Hi everyone! I got back from the safari yesterday afternoon and it was the most amazing experience of my life. It was honestly indescribable. You would have to experience it for yourself - the pictures and video don't capture it well enough. I can't wait to show you all of it though!
We left for the safari at 7:30am on Saturday. Our driver picked us up at the orphanage and we found out that the entire safari we would have our own private van and driver - SO AWESOME! It was just me and Carly to ourselves in a van with eight seats! The van ride took about six hours but it was entertaining because along the way we saw a random giraffe on the side of the road and some zebra and gazelle. When we got to the hotel it was like entering a whole different world - we were greeted with fresh juice and warm towels to wash our hands. It was really weird to be at a five star resort and to be served after serving at the orphanage.
The hotel was spectacular - amazing view and our room was a little hut with a balcony view. The food was delicious buffet style and we ate tons of plates of food each meal. The van was really nice and comfortable - the roof popped up so we could stand and have an amazing view. It was my favorite part.. I loved my hair blowing in the wind as I looked out over the plains. Our driver was very friendly and knowledgeable!
I honestly don't even know how to describe the safari - it was breathtaking. I felt like the luckiest person in the world. We saw so many animals up close and you can't even compare it to anything else. The scenery was beautiful - I loved the clouds, the trees, etc. We went on four van rides total, each about 2 1/2 - 3 hours long. We would go on a morning drive around 6:30am and then an afternoon drive around 4:30pm.
Some highlights:
-Saw a herd of elephant up close... 21 of them including babies! They were all eating.
-Saw a pack of lions of up close in three different instances. The first one was seven females all surrounded our van, the second one was a female with a bunch of cubs (they were so cute when they played and would mimic the mom) and the last one was a male with some females and the female was calling in the other lions so many were coming from a distance.
-Saw a mom and baby rhino up close. They walked right up to the van.
-Saw some giraffe up close.. one was even sitting down!
Some other animals we saw: baboon, gazelle, topi, water buffalo, crocodile, hippos, cheetah, birds (vulture, etc), hyenas, jackal, wildebeest, warthogs, lizards, marmosats and more!
I loved waking up really early for the sunrise and they would have tea and coffee out to drink while you watched. It was beautiful. We also laid out by the pool one afternoon and it was so hot out we got pretty burnt. The view from the pool was amazing, you could see giraffe in the distance and some buffalo came up pretty close.
The safari was one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life and I have never experienced God's creation in a way like that. It was breathtaking. I had so much fun and it by far exceeded my expectations. Thank you so much for helping support me so that I could go! Looking forward to sharing pictures and video with all of you.
It was great to get back to the orphanage yesterday though - I really missed the kids! Helped out with their homework last night and am going to the nursery today to help out. Hopefully am going to go visit another orphanage this week with Carly and Sara for a day - Joy Divine Childrens Organization. Miss all of you!
I am loving the kids more and more everyday… my love for them keeps growing and I think I could stay here forever with them. I want to bring them home with me!! It amazes me how even though it may be a “simpler” life here, I find so much more joy here. I would give up everything at home any day to be here and have this kind of happiness.
On Monday morning I spent time with Jacob and Joy. Jacob would cry whenever I left. They love to be spun around in circles and Joy drank her bottle on my lap and almost fell asleep. Sara, Carly, and I hung out a lot that day and practiced our Swahili on Rosetta Stone. We were able to move into a bedroom upstairs so that we can sleep better since our room downstairs was by all of the toddlers. Some helpful words I have been using a lot are katika: dance, lucia: throw, and mpira: ball (I have no idea how to spell lucia). I also read to Sharon that afternoon and would point to pictures and she would repeat what I said. It was fun when I knew the words in Swahili, like cat is paka.
They have had a really difficult time trying to potty train Sharon though, she refuses to go on the toilet so she will just wet her pants and not tell anyone. She told me she had to go potty several times that day and we would go to the bathroom and she wouldn’t do anything. So I’m getting used to changing her underwear or diaper multiple times a day. Unfortunately, I always discover she has wet her pants when she’s sitting on my lap haha.
One of the highlights of my day was really simple but so fun. I ran around with Faith on my back and Solomon was chasing us and they were laughing so hard and screaming. The power went out that night for a while (the second time so far), and all of the kids were screaming and running around. It was very dark and Sharon sat on my lap singing songs about Jesus and it was adorable. That night was really funny... I decided to try to help the older kids with their math homework. BAD idea! They didn’t have calculators or notes or a textbook so we had no help when we tried to do the problems and lots of them were conversions that I didn’t remember. The kids had no idea how to do any of the homework either. Three other girls (Carly and two of the other volunteers) came out to try to help and none of us could figure out half of the problems… it took us HOURS... and we are all in college!!
