This is my way of being Zen and restoring the imbalance caused my endless lists of “Things to do”. Here is the list (in no particular order) of the top 50 things that I have ticked off in the past year.

1. Lived on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro for 3 months and have explored the lower slopes a million times
2. Got hopelessly lost in a cornfield and walked the entire length and breadth of a coffee plantation
3. Explored a 1.5 million year old cave
4. Shared millions of plates of Ugali, Machalari & Nyama Choma (traditional Tanzanian food – stiff porridge made out of maize, banana stew, grilled meat) with Tanzanians
5. Lived and worked with the Masai
6. Spent a couple of early mornings at small town/village markets
7. Listened to church singing and dancing
8. Celebrated Christmas in Summer and Easter in Winter
9. Practically owned local transport with the amount of travelling I’ve done on them – which also means I conquered my claustrophobia and agoraphobia
10. Watched the wildebeest migration in the Serengeti and watched Cheetah’s hunt
11. Watched the sunset over the rooftops of Zanzibar’s stone town
12. Lived on a volcano and explored the pre-historic looking Ol Doinyo Lengai
13. Sat through the proceedings of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
14. Pinched myself silly while watching the animals do their thing from the rim of the Ngorongoro crater
15. Watched the Zanzibari mafia load unregistered cars to the background of locals play fighting on the beach
16. Watched the moonrise – including the infamous super moon
17. Lived through 8 back to back tremors in Arusha without passing out from the stress
18. Saw Freddie Mercury’s house in Zanzibar
19. Took the traditional Dhow and nearly drowned
20. Went snorkelling in shark infested waters
21. Discovered Zanzibar in the rainy season
22. Folded a 1001 origami cranes for my sister
23. Read 150 books in 8 months
24. Watched a movie in 3D – no, not Avatar
25. Slept under the stars many times, even camped out with hyenas *shudder*
26. Helped someone give birth (4 births in a month)
27. Learnt how to play poker
28. Danced in the rain
29. Climbed many mountains
30. Started cycling again
31. Met and befriended real Rastas
32. Watched a Solar Eclipse
33. Was in two countries at once (Kenya and Tanzania) – had quite a bit of stretching to do
34. Jumped into the Indian Ocean fully clothed – jeans and the works 😛
35. Was a teacher at Kindergarten, College and an Adult Learning Facility
36. Started a fire with a magnifying glass
37. Got my nails painted African Style
38. Participated in local festivities (Traditional Marriages, Baptisms and funerals – and boy do I have stories to tell)
39. Ran an art class for children
40. Went backpacking without a plan
41. Learnt Swahili (and a bit of KiChagga and KiMasai)
42. Wrote a blog post every month for over a year
43. Changed my name for a day and did things I wouldn’t normally do
44. Wrote myself a letter to open in 10 years
45. Had my palm read my a Masai witchdoctor
46. Ate insects – a local delicacy called Kumbi Kumbi’s (Tastes like ash)
47. Went on a picnic after ages
48. Spent a rainy day watching movies in my PJs
49. Spent a whole day at the beach (actually, read 5)
50. Volunteered in Africa for 8 months

In the words of Hiro Nakamura, “YATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”