Back from Hell....Hell's Gate that Is.

i just got back from the airport. no, i'm not trying to escape if that's what you're thinking. we just picked up michelle from the airport, the final memeber of the team. she just graduated from MIT yesterday, and i'm excited to have her on board. when we got to the airport though, we found out the flight was delayed for two hours. we should have checked, but oh wellz. zach and michael got a taxi back, while me and Cory stayed back to wait. wasn't that bad. me and cory had a really good conversation, not related to Computer Science, but to real life. ( not that CS is not real life. ) he was a great listener, and it was nice to have someone talk to about my feelings and whatnot. he shared me his stories too, which were pretty interesting. overall, we had our moment, which was awesome.

Hell's Gate National Park. That's where we went today. Woke up around 6, and me and Cory made some PB&J for the group. I watched a little Barney, just to get me excited for the day i guess. we packed up our stuff, and headed off to our safari van. we went along the road, and it ended up to be a two hour drive i think. i saw cattles and donkeys along the way to the park. it was weird...there were old adults and little kids on the fields, directing the animals where to go. we stopped by a place where they were selling some african crafts. i ended up buying we finally got to the park, and paid for our admissions and bike fee. that's right, we were going to cycle around the park. and it was no regular cycling...i was so tired, and out of shape. michael and zach were always ahead of me, but it was all good. i would go on to describe the rest of the day, but i think i'll let the pictures do the talking. in general, biked around the park, ate lunch, went on tour underground, beneath the rocks, and..it was just undescribable. there were waterfalls, hotsprings, and the tour guide said the hotwater with natural soap was good for the pimples. i filled up my bottle with that water and brought it home with me. after surviving that, we took a trip down to the lake, where we saw a bunch of other wild animals. again, i'll let the picture do the talking.

on the ride back, as i was seeing the villagers live their daily lives, i couldn't help but think how lucky i was. i saw little kids, probably from ages 7-10, working the fields, with the animals by their sides. i saw adults lying there, doing the same thing over and over again. and here i am, a student at a great university, learning, making my life better for myself and my family. i don't know, i just had one of those self-reflection moments that told me i should be very very grateful for what i have.

anyhow, i'll think more about it later. for now, enjoy the pictures!

( i apologize, but due to the internet access here, i am not able to post the pictures i would like online. i will try to do so at a later time. sorry :(