Lenana Mount Hotel Nairobi

... When we got to the school we went back to our classes (me in Class 5, Den in Class 6), and I decided to teach them more French. They loved it, once again. After break one of the teachers asked me to show the kids how to use the toys we had brought them. I jumped on this opportunity instead of having to teach colonialism to Africans (might have been a little awkward talking about slaves and whatnot). So… we got Denise’s class too, and headed down to a field for some PE ...

Hello from Nairobi!!<br><br> The Masai's are not in my good books right now. Although I am sure they are lovely people, a few experiences have put a sour taste in my mouth. First... Frank. Who could forget that awesome guy? Secondly... the scammers at the Masai Market targeting white people. Aka- Denise and I. <br><br> We decided since we had the whole day to kill yesterday that we would check out the Masai Market that is set up ...

... also pretty strong! We managed to save some room for desert as it was included in the price. <br>We payed $40 US for everything including our driver who took us there and back! Not too bad!<br><br>The next day we were off on safari. We picked up a few more travellers that jioined our group. A fellow Canadian, a brit, and an american. We all got along famously! What a great safari family we made! :)<br>We stopped for lunch on our way to Masai Mara and had some delicious african ...

For the final part of this very special summer, I travelled about 4092miles south of where I had been and was met with a big hug from my Mum in Nairobi.<br><br>This is the city in which she grew up and this was her first time to return to the country of her childhood - I feel very lucky to have been able to share this with her. It felt especially poignant after learning so much about one amazing family in Palestine, to then come to find out a bit more about my own.<br ...

... fell asleep to hyenas and lions all around us. Our first day, we all awoke early to head out for a game drive. The big truck was a little difficult for our driver to maneuver on the dirt paths, but the elevated level of the windows allowed for great viewing. We were able to see 4 of the big 5 including leopards, lions, elephants, and buffalos, with only the rhino eluding us. The number of lions was amazing as we must have seen at least 10 different ...

... that and the kids malnutrition clinic was pretty horrified overall. However, then went to a place called moyamba which is a jungle town blown to smithereens in the war and now very robinson-crusoe wit hthe jungle taking over, did live radio (cue lauging at our voices) and then headed off to super-rural villages for direct outreach and examination of potential patients in the field. with i could have taken more photos but the villagers ...

... then spit out. I felt like a kid in a candy store eating as much as I possibly could. It was so sweet but I thought I was going to break my tooth off! After saying goodbyes we got in the car and opened the "Tip Top" (secret) letter Lilian wrote to Michelle. According to the letter and to Mr. Mugo, her dad, Mr. Mugo's brother, is constantly in jail and beats his children. Her father constantly argues with her mother, keeping her awake and constantly afraid, and refuses ...

... all fun, rewarding, and exciting so I&#8217;m pumped about getting it all started!<br><br>On a lighter note, we went to the Maasai market today and I met a lot of interesting people.  You have to do some serious bargaining to get stuff at a fair price (and by fair I mean fair for Kenyan standards aka a shawl for more than 300 Kenyan Shillings or about $4 would be unfair!).  So anyway, I had a lot of conversations and arguments but Kenyans are hilarious and it was so ...

After leaving the airport, we get to Nairobi Youth Hostel, where the man who organized our trip meets and welcomes us, before departing to Maasai Mara National reserve. It's going to be a long and tough journey, only 300 km, but a lot of bad roads, bumps and animals, along the Rift Valley. We stop for lunch at Narok, our first meal in