Lake Naivasha

Perfection in Kenya

* Driving across the Rift Valley eating mango frozen yogurt
* Lunch at Drifters watching the Storks fish and the Egyptian geese argue
* Tea at Elsamere watching the sunset over Lake Naivasha
* Waking up to hippos grazing on the lawn outside my cottage
* Sunset boat ride around Lake Naivasha
* Breakfast in the garden
* Walking with the giraffes and zebras in Crater Lake
* Drinking pineapple juice on an overhang watching Crater Lake
* Hiking into a crater
* Sunset on the escarpment

Traveling Blues

I'm headed to Nairobi to do a training. I'll be there a week. This is probably the first time I've been rather dreading traveling. I"m pretty exhausted from the PNG to South Carolina trip and although I've flown to Berlin adn London since returning, they were short but grueling trips. Could it be that I've lost my travel gene?

On the plus side, 8 hours uninterrupted to sleep, read, or watch movies is a nice pleasure. If only Simon were with me!

Life is Life

Sometimes I just love Dutch tv. The commercials that I don't understand. The earnest talk show hosts I don't understand. The silly game shows I don't understand.

Art in Amsterdam

I've decided to take an art workshop. It's not quite lessons - I'm not sure what its going to be like. My first time was this morning. I cycled over to the studio on CzarPeterLaan at 10am and knocked on the window to be let in. We drank tea, looked at teh photo I had brought of something I felt close to, discussed supplies, talked about what would be the best way to render it, and then another person showed up so we drank tea, ate strawberry cake, and talked about religion and healthcare.

After a very pleasant three hours, I cycled in the stiff wind to the supply shop and bought some paper, some pastels, and (since I was near the market) some apples and asters.

I didn't once touch an art supply to try to draw anyting - I just talked about it a lot. This could be the perfect new pastime for me! I like talking about knitting. I like talking about taking tango lessons. I like talking about going to the gym. I like talking about playing my flute. I like talking about taking long bike rides. When it comes down to actually doing it - sometimes the reality is not as nice as the fantasy. So maybe my new art workshop will involve me talking about painting and drawing alot without having to actually produce anything that will not live up to my fantasies of my own art.

Virtual Reality - better than the real thing.