Surreal

JAMBO.

wow. im here. i cant quite believe im chilling in africa, eating chapati, surrounded by chickens and listening to 25 screaming (in a happy way) little children. 

 Prince! (yes he did turn out to be a boy)

The last 24 hours have probably been some of my most crazy to date. It started when dad left me at heathrow and in a supreme-daddys-girl style i had a meltdown in the girls toilets. came out completely distraught to see a queue full of people looking at me with great worry. AWKWARD. so yeh... then i manned up... found my plane, flew to nairobi, made friends with a lovely local who fast tracked me through customs. Made friends with an indian man.. but later found out he was only interested in my pringles, which he certainly was not getting. so yeh.. all went smooth. until it was time for my connetion flight to kitale.

For starters i did the proper tourist thing of downing 2 bottles of water that i wouldnt be able to get through customs. Which meant that i desperately needed to pee. as you can see by the size of my bags... getting into a cubicle was FUN. shoved one against the door, put one on ma head. only to realise that the bag on the door was so heavy that it had pulled the door open while i was just sat there, baring all to the streets of nairobi.

so yeh. but flustered after that. but managed to check in (may i add they didnt once check my passport/bags/tickets. hah) and went to sit in the departure lounge. My flight was finally called and i got on the plane feeling all independant and smooth. Til they were doing the final checks 'to mombasa... all those to mombasa'..... thats when my brain (on ten minutes sleep in 24 hours) went.. mombasa? thats not kitale is it? had to casually back of the plane and leg it across the airport to the real one. that my friends, is why airport staff should check tickets.

So then i arrived in Kitale airport. Which is literally a field with a shed in. On the drive home it hit me i was in africa. AFRICA. it was hard not to realise when we had to emergency stop because 2 cows came hurtling out of the bushes having a bit of a wrestle, then decided to take on the taxi.

And then i arrived at mercy. The people here are just so beyond lovely. I got out the car and the staff and children all gathered round singing and dancing in welcome. The children are just gorgeous. the most easy going kids you can imagine. I felt a bit overwhelemed at first - what with the lack of sleep, malaria tablets and general culture shock. But prince came waddling up to me and we just sat and chilled for half an hour. I've never known a 1 year old just sit still, nothing to play with and just enjoy the attention for that length of time. just... adorable. all of them. The centre is huge, way bigger than i imagined, a really lovely place for these children to grow up. plus i get an ensuite (Y)

So thats it for today, im here, gradually getting settled. The children are all off to bed so i need to go and say goodnight. For those of you who are the praying kind... i may have slightly taken my malaria tablet quite late (MUM DONT READ THAT EVERYTHING FINE PROMISE XXX) so prayers that that one doesnt... cause issues. also continued prayers for my anxiety/safety/energy levels would be so appreciated. I have taken on a new role of climbing frame for 25 babies... and on my levels on energy at the moment is quite challenging!

I hope you're all well. please skype me (georgie-hallett .... not the one in finland) if you want to see the children/catch up. your time between 9-10 is best because thats their nap time.

So much love to you all

p.s. look after my mum xxxxxx