Thanks for the finale to your trip, Anneke. It's been fascinating to follow--you could be a travel reporter, I expect, you write so thoughtfully about all your experiences. You won't ever forget your trip to Kenya. Sorry that Brussels was such a disappointing experience--I've never been there, but if I do make it, I'll be on alert for disappointment! Glad you got the time in England as part of your transition to home.
Yours,
Tom
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Visiting the lovely Janet!
After school, we drove out past the Canadian High Commission to a Maasai market in a mall on the other end of town. The kids went mini-putting (the mall reminded me of the west Edmunton mall in that it had a waterpark and so many great activities for kids), and Irene and I did a bit of shopping.
After dinner, we drove quickly to the airport. We were running late, so I went in to pick up my boarding pass while the Mumo's parked the car. But very unfortunately, the security is different from Canada where anyone can enter the park of the airport where people starts at the entrance to the airport, so the Mumo's couldn't come in to say good-bye. They did pass a very sweet good-bye present through security however - I book about this beautiful country signed by all four of them. They are such generous people.
Inside the airport, I hurriedly picked up my boarding pass and ran to my gate. I knew I'd be just on time, so I was walking quite quickly. I followed someone through the gate where I thought I was to board the plane, and suddenly found myself on the tarmac! I then realized that the person I was following was not a fellow passenger, but a flight attendant, and I looked around a little bewildered. As I started to walk back where I'd come from, then security found me and informed me that I wasn't allowed to be there. I nearly burst out laughing - how had no one stopped me earlier? Soon enough, I found my plane, and was on my way to Brussels. That's when I couldn't help it, and I started to cry. I missed everyone in Nairobi, everyone in Kingston, and Janet in Kettering, but I was none of those places. It was a hard plane flight.
It was quite the culture shock in Brussels as I left the warm and friendly people of Nairobi behind. I did my usual scan of the waiting area in Brussels for someone who looked a little lonely as well, and I sat down next to a lady to strike up a conversation. I did all the usual, "so, where are you from?" "are you out on vacation?" etc. She turned to me and said, "I'm not interested in conversation, thank you." Awkward silence. So I went on a hunt for someone friendly to talk to. I found a lovely lady from Nairobi waiting for her plane to visit her sister in the UK. She was on a different airline, but I decided she was worth switching gates for, so we had a very nice chat before I boarded my plane for Heathrow.
When I landed in Heathrow, everything went quickly and smoothly. I soon found the fabulous Janet, whose great smile warmed my sleepy and sad heart. We left my bags at a bag check place, and set out to explore London! We were both rather sleepy, but we had a nice time. We saw parliment, big ben, and lots of lovely architecture. We wandered through a portrait gallery, stopped for tea in a little coffee shop and participated in a service at Westminster Abbey.
And we found that we could have a pint of dad's trains!
After a nice dinner we headed home, only to discover that we'd missed the last train for Kettering. So we took the train to Bedford, wrapped up in my keekorok from the market in Nairobi because it was unexpectedly cold, and then had to get a cab home. I had a much much needed shower, and fell into bed.
The next morning, we went to Janet's lovely church, where we were happily welcomed. We picked up the goods for a delicious lunch, and had a picnic on my keekorok (who knew one keekorok could be so useful?).
We opened the delicious tea masala that I'd bought in Nairobi, and enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea. That afternoon, we went for a little run around Kettering which was a nice way to see the town. And of course finished the day with a little bit of the big bang theory... how I had missed dear Sheldon.
On monday, we took the train out to Leicester, which is a lovely city near Kettering. It was lots of fun to explore the little shops, look at all the pretty architecture, churches and art galleries, and we even got to meet two of Janet's fellow teachers for tea! Eventually, our feet were too sore to walk another step and we headed home, this time catching the train.
The next morning, I was off to Heathrow to fly home. I was welcomed by the whole family, which was so nice. And soon got my much awaited hug from my favourite Kelsea :) It was worth coming home after all ;)
After dinner, we drove quickly to the airport. We were running late, so I went in to pick up my boarding pass while the Mumo's parked the car. But very unfortunately, the security is different from Canada where anyone can enter the park of the airport where people starts at the entrance to the airport, so the Mumo's couldn't come in to say good-bye. They did pass a very sweet good-bye present through security however - I book about this beautiful country signed by all four of them. They are such generous people.