Yesterday (Tuesday), we spent the day at the Masaii Market and it was so fun! We left the orphanage at 9am and didn’t get there until 1pm though because traffic in Nairobi was CRAZY and we had to make a detour to pay for our safari at the travel agency. When we finally got there at 1pm we ate lunch at pizza inn which is popular here and I was able to have a coke and coke has never tasted better!
The market was hilarious. The vendors kept asking if we came with Biden (he arrived in Kenya yesterday) and they would all ask where I’m from. None of them could believe I was in college since I look so young. They loved to hear what I am studying. They always offered me a “student” and “missionary” discount. My favorite was when they would describe the “big belly papa” tourist and say how much they charge him (always a ridiculous price) and then they would say how they would be fair and give me a lower one since I am a student (still too high). Some of the vendors were too forceful for me – they would grab onto my arm or force the items into my bag so I would buy them or they would follow me around to other booths and bring things from their booth to me. Or they would just stand and wait forever by me when I was at other booths. I was able to give out hair ties to lower the prices of the things I bought which was nice. I love everything I got: a painted map of Africa on cloth, elephants with a sunrise painted on cloth, a bag, rings, bookmarks, and fabric to make one shirt and two dresses. When bargaining, they would give a “hallelujah” price (they considered it to be the best offer) which always made me laugh because it was still too high and a “kill” price was when I went too low with them. Sara was my mediator so I wouldn’t get too ripped off and she helped me bargain with them on paper – they were more scared of her. We would go off in our own corner and pick a maximum price for me before we negotiated with them. Bargaining took a long time and it was SO hot out. I accidentally spent WAY too much on a bag I got but oh well I love it and the other booths didn't have it (they started out with the price at 2800 and I got it down to 1650 but apparently you can get bags for 500 at other booths). By the end of the day the vendors all knew Sara's name and were shouting it and it was really funny.
All of us girls woke up with sore throats yesterday and Sara is pretty sick so please be praying for our health. It feels like the left side of my throat is swollen and it hurts to swallow. We are having a difficult time sleeping because we are sick and the beds are rock solid and the dogs and birds are very loud all night.
Today a medical team is arriving and they will be here for the next two days helping out with the people from the village so that will be interesting to see what it is like. I am going to go help out at the nursery now! Friday we are going to another market and Saturday morning we leave for the safari.
Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know we were able to purchase a special internet connection so I will be able to access it more often now. I got sent so many questions and it is easier to just answer all of them here!
The weather has been fine, in the morning and at night it is freezing and we have to wear lots of layers and sleep with lots of blankets, but during the day it is nice out and I am fine without a jacket. The food has been good as well, yesterday I tried goat for the first time, as well as sugarcane, ugali (I have no idea how to spell it) and greens. I am not able to send pictures now because I don't have a way to connect my camera to the computer so I will have to wait to show you all of them until I get home... sorry!
Yesterday was a perfect day I can't even describe how fun it was. Church was in the morning and the village kids come for it so it was very crowded. It was so fun to watch all of the kids sing, dance, pray, and give a testimony. The service was really long because they translate it from Swahili to English so we can understand what's going on.
After church I played with the village kids for the whole day until dinner time. It was SO fun! They were scared of me at first and wouldn't respond to any of my questions but they eventually let me push them on the swings and they started to open up to me. By the end of the day we were pretty much best friends! We played a huge soccer game that started out with just four of us and ended up being around 30 of us! I was exhausted by the end of that. I spent the day with about 8 kids and we played so many random games. Even though there was a language barrier we managed! We played this fun game called "katika" which means dance, played hide and seek, a tag game with lots of chanting, and we all held hands and ran around in circles singing songs. The kids were so cute and loved to hold my hand and be in pictures. They followed me wherever I went and were so energetic and fun to be with. Some of the games were funny though because I had no idea what they were saying to me so I would just run around and chase them. It was sad though, a lot of them had their shoes on the wrong feet or were really dirty and had snot all over their noses. They were OBSESSED with my hair and I sat in the grass and all they all sat around me and played with my hair for at least an hour. We gave them jolly ranchers and they were so excited... I wish I could give them more. A lot of them tried eating the wrappers though so I had to try to explain to them to not eat that. I am excited for next Sunday for when they all come back... I had such a great time with them and was sad when it was time for them to go home! Also... to those of you who requested a picture of the kids popping doublies.. I definitely got one yesterday hahah!
