Birthday!!! :D

This past weekend was my BIRTHDAY!!!! Happy last-year-of-being-a-teenager! (oh god....)

Despite a little wishing I could've spent it in the States with you guys, it was still very fun!

Not only was it my birthday, but it was also Lucy's last weekend in Kenya before flying back to the US. She and I went back to Nairobi together to stay with Lucy (my Kenyan Lucy in Nairoi...yeah it was complicated having 2 Lucys in the same small house!) We arrived on Friday evening, got all dressed up, had a bite to eat, then headed out dancing for a girls night out! Nairobi has a great dancing scene, and the best part is that people here actually dance!!

Things were going perfectly until the next morning (my actual birthday) when I started to feel rrreeeeaaaaalllllllllllyyyyyyy sick...like, SICK. I became very familiar with Lucy's bathroom floor and didn't do much moving around for the day...so the Lucys and I ordered a pizza (which I ate none of) and sat around the house watching Nigerian soap operas. Eh, it wasn't the BEST in the world but it was still enjoyable despite feeling nauseated for an entire 24 hours. I'm nearly positive what made me so sick: I've been drinking the regular water at the house in Nakuru (there's really no other water available) which I have (on a couple different occasions) fished out some small water worms or filtered out bizarre moving shapes. I'll be much more careful, but since the people here drink the water, I'd like to also!

The following day, I said goodbye to Lucy as she took a bus to the airport headed home (things at camp are going to be MUCH quieter without her around...) and then hung out with Wycliffe who wanted to introduce me to his family...I didn't know, though, that he lives in the middle of Kibera through some of the poorest sections. We did eventually get there and his family was absolutely beautiful and showered me with homemade birthday bracelets, earrings, and food. I'll have to figure out some way to repay them before I leave!

I'll head back to Nakuru tomorrow (Monday) to begin some more orphan projects. Thank you for all of the birthday texts to my cell and messages on facebook!! When you're feeling really gross AND it's your birthday it's easy to think about home a little too much....but your messages got me through it! Happy Birthday, Maryclaire!!! (I'm still older than you are! =]