off to Nairobi, 48 hours early ...

Happy (belated) Birthday Dad! I called yesterday and woke him up on his birthday. Lucky number twelve.

I'm headed to Nairobi tomorrow afternoon, taking the first step of my journey home, a little earlier than expected. It turns out I've got to make a date change for my flight home at the end of the school year, and you can ONLY do it in person, at the Emirates Airlines office in Nairobi. Kind of a long story, but some of their bookings are still made the old-fashioned way. So, to catch them during business hours, I've got to head up to Kenya. It's a bit hectic, and I definitely didn't finish all the Christmas shopping (!) I'd intended to do here ... everyone is going to get Kilimanjaro tea bags for Christmas.

In addition, I've been feeling pretty sick the last few days, with bad body aches in the afternoon and feverish nights of sleep. But today I got malaria tests from 2 separate, reliable clinics here in Arusha, and they're negative. I've probably caught some little thing. But it wasn't a fun way to spend the day, sitting in waiting rooms, getting hot flashes. I had an interesting discussion with the "doctor" at the first clinic, who didn't examine me, asked about 2 questions re: my symptoms, and asserted that Ortho Tri-Cyclen is not a drug or medication, but a "supplement." This is the same doctor who, despite my negative malaria lab test, prescribed me an intense 4-day anti-malarial course.

Sigh.

Hopefully I'll feel better so that I can explore Nairobi a little bit before I fly out Sunday night. There's supposed to be fabulous shopping, Indian food, and a big proper movie theater ... otherwise, I'll be holed up at the Backpackers, catching up on my Z's and dreaming of a snowy NYC arrival. In less than four days, I'll be filling up the hug tanks at home in Mansfield!