Inside the airport, I hurriedly picked up my boarding pass and ran to my gate. I knew I'd be just on time, so I was walking quite quickly. I followed someone through the gate where I thought I was to board the plane, and suddenly found myself on the tarmac! I then realized that the person I was following was not a fellow passenger, but a flight attendant, and I looked around a little bewildered. As I started to walk back where I'd come from, then security found me and informed me that I wasn't allowed to be there. I nearly burst out laughing - how had no one stopped me earlier? Soon enough, I found my plane, and was on my way to Brussels. That's when I couldn't help it, and I started to cry. I missed everyone in Nairobi, everyone in Kingston, and Janet in Kettering, but I was none of those places. It was a hard plane flight.
It was quite the culture shock in Brussels as I left the warm and friendly people of Nairobi behind. I did my usual scan of the waiting area in Brussels for someone who looked a little lonely as well, and I sat down next to a lady to strike up a conversation. I did all the usual, "so, where are you from?" "are you out on vacation?" etc. She turned to me and said, "I'm not interested in conversation, thank you." Awkward silence. So I went on a hunt for someone friendly to talk to. I found a lovely lady from Nairobi waiting for her plane to visit her sister in the UK. She was on a different airline, but I decided she was worth switching gates for, so we had a very nice chat before I boarded my plane for Heathrow.
When I landed in Heathrow, everything went quickly and smoothly. I soon found the fabulous Janet, whose great smile warmed my sleepy and sad heart. We left my bags at a bag check place, and set out to explore London! We were both rather sleepy, but we had a nice time. We saw parliment, big ben, and lots of lovely architecture. We wandered through a portrait gallery, stopped for tea in a little coffee shop and participated in a service at Westminster Abbey.
And we found that we could have a pint of dad's trains!
After a nice dinner we headed home, only to discover that we'd missed the last train for Kettering. So we took the train to Bedford, wrapped up in my keekorok from the market in Nairobi because it was unexpectedly cold, and then had to get a cab home. I had a much much needed shower, and fell into bed.
The next morning, we went to Janet's lovely church, where we were happily welcomed. We picked up the goods for a delicious lunch, and had a picnic on my keekorok (who knew one keekorok could be so useful?).
We opened the delicious tea masala that I'd bought in Nairobi, and enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea. That afternoon, we went for a little run around Kettering which was a nice way to see the town. And of course finished the day with a little bit of the big bang theory... how I had missed dear Sheldon.
On monday, we took the train out to Leicester, which is a lovely city near Kettering. It was lots of fun to explore the little shops, look at all the pretty architecture, churches and art galleries, and we even got to meet two of Janet's fellow teachers for tea! Eventually, our feet were too sore to walk another step and we headed home, this time catching the train.
The next morning, I was off to Heathrow to fly home. I was welcomed by the whole family, which was so nice. And soon got my much awaited hug from my favourite Kelsea :) It was worth coming home after all ;)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Mombasa and my last day in Nairobi
Mombasa is very beautiful and hot! I'm glad I was in Nairobi for some time first to acclimatize a little bit! I'm inside blogging today because my body just can't survive any more heat outside - even my sunscreen just melts off, lol. The hotel here is amazing - the architecture looks to be a mix of Arabic, Kenyan, and Greek influences. The walls are all painted white with lovely curves and lines around the doorways, and the furniture is all a handmade old stained dark wood.
On my first dinner, I happened to sit down with a couple who knew where my home town is! I was so excited. They grew up in Canada, but have been working in Nairobi for the last 20 years studying animal epidemiology. Everyone here is very friendly, welcoming and pleasantly surprised when I try to use my tiny bit of kiswahili. My room steward is the sweetest little elderly man - he picked me flowers to fill my ash tray when he saw I didn't smoke, and left me a note that said "Hello, This is my flowers to make you happy. Sleep well." It made my day :)
I think the people who animated Finding Nemo must have visited Mombasa - I went snorkling and saw so many beautiful fish and sea turtles! It was incredible - the fish were of every different shape size and colour, and the coral was beautiful. I went with a family from the UK, and it was quite funny to hear their different take on the experience. While I was blown away by all the amazing sea creatures, they were upset that there weren't enough fish (though there were so many different kinds of fish that I could see). Then they told me about there last vacation to the Galapalos Islands, and they said it was alright, but there were too many conservation projects, lol. I was tempted to explain that you can't exactly have lots of fish and few conservation projects at the same time... but I held my tongue.
