Exeter, England

I've spent the last 5 days in Exeter with a great friend, Annika, who I met in India. Exeter is in Devon, southwest of London near the coast. It is quintessential English countryside with the green rolling hills and tons of sheep. The town is very quaint, very English with a massive cathedral and the Exe River river flowing through. I have been exposed to proper English tea with clotted cream and scones, fish and chips, and Sunday roastie. Spending time with Annika and her friends has really made me miss my friends back home!

I've been 'wankering' on (i have learned some interesting English words which I'll try to incorporate) about being in the UK for so long, but I've come to realize that this time is preparing me for when I come home. I have been so busy running around, visiting friends, spending time with family, that I haven't spent any time alone. I have barely written in my journal or on the blog. And when I do get to it, I find it difficult to get inside my brain and heart and write about what's going on. I have to practice listening so I can understand my feelings and thoughts and connect them with what's happening in my life and in my environment. I know it sounds like I'm over thinking things, but for me it's much more rewarding (albeit challenging) to be able to listen and understand my feelings and write about them, than it is to ignore.

It's been a challenge for me to incorporate the 'new' me with the 'old' me. But I think I've found my way and the feeling of coming home is stronger than it has been in months. I have really missed connecting with my friends. Part of that, of course, is because I've been gone, but I think a bigger part is b/c I understand myself so much better. My priorities have changed. For me, there is more to life than I previously thought. My decisions, thoughts and feelings come from a different place. I do things differently, I have new perspective, I feel whole, but yet not complete. But that's ok, because it gives me something to look forward to. And, as crazy as it sounds, there are times when I have really missed having a companion. For the times when my journeys are frustrating and for when they are extraordinary an arm around the shoulder would be enough. But, I realize for that to happen, I have to be a little more stationary, but just a little :)

So, as I said before, I'm getting ready to come home, but I'm not quite done yet. I really want to end this trip on my own, just like I started. So I think another 2 months should do it.

I know what you're thinking: 'bollucks'.

Lisbon and Northern Portugal

Lisbon, like many European cities, is full of plazas, pedestrian streets and old churches. But what's a little different in Lisbon is the Moorish influence in the architecture and neighborhood. So lots of tile work with intricate designs, symmetrical patters, etc. Mom and I meandered through the narrowest winding streets in the Alfama area, relaxed with some fantastic Portuguese pastries at an outdoor cafe and window shopped throughout the city.

But, Lisbon is a big city, and one day is enough and we were there for 3, so I was done.
I did buy some great shoes.
I learned that Obrigada/o is thank you in Portuguese.

Northern Portugal was beautiful. Very green and mountainous. We took a day long river cruise through the Port wine growing region in Porto and saw Europe's oldest university in Coimbra.
We were staying in some luxurious hotels, with swimming pools and hair dryers (thanks mom!) until I saw the room rate and then it was back to the Lonely Planet. Actually we stayed in some very quaint guest houses that included breakfast. I think even mom was impressed. Breakfast wasn't usually a feast. But the Portuguese must really love their baked goods b/c most mornings we would have freshly baked pastries and bread. Except once, we must have had some day old bread b/c I look up and mom is chasing her pat of butter around the bread with her knife. The coffee is hit or miss. And actually I haven't written about this b/c I think I'm blocking it out. But most of the world thinks that Nescafe is coffee. Not many people understand the beast that lurks within coffee drinkers and how we need beans not granules or powder. Now, I'm by no means undermining Nescafe b/c I realize that some people are fiendish about it. But I swear I have had enough Nescafe to last a lifetime, so I'm always on the look out for the real stuff. A few times in Jordan I ordered a Turkish coffee, but I used my teeth as a sieve and that kinda sucked.

The Algarve, Portugal

Just my luck that Mom wanted to go to Portugal, so here we are! We spent 4 days driving around the southern coast and up the west coast to Lisbon. I've been driving, which is hysterical, bc the last time I drove was in New Zealand and I was on the left side of the road in a giant SUV. Now I´m back on the right side of the road, in a tiny, manual transmission VW Polo. Half the time I´m questioning what side of the road should I be on and looking left when I should be looking right - scary, right? I also find the street signs really confusing. For example, there´s a round red sign with a red car and a black car - WTF, am I red, am I black? And once I figure out what color, what do I do? The roundabouts are MASSIVE and make me sweat. That coupled with mom navigating from the passenger seat, yelling to turn right, (well it´s a circle, mom, what does turn right mean?), driving will be the end of me. And if we don't die on the city roads, we'll for sure meet our demise while on the highway. The suggested speed is 120 km/hr (75mph). I am the only one going 120. So I bump it up to 130 so at least I can pass the trucks.

We flew into Faro which is the main city in the south. Neither one of us were really interested in the city, so we headed east to Tavira. A very quaint town with a river running through it to the ocean. We only had 4 days to make our way to Lisbon, so we hopped around a lot, but we did manage to spend a few quality days on the beach. The weather was gorgeous and I've brought new meaning to the word tan :) We stayed in Sagres and Vila do Milfontes, two sleepy surf towns...did you know that the west coast of Portugal is a great surf spot? Neither did I and was looking forward to checking out the action (come on now, everyone is a sucker for a surfer) but the surf was blown out by the wind. Regardless, just chillin' was good enough.

Mom and I are headed to Lisbon for 3 days...

London, England

London is stupid expensive. If things were equal, pounds to dollars, then it would be manageable, but when you double the price of everything it gets ridiculous. For example...a prepackaged sandwich is £4 (that's $8 for the challenged), train and tube all day card is £7, a beer is £3.60, jeans that I really wanted were £88, shoes I bought were £99. For the love.

