RafikiKate: Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya

Monday, March 5, 2007

Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya

Dear Friends and Family,

Just a short note to let you know that I arrived safely last night. I am elated to be here, but quite weary from the travel. We seem to be 9 hours ahead of you all back home in Texas.

Tomorrow, if I have a chance, I will try to figure out how to send pics from this computer or from Tamara's laptop. I've already been quite trigger-happy with my camera and video. There seem to be tons of Americans around, as I met many at the bed and breakfast where I spent last night. I saw many more while driving all around the city today running errands with Yeen-Lan, our village director, all day. She is amazing. Has been here running the place for 9 years, I think. She has an MBA from Stamford U., and is so organized.

We had a driver (David), a Kenyan mom (Mama Faith) from our village, and 3 of her children to take to dentist and doctor visits in town. I got to play with and baby sit the kids while we waited in the car for Mama Faith to visit the doctor. I fit right in with these 4 year olds. They are sooooo beautiful and they sang English songs like "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and "Joy to the World" with precious angelic voices.

I must rest now. Kenya is very cool.

Take care,

Kate

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Safari Retreat

The second weekend that I was here, four of us went on our Big Safari adventure. It was far more expensive than I had anticipated, but worth it for the safety, convenience, and luxury that we enjoyed. We arose at 5 am on Friday, February 23rd, so that we could catch an early flight on a small plane out of Wilson Airport. The 30-minute flight was quite enjoyable, even though I've never been in a small plane before. The pilot just spoke directly to us, no airline attendant necessary. We flew low, and could see herds of elephants as we approached Amboseli Park in Southern Kenya. There was only a sign and a shack at the "airport". It was pretty cool. We were treated royally upon arrival at Ol Tukai ("Palm Tree") Lodge. Our driver, Isaac, would transport us throughout the weekend in a special Landrover with a convertible roof that he usually opened up for us to stand and take photos. Really cool. Our partners in this adventure were Paul and Maggy, a precious British couple who work for a large company that exports gazillions of roses to European florists. Paul runs the entire Kenyan operation, but Maggy was visiting from company headquarters in London. By the end of the weekend, she had fallen in love with Africa and now plans to move to Nairobi. Since photos speak a thousand words, I will attempt to capture the beauty of African creation with a few photos from our trip. Anna's camera was much better than mine, and she granted me permission to use her zooms of the lions and giraffes. Amboseli is known for its large herds of elephants, so they were always within reach it seemed. They were delightful to watch eat, bathe, and march across the road in front of us. As our director had suggested, safari is a spiritual experience which is hard to describe in words. "Majestic", "awe-inspiring", and "glorious" don't quite capture the emotions we felt. Enjoy the handful of photos displayed in this post...