I also went kayaking around the bay. The staff warned me be for I left that the tide was going out, but ridiculous me, I thought, "Oh I've canoed lots - I'm fine". Of course, I didn't pay close enough attention to the tide and ended up kayaking over a shallow area to a deeper spot in a little bay. The tide did indeed go out, and I found myself surrounded by too shallow water and dry ground, so I had to rather humbly walk back carrying my kayak. It was rather embarrassing, lol. A little later, a nice fellow taught me how to use a catamaran, which was lots of fun and the tide was going in this time :)
The people in Mombasa are even friendlier than the people in Nairobi. I actually never thought I'd meet people who were so friendly that I'd feel uncomfortable - usually, I think I'm the one making other people uncomfortable by striking up a random conversation, lol. Nairobi for me is just the right amount of friendliness - people are happy to talk, but if you want some time alone they're good with that too. On the beach, I literally didn't have a second alone. Irene explained to me that apparently some tourists come to Mombasa to pick up a date, so perhaps that's what they assumed I was there for, but it was quite awkward. On the upside, before the awkward part of these conversations, they shared some interesting things about their culture with me. Education seems to be viewed much more positively here than in Canada. Perhaps because it's so easily accessible in Canada, students take school for granted and often dislike it. Here, nearly everyone I've met was very excited to hear that I'm studying education. They felt that education was the key to a good life and spoke very positively about schools and learning. They also helped me a bit with my kiswahili, found me sea cucumbers, explained how the hollow out a canoe from a mango tree, and many other interesting things. So I appreciated their friendliness in what I learned, but I'm not very used to being quite so "popular" and that was a bit uncomfortable for me.
For dinner time, I did my usual scan to find a kind looking older couple to sit with. On my last dinner, I met a very nice couple from Holland who reminded me so much of my family - it made me feel a little bit homesick. They even gave me a package of schoolkrijt (a black licorice candy which is covered in icing sugar and shaped to look like school chalk) when I left. They were so nice to chat with.
On my last day, I explored a bit of the old city which was very interesting. The architecture is very beautiful and the people very welcoming. I wandered around Fort Jesus, which is quite lovely with redish orange walls on the seaside, and I visited a Hindu temple. In the Hindu temple, there were depictions of what happens to you if you eat meat, so I felt a little guilty when we went to the Carnivore, a restuarant in Nairobi with the Mumos when I got home that evening. The Carnivore was quite an experience though - I tried ostrich, crocodile, camel, and every kind of ridiculous meat - I think I gained 20 pounds in one meal, lol. Sorry dad, there was no horse meat, pickled herring or eel though ;)
When we got home, I packed my bags and fell into bed, very full and very sleepy. Today was my last day at Brookhouse. It was so nice to see everyone one more time - I will really miss everyone. There was a rather lengthy school assembly, so I sat with the year three's and did my best to keep them entertained - I felt badly for them, especially my one student who I think is somewhere on the ADHD spectrum. I started to draw a few students nearby and then gave the drawing to this student to finish to keep her occupied so she wouldn't get in trouble for squirming.
It was an especially sad good-bye to one of my very sweet year 8 boys - I think he must have said good-bye for a solid 15 or 20 minutes - he is such a wonderful student, but I really worry for him going into highschool next year. He would thrive in a place where he could develop his already wonderful skills working with young children, but he really struggles with academics, and I am so worried that four years of highschool academics will just crush his beautiful but fragile spirit. I will really miss him. Saying goodbye to the teachers was very sad too - they have all been so good to me. I would love to learn so much more from them about education, culture, language, birds, students, and so much else. But on the happy side, I'm also looking very forward to seeing all of you at home!
