Blowing Vuvuzela's

t-4 DAYS!!!!!!!

Jambo wote (Hey everyone!)... Still the only word that I can confidently say in Swahili, aside from Poa which means cool, a word which I will probably use about thirty times a day as my jaw will be in a ‘perma-fixed & dropped’ position from all of the out of this world things I am about to see! Good news though, I am becoming quite the best of friends with my Swahili dictionary over the past few days, although it is like one of those relationships where two people don’t speak the same language and you just kind of stare at each other with a puzzled look on your face. I have however managed to string this little winner together:

Sikusema Kiswahili bado, lakini ninajaribu, which is supposed to mean: I still cannot speak Swahili, but I am trying….although based on the puzzled look I continue to share with my dictionary it probably means something along the lines of…”I am a baboon who knows nothing of Swahili!” I will continue to share some special moments with my little friend before I head off to Afrika (Africa in Swahili)!

To prove my devotion my mum was able to pull a quick one on me and snap this shot of me hard at work. I must say this picture makes me proud, as I even colour coded some of the words……it was however a slight illusion as the next picture she got told the real story behind the scene. Actually that little book no longer exists, it was burned in a rage of fury as the three lions (ENGLAND) tied to America. AMERICA!??? Of all the teams they could have tied with…..

Oh well at least the truly important teams (those that come from Africa) are doing an epic job and keeping strong! South Africa plays again tomorrow, and I have made it a goal of mine to find a vuvuzela and bring the spirit of the world cup back to everyone here in Canada! (And because I think I might dress up like a bee for Halloween and I think it would be unbelievably cool to have crazy realistic sound effects). I have also made it a goal to play football (soccer) with as many people as I possibly can, even though I know the kids in Kenya have mad talent and I…not so much. If any East 5er, or Laureena/Sean would know…Intramural soccer this winter + 3 games + 2 days = UNABLE TO MOVE THE LOWER HALF OF MY BODY! I do hope that my hours of grueling bike rides along Baview will have built up the tiniest bit of strength in my legs to prevent such a disastrous effect form happening again!

So since the last update I must say I have been in intense mental preparations for many things, among other, facial hair. I know this sounds crazy, but the thought of growing little curly hairs from my face is more frightening to me than any sort of spider or snake that Africa could throw at me. (Although if I actually did encounter one of these creatures, I might change my mind). I have also packed my things for the trip (well kind of) and even have space left over in my pack which I am truly impressed by! It just means that I may be able to fulfill yet another dream of bringing a baby giraffe back to Canada and keeping him in my bathroom at school! (I would also of course take it for walks around campus, and hopefully one day ride it to work because I never plan on owning a car). I also watched the Constant Gardner with Hayley tonight (a movie you should all see) and it filled me with immense levels of excitement as it was filmed in Kibera, the slum I will be hopefully staying in on my independent travel time! In one of the scenes it showed an airplane on approach to land, and it flew so close to the slum! All I can say is I better have a window seat on that plane because I really want to see that view!

Anyways, that is my little update for Today! Hopefully I can get one last post up before I meet up with the team at the airport on Sunday! AHHHH I’m so stoked to meet them because they all sound unbelievably poa! I have also managed to select my reading for the trip (among many book trades which I’m excited about (p.s. who new how much fun reading was when it didn’t come from a textbook)! “Three cups of tea” and “Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller.” STOKKEKD

P.s. again! I know that I am probably the worst speller in history, so don’t mind what will probably be many a mistake. If it doesn’t make sense, just replace the word that is spelt wrong with ‘poa’ and laugh!

4 more sleeps till Nairobi,

PEACE!

-Savanah Joe (My new nickname)