Anyway, enough complaining!
I spent 4 days in London before Nairobi and I'll be here for a week, before Mom and I head to Portugal. London is a very hip, chic city. Everyone is well dressed, well groomed, well everything. Even the men take time to pimp themselves out. I think I've seen more hair product on men than women. The 'do' that's really popular is the grown out mohawk, it's actually very sexy when done right, but laughable b/c you know that the man sporting this ´do, spent way too much time on it. In most department stores, the men´s skin care products rival the women´s counter. I heard two men talking about moisturizer. I think the term is 'metro-sexual'. However, ridiculous it may seem to us, Californians, it´s refreshing to see some effort being put into appearance :) I, on the other hand, have nothing to say, since I wear the same thing 5 days in a row, until it stands up on it´s own, and then just one more day, bc I can´t be bothered to do laundry. HA! Ok, not that bad, but when you only have 5 shirts, options are limited.

Nairobi, Kenya

Yes, back in Africa and I love it! I was invited to tag along and help at a Sports Festival for my religious community. Most of you know that I grew up Ismaili Muslim, but I have been 'out of practice' for the past 15 years (or so). So why did I decided to come to the Games? It took me a while to figure it out, but I realize that I miss the sense of community. Aside from the religious aspect, Ismailis are very involved in volunteering and in third world development. Which is something that has become more and more important to me as I gain insight on myself during this trip. But again, what was I doing spending a week with 5000 other Ismaili's? I won't lie, it was a little overwhelming at times. But I took my time outs to regroup and it was a very rewarding experience.

I didn't see much of Nairobi, since most of my time was spent in a cab or bus to and from the 'Village' and the Kasarani Sports Center. Did you know that Nairobi is the 3rd most dangerous city in Africa? Yeah, I didn't know either until I got into town. Probably would have helped to do a bit of research before just jumping on a plane. I mean even walking across the street is dangerous. Security at the hotel was tight, especially since we stayed downtown. I never felt targeted, but we heard stories, and that was enough for me to keep my solo meanderings to a minimum.

The Games were amazing. There were athletes from 20 countries, including Syria, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, UK, US, Canada, Uganda, Tanzania and of course, Kenya. All together about 1200, participating in volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming, track & field, table tennis, badminton & chess (is this really a sport? no offense). I knew that I would be recruited to help and I was all for it. I volunteered to help with the player's uniforms. We pressed flags and numbers on thousands of jerseys. Although the majority of the work was done the week before, we repressed all of the Syrian athletes shirts at least twice. Logistics were great but something always falls through the cracks.

I was overwhelmed by the Kenyan hospitality and the coordination effort of countless volunteers, who worked 18+ months, in addition to their regular jobs, who made the Games such a success. On the first day I met Laila, from the UK, who knew about half of the people at the games. Therefore, I was introduced to about 2000 people in a week - no joke. Her and I meeting wasn't an accident. I was in need of the community and she brought me to it. By the end of the week, people were greeting me like we were old friends. I made some friends for life, in a week (!). As far as connecting with others, this trip has been the most rewarding thing I've done.

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina

The bus ride from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo was absolutely beautiful. Bosnia-Herzcegovina (BH) is lush and green, contrary to what I thought. The coast is more rock than green, but traveling inland, the landscape turned almost rainforest like. We drove along a dark emerald green river with mountains climbing up either side. The water was so still in some places you could see the leaves reflected. The towns are very small with white buildings and red tile roofs. Most of the stone/brick buildings were destroyed in the war, remnants of which we saw on the drive.

Sarajevo is a great city, lots of energy and a good vibe. But again with the war damaged buildings! Ten story apartment buildings that have bullet holes (still!) and in some places where something larger hit, the concrete is crumbled down to the re-bar. There is also a street called 'sniper alley' where I'm sure you can guess what happened. The Holiday Inn where all the journalists holed up covering the war is now a tourist spot and the tunnels they used to get people and goods in and out of the city is a museum.

I think being in these countries makes such an impact on me because the war started when I was in high school, so old enough to read about it, watch it on the news and understand what was happening. It's completely overwhelming to actually see the damage. But they are independent now and people love their country. It's a very welcoming and beautiful feeling when you come to a country where the people are happy just being citizens, where family and friends come first and everything else is the means to being able to spend time with those you love.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

I arrived in Dubrovnik yesterday...it's a stunning city. The old city is walled in complete with turrets, clock tower and the oldest running pharmacy in all of Europe, I think. It's hard to think that this city, this country, was at war just 17 years ago. I met a Croatian who said the 'worst things' were the grenades coming over the wall and the sniper fire. He said the entire Old City was on fire and the walls crumbling from attack, right where we were sitting. You can still see bullet holes in the sides of buildings and part of structures that they just never rebuilt. It's pretty intense.

So, I don't think I've mentioned, but it's been raining for the past few days, not all day, but there are a few hours when it's thunder, lightening and a torrential downpour. Of course I sent my rain coat back with Zahra, thinking the worst of it was over. But today is beautiful and I'm headed to the beach. The beaches along the Adriatic are mostly just rocks, sometimes small and sometimes boulders. I just end up pushing them around until I get them to support me. Believe me, I'm definitely not complaining!

I'm headed to Sarajevo tomorrow for a quick 2 night stay because I'm flying to London on Wednesday and then back to Africa on Sunday! I've had a little change in travel plans. I got in touch with an old friend who is volunteering at a sports festival in Nairobi and invited me along. So I'm heading out on Sunday for a week :) I know, crazy me.