April 3- April 15 (Kenya)
The past two weeks have been unreal, a dream, beyond my wildest expectations, and absolutely unbelievable! It is really hard to put into words what I have experienced, but I will try my best. I kept a journal while I was in Africa, so I will type that up and make it my blog entry. The following are my entries from week one, so sit back and enjoy! J
April 3 (Tuesday)
We made it to Africa! Seeing the ground from the plane was crazy- so much brown scattered with little huts. The airport in Mombasa is very run down (rusty barrels and rocks holding down cones to direct the planes, construction left untouched for what seems like years, and “smoking areas” instead of smoking rooms so the whole place wreaks of smoke. But the people all seem very friendly and eager to help with whatever we needed. The plane ride itself was not too bad- I slept most of the way and we got a pretty good dinner on the plane.
There is no way I could have imagined what Africa would be like. Everyone seems to be outside, you look over and see a pile of trash before you realize it is a shop or someone’s house, and the heat is almost unbearable at this point! We are currently driving to the school (Bambakofi) which is two hours from the airport. They drive on the left side of the road and there are no traffic laws- out driver told us that as long as you try to stay on the left side of the road and avoid the various hazards (people, animals, bikes, pot holes, etc.) that’s all that matters. There are tons of open markets all over the place with clothes, food, furniture, and whatever else you could imagine. There are also burn piles in random places to burn trash and soil. Monkeys were my first animal spotting!
Example of what the side of the roads look like
The school is so great- great atmosphere, nice people, and an impressive facility. The school is in much better shape than the surrounding area- permanent buildings with cement floors, electricity, and running water are only a few of the distinguishing characteristics. Every child attending Bambakofi goes through an interview process at age six and needs to show an interest in learning. Each child is very poor and is sponsored by someone. Atkye is the NGO that started and funds Bambakofi. We are staying in the office building. Four of us (Whit, Marlee, Jill and me) are staying in the common room area. We each have a mosquito net and an excessive amount of bug spray. We ate dinner in their cafeteria. It was surprisingly very good food- a spinach-type veggie, a cabbage mixture, a very bland polenta, and lots of fresh fruit! We are sitting in the common room/ our bedroom now figuring out our two-week plan and just talking.
Walking into the office at Bambakofi
Just a fraction of the fresh fruit!
My bed
Front gates of Bambakofi
April 4 (Wednesday)
Well, the night sleep was pretty miserably hot, but no bugs got through the net! We got up around 7 and had a great breakfast of very fresh fruit, bread, and tea. We talked with the kids a little bit after breakfast during their recess time. They are all so adorable and they were all using their recess time to study for their final exams! They have exams this week, and we start working with them on Monday.
After meeting Omar and Saidi (our travel agents/ life saviors) and talking about the safari, they took us to Watamu beach. This was the most unbelievable beach I have ever been to. It was absolutely beautiful with giant rocks protruding from the clear blue water and an island in the distance. The sand was a perfect white and the beach was lined with adorable huts with palm tree leaved roofs. Omar hooked us up with a boat ride out to the island! An old man used a giant stick to row us out to the island, and we all agreed we had found paradise. We swam, tanned and hiked to the top of the small island. A few Kenyans helped us out with where to put our stuff so the water didn’t reach it and where not to swim. Although I was skeptical at first of the motives of these friendly Kenyans, everyone is just genuinely kinds and happy to help- Hakuna matata (Swahili phrase meaning “no worries”)!
Watamu beach
On the island
After the beach, we came back to the school and ate a great lunch of tortillas, cabbage and beans. And fresh fruit again (picked from various trees and bushes around the school!). The meals are continuing to impress.
After lunch, a few people went to get some groceries and the rest of us played with the kids on their break. I jumped rope, learned some new games and danced with them. These are some of the sweetest kids I have ever met. They got us all dancing to some of their songs and were cracking up watching us. They are very good at taking turns and including everyone.
We went to explore the nearby villages with Julien, James and Jackie (workers at the school). This was such an eye-opening experience. The houses around the school are huts built with dirt and stones with palm tree roofs. They are not expected to last more than two years. Inside the house was maybe one bed built out of sticks and rarely a mosquito net. There was no running water or electricity. The people were dressed in everything from dresses to tattered t-shirts- it seemed like whatever was available is what they wear. The children were so excited to see us and take pictures with us/ of us/ of them, then to look at the pictures. Again, everyone was so kind and so eager to please us. They all welcomed us into their homes. In one house, there was a woman who had just given birth the day before (in one of these houses with no doctor or medication), holding her one-day old baby! We walked to the villages by ourselves but by the time we headed back to the school there was a parade of children with us! They all wandered from house to house with us.
