of Backpacks and Beards
Adventures abroad, lessons learned, and beards.
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It had never occurred to me that my childhood comfort food and lifelong cheap source of a quick, delicious, and easy-to-make sandwich was not shared universally. I’d been hanging around the common area of the hostel I was staying at in Nairobi talking with two new friends I’d made, both from England. We’d begun a conversation about the perfect food for overnight busses when I brought up how perfect PB&J sandwiches were,… Read More
Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, otherwise known as Nairobbery carries certain connotations about it. One being the fact that you have to be vigilant with any of your belongings, especially if you’re a traveller. Travelling from Rwanda to Kenya you notice a few clear distinguishing factors. For one, Rwanda’s piki drivers wear a helmet, allow only one passenger, and provide you with your own helmet. Kenya on the other hand crams… Read More
After a few days in Uganda we booked a bus taking us to Kisumu at 8:30pm. Since we booked the bus early in the afternoon we felt that we had ample time to relax at our hostel, send a few emails, and enjoy a cold Tusker or two. However, in a time span of what felt like an hour we rounded 7pm and realized that we were pushing it (often you need… Read More
Sitting down enjoying a cold Tusker I was approached by a Ugandan man named Michael. He took one look at my hair and immediately decided that I should have some dreads. Apparently he’s the best in the business and my shoulder length hair was ready to take its next step. After countless excuses for why I didn’t want the dreads including the fact that they’d be short little sticks, I didn’t have… Read More
1) When travelling zip of pants are always in style – hey, they’re pants….AND shorts 2) Learning how to say the word “no” in a foreign language goes a long way. 3) A travel pillow, it looks stupid but trust me, you stand out anyway 4) Imodium – 14 hour bus rides, not a risk I’m willing to take 5) A Journal – you’ll be happy you kept one when you look… Read More
It kind of just hit me. As I was cruising on the back of a Boda taking me back to my hostel I realized that I love this city. Maybe it’s the fact that the majority of people are more than happy to help you in any way, give you directions or even bargain for transport, or the fact the Boda drivers actually charge you the fair price, or the fact that… Read More
Upon arriving in Musanze, Rwanda and spending a few hours around town I quickly learned that sometimes you need somewhere more than it needs you. The goal of this trip from Kigali was to meet a potential development partner and perhaps find or create a small scale community requested development project that our team could help to facilitate. We arrived with a very vague idea of some of the projects that had… Read More
So I’ve finally arrived in Rwanda after the longest 4 days I’ve had in a long time. after 23 hours of flying I landed safely in Kenya, where I quickly paid for my visa ($50 USD) and grabbed a taxi to Nairobi International Youth Hostel where I found Kate (my co) and Sabrina (my trip leader last year). The little room they had booked had 4 beds, and 4 guests, so I… Read More
Travelling by plane is easily one of the most relaxing ways to travel. A choice of about 100 movies & shows, relatively comfortable seats and service, and just about 8-10 hours to relax, write, and sleep. However, airports are certainly the downfall to this form of travel. Everyone seems to be constantly on edge, always a little bit rushed, and constantly questioning every subtle episode. My day of flying started no differently…. Read More
Why does someone choose to travel? Whether it’s across the world or an hours drive, the reasons for travelling are subjective to each person. For some, travelling can be a means to see the beauty of the world, learn a new culture, perhaps it’s to grow as a person and foster independence. While everyones traveling formula contains bits of pieces of reasons to go I feel as though everyone travels to make… Read More
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