Hujambo!

It is finally time to meander over to Kenya! We have waited so long to learn the mysteries of this vast continent, and soon we will uncover important truths like the proper pronunciation of “Kenya.” Is it “Ken-ya” or “Keenya?” The jury is still out, but will convene soon (probably something like three days from now). Our itinerary has us waking up before the crack of dawn to fly to Chicago, and then we touch down in London’s Heathrow and then finally, sometime on Friday, we fly into Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta. Wooo!

Yesterday Sara trimmed my fro and today I did a final number on my beard, so I think I look pretty presentable now. We spent our last day in America packing, enjoying a pre-departure feast at Denny’s, and watching Into The Wild at the movie theater (great movie, but the book was even better). I don’t know about Sara, but one of the comforts I will miss the most is American-style breakfast. I’m not usually a “bacon and eggs” kind of guy, but after two weeks of eating curry for breakfast in India I was ready for some freakin’ pancakes, ya know?!

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Day 2000 of doing absolutely nothing. Well, it hasn’t exactly been 2000 days and we haven’t exactly been doing nothing. It has, however, been very interesting, boring and numbing being here in San Diego. Days are/were spent at the beach, sleeping in, taking the bus to save money (and to kill time) and watching endless documentaries.

Since the weather has turned cold and windy our beach-going days are over. So I had to find something else to occupy my time. Enter: Mervyn’s. Nanci, Alan’s mom, drove past one and saw a “Join Our Team” sign out in front. After finishing the application from hell and giving away more information than even Alan knows, I sat back and waited for them to reject me. Two days went by without a word from them. I thought they had taken my information and emptied my bank account (since it’s so full). Then I got that fateful call… they wanted me to come in for an interview. I don’t know why I was nervous, but the man who did the interview was very nice and I was hired on the spot. Read more

As many of you know, I had been studying to take the Registered Dietitian exam. Well, no more! I am officially a dietitian and I couldn’t be happier. What’s important to know about dietitians is that we are legally bound to provide scientific-based nutrition information to the public. What that means is that we are the experts on food. Foodies, as I like to say. Read more

As we previously thought, we were leaving for Kenya on September 3rd. However, the date has been pushed back. Oh well, we’ll get there eventually.

We were recently in Canada where we were taking some VSO training courses, and eating awesome shawarmas. For whatever reasons, Ottawa has a large Lebanese population, so there are Shawarma King chains on every corner!

Here’s a cute picture of me at the hotel…

I’ve been reading a lot (see my post asking for suggested readings), and Sara’s been studying. Yuck, right? “School’s out forever!” right? Wrong. Sara’s got a very important test coming up in a few weeks in order to become a Registered Dietitian. She’s taking the test next week… wish her luck!

In a major milestone towards Alan and Sara moving to Kenya, Alan graduated this past weekend! Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems, baby!

Kenya is getting closer and closer… Sara graduates June 8th, and then we’ll be off to Canada for some training. Stay tuned!!