We've been back stateside a little over a week. A lot has happened since our uneventful (thank you Lord!) flight home. Bill went straight back to work the next morning, Ella started school the day after that and Jack started preschool the day after her. And I unpacked and started drowning in a very long to do list (which doesn't shrink while you disappear for 1 month, I found out) and lots of back to school papers.
We are treading water a bit better now and mostly righted our sleep schedules, so I thought it was about time to reflect on our trip a bit. I will speak a bit for Bill first. Bill loved Kijabe - he got to see a ton of new things, do a ton of procedures, enjoyed way better hours at work and loved the Christian working environment. Bill was so relaxed during our month in Kenya. At this point I'm going to refrain from talking about what Bill disliked in Kenya and upon our return home - I don't want to misrepresent him. That being said we will be hosting an evening next week where we will be talking about our trip so if you'd like more details, please comment below or email me.
I had a really different experience than Bill. We lacked structure and schedule to our days and I found that difficult. And sometimes it was lonely - being in a new culture and not knowing how things work is intimidating. I struggled when the kids had difficulty with our new place. But on a positive note, I really enjoyed the people we got to know and the chances to learn about life in Kenya. I loved the freedom the kids had and lack of worry I had about where they were and what they were doing. The simplicity of our day to day (in hindsight) was refreshing.
Returning home has not really been hard with "reverse culture shock" so to speak - I notice the differences but I don't feel and struggle with that (to this point). I have a new appreciation for true poverty, the blessings we have here; I find myself worrying less about my to do list (that never gets done!); we've learned how to be really flexible. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's impossible to leave the developing world and not be changed. To find that not everyone lives the same way you do. To move beyond your own circle and subculture you tend to "do life" in and realize there's a whole lot of world out there. I thought I knew those things until I took this trip.
So I think that about wraps up this blog - I realize this last post is perhaps a bit short, a bit abstract, lacking in closure, etc. But that reflects where I'm at right now. I'm still reflecting and processing our trip. But I also realized if I didn't write something now I might not ever get it done!
If you'd like to talk to me more about our trip just comment or email me so we can do that - it might be easier to discuss things outside of the blog. And as I mentioned earlier, we'll be hosting an evening next week to talk about our trip. If you'd like details, get in touch with me (I'm not going to post those details on the web.)
Thanks for journeying along with us and for your thoughts and prayers. They have been much appreciated!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Better late than never - our Masai Mara trip
Our safari trip was amazing! It is hard to put into words what it is like to be just yards from a lion lounging in the shade or to watch 12 elephants walking across the grass together, a stone's throw from your vehicle. But I will do my best!
Although we had no major hiccups with our trip, we had a slight miscommunication about how we were paying for the trip. We thought we could book partially on credit card - WRONG! Apparently we needed to pay for the whole thing in cash. So, fingers crossed and prayers lifted we hit the ATM in hope that we some how wouldn't reach our withdraw limit for the day. Somehow we managed to make 3 ATM withdraws which was just enough to cover our expenses for our 3 day trip (we literally had the equivalent of $30 leftover). Crisis averted.
The trip down took about 4-5 hrs. About halfway into the drive, you hit the road to nowhere - literally! It took us about 2 hrs to drive about 60 miles due to half the road being potholes and the other half unpaved (which was actually better because you could go a bit faster). I was feeling a bit saddle sore. And once again the ipad saved the day for our journey.
We arrived early enough on our first day to head out for a 2-3 hr game drive. We were not disappointed! We probably saw 15-20 different types of animals that afternoon. And bless our driver, he worked really hard to find the elephants Ella was looking for and finally spotted them on our way out of the park. Hooray!
Our second day was our longest - we spent 8 hrs driving around the Masai Mara on our quest to spot animals. We stopped for a picnic lunch amongst the wildebeests and Jack thought it was really cool to "pee on a tree." The memorable sight of the day was stopping at the river and seeing all the dead wildebeests in the water who were unable to successful cross without being trampled, drowned or chomped by crocodiles. The smell was awful.
Our last day included an early morning rising to catch the sunset and one last glimpse of the animals. We were unable to find the elusive rhino, but we did catch a gorgeous sunrise.
The accommodations did not disappoint! We stayed at the equivalent of a very fancy guest house. It was small and the kids felt at home. The staff was wonderful and the views were amazing!
To recap - highlights of the trip: wildebeest migration (1.5 million migrate from Tanzania to Kenya and we were there to see it!) lion eating a wildebeest, huge groups of elephants walking together, the kids sticking their heads out the top of the vehicle (a highlight for them!) the kids faces when we spotted animals, a picnic on the Mara, our excellent driver, an indoor place to sleep at night
the not-so-highlights : huge spiders and slugs in our room at night, sitting in the car for loooooong periods of time, using "the bush" as a toilet, the road in and out of the Masai Mara, the not so warm shower
I'm going to leave some pics below for your enjoyment. This was a trip of a lifetime - I highly recommend it!
our tour van - literally an 8 person nissan mini bus! these are the tour buses of choice...
Although we had no major hiccups with our trip, we had a slight miscommunication about how we were paying for the trip. We thought we could book partially on credit card - WRONG! Apparently we needed to pay for the whole thing in cash. So, fingers crossed and prayers lifted we hit the ATM in hope that we some how wouldn't reach our withdraw limit for the day. Somehow we managed to make 3 ATM withdraws which was just enough to cover our expenses for our 3 day trip (we literally had the equivalent of $30 leftover). Crisis averted.
The trip down took about 4-5 hrs. About halfway into the drive, you hit the road to nowhere - literally! It took us about 2 hrs to drive about 60 miles due to half the road being potholes and the other half unpaved (which was actually better because you could go a bit faster). I was feeling a bit saddle sore. And once again the ipad saved the day for our journey.
We arrived early enough on our first day to head out for a 2-3 hr game drive. We were not disappointed! We probably saw 15-20 different types of animals that afternoon. And bless our driver, he worked really hard to find the elephants Ella was looking for and finally spotted them on our way out of the park. Hooray!
Our second day was our longest - we spent 8 hrs driving around the Masai Mara on our quest to spot animals. We stopped for a picnic lunch amongst the wildebeests and Jack thought it was really cool to "pee on a tree." The memorable sight of the day was stopping at the river and seeing all the dead wildebeests in the water who were unable to successful cross without being trampled, drowned or chomped by crocodiles. The smell was awful.
Our last day included an early morning rising to catch the sunset and one last glimpse of the animals. We were unable to find the elusive rhino, but we did catch a gorgeous sunrise.
The accommodations did not disappoint! We stayed at the equivalent of a very fancy guest house. It was small and the kids felt at home. The staff was wonderful and the views were amazing!
To recap - highlights of the trip: wildebeest migration (1.5 million migrate from Tanzania to Kenya and we were there to see it!) lion eating a wildebeest, huge groups of elephants walking together, the kids sticking their heads out the top of the vehicle (a highlight for them!) the kids faces when we spotted animals, a picnic on the Mara, our excellent driver, an indoor place to sleep at night
the not-so-highlights : huge spiders and slugs in our room at night, sitting in the car for loooooong periods of time, using "the bush" as a toilet, the road in and out of the Masai Mara, the not so warm shower
I'm going to leave some pics below for your enjoyment. This was a trip of a lifetime - I highly recommend it!
looking out the top of the tour van
our tour van - literally an 8 person nissan mini bus! these are the tour buses of choice...
Jack with Timothy, who led us on a crocodile hunt - they liked his gun, so he posed for the kids!
Ella's turn to pose!
Wildebeest for breakfast
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