Planning for Kenya 'to do list': 1. buy toys!

This summer has been busy and then school start up was busy and then I bought a car (not time consuming but I had to mention it somehow) so I have been neglectful on my planning posts.
But I have managed to get some things trip-related done.


Just in case you missed it, I bought a new car!  Look, it was made in this century
(with cupholders! and power windows!). 
Note the beautiful new fence we had built this summer too (when I say we, I mean we paid for Chuck to build it and he is 100% the reason it is beautiful)

 Planning for Kenya: 'to do list'

1.  Fun stuff for the kids.  Once all of their recorder needs were fulfilled, I thought they might need some other stuff too.  Handily Staples and Walmart were having a price war on back to school supplies in August so I dropped by Staples a couple of time.  I bought 20 or notebooks with a picture of Canada on the front, boxes and boxes of crayons and pencil crayons. 


Thanks for trying to beat Walmart, Staples.
 

A sack of recorders

Tara brought over some things to take.  Some puzzles that Simon, Sam's big brother, contributed and some 'lesson' books for little learners.
I also bought some soccer balls at Sports Traders.  Again, the 'I'm going to Africa to work with kids' line clears paths and lowers prices.  Jessica, who was working the cash area, lowered the price on all of the soccer balls I wanted to $5 each (they are not cheap normally) so I bought six.  Wayne in the back was kind enough to deflate them for me.  They are still kind of bulky but they don't weigh too much and hopefully can fit around stuff.  Plus an air pump to re-inflate them, a few discounted Frisbees and I was set. 

Deflated soccer balls.

Tara and Simon's books and puzzles

I have been researching 'cheap activities for little kids' and most of them involve paint.  So, I have tasked Rhonda with finding some pots of watercolours.  And Anke has requested some classroom banners so that will be my next shopping trip now that the rush of first day teachers (3 weeks late) has passed through the Teacher's Shop. 

Amy, one of the Accounting teachers at work had to clean out her office so she gave me some mini-blackboards.
 I will clean them off so little African kids won't be wandering around looking for the fun in Accounting. 
Even the pre-school kids will already know, the fun is not to be found in Accounting. 
They will be forced to acknowledge that the fun is in Recorders

The family pack of bug spray.

2. Travel clinic.  As always I went to Nova Travel Clinic for my info and vaccines.  No shots this time.  Yay!  Of course, the Dukoral is a given. It is still in my fridge waiting for me to build up my fortitude to drink my one dose.  It is just so gross, I don't care if they tell me it is berry flavor.  Is there such a thing as 'prairie berries' cause it tastes like a liquefied cow patty. 

I have started my typhoid vaccine two days ago.  It is in pill form.  Day 1, pill.  Day 2, no pill.  Day 3 pill,  Day 4, no pill etc until I have finished my four pills.  Not too difficult but I can't take it with other medications or with food for hours before.  Which, now that I am old, is difficult to work around my normal daily pill regime (two) and my busy social life of dinners and beer. 

Because I may be going on a crazy remote, death defying side trip, I am also going to take Malaria medication.  And the 'emergency' ciprofloxacin antibiotic if the Dukoral doesn't cut it.  Plus, I have booked myself in for a flu shot through work. 

 3.  Plan crazy remote death defying side trip.  Last time I was in Africa with my mom, we didn't have time to do any of the 'add ons' for our tour.  So, this time, I want to do the two we didn't do last time.  One is to go to Zanzibar.  It is close and that should be fairly easy.




Um, yes please.  Zanzibar Island
 

 The second was a gorilla safari into Rwanda or Uganda.  This is neither close or fairly easy. I asked Anke about it and she mentioned that there are limited numbers of people allowed near the gorillas per day so I can't just pick up and go at the last minute.  I would have to get a limited spot, with some sort of tour company.  And get to Rwanda or Uganda.  Not so easy to book from Canada. 

It doesn't look that far on this tiny map, but it is.

There are so few left, those black dots
represent individual gorillas (not really)

(Is it just me or is this blog getting very map-heavy?)

Bit of a back track.  I once told my friend Melissa that if I ever die, she can have my cat Gingy-puss.  Just keep that in mind and how adorable and sweet Gingy-puss is as you read this next bit and draw your own conclusions. 

I mentioned this Gorilla plan plus barriers to it to Melissa.  Melissa has an aunt, Jenny, who is from Uganda.  Jenny's brother is the minister of tourism in Uganda.  He has contacts who run tours.  That is all I know.  This may all be happening without me knowing details.  Or it might not be.  Or I might be thrown into the back of a jeep into the loving arms of the mountain gorillas/guerillas.  Who knows.  But I am going with it.  At least Gingy-puss might end up with a food provider who pets her more (but who cleverly plotted the death her previous food source). 

So she can get her arms around this.  I would do the same

Missy will send me into the arms of this...

(Of course I am just kidding, I am amazed and grateful at how much Melissa and Jenny are doing to make this happen for me.  But, just in case, remember that GP likes her Greenie Treats)

Anke is looking into tours as well.  That might be the more obvious option.  But less thrilling, don't you think?  Jenny had the best take on all of this.  When Melissa first mentioned that I wanted to go see the gorillas, Jenny asked why on earth any sane person would go into the jungles of Uganda, they are dangerous.  Melissa had to explain that North American tourists are not sane. Yup, that pretty much covers it.