One of the nicest houses we saw
Aril 5 (Thursday)
The first day of the safari was a blast! We woke up at 5:30 to a piercingly loud alarm in the office (something to do with the electricity I think, but it was a good wakeup call nonetheless). We ate fresh eggs and fruit for breakfast then we were off! Our driver’s name was Mohammad and he was great the whole time (very funny, extremely fast driver, and a great eye for spotting animals)! We drove about two hours of twisty dirt roads, pot holes, random speed bumps, and dust… at full speed. (Side note- their roads are rarely paved, and very beat up, but the people that live there don’t seem to notice). When we reached Tsau National Park, the first animal we saw was a crocodile! A man led us down to a river with some sort of dead animal in his hand. After some clucking and whistling we saw it… slowly rising out of the water, it grabbed the meat in its giant mouth and slunk back into his hiding spot. Along the same river were monkeys- they got so close we could touch them… and we did! From there, we got back in our van and drove further into the park. We saw Zebras, all different kinds of antelopes, male and female lions, elephants, giraffes, baboons, hippos, and all kinds of birds.
Clean... before the safari...
Saidi and his new hat!
When we tried to get close to the male lion (a very hard animal to spot, much less get close to), our van got stuck in the sand. We were told to stay put and absolutely not get out of the van. Apparently when there is a male lion (who was eating some sort of carcass), there is always a female lion lurking around somewhere watching his back. They could not get the van out with us in it, so we had to run to the nearby van with the other half of our group in it. We leapt out of the van and ran for our lives! It was such a rush, but I don’t think there was much reason for concern because we were surrounded my professional safari goers and vans (two things all the animals are terrified of).
After an animal packed day, we headed to our lodge for lunch. Upon arrival, we were struck by the beauty of the lodge. Complete with multiple pools, a swim up bar, beautiful views, and fresh-squeezed juice to greet us! Our rooms did not let us down either- we were put two in a room, and they were huge and luxurious! The lunch was an unbelievable buffet spread with all the food you could imagine. We are all feeling a little bit like royalty at this point.
Hippos behind me!
Our lodge!
After lunch and relaxing by the pool for a while, we headed back out for the sunset game drive. Our driver immediately received a call on his radio about an animal spotting (in Swahili, so we didn’t know what animal) and we were off, speeding and bumping down the dirt road! We soon found out we were chasing a cheetah! And we saw him! (Another very hard animal to see on a two-day safari). The rush was unreal and it was so fun sticking out heads out the sunroof, desperately searching for the amazing creature. We saw more elephants, zebras, antelopes, and a beautiful sunset before driving back to the lodge for another amazing meal. We got incredibly filthy on the safari (I thought I got tan, but it was a thick layer of dust), so a quick jump in the pool and a warm shower was very necessary before dinner.
Everyone is having a great time together. We all get along so well, and everyone has the perfect low-maintenance personality to enjoy getting dirty, dealing with bugs of all kinds, being sweaty 24 hours a day, and just enjoying everything Africa has to offer. After numerous funny stories and too much food, we went to sit in a gazebo overlooking a lake and various animals. We talked and joked (shocking how no internet forces you to do that J) for a few more hours before heading to bed in an attempt to wake up and see the sunrise…
April 6 (Friday)
I woke up this morning to very swollen eyes… uh oh! I hope this goes away soon because I have had this happen before and it is not fun. We woke up in time for the sunrise, but it was more of a daytime happening than actually seeing the sun because it was too cloudy. We did enjoy tea and a lovely morning on the gazebo outlook though! After a hearty breakfast, we were off, speeding down the gravel roads on our morning game drive. It rained for about 20 minutes, so the falls we were supposed to go see was too muddy to approach. But we did see a leopard (casually chillin’ with the giraffes) and hogs (pumbas).
See the leopard?!
