The Matunba - clothes market. Unbelievably cheap!

Tristian found a hat…75p

We made friends in Gilgil

Initiation.

So were all currently not doing much in the day, other than tennis, hockey, table tennis, swimming and squash. Its all very chilled at the moment, and I get the feeling its the calm before the storm. All the kids arrive tomorrow, which will be good to meet them all at last, as well as the parents. We had our meeting with DELL yesterday, explaining how the house works,. Theres one house for boys with 122 all together, each is crazy. I found it hilarious how similar the set up is to The Hill..with punishments such as standing outside, missing film night, etc.
Can't remember if I've already mentioned this, but there's a go!f clubhouse about a 5 minute walk from here, which is open every Thursday and Friday. Last night we had our initiation which involved a beam,  a bottle of Smirnoff ice, Tabasco, and being hung upside down behind the bar in front of all the other teachers. We started at 5:30pm, and finished at 3am..a solid 9.5 hours. Somehow, I managed to get up at 8am though to go for an early morning "run" with Jodie...not sure how. The altitude kills you here as well, being 7000ft above sea level!
Have fun in the cold people.

Night,
H

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Pembroke time

Hi guys! So I arrived at Pembroke yesterday, following a short 8 hour wait at Nairobi airport! The trip to Gilgil was an interesting one to say The least, with giant pot hole, mad trucks...all whilst travelling in the primary school bus with 4 other teenagers! Limited leg room to say the least.
On the way, we stopped off at a supermarket, and you begin to get a sense of the security in large public places, with two guards scanning you as you enter for any 'suspicious objects'. We also stopped off at the top on this hill, where there was the most amazing view of the surrounding countryside. We were over looking mount Longanourt.
It was great to finally meet the other gap students who I'll be working with for  the next couple of months. There's 7 of us all together...4 guys and 3 girls - tristian, James, George, Jodie, Tilly and sophie, and so far, so good! A great bunch. We all had our first visit to the gilgil golf club last night...much smaller than I expected, but great fun.
The school itself is so nice. Its a 'little england, with a Kenyan twist'. There's a pool, table tennis, sports fields, adventure playground, and, of course, a model railway (my personal favourite). All the staff are so friendly here, and all we now need is some children to get going!

That's all for now.

Speak later

H

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Arrived!

Good morning all. Just arrived in Nairobi, following my 14 hour flight. I was expecting to wait in the arrivals of Nairobi (of what there is left following the fire!) for 6 hours by myself, but i was kindly collected by Jack from Pembroke at 1am! Not so sure what would have happened otherwise...

So, I'd never previously been to Qatar, but having experienced 2 hours of it from the confines of the airport, I learnt a fair bit. If anyone's ever been to Doha airport, they'll know you have to take a 5/10 minute bus ride to the departure lounge. However, if you were fortunate enough to be travelling Business class, you'd be chauffeured by yourself in your own stretched limo. Yes, that's right, a wife stretched limo. So whilst us mere mortals in economy class waited, for what seemed an hour, in the stuffy plane, the billionaire Arabs, with their fancy head-dresses, waltzed into their transport. It does make you aware of the stark inequality in these middle east nations, which one doesn't always associate with them.

Anyway, as I attempt to sleep in the minibus with Jack and this lovely driver, I thought I'd briefly update you all.

Oh, and its 15 degrees here, and its 4am...not to make you jealous.

See you all later,

H

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At the Airport

Good morning all. The day is finally here...I'm off to Kenya (via Doha)! I'm at the gate as we speak, having said all of my farewells to the mother and father (very emotional). I'm intrigued into who I'll be sitting next to on the flight. There's a great diversity of people crowded around the gate..very few who I think are off to Kenya, however!
I know it will CME as a bit of a shock to you all, but I've already had !y first hiccup! Having purchased a lovely edition of Nelson Mandela's biography (a must!), I went about leaving my passport on the counter and walking off, only to realise I didn't have it 5 minutes later. This will come as a great reassurance to my mother, would doesn't think I'm forgetful at all...

Anyways, I better be boarding. See you all in Nairobi!

H

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