Good Ol' Memphis

This weekend was full of grand events.

Friday:

Friday was the night we spent hanging out with Phyllis. She took us to a movie and ice cream. It was a blast. The movie we saw was titled “The First Grader.” In 2003, the Kenyan government introduced free primary school for all. It was a surprise to all when 84-year-old village elder, Kimani Nganga Maruge, saw this as an opportunity of a lifetime to receive the education he had always wanted, but could never afford. With the help of Jane Obinchu, the principal of Maruge's village school, Kimani battles the opposition at a governmental level in his quest for an education. It was an amazing and uplifting movie about the importance of education. It reminded me of a Kenyan version of Freedom Writers. Awesome.

Saturday:

On Saturday our group had a scheduled horseback riding excursion through the countryside. I was absolutely ecstatic because I haven’t been on a horse in so long!

My horse was named Memphis. He was a doll. However, he rarely had more than one speed, slow. The only time that he actually started a brisk pace was because another horse passed us (one with a guide on it) running.  He was more interested in enjoying the breath taking scenery than trotting around. At the time I felt bad because my horse was holding everybody else up! But now, a day later, I am so thankful. I am sore enough from the horse just walking around!

Before our ride started we had about an hour to wait thanks to the bus schedule. It turned out great because at this ranch there was a bunch of miniature horses! These little fellows were probably my favorite thing. They were hilarious. They were so short and so fat. I could of sworn some of them were pregnant. We all had a blast petting them, playing with their hair, and feeding them grass. 

From this experience I have realized the New Zealand sun is HOT! We haven’t had much sun since we have been here so we haven’t really felt the rays that much. This made me very, very, very unaware of its powers. At home, I could spend all day outside without sunscreen no problem, so I figured I’d be okay for just an hour or so. This was a very bad idea. Long story short; I have learned my lesson: ALWAYS wear sunscreen.