On the way back to Bambakofi, we stopped at the Maasai warrior village. They live off one meal a day, no electricity or running water, and huts made out of cow dung. They are the most respected tribe in Africa. They greeted us with a welcoming song and dance, showed us how to make fire with just sticks, straw and cow dung and showed us inside their home. Their outfits were a bright red tunics with tons of colorful jewelry. Saidi bought us each a bracelet from their tribe.
Maasai Warriors welcoming us
We ate lunch back at the school and some of the kids showed us a dance they had been working on. We are currently brainstorming ideas for how to teach these kids starting on Monday. My face is still very swollen.
We saw a poinsoness (deadly if not treated immediately) spider/scorpion this evening. Mamma Eunice walked over because she saw us shining a light on something. She saw what is was and said, “that’s not a good one” and ran inside. We all looked at each other, unsure what to do before she came running back out with two spray cans. She aimed and fired! The spider/scorpion scurried away and we all started screaming. Mamma ran after the deadly creature, pushed Julien out of the way and stepped on it, saving all our lives! She said she sees these spiders only once a year usually.
April 7 (Saturday)
I woke up around 4 a.m. with my right eye almost swollen shut and my left eye much worse also. I tried to go back to sleep, but the swelling continued to get worse every time I closed my eyes, so I went to wake Julien up. He was very calm and didn’t freak out which was nice because I looked a little bit like an alien. I had to wait until 9 to go to the hospital, but it was worth the wait because now I have lots of meds and everyone got to see “Whitney’s new face.” When we first got to the hospital, I was seen by what we later learned to be a doctor in training. The men that drove me to the doctor called Saidi and told him this (without my knowledge) and I was soon taken in to see the real doctor. The medicine prescribed by the two doctors was much different, so I am glad that I got to see the real doctor! And it was nice to know I had people who had my back! I was prescribed a steroid, eye drops, and an anti-swelling pill. Hopefully I will be better in no time! Thankfully the blue safari was pushed to tomorrow due to rain.
The hospital was much different than American hospitals- much dirtier, open windows, paper to write on instead of official records, and very unsanitary. I didn’t have to fill out any paperwork… TIA (this is Africa) as they say. In conclusion, I have visited an African hospital and survived! The people were all very friendly and I never felt uneasy or threatened… it was just a much different hospital experience than I am used to. They took my blood pressure but that was it.
We went to the Goreda beach this afternoon. Our first beach was much better because this beach had so much seaweed and bugs. I had a hat/sunglasses/sunscreen combination to protect my face. Ashvin practiced handstands (his goal for the two weeks in Africa- we all have goals). When we got in the water, Julien was freaking out about the seaweed and screaming like a little girl, not even putting his feet on the ground. Shelley said that here mouth her from smiling “a genuine smile too much”- if you have ever met Shelley, you would understand how sweet this comment was.
April 8 (Sunday)
My eye is still swollen, but we’re off to the blue safari (dolphins, fish, turtles, etc.) so I can’t complain too much! We left Bombakofi at 8:45 and arrived at the amazing beach not much after that. We all got on the boat and went to find dolphins. We road alongside two of them for a while and it was unbelievable! After that we went snorkeling. This was the first time I have ever snorkeled in the ocean and it was so cool (even with the irritating eye). I saw tons of colorful fish and coral. Mama Eunice came out with us, and it was hilarious to watch her float alongside us with ten floaties holding her up because she doesn’t know how to swim- I think she really enjoyed it!
On the boat (Marlee, Shelley, Val, Sarah, Whit and me)
Next was lunch! On the boat ride to Waka Waka Island (where lunch was being served), we saw a Barracuda skipping along the top of the water. We ate lobster, shrimp, tuna, rice, tomatoes, pineapple, coconut, and bananas (all fresh of course!)… Still feeling like royalty! Another African tribe came to the island and performed for us. We all joined in at one point shaking out ships to the drum beat with small skirts tied around our waists. They expected money at the end (as do a lot of the people that perform for us or help us out in any way), that that got kind of awkward when none of us had money, but Saidi gave us a few cents worth of shillings to throw in the basket. We wondered around the island a little bit (I got a little blue bracelet at one of the huts) and we headed back to the boat.
Cooking out fresh food!
Some of the crew grabbed some buckets and cans and whatever else made a sound and started singing and dancing- a pretty epic ending to a pretty epic day. And that was the end of week one! Next week we start the teaching portion, and I am so exciting to get to know these kids!
