Leslie, that great Woman of the World, sends us another report from her Kenya Peace Corps assignment. It would seem she's 'run into' a great deal of new, large animals throughout the countryside:

"Just thought I would give you a little update on my life in Kenya. I spent last weekend in Tsavo West, a park located at the base of Kilimanjaro!! It is such a beautiful mountain, I feel so lucky that I have had the chance to spend so much time there recently! This last weekend was a long weekend because it was Moi day. Most people here boycotted doing much because they really don't know how to react to such a day (They are not to found of Moi) but they still like having the day off. I think they should just call it President's Day!

"Anyway Friday my friends Cathy and Lydie (the Barbie Girls as we call our selves!) drove in Lydie's car to the park... oh the adventures of three girls in a old Subaru begin!! It is very nerve racking driving into the middle of nowhere in a car that constantly reminds you that it is old. Needless to say we almost broke down twice! In addition, we came very close to hitting an elephant and just barely missed a hippo!! Literally by inches we missed, as we came around a corner this hippo ran across the road!! Luckily Lydie's car has great breaks!!! I am not sure who was scared more the hippo or us! It was the first time I saw a hippo out of the water, they look like big sausages and hitting one would cause great damage to the car! We also saw a pack of wild dogs that have Micky Mouse ears and a Caracal (a very rare cat with beautiful ears). We also saw the usual suspects of Elephants, Giraffe, gazelles, Water buck, Elan, Kudu and Zebra. I have yet to see a Lion or Cheetah this time around and wounder if I will ever see a Leopard or if they really exist.

"We ended Saturday by watching the sun set behind Kili drinking wine and snacking on crisps. It was a lot of fun hanging with the girls, seeing some animals and having a break from city life!! I am back in Mombasa now and back at work which is a bit stagnate due a small problem we are having with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The warden in Shimoni is not to keen on working with us because she does not't have full control financially over our project. Also Ramadan will begin in a few weeks and life here pretty much comes to a halt. I am compiling a cook book for the Wasini Group and hope to include some Ramadan Specials so that is what I will be working on for the next month.

"For now I am helping out on various projects in Diani and Shimoni and just taking Kenya in day by day. I hope all of you are well!!"

Take Care,
Leslie