The Gayest thing ever

It would have been hard to imagine this a year ago. I'm sitting in a guest house, on a compound in Mombasa, Kenya, after finishing my first days work in Bombolulu cultural center. This time last year I wasn't long back from South East Asia. For those of you who read my previous blog, my Mum made a full recovery. Then she fell and broke her hip and has now made a full recovery from that. She is not long back from a trip to Lourdes so I have a fresh supply of Holy Water to bring with me to Kenya.

It wasn't long after my jolly in Thailand, that the economics of modern living resulted in me taking a contract job with APC, in Galway. I couldn't have asked to work with nicer people but I was in a holding pattern. I was applying for a couple of long term volunteering jobs with either Dharmsala (in India), and VSO international looking the most promising. In the end I was invited for an assessment day with VSO, got accepted, did two preparatory training courses and finally got offered an IT Specialist role in a disabled workshop; Bombolulu Workshop and Cultural Center (BWCC). I will fill you in on more about VSO and the people I met along the way in the course of the next few months. There will be plenty of long lonely evenings to bore you in splendid detail with stories of the last few months.

Leaving this time was hard. I finally got around to visiting all those friends I had been meaning to visit. Mark and Ails in Abbeyliex, Conor and Sarah in Sligo, the college bookclub in Spanish point, the Amdahl boys traditional farewell historical pub tour, etc.... Also I had to say goodbye to all my new and old friends in Galway. Apologies to the tag crew for not being able to make the Liquors v's Underdogs showdown. Sadly, one of my last visits was to Achill for the funeral of the younger brother of a college friend. Sometimes life is just plain unfair.

I spent the last few days with family and friends in Birdhill, England and Dublin. Many times I wondered why I was leaving all this behind. I might have said it before but I am blessed with the family and friends I have, and also I am lucky have 3 wonderful Godchildren; Medbh, Callum and Daire. So why leave?

I am looking for something. My search has taken me to Africa. For now it is were I should be. My heart tells me so. My cousin Mark says to me just before I left “By the way Mick, that blog, gayest thing ever!”. (You'd have to know him). Cous, you ain't seen nothing yet.

M.

P.s. some pictures of my gaff. It is a former guest house so of pretty high standard for a volunteers (I have a fridge and a tele with 1 channel). Some of the others in Mombasa are not as lucky. More on that later. Will upload some pictures of Bombolulu tomorrow.