Closure

So, the last blog.

It is strange, as well as challenging for me to write this last blog. I find myself stuck at many points and forcing it at others. I am now sitting on my bed in the US, as opposed to 8000 miles away in a small internet cafe tucked away in one of the many buildings of Kahawa West, Kenya.

Over there I felt like I could just write on and on without having to stop for a single thought. There was so much going on around me that provided a constant fuel for thought and reflection. Over there, everything was worth writing about and sharing, the place mine as well have been Mars for how little my friends, family, and I knew about it.

Well, now the good thing is I feel like I do know a lot about it. I learned about Kenya and in the process learned a lot about myself and our country as well. I think that the biggest thing I learned is that people can be very different, yet be very similar at the same time. The kids I taught, the family I lived with, the workers in Dubai, and all the volunteers from various places of the world all had their own story and unique existence in life. However, no matter where you are in the world it is possible to connect to others and learn from one another.

There is no doubt that Kenya has many issues that need to be resolved; a corrupt government, a disastrous water supply situation, a reliance on crops that very well may be "ungrowable" in the future due to climate change, etc. However, you will never find people so full of spirit and hope as you will in the Kenyan people. This hope and determination is the reason why although surrounded by countries like Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia, they are a successful democratic society. Many would crumble under such circumstances but the Kenyans are fighting to better their country.

Our host Steven defines this Kenyan spirit. I promise you that you will never find a better man than Steven. He is constantly smiling, laughing and seeing the good things around him. Show him a banana fiber painting of a Maasai warrior and he will spend 5 minutes pointing out details you yourself never took the time to recognize (This is what happened when Tommy and I gave him such a painting as a gift).

Here in America we have characteristics that are just as honorable. We work hard. We are a society that revolves around our work; for better and for worse. The Kenyans know what it means to wake up at 5am to get water from their wells but may not yet have perfected their intellectual pursuit. We may know what it means to study diligently for 20 years of our life and then work 70 hours a week, but sometimes we lack that which the Kenyans have - the ability to appreciate every crumb of life.

This opportunity was an amazing one. It made me want to go to every other inch of the earth and explore. Everyone reading, if presented with the opportunity, should go to Kenya. Before leaving, many people were concerned with whether or not Kenya was safe. It is hard to learn about Kenya and what to expect when going there. I personally spent months before this trip looking for information, specific information, on what I could expect on this trip but was constantly let down. I left for Kenya with very little knowledge of what to expect. The picture I had created in my head was far from accurate. There is no doubt in my mind that many, many people do not go to Kenya, and other countries for that matter, because they are afraid. This is a pity because there is so much to see and learn, and as they say - you only live once.

Nearly every person I met in Kenya told me "tell your friends good things about Kenya." They are saddened about the misconceptions about Kenya. I would spend time telling you how wonderful of a place Kenya is, but I think my many blog entries said enough.

Thanks for reading everyone

-Kevin

Maasai Mara

The end of our trip was just as fantastic as the the rest. Thursday we headed to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. While there, we had a tour of a Maasai village. Each person going on the tour paid 10 US dollars - money that went to pay for a school the Maasai were developing.

During the tour we saw the men and women each do their own dance. They would walk in unison, jump, and make quite scary noises with their mouths. It was definitely incredible. Afterwards, the men showed us how they made fire out of two pieces of wood. I was able to try this out with them which was pretty cool. I contemplated just buying them a few bic lighters to save them a lot of hassle in the future...

After the fire making, Tommy and I were taken by 3 Maasai men into one of the huts. Their huts are completely made out of cow poop. Inside the hut it was completely dark. The huts were filled with smoke which quickly began burning our eyes. As we walked in we entered a room which had a fire being used to cook milk mixed with blood from the cows, something the Maasai drink each day. A few children, as well as a female Maasai sat around the fire. As we sat around the fire the Maasai encouraged us to take pictures with them and the children. They then showed us necklaces that had lions teeth on them. We were told that before a male Maasai is able to get married, it must kill a lion. The teeth from the lion are then worn around the neck of the man. The Maasai wanted to sell us a couple of necklaces with the lion's teeth, an offer I could not refuse. I know that many people may think that the killing of lions and the wearing of their teeth is cruel, but the Maasai live with and respect the animals of their region more than you could imagine. They only kill when necessary. I did not feel bad at all buying these lion's teeth.