On my first dinner, I happened to sit down with a couple who knew where my home town is! I was so excited. They grew up in Canada, but have been working in Nairobi for the last 20 years studying animal epidemiology. Everyone here is very friendly, welcoming and pleasantly surprised when I try to use my tiny bit of kiswahili. My room steward is the sweetest little elderly man - he picked me flowers to fill my ash tray when he saw I didn't smoke, and left me a note that said "Hello, This is my flowers to make you happy. Sleep well." It made my day :)
I think the people who animated Finding Nemo must have visited Mombasa - I went snorkling and saw so many beautiful fish and sea turtles! It was incredible - the fish were of every different shape size and colour, and the coral was beautiful. I went with a family from the UK, and it was quite funny to hear their different take on the experience. While I was blown away by all the amazing sea creatures, they were upset that there weren't enough fish (though there were so many different kinds of fish that I could see). Then they told me about there last vacation to the Galapalos Islands, and they said it was alright, but there were too many conservation projects, lol. I was tempted to explain that you can't exactly have lots of fish and few conservation projects at the same time... but I held my tongue.
I also went kayaking around the bay. The staff warned me be for I left that the tide was going out, but ridiculous me, I thought, "Oh I've canoed lots - I'm fine". Of course, I didn't pay close enough attention to the tide and ended up kayaking over a shallow area to a deeper spot in a little bay. The tide did indeed go out, and I found myself surrounded by too shallow water and dry ground, so I had to rather humbly walk back carrying my kayak. It was rather embarrassing, lol. A little later, a nice fellow taught me how to use a catamaran, which was lots of fun and the tide was going in this time :)
The people in Mombasa are even friendlier than the people in Nairobi. I actually never thought I'd meet people who were so friendly that I'd feel uncomfortable - usually, I think I'm the one making other people uncomfortable by striking up a random conversation, lol. Nairobi for me is just the right amount of friendliness - people are happy to talk, but if you want some time alone they're good with that too. On the beach, I literally didn't have a second alone. Irene explained to me that apparently some tourists come to Mombasa to pick up a date, so perhaps that's what they assumed I was there for, but it was quite awkward. On the upside, before the awkward part of these conversations, they shared some interesting things about their culture with me. Education seems to be viewed much more positively here than in Canada. Perhaps because it's so easily accessible in Canada, students take school for granted and often dislike it. Here, nearly everyone I've met was very excited to hear that I'm studying education. They felt that education was the key to a good life and spoke very positively about schools and learning. They also helped me a bit with my kiswahili, found me sea cucumbers, explained how the hollow out a canoe from a mango tree, and many other interesting things. So I appreciated their friendliness in what I learned, but I'm not very used to being quite so "popular" and that was a bit uncomfortable for me.
For dinner time, I did my usual scan to find a kind looking older couple to sit with. On my last dinner, I met a very nice couple from Holland who reminded me so much of my family - it made me feel a little bit homesick. They even gave me a package of schoolkrijt (a black licorice candy which is covered in icing sugar and shaped to look like school chalk) when I left. They were so nice to chat with.
On my last day, I explored a bit of the old city which was very interesting. The architecture is very beautiful and the people very welcoming. I wandered around Fort Jesus, which is quite lovely with redish orange walls on the seaside, and I visited a Hindu temple. In the Hindu temple, there were depictions of what happens to you if you eat meat, so I felt a little guilty when we went to the Carnivore, a restuarant in Nairobi with the Mumos when I got home that evening. The Carnivore was quite an experience though - I tried ostrich, crocodile, camel, and every kind of ridiculous meat - I think I gained 20 pounds in one meal, lol. Sorry dad, there was no horse meat, pickled herring or eel though ;)
When we got home, I packed my bags and fell into bed, very full and very sleepy. Today was my last day at Brookhouse. It was so nice to see everyone one more time - I will really miss everyone. There was a rather lengthy school assembly, so I sat with the year three's and did my best to keep them entertained - I felt badly for them, especially my one student who I think is somewhere on the ADHD spectrum. I started to draw a few students nearby and then gave the drawing to this student to finish to keep her occupied so she wouldn't get in trouble for squirming.
It was an especially sad good-bye to one of my very sweet year 8 boys - I think he must have said good-bye for a solid 15 or 20 minutes - he is such a wonderful student, but I really worry for him going into highschool next year. He would thrive in a place where he could develop his already wonderful skills working with young children, but he really struggles with academics, and I am so worried that four years of highschool academics will just crush his beautiful but fragile spirit. I will really miss him. Saying goodbye to the teachers was very sad too - they have all been so good to me. I would love to learn so much more from them about education, culture, language, birds, students, and so much else. But on the happy side, I'm also looking very forward to seeing all of you at home!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Wonderful reading!
