Africa fo' LIFE

Sometimes my sad little self is just overcome with notyourrealhomesickness. This is the word I've invented for a place that's not your home, but when you're away from it you miss it with such a passion that it might as well be your home. It's the missing of a place that when you're there, everything feels right even though it should seem strange and foreign - for some reason you just feel this inexplicable belonging to that place.
For me, this place is Kenya. I've visited a lot of lovely places, but I've never loved one like I love Kenya. It's so hard for me to explain why I love it. I could say because it's beautiful, but it's not beautiful in any sort of traditional way. I could say because it's exciting, or interesting, but those words really don't do it the justice it deserves. I can't put my finger on it. It's just right.

Needless to say, I often find myself close to tears with notyourrealhomesickness because Africa is so F*CKING far away! I wouldn't feel so ill if it were a mere 6 or 8 hour plane ride, but the 16 hour plane trip deal is just killer, and makes you feel like you are an eternity away, as if Kenya is almost unattainable. Perhaps that's why I value it all the more.

Anyways, enough of that, my point is that my friend turned me onto a live feed camera based in Africa. True, it's located in South Africa, but a lot of the animals are the same and the landscape isn't much different. When I watch it, I can almost imagine myself back in one of the parks, namely Amboseli, or on the Kimana Group Ranch reserve, sitting atop the landrover waiting for something to happen. It's wonderful and a great cure for my notyourrealhomesickness and doesn't make Africa feel so far away. The only problem is, I now keep this window open at work. No I don't watch it the whole time, but the second I hear a variation in the sounds of the African savanna change to the slightest degree through my headphones, I rush to click on the screen to see what might be visiting the watering hole. This afternoon (africa time +8hrs) there were some impala out and about, and tonight, I saw a spotted hyena take a long drink. sigh. how wonderful. I plan to see sunrise, and the thought of seeing the African sunrise before I go to bed makes me think that I'll have the sweetest dreams all night long.