I also love spending time with Joy, one of the babies. She is so cute and will imitate whatever facial expression or dance move I do. Sara and I laugh at that forever! Last night I helped some of the younger kids with their homework as well. The kids are in school today and Sara bought Rosetta Stone for Swahili so we are going to try to learn it while we are here. We are going to work on it while the kids are gone for the day.
Hi everyone!! I wanted to let all of you know I arrived safely in Kenya Thursday night and have been at the orphanage since Friday afternoon. I am having the time of my life – there is SO much to say!!
My flights to Kenya went very well (besides how long they were!). Sara and I were able to sit together on both flights and we even had our own row from Chicago to London! Somehow I managed to sleep the whole nine hour flight from London to Nairobi. We arrived in Nairobi around 9pm on Thursday and immediately everything was different! For one, the driving here is CRAZY!!! I have learned to not watch the road. The speed limit and lanes are just a recommendation... pretty much cars go wherever they want, whenever they want. We almost get in an accident every few minutes! The roads are also very bumpy and some were pretty flooded from the rain. The van has to swerve all over to avoid multiple pot holes... sometimes we ended up driving half on the road and half off of the road. Thursday night we stayed at a missionary place and it was very nice. Haha we walked in and there were giant bugs on the walls and my first reaction was to freak out but I am getting used to all of the bugs here now. We were very tired that night so we ate and went to bed. I was able to try “stoney” which is a popular soda here and enjoyed it.
Friday morning we woke up early and had breakfast and then left to head to the orphanage. We had an awesome day! It was really fun in the long car ride because all of our surroundings were so different. For one, I didn’t realize how bad the pollution would be. Also, LOTS of people walk along the roads and others ride their bikes carrying more weight than I could ever imagine. There are animals along the road all the time, like chickens, goats, sheep, cows, turkey, dogs, or donkey. We stopped at one of the largest slums in Africa that is still growing. We saw it from atop a hill and it was very sad – there are really nice condos that overlook it and it was hard to see such nice houses so close to such terrible conditions. We are going to try to walk through the slums one day while we are here. We also stopped at one of the Masaii markets and that was more fun than I expected! We decided to just look around so that when we go back we will have an idea of what we want. SO many cool things! The vendors are hilarious I couldn’t stop laughing at them – they sell things way too expensive so you have to bargain with them. My favorite is when they tell you they will give you a “special”discount because of your name or because you are a “student" or "missionary." They do ridiculous things to try to convince you their price is the best. They will actually trade in a hair tie for something so I’m going to bring a ton of them to the market next week (they want to give them to their wife or sister). We also stopped along tea fields and were able to talk to some of the ladies that worked there. We stopped at the Great Rift Valley Overlook and it was beautiful.
We got to the orphanage Friday afternoon and I have loved it ever since. The children are cuter than words can describe and I love every single one of them. I was SO excited to meet Faith who I had seen so many pictures of and I hang out with her so much. I probably already have over 100 pictures with her :) The kids call me “Auntie Kristin" and they will always go “Auntie Auntie!” to get my attention. My arms are sore from holding so many kids –I held the baby Hope most of Friday afternoon. They all love to be spun around and ask for it all the time. Everyday we wake up around 7am and play with the kids for the day and help out around the orphanage. Sara, Carly, and I have been doing the dishes a lot to help out (they don’t have a dishwasher and have sooo many dishes to do because of the kids, volunteers plus staff). I played soccer, basketball and football with the older boys and girls yesterday and that was exhausting but so fun! I love waking up to good morning kisses from the children and having them sit on my lap and sing. They love to sing and dance and are so energetic! Last night was Saturday night worship and they all have dances to the songs and it was so much fun to watch. Church is this morning and the village children come so I am looking forward to that. I honestly can’t describe what it is like to be with the children here – I love it so much and couldn’t be happier. There’s nothing that can compare to the children just holding onto you and following you around all day wanting to play. One of the little girls Sharon always tells me she loves me and it is the cutest thing in the world.
Thank you to all of you for supporting me and helping me get here… I can’t thank you enough! There is honestly too much to say and I’m sorry I can’t include all of it. I have so many stories and observations already! We are going on the safari next weekend! Love and miss all of you!