Hi Anneke,
I feel very privileged to read all you are writing about your incredible, unforgetable trip! thanks for including me.
Your stories certainly bring back memories of my time in Nigeria (40 years ago) and my very brief visit to Kenya 20+ years ago.
Have a safe trip home, see you soon!
Tom
I feel very privileged to read all you are writing about your incredible, unforgetable trip! thanks for including me.
Your stories certainly bring back memories of my time in Nigeria (40 years ago) and my very brief visit to Kenya 20+ years ago.
Have a safe trip home, see you soon!
Tom
The Marvelous Mara
Thursday was a sad day for me. Every class that I went to was another set of good-byes. And each time my students would ask when I was coming back to stay, I had to say that I didn't know. I will miss everyone at Brookhouse very much, and I really hope that I can come back again.
On Friday, Mumo drove me to the airport early in the morning. We had a very interesting conversation about strong and soft cultures. It's really quite amazing to think that Portugal held Mombasa for around 200 years, but left relatively little influence on Kenya. Whereas Britain spent just a short time in Kenya and completely altered the country permanently. He said that Kenyan culture is a soft culture like Portugal - when his family came to Canada, they had relatively little trouble adjusting because his culture is a flexible one that just adapts to the new culture that they find themselves in. I think Canadian culture is much them same - probably because we're a mix of various immigrant cultures. Anyway, it's an interesting thing to think about.
I soon hopped on a little plane to the Mara. I feel very blessed to have a flight - I hear that the barabara (road) to the Mara is very bumpy. I met all sorts of interesting people in the airport - I bumped into a Canadian who was here for research, and also heading home soon. She was missing her family at home too. The next couple I met, it was all I could do to keep from laughing. I know there are lots of very nice Americans (the lovely Julia included), but this couple was truly the stereotypical hilarious American couple. The two of them were both decked out in the funniest "safari" gear - from the shoes to the khaki vest to the fancy hat. The man worked for the army, and was telling me all about the great work America is doing in the Middle East... it didn't seem to cross his mind that anyone could perceive the US army as anything but wonderful. He talked for quite some time about how he's moving countries "forward", and finally I just couldn't smile and nod anymore, and I had to ask him what is "ahead" really?
When I arrived at the airstrip in the Mara, I met my very kind driver. He told me he was a Matatu driver for years, and has now been a guide for 20 years - and he certainly knew how to drive on the bumpy roads well! He was also very kind and knowledgeable, and helped me out with my kiswahili a bit. The airstrip isn't pavement, however, and as we were driving away, we heard a tire pop on my plane! He said there is a special airstrip for damaged planes to land in Nairobi, however, and he said they'd be alright.
At the lodge, I met all sorts of very nice people. Since it's the low season, there were hardly any guests, so I felt very spoiled, lol. There was a very nice woman, Pennina, who was also doing a student placement - she was studying tourism in Nairobi and had been at the lodge for several months on her placement. We spent a lot of time together over the weekend. I also met a very nice Maasai fellow, Lepapa, who came a long on many of our game drives. He's a naturalist, studying the different animals, and he felt very passionately about preserving the Maasai's traditional culture. He was worried that within the next century, the skills of living traditionally will be lost, and I can definitely see why he worries.
It was quite funny when I met Lepapa - he said that when he saw my name in the register, he thought my last name was Maasai and my first name was Nigerian. So it was a bit of a disappointment to find out I was Canadian, lol. Pennina and Lepapa were a lot of fun to spend some time with. They performed a dance for the guests on Saturday night, and invited me to join. lol, I was kinda the only white person in the dance, but if my name is Maasai then I must be close enough.
We had a wonderful time looking for animals. On the first day, we saw a pregnant cheetah lying in the shade, a herd of elephants, giraffe, many many impala and gazelle, a black rhino mom with her mtoto, and a lion! It was absolutely amazing to see animals who I've only ever seen in pictures. The second day, we found a whole pride of lions with their cubs, a herd of buffalo and a mother cheetah teaching her cubs how to hunt. It was so beautiful to watch the three cheetahs walk through the tall grass looking for a stray gazelle. I think the giraffe and the cheetah are my two favourite animals - they are so elegant and beautiful. I have so many pictures to share with you, but that will have to wait until I am back at the Mumo's place.