After leaving the hut, a couple Maasai showed interest in the binoculars that Tommy and I had bought at Bass pro shops. They offered to trade us their Maasai clubs for the binoculars. This was another offer I could not refuse. Not only did I have very little use for these binoculars anymore, but I think it is the coolest thing ever to know that there is a Maasai out there using binoculars from Bass Pro Shops that I traded to him.

That night after leaving the Maasai village we went on a game drive. Entering the park we saw zebra, antelope, gazelle, etc. However, after not too long our van and driver noticed a bunch of other vans grouped together not too far away, a sign that something was going on. We drove up to be told that a leopard was in the bushes but could not be spotted anymore. Our driver, Patrick, drove around to get a better spot. He pulled right into the bushes and immediately we saw the leopard walking about 15 yards from our van. It was incredible. It moved so stealthy and showed immense power. It was amazing.

That night we went back to our camp, had dinner, and went to bed in our tent. The tent had 4 beds. Tommy and I had been paired up with two girls from the US that were also volunteering and staying at the hostel. We told them fake stories of relatives and friends that had been attacked by leopards while camping at similar camps around the area. We told them about Tanzanian tribes that came to the Mara sometimes to attack tourists. Tommy also told them about some spider from Kenya that embedded itself into people's skin. They bought everything and freaked out. Pretty hilarious.

The next day we went on a game drive through the park from 8-5. We saw every animal imaginable as well as had our first lion encounter. I lion had recently hunted a wildebeest. The lion stood eating from the wildebeest carcass while 20 or so vultures waited to get the leftovers. As soon as the lion left, the vultures made the move, but the lion came back to scare them away (Greedy lion...). Finally, the lion left and the phrase about eating like a vulture made complete sense. A pile of vultures converged on the carcass.

That same day we also saw two cheetahs sitting on a hill, elephants, and giraffes. Before lunch we drove by a heard of hundreds, possibly thousands of wildebeest, part of the annual wildebeest migration. We ate lunch by the river they must cross, dodging crocs in the process. We saw hippos and gigantic crocs in the river after we ate.

After lunch we drove around some more and then headed back for dinner. After meeting a kid from California, multiple heated political discussions, including the legalization of marijuana, we went to bed. We woke up at 6 to go on our final game drive. This game drive was only a couple hours long but we were able to see one of the coolest things during this time, a pride of lions. 15 or so vans parked on the grass as 4 female lions and 2 males walked right by us. At one point Tommy and I could have practically have bent down and pet one of the lions. Surprisingly, they do not even bother looking at the people around them, they just continued on with their business.

After that game drive we headed back for Maziwa. It was already Saturday. We went to visit our host family one last time and then were picked up by Ian and Ethel to be brought back to the hostel. It was really sad to leave Maziwa. We knew that we would probably never be back there, or at least for a very long time.

We stopped at a market on the way home and bought the last avocados we would eat in Kenya. We brought them home, cut them open and put them on our dinner, which was my favorite meal, chapati.

Before we knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and we were being brought to the airport. We said goodbye and were dropped off.

The 5 hours flight from Kenya to Dubai was not bad. I was able to watch a movie, 12 Rounds, which sucked but passed the time. We arrived in Dubai at 2:30 in the morning, spent about an hour figuring out what we were going to do, and then finally got a hotel at 4 in the morning.

Oh ya, by the way, it was 41 degrees Celsius in Dubai. When we left the airport I thought I walked into a sauna. It was ridiculous, and it was 4am!

The next day after sleeping from 5am until 2pm we were able to check out Dubai. We walked through the incredible heat to a mall where I ate at a sweet fast food place. Afterwards, we paid a boat driver 20 dollars each to take us on an hour long boat tour along the river/bay. In the distance was the tallest building in the world, among one of the coolest skylines I've ever seen.

Dubai is a great city. It is very rich and very clean. Everyone is very kind and as a customer you are treated ridiculously nice. Tommy and I discussed that unfortunately it is a place that people are either unaware of or are afraid to visit because it is nearly completely Muslim. This is not something that should be of concern as westerners received very hospitably.

After the boat ride we headed to the airport and got on our flight to Atlanta. After 15 hours, Tuesday morning Tommy and I arrived back in the United States. I can easily say that I have never been so happy to be an American. The trip was great, I loved every second of it (even when I was sick and puking), but we really do live in the best country in the world with a lot of things we definitely take for granted.

One blog left.

-Kevin