between two live chickens

i thought i should come and check the internet today seeing as last time i spent boxing day outside of canada there was a tsunami and i didn't know about it until over a week later. so far, it seems as though i have not missed any global events.

in a strange twist of fate, i will be visiting a hippo orphaned in the tsunami later today. apparently he has befriended a very old tortoise at a nearby park and you can go and visit them. for a small fee, i am sure.

christmas in mombasa was hot and sticky. but i ate freshly caught prawns for dinner and sat around playing uno, trying to learn to love gin and tonic. i was successful in winning the game of uno, but unsuccessful in my attempts to love g & t's. i am blaming the tonic, which is doubly bad as it also has quinine in it which kills the malaria.

speaking of which, it is a good thing that i took anti-malarials as my feet have been consumed by mosquitos and i am more afraid of needles to test for malaria than malaria itself. which i know makes no sense at all.

mombasa seems to be more poor than nairobi but also more safe and although the town doesn't seem to have much to offer, the white sand beaches and camels wandering about make my days staring out at the vast expanse of water a little more enjoyable.

i have had only a few encounters with gigantic insects, a few battles with the ant infestation in our kitchen, and a 20 minute show down with a moth stuck in my mosquito net, but i nearly jumped out of the matatu when i realised that there were men holding live chickens in plastic bags on either side of me on christmas morning. as you may remember, i have had a few run-ins with pigeons in london and have developed a slight phobia of winged creatures and being in a confined space with beings with beaks and claws was enough to illicite some nervous laughs and deep breaths. but i survived without being touched by the filthy things. happy birthday jesus.