Sitting here watching a movie tonight listening to the sound of fireworks all night. It was the same yesterday. It's to celebrate Diwali – the five-day Hindu festival that is their equivalent to Christian's Christmas. Houses are strung with marigolds and lanterns and fireworks are let off. It is also a time of major gift-giving which makes the bombing attacks in the Indian markets even more disgusting – imagine someone bombing a shopping mall 3 days before Christmas in North America.

I even got a card from my apartment compound wishing me a Happy Diwali. Combined with the warm weather and nothing that is even remotely fall-like it makes Halloween, which is usually one of my favourite times of year, seem all the more removed. Although this weekend I went to a Halloween party held by one of the American expats here. There were over 150 people at his place. It was a pretty amazing set-up, African drummers, huge firepit, DJ, dry ice, costume prizes... Obviously as someone who has lived in Kenya for over 10 years, he misses Halloween too!

But despite missing these little events and family and friends, when I think that time is going by so fast here I am already missing Kenya and my life here. This feeling of wistfulness keeps things in perspective for me when I am going a little crazy about work or the way things are here. It's a good way to live – prevents me from complaining too much.

The only ones who will be complaining are my poor family and friends who will have to endure years of slide shows and stories about my time here. I'm brimming with photos and stories – and I'm only half done!!! Suckers!!!