During one of the game drives, my driver, Charles, Pennina and Lepapa got on a role sharing their stories with me. It was so interesting to hear them tell the stories - they were all excellent story tellers. They pointed out a mountain called the sleeping Maasai where a warrior slept and the mountain grew into the shape of a sleeping warrior. They told me that somewhere in Kenya, there is a large snake who keeps a glowing rock in it's belly. It sets the rock in front of it at night and waits for insects to come to the light. Then it eats all the insects who come. If you can steal the glowing rock, they told me, you will be very rich and you'd never need a lamp. But it is very difficult to steal because the snake is very protective of its rock. The only way would be to take a bucket upsidedown on the end of a long stick and cover the rim of the bucket with cow dung to seal out the light. Then, you'd have to drop the bucket over the glowing rock very quickly so that the snake could not see it. They also told me about how a certain lake had been formed - I've forgotten the name of the lake. hey said that a family had lots of cows and became greedy. They decided that they had so much extra milk that they would swim in milk rather than water, so they made a swimming pool of milk. But a man nearby was upset because there were other families who were starving, and this family was wasting milk on a swimming pool, so he prayed that God would do something. While the man was sleeping, it poured rain, and the entire family was swept away except the one house where the man lived. He stepped out of his house, and everywhere he walked, there was a stepping stone until he got to the shore of the lake. I wish I could remember all the stories they told me - there were so many, and they were all very interesting.
On the second day, we drove out to a Maasai village, where they showed me how they make fire (which was quite amazing!) and how they build their houses. I met the father of the village who was 98 years old with 11 wives and many sons. As I was leaving, three of the sons were joking that I should stay. One offered 10 cows for me, another 13, and the last fellow offered 20 cows! He asked me where my father lived - if it would take 30 days? 40 days to drive the cows to him? I had to tell him that it would take a very very long time to drive cows to Canada.
On my last morning, we drove for 2 hours without finding any animals. Just as we were heading back, we passed another person who said they had found a pride of lions who had stolen a kill from a leopard who was sitting sadly in the tree. My driver was very excited, and he drove us through the craziest not frequently used path through the hills to find this. We did find the leopard and the lions - it was very exciting to see!
On the flight back to Nairobi, I met a Canadian family who was working for the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi, but unfortunately, I was too travel sick to talk. Mumo picked me up at the airport, and we dropped by their home briefly before I took a taxi out to a different airport to go to Mombasa. It was a very wobbly tummy day with two flights and two longish taxi drives, but eventually I made it to the hotel in Mombasa.
On Friday, Mumo drove me to the airport early in the morning. We had a very interesting conversation about strong and soft cultures. It's really quite amazing to think that Portugal held Mombasa for around 200 years, but left relatively little influence on Kenya. Whereas Britain spent just a short time in Kenya and completely altered the country permanently. He said that Kenyan culture is a soft culture like Portugal - when his family came to Canada, they had relatively little trouble adjusting because his culture is a flexible one that just adapts to the new culture that they find themselves in. I think Canadian culture is much them same - probably because we're a mix of various immigrant cultures. Anyway, it's an interesting thing to think about.
I soon hopped on a little plane to the Mara. I feel very blessed to have a flight - I hear that the barabara (road) to the Mara is very bumpy. I met all sorts of interesting people in the airport - I bumped into a Canadian who was here for research, and also heading home soon. She was missing her family at home too. The next couple I met, it was all I could do to keep from laughing. I know there are lots of very nice Americans (the lovely Julia included), but this couple was truly the stereotypical hilarious American couple. The two of them were both decked out in the funniest "safari" gear - from the shoes to the khaki vest to the fancy hat. The man worked for the army, and was telling me all about the great work America is doing in the Middle East... it didn't seem to cross his mind that anyone could perceive the US army as anything but wonderful. He talked for quite some time about how he's moving countries "forward", and finally I just couldn't smile and nod anymore, and I had to ask him what is "ahead" really?
When I arrived at the airstrip in the Mara, I met my very kind driver. He told me he was a Matatu driver for years, and has now been a guide for 20 years - and he certainly knew how to drive on the bumpy roads well! He was also very kind and knowledgeable, and helped me out with my kiswahili a bit. The airstrip isn't pavement, however, and as we were driving away, we heard a tire pop on my plane! He said there is a special airstrip for damaged planes to land in Nairobi, however, and he said they'd be alright.
At the lodge, I met all sorts of very nice people. Since it's the low season, there were hardly any guests, so I felt very spoiled, lol. There was a very nice woman, Pennina, who was also doing a student placement - she was studying tourism in Nairobi and had been at the lodge for several months on her placement. We spent a lot of time together over the weekend. I also met a very nice Maasai fellow, Lepapa, who came a long on many of our game drives. He's a naturalist, studying the different animals, and he felt very passionately about preserving the Maasai's traditional culture. He was worried that within the next century, the skills of living traditionally will be lost, and I can definitely see why he worries.
It was quite funny when I met Lepapa - he said that when he saw my name in the register, he thought my last name was Maasai and my first name was Nigerian. So it was a bit of a disappointment to find out I was Canadian, lol. Pennina and Lepapa were a lot of fun to spend some time with. They performed a dance for the guests on Saturday night, and invited me to join. lol, I was kinda the only white person in the dance, but if my name is Maasai then I must be close enough.
We had a wonderful time looking for animals. On the first day, we saw a pregnant cheetah lying in the shade, a herd of elephants, giraffe, many many impala and gazelle, a black rhino mom with her mtoto, and a lion! It was absolutely amazing to see animals who I've only ever seen in pictures. The second day, we found a whole pride of lions with their cubs, a herd of buffalo and a mother cheetah teaching her cubs how to hunt. It was so beautiful to watch the three cheetahs walk through the tall grass looking for a stray gazelle. I think the giraffe and the cheetah are my two favourite animals - they are so elegant and beautiful. I have so many pictures to share with you, but that will have to wait until I am back at the Mumo's place.
During one of the game drives, my driver, Charles, Pennina and Lepapa got on a role sharing their stories with me. It was so interesting to hear them tell the stories - they were all excellent story tellers. They pointed out a mountain called the sleeping Maasai where a warrior slept and the mountain grew into the shape of a sleeping warrior. They told me that somewhere in Kenya, there is a large snake who keeps a glowing rock in it's belly. It sets the rock in front of it at night and waits for insects to come to the light. Then it eats all the insects who come. If you can steal the glowing rock, they told me, you will be very rich and you'd never need a lamp. But it is very difficult to steal because the snake is very protective of its rock. The only way would be to take a bucket upsidedown on the end of a long stick and cover the rim of the bucket with cow dung to seal out the light. Then, you'd have to drop the bucket over the glowing rock very quickly so that the snake could not see it. They also told me about how a certain lake had been formed - I've forgotten the name of the lake. hey said that a family had lots of cows and became greedy. They decided that they had so much extra milk that they would swim in milk rather than water, so they made a swimming pool of milk. But a man nearby was upset because there were other families who were starving, and this family was wasting milk on a swimming pool, so he prayed that God would do something. While the man was sleeping, it poured rain, and the entire family was swept away except the one house where the man lived. He stepped out of his house, and everywhere he walked, there was a stepping stone until he got to the shore of the lake. I wish I could remember all the stories they told me - there were so many, and they were all very interesting.
On the second day, we drove out to a Maasai village, where they showed me how they make fire (which was quite amazing!) and how they build their houses. I met the father of the village who was 98 years old with 11 wives and many sons. As I was leaving, three of the sons were joking that I should stay. One offered 10 cows for me, another 13, and the last fellow offered 20 cows! He asked me where my father lived - if it would take 30 days? 40 days to drive the cows to him? I had to tell him that it would take a very very long time to drive cows to Canada.
On my last morning, we drove for 2 hours without finding any animals. Just as we were heading back, we passed another person who said they had found a pride of lions who had stolen a kill from a leopard who was sitting sadly in the tree. My driver was very excited, and he drove us through the craziest not frequently used path through the hills to find this. We did find the leopard and the lions - it was very exciting to see!
On the flight back to Nairobi, I met a Canadian family who was working for the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi, but unfortunately, I was too travel sick to talk. Mumo picked me up at the airport, and we dropped by their home briefly before I took a taxi out to a different airport to go to Mombasa. It was a very wobbly tummy day with two flights and two longish taxi drives, but eventually I made it to the hotel in Mombasa.
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