Ta me ag dul abhaile
on Mike in Mombassa (Kenya), 31/Jul/2009 19:22, 34 days ago
I was strangely apprenhensive in the weeks before going home. Couldn't quiet put my finger on why. Suppose you always wonder if things will be different; people have moved on, changed. Or indeed, more vainly, whether you have. Thankfully, after my first pint of Guinness, on the first night back, I felt right at home. It was like mother's milk, and I slept like a baby.The weeks after that were a whirlwind of people and places...Birdhill- Welcome home Party for me and Brother Paul- Family time- Climbing Carauntoohill with Bro Paul and Nephew Matt (6 hours! My legs were jelly for 2 days)- Family time and visit from college crewDublin- Amdahl Lads BBQ (We were far too happy to see each other)Loughrea- Pete gaff and time with Godson and his bros (Pete's young lads are gas)Athenry- Cooked dinner for, and catch up with, Morag and Edel. There were no fatalities.Galway- Pints, labouring (have the bruises to prove it too) and and wedding prep (I wouldn't have been anywhere else.)Spanish Point- Wedding prep, wedding, post wedding (Mighty, absolutely Mighty!)- Pictures...coming soon...here is one for now.Dublin- AC/DC concert with Amdahl Lads (Thunder! Na-na-na-na na-na-na-na!)Galway- Final vistits with Sandra, Teds and MajBirdhill- time out with family and Callum's birthday, with biggest bouncy castle I have ever seen...They were so happy to be getting rid of me they were dancing in the kitchen! Loads of hugging and out the door.Dublin- Quiet time in IoP before departure + Leaving dinnerLondon- Impromtu BBQ in Ado's and Julie's (Richie has a nice rack...Of ribs, behave!)Nairobi- VSO office visits, welcome new volunteers (i.e. free food), Squash games, homesickness, and Diana's Birthday Party (Big thanks to Peter an Emily for putting me up)Back in work in Mombasa on Friday (10th) and a day of greeting people and handing out 'candy' and old mobile phones. I had a grand old time catching up with friends and on recent events.There would be time enough for work on Monday.M.Cultural Learning-----------------If you're gonna try to explain 'the bog' and 'turf' to a Kenyan, bring pictures.Note: I'm going try to get back to blogging more regularly.