Entry #074: Wednesday, April 9, 2014 (San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands)

So, I'm guessing that this is going to be my last entry from within the Galapagos Islands. The next time you hear from this blog, I'll be back in Guayaquil, in what will either be my second-to-last or possibly last entry before being home. What a concept, eh? Truth be told, I'm genuinely not sure if I want there to be 75 entries or 76. 75 is a mathematically pleasant number in many respects, but 76 has the added bonus of also being the number of photo albums I have from the trip. A coincidence, to be sure, but a fun one. Stay tuned to find out, I guess? But first, let's look at what just happened in the past few days. There are wasps, guaranteed!

Entry #020: Sunday, June 30, 2013 (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Well, I'm currently in South Africa, aka my home for the longest portion of this trip. Assuming a straight-up 365-day journey, I'll be in this country for 20% of the entire trip, despite being only 5% of the total number of countries currently on my itinerary. So get used to me using the "South Africa" tag on this blog (that is, if you noticed I used tags here at all). By the by, you might have noticed that I've skipped a number on this entry. That brings me to a:

Kilimanjaro Entry Update: So, I'll delve into this shortly, but Internet in SA is frickin' expensive. In order to properly upload my video (and, with the little amount I had left, maybe some of my truant photos), I would have had to purchase a data plan totaling $175. And I wouldn't  cover it. Sorry, but I don't love you all that much. Luckily, I can purchase an unlimited plan in Askari, so I'm crossing my fingers that this will fit the bill. In any case, I'll make sure it gets to you one way or another.

Entry #018: Friday, June 14, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

So, I'm back at the Arusha Budget Hotel right now, I head out for my Kilimanjaro climb tomorrow (though that's just the meet-up day; we head to the mountain on Sunday), and my stint at the orphanage is now done. The last several days have found me in a wide flux of emotions, ranging from a very acute sense of "I'm over it" to genuine feelings that I'm going to miss the place and the people.

Entry #017: Saturday, June 8, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

[NOTE: As you might have noticed from the last entry, entitled "Technical Difficulties", I've been experiencing technical difficulties connecting to the Blogger server from my PC. As I've also been getting a bunch of 400 Errors on other websites, I can only assume the issue is on my end. It may very well be that the poor signal quality has caught up with my browsers, and like Popeye, they've stood all they could; they can't stands no more. Unfortunately, I can't actually see if this is the issue (or if it is, worse, some issue with my actual hardware) until I am in a place with a respectable Wi-Fi signal. In the meantime, I'm forced to post this in the most roundabout way possible, using Notepad, Dropbox, a program that uses my laptop as a Wi-Fi hotspot, and the mobile Blogger app. Additionally, this entry was written in two parts. The first was written on my actual birthday back on June 5. My issues began that night, before I could write about the evening's activities. The second part was just written today. I'll be sure to note them, so that I don't have to rewrite the syntax of the birthday entry.]

Entry #015: Thursday, May 30, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

Things have kind of been settling into a rhythm here at the orphanage, which is a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I'm getting a good idea of what the daily life here is like, how things are run, and all that jazz. On the other hand, rhythm makes for boring blog entries. One person's "rhythm" is another person's "rut". That's not to say I'm in a rut. But then, there is a sense of familiarity to everyday. I get woken up by a knock on the door for breakfast, I do some stuff, I get lunch, I do some stuff, the kids come back, I help with homework and play with them, I have dinner, I read to them, I do some stuff, and I go to bed. Thrilling.

Entry #014: Thursday, May 23, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

Well, today is the third day that I have been working at the Samaritan Village orphanage in Arusha, Tanzania. Yep, my first volunteering gig, and it's at an orphanage. I don't remember why I chose to do an orphanage specifically. Perhaps I figured it's such an obvious choice for volunteering. Or maybe it's because my mother did something similar, and I figured "maybe me too!" If that were the case, I forgot one important fact, which is that my mother is a mother. With motherly instincts and abilities and all that. I most assuredly do not fall in that category, but screw it all, here I am! I'm still not totally sure about the whole thing; but even in the short time I've been here, I've learned a few things about myself.