Apparently all i had to do to kick ass at bowling was move to another continent?? Huh.

And maybe one day i'll move to Australia and actually start going to the gym? LOL! NAAAAAAH! 

But i'm getting ahead of myself as always...

So Thursday night we went to the Canadian High Commission for the social gathering that happens every month. Joanna and i got stuck in traffic (really though, in Nairobi it doesn't matter what time of day it is or what day of the week, you will ALWAYS get stuck in traffic) so we didn't get there until 7ish and the food was done! So what option is there other than to use our food/drink tickets on drinks? Oi. i feel like everyone that reads this is gonna be under the impression that all we do here is drink....that's only partly true, i swear! So anyways, there was this lady there that does some charity thing at every one of these gatherings (her name escapes me...) and this time around it was bowling, so of course we signed up! We also made friends with some army guys who offered me a placement in Kabul (i'll give you a minute to picture that in your mind and have a good, hearty laugh about it. Done? Moving right along). It was a lovely evening, and afterwards Joanna and i went to our regular place, Sipper's, to mix some food in with all the alcohol that was causing havoc in my stomach! 

On Friday we went to Rongai to continue with the youth forums. A colleague of mine conducted this one so i mostly sat listening and doodling in my notebook. i decided that i would take a break from drinking every day of the week and rest up Friday night. i went to this place called Java House, which is like the Kenya version of Starbucks (*tear*), had me a latte and the first slice of apple pie that i've had here (so 2 months). It was soooooooo good, i almost ordered a second slice. But then i remembered that i still need to fit in my pants when i get back home and so i restrained myself :o(

And then Saturday was bowling day! We went to this place called Village Market, which is a shopping center that's near the UN compound and all the embassies (Read: The rich and mostly white part of town). Seriously, the shopping centers here are NOTHING like what we have back home. Take the fanciest mall you can think, multiply that by 20, and you're somewhere in the ballpark of the fanciness. There was a waterfall inside! And a water slide! WTF?! We took some photos on Saturday, there's one overlooking the "food court" so you can gauge the level of fanciness i'm talking about. 

But as always, i digress! So we went bowling and, um, guess who was NUMBER ONE FEMALE BOWLER!?!? MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! i won more bowling, but i don't think i'm gonna use it. i think i'm gonna keep the voucher as a souvenir that for once, i was number one at something that is technically considered a sport. HA! You can see me holding my prize in the photo where i look super excited. Because yes, i was THAT excited to actually win. Also, note one of the first photos where it looks like i'm doing some sort of human-airplane imitation. i kid you not, THAT is my bowling form. i ain't kidding when i say i'm normally terrible at bowling! 

It was a good time though, we had a great team (made up mostly of French Canadians and an American, just to keep us on our toes...). The first game was normal bowling and the second was wacky bowling, so you had to do things like bowl while holding a partner's hand, bowl through a partner's legs, etc. Hence all the photos where we're bowling sitting down and such. Just so you know that we DO actually know that that's not how bowling is usually played. But a couple of things to note about the photos: See the one of me bowling backwards between my legs? See how there's only one pin left? And see how the ball looks like its heading towards that last one? Yep. Number. Freakin'. One. Also, note the one where the dude in the yellow shirt is bowling between my legs (and i'm holding all the goodies so as to protect my livelihood, i mean protect my sensitive areas). Look where the ball is headed...yep, he got a strike on that one (some say it was so because we make a good team, others say i brought him luck, yet others claim it was because i was covering my lady bits so he had nothing to be distracted by. i maintain it was sheerly because of my powers of awesome that i was able to control the ball and steer it towards a strike. No biggie.)

So that was bowling. Afterwards Joanna and i ran to the travel bureau to FINALLY book our flight to Mombassa. We leave Thursday, come back Monday morning! Ah! So exciting! Afterwards i thought, what better way to celebrate booking a weekend on a beach paradise than to get a bikini wax! And so off i went. They make their own wax here, made from sugar, water and lime juice and then boil it for 30 minutes. And ladies, you can sleep through it. It barely hurts! So then to celebrate not crying during waxing, we got pedicures. What a girly thing to do! We then went back to my place and i made dinner all by myself! (My mom's/Rashmis recipe for aloo gobi). See the attached photo for proof that i am slowly but surely becoming a domestic goddess. 

Then on Sunday i wandered over to the Masai market early in the morning to pick up some Christmas presents. Then Joanna picked me up and I drove us to the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. Yep. ME. DROVE. ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD. Holy stressful Batman! Driving on the left side is one of those things i've always wanted to do before i die, but now that i can check that off the bucket list, i'm more than content to have my lazy mzungu butt driven around by other people. It's stressful! Not to mention that people drive like CRAZIES in Nairobi!! We've befriended a taxi driver and he drives us all the time here (he loves us because i'm pretty sure Joanna and i are putting his kids through college with how much coin he makes off of us) and he was kind enough to let us drive (he had offered to let me drive before but i had to grow a pair first...) and i'm pretty sure he was pooping himself the entire time. What an experience! 

So anyways, i drove us to Westgate mall and honestly, we thought there was no way it could get any nicer than the shopping center we were at on Saturday. But BOY were we wrong. They had a freakin' Benetton! And $400 Gucci shoes! Holy crap! White people live like kings here, honestly. We tried taking a photo (The last one of me making a "where the eff are we?" face) but we were immediately approached by a security guard who told us "NO PHOTOS!" and thus Sunday photo-taking adventures were pre-maturely ended. Sorry!

But yet again, i digress! So we went to have brunch with a lovely girl named Chantal that we had met at the embassy on Thursday (she works for immigration, P-I-M-P!) and it was a lovely afternoon. The cafe was very nice, very fancy, and very delicious (Ceasar Salad and apple pie for yours truly, so much for fitting in my pants by Christmas!) Then we went to see This Is It (the Michael Jackson movie) and i loooooved it. So good yet so sad at the same time. Very well done. Then we went back to my place and i met my neighbour, a young guy that goes to university and spends pretty much all his free time partying. So, um, i think we'll get along juuuuust fine. 

And now you're all caught up no everything agata! Now it's Monday and i'm sitting in front of my computer as always. Thursday we're off to Mmmmbassa (we don't have a place to stay yet, but i'm sure we'll sort all that out). To be honest, home sickness has kinda hit me hard this past week. i don't know whether its the disappointment over my job, or the stress of my MRP, or the fact that i have a giant cold sore (it's sooo uuuuugly!) but i've been finding myself thinking more and more about how excited i am to come back home because i miss everyone and everything TONS. Don't get me wrong, i'm sure you can tell from my posts that i'm having a blast, but i've just kinda hit that point where i could use a night of my mom's home cooked meals, ya know? But aaaanyways, before i start feeling TOO sorry for myself, i'ma peace out! 

love love love love love love you all!!