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I'm wishing you a merry, happy, blessed Christmas, wherever in the world you are this year. This card is hand-painted by Albert Mutiganda,  a young man who fled the horrors of Rwanda  a few years ago.  He sells his cards to support his family  and escape poverty.  (Card not copyrighted) mutiganda@yahoo.com giftcards.homeafrica@gmail.com Christmas picnic ideas

Earlier this month, I told you about surviving a hippo stampede on the first night of our orientation-to-Africa course. (If you missed it, click on Terrors of the Night: Hippo Stampede .) Hippos stayed in the lake during the day, for the most part, but at night they roamed freely throughout our campground, Fisherman’s Camp. Each hippo can consume up to 80 pounds of grass each night, using their wide and uniquely muscled lips to rip up the greenery. While they roam and eat, they made monstrous grunting, munching, belching noises throughout our campground. According to Alina Bradford , “Hippos are very loud animals. Their snorts, grumbles and wheezes have been measured at 115 decibels . . . about the same volume as you’d get when 15’ from the speakers at a rock concert.”  Now, picture this: Hippos routinely grazed within an inch of our tent wall . Imagine waking up at night to such ghastly noises—just an inch or two from your head! I often snuck out of my sleeping bag, grabbed my cam...

Let me tell you about our most dangerous experience during the orientation course at Lake Naivasha—and it happened on our first night!   Hippos lived at Lake Naivasha, yet Fisherman’s Camp had no electric fence—no fence of any kind—to keep us separate and safe from those hippos. They stayed in the lake during the day, for the most part , but roamed freely throughout our campground at night. Try to take all this in : Hippos are about 15 feet long. Females can weigh about 3,000 pounds, but males can weigh up to 9,000 pounds! Animal Facts Encyclopedia writes this about even small hippos: “At 14 to 16 feet, and 4,000 pounds, they are about as long and heavy as a Ford Fusion.” With those facts in mind, here’s an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Grandma’s Letters from Africa : During the day, the hippos stayed underwater among the reeds, but at night, they grazed freely—even within two inches of our tent—and made monstrous grunting, munching, belching noises throughout our campground.   ...