Canadian Reunion with Family and Friends

It was a very exciting time for all family members to come back to Calgary and visit family and friends. Sharing our stories and adventures as well as listening to Canadian updates was awesome. Amazing to see the childrens’ friends and how much they have grown in terms of height and maturity. Activities included swimming and drinks at the Calgary Winter Club, over night sleep overs, as well as visits to the Calgary Zoo and the Calgary Stampede.

Coincidentally at the Calgary Zoo - African Destination Exhibit - the day we went three African Chiefs were there promoting/advocating for Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary for the conservation and protection of hippopotamuses in Ghana.

Travel to Canada - Stop in Dubai

We were very fortunate to fly from Mombasa to Calgary via Dubai on Emirates Airline. The city of Dubai is the most populous and second largest emirtae in the federation. Currently the city received less than 10% of revenues from oil with the increased tourism. Dubai has attreacted attention world wide for the innovative real estate projects (innovative architecture) international sporting events (tennis, golf, motor racing, horse racing and dog racing), and international conferences.

The Mcleans spent three days in the city and absolutely loved the culture and meshing of the Arabic (Middle East) and first world (North American) lifestyle. One of the first stops for the family was McDonalds and a full day at a water park (Slurpees for everyone). We also spent a day in a shopping mall that provided just about anything a family would need. They had a special childrens’ play area (games, bowling, rides, amusement park, movie theater) - similar to West Edmonton Mall. The amount of shops and speciality stores was amazing and relatively economical as the entire city is duty free. Items from Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan was very inexpensive. The mall was extremely busy and we had to wait in a taxi line-up for over 20 minutes. The evenings were very pleasant and reminded us of New York/Las Vegas with people everywhere, especially the local residents in small groups sharing stories. The people were extremely friendly and were very interested in our family.

Wedding Anniversary

Brenda and Scott celebrated their seventeenth wedding anniversary in Kenya. Scott surprised Brenda with matching wedding bands. The rings have two Tsavoites (mined only in Kenya) and four diamonds from South Africa. We celebrated at a restaurant called Florida Club that is located on the Indian Ocean near the port.

Last Week of School

The last week of school and our first year stay in Africa was extremely busy. The adults were attempting to wrap all the necessary end of term/year school work. The children were also very busy with their school activities. Pictures shown illustrate their activities including end of unit celebrations, swimming celebration and the AKAM World Cup.

The last week was particularly stressful as Jordan was admitted into the hospital (Aga Khan) for three days for a bacterial infection in his lungs (possibly acute asthma attack). The overall care and attention received was excellent. Scott stayed at the hospital as well. They were able to watch the semi-final matches of the World Cup in Germany.

Driving in Mombasa

Absolutely incredible!

The truck shown here went through the brick wall in the back of the school near the tennis courts.