Hashers at Gay Pride...

It had been three years since we were in town during Amsterdam’s Gay Pride Boat Parade. We were thrilled to get an invite to brunch at Abbie and Derek’s in the heart of the city. After we ate, we went on a short walk where we encountered thousands of people lined up along the main canal. I was happy to be able to stake out a spot to take photos from the stairs in front of this building, where I was occasionally joined by some hashers.

Jimmy enjoyed venturing down to the street to embrace the throngs of spectators.

He’d occasionally pop by to bring me some Prosecco. 

It was great to see Alan and Julie, who were visiting from Brussels.

Here is Reinhardt helping to show that the No Peeing Please sign seemed more like an invitation rather than a deterrent.

Farewell Dinner...

For the final night at the camp, the hosts threw the kids a farewell party. Since the dinner would be fancier than usual, they all shopped in the market for fancy clothes. Personally, I think Ashlynn’s dress is really cute. Here are the teachers and kids taking Geography... 

...here are all the girls plus Ben...

...and here are all those suave guys. Some of the guys actually spent a lot on their suits, while the girls’ dresses were pretty cheap. After seeing everyone look like absolute crap for two weeks, the transformation was astounding. And it was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the first phase of the trip.

More Sightseeing in Kenya...

 Two other sites that they visited was a knitting cooperative...

 ...and Lord Egerton Castle, built in 1952.

One of my favorite stories Ashlynn told was related to this visit: After Ben reprimanded her for not bringing her coat, Ashlynn reminded him that her parents had let her choose what clothes to wear since she was five and that she’s responsible for her own comfort.

Sundays in Njoro...

It was cool that the BSN kids got to experience a service at the local church, where they recognized kids from the school. Half of the service was in Swahili and translated into English, and half was in English and translated into Swahili. The singing brought tears to Ashlynn’s eyes. She said that the congregation truly believes they are talking to God through their songs and she found it beautiful.

They also got to try some golf. The caddy gave them a brief lesson and set them loose.

Here is Ashlynn with her tentmate Ellie.

They only rented one set of clubs between them to save money.

It took a long time for the five of them to complete each hole, so they only played about five holes, but they didn’t mind and had a great time.

African Safari...

Ashlynn was pleasantly surprised by how many animals they saw on the safari, which included a lot of baboons...

...and a lot of African buffalo, one of the two Big Five game animals they saw. The other Big Five was the rhino, which they saw three of from afar. Unfortunately for Ashlynn, her vehicle was the only one that missed seeing lions.

Looks like some humans lost their lunch to this clever baboon.

They also saw lots of giraffes, warthogs...

...and zebras.

Lake Nakuru National Park...

One Saturday they woke up really early to board safari vehicles which took them to Lake Nakuru National Park.

The rooftops popped up once they got into the park.

They stretched their legs next to Lake Nakuru (nakuru means dusty place in Maasai). According to Lonely Planet, rising water levels in 2014 forced the park’s thousands of flamingos to flee, and the lake is now hauntingly full of dead trees.

Luckily one of the teachers had a good camera as well as a good eye, and captured lots of photos of the kids.

This waterfall might be small, but Ashlynn still thought it was cool.

Proud Parents!

At the end of July we were delighted to learn that Veronica had received an award from UEA: the Cann Prize awarded to the 2nd year student with the highest performance within Environmental Science. When we read that the value of the prize was the one year’s worth of interest earned on the associated fund, we joked that considering how low interest rates are these days that it would barely buy a cup of coffee. Luckily for Veronica, it turned out to be £100, which would buy plenty of coffee or a very nice celebration dinner.