on the eve of arrival in KENYA!

i am in africa. it's true!

have spent the day mostly sleeping, truth be told. my flight napping en route from jfk to cairo was interrupted by a passenger who may have been having a heart attack, and i was woken from uncomfortable contorted sleep by an overhead page for any 'physicians.' well. i marched right up to the flight attendants anyway and introduced myself as a nurse. there was another passenger as well, a head&neck cancer surgeon, who was helpful and knowledgeable. the passenger in question was stable throughout the rest of the flight, managed with oxygen. i now know that there are oxygen canisters on flights for just such occasions, and a fairly well-stocked med kit on-board too, although we had the flight attendants make another overhead page for aspirin (NOT tylenol) and some other people came along with nitroglycerin as well. i have learned never again to travel without my own personal professional awesome littman cardiology stethoscope and blood pressure cuff in carry-on luggage, as the ones on the plane were horrible and we couldn't hear anything with the scope and i think the cuff was not at all accurate. in any case we avoided needing to do chest compressions at 35,000 feet and tried to encourage the passenger to seek medical attention as soon as we landed. i hope this worked, he attributed his symptoms to 'something he ate'.

i, on the other hand, made a beeline to the pyramids at giza as soon as i landed. literally 15 minutes after landing i was in a cab, after exchanging currency and pleading my case for a transit visa stamp with egyptian customs. off i went, to the pyramids, through cairo at high speed (mom, really, drivers overseas make my vehicle operation skills appear tame, perhaps even sedate!!) taking in the sights of mosques, ancient historical ruins intermingled with modern day structures. we crossed the nile (the NILE!!!) which is stunning in its own right.

as soon as i caught sight of the pyramids in the distance, though, from the city, i was entranced. and that was that, i had arrived. but really, i hadn't yet, and the driver i hired for the day deposited me with some horseback tour guides. which meant that i was a horseback tourist. it's been a while since i've been in the saddle, but i hopped astride an equine friend, aida and off we went, circumnavigating the massive wall and fence that outline the pyramid site. there are few entrances, all of which are guarded scrupulously by 'the government' as my guide told me, and people charging admission. i did receive a student discount for admission, however :)

pyramids. they are phenomenal. gorgeous. breathtaking. there you are, in the sahara, aloft a horse while listening to the haunting call to worship from the minarets of cairo's mosques while looking at one of the most stunning historical accomplishments of civilization. ever. chilling amidst the afternoon desert sun.

one of my favorite scenes the whole day, though fleeting, was a flock of birds on the wing, alight over the ruins of a mosque at sunset in old cairo. nothing at the market could even come close to the pyramids or birds. certain female family members will have to wait for their egyptian treats (!!) and i'll have to decide which ones you will receive. but the pyramids. incredible.

i shared a nice meal with the driver, which included some scrumptous baba ganoush and grilled mutton. i managed to decline baklava at the bakery across the street from the restaurant, shockingly. there was still more traveling and those treats don't always sit as well as one would wish.

back to the airport to catch my flight to nairobi via khartoum. i was sitting alone, reading 'cherry ames, mountaineer nurse' (thanks, eden!!) when some very kindly and curious flight attendants from kenya airways joined me in the waiting area. they greeted me and started a conversation. now, being an introvert, and somewhat disoriented by jetlag, i wasn't sure how conversational i could be. but it wasn't a problem. these folks were so pleasant they carried the whole thing themselves, looking eagerly at my kenya travel map with me and pointing out their hometowns and asking me about my trip, which of course i could talk about at length. it was a nice start to a nice flight. kenya airways has bumped korean air from the top spot of my airway choices, for comfort and courtesy. and they have safari animals on their salt, pepper, tea, sugar, and creamer packets, as well as safari-themed pillowcases (one of which made it into my personal bag...) for the airplane pillows!

never imagined i'd land in sudan, but there i was at 3 am, on a darkened airfield in khartoum. couldn't see much, and slept through the takeoff. woke next for breakfast and a sunrise over kenya at about 5:30. the mountains caught the young pink light just right. we landed at about 6:45, and walked off the plane onto the tarmac en route to the entry hall. the warm sun was all i needed to know that i was here, and here for a happy while. visa acquisition and luggage retrieval were atypically painless, for which i am eternally grateful.

tomorrow i take off for kisii, a town near lwala, in a shared minibus, or matatu. perhaps there will be some livestock passengers! i will haul myself and my luggage (which was NOT over the weight limit for air travel, thank goodness, i dared not think what i would have to do with all of the donated medical supplies else) to the small rural community i will call home and family for the next month. i think i am caught up on sleep, nice long nap today, ready for bed again now. i have no worries. i am here, i am in africa. i am content and at peace :)