dropped off it was time for lunch. Even as it approached 2.30pm they allowed us to have buffet lunch. The great thing about the hotel is that we could check out just before we needed to be at the airport. This meant we could go for a swim if we wanted, or in our case, catch a few hours sleep.

 

The Cairo International Airport is nothing to rave about. Not that we needed food, but there isn’t much to choose from. One thing that does stick out is the smell of cigarette smoke. Sure, there are smoking rooms, but they keep the doors wide open – what’s the point?

 

Pretty much, that was our day in Cairo. I’d definitely go back again but travel down to Luxor or Alexandria. Our Egypt Air plane stayed in the sky, so that’s always good. Their service was great, the Cairo airport crappy but I’d do it all again.

me

What about you, what are your experiences with Egypt Air?

 

 

What a Year

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It’s been an interesting year in Kenya that’s for sure. It’s never dull and boring here anyway but this was a year we were all dreading in a way. Pretty much business went downhill, people weren’t paying their bills and no roadwork got done. Usually in an election year there’s plenty of roadworks going on to convince people that a party is worth voting for.

 

That meant our roads were in the worse state possible for a whole year. Last year we spent $3,000 on repairs and tyres alone. In one day two new tyres burst just coming back from the airport.

 

Earlier in the year I spent a few weeks in New Zealand with our daughter’s little family. Poor Pete had to stay behind and in the end I only spent 3 days without meetings. Not exactly great family time. It would be nice to actually go somewhere for an actual holiday and not have to mix meetings with it.

 

Before we came to Kenya I thought our travel days were over. What a joke, we’ve traveled more than ever before. In fact, sometimes I wonder if people think all we do is travel. But, if we’re not out there fundraising, then pretty much no money comes in for projects. Hence, we took a 6 week trip to the US. It’s an emerging market but will probably be at least a couple of years before we start making any money there.

 

We stayed in country for the 2017 Elections just in case it all went down the toilet. We ended up with another family staying with us who felt unsafe in the Kibera Slum. While it wasn’t as bad as in previous elections, there were still plenty of people rioting and burning buildings. One of our team told us how her neighbor was killed simply because her kids were hungry so she went to the market and was shot in the crossfire. After all that, they reheld the elections which didn’t change anything. Lots of money spent, lives lost and a low economy.

 

Our beautiful grandson was born in October and this time I was smart. I traveled to Australia for 10 days of fundraising and did nothing but be a grandmother in NZ. This time we all went. Pete worked for a good six weeks painting my cousins house but at least he got to see his family too.

 

Our biggest shock of the year was to find out that our daughter Liz was told she had to return to Australia or New Zealand to keep her Disability Pension. We were all so stunned because for the past 5 years we’ve had no problems and had no indication things were about to change. Thankfully my sister who lives in New Zealand was able to take her in but it’s not really the solution. For most people it’s a chance to ‘grow up’ by being thrown in the deep end. However, for someone with a mental disability they cope but don’t have the ability to grow. Thankfully we will see her in March when we go over.

 

So it’s a terribly quiet Christmas for us. We had all these grand plans to drive down to Tanzania as a family and then go on to Zanzibar. Without Liz though we threw that idea out of the window. Pretty much all of Nairobi empties out and it becomes a ghost town for a few days. Boring would be an understatement to describe Nairobi over this time. Thankfully we’ve been rescued by our friend Lucy who is like our daughter, who invited us to her university graduation celebration on Christmas Day.

 

2017 has been a full on year. While most people when they retire want to travel, I dream of staying at home! 2018 doesn’t look like things are going to slow down but at least I can’t complain that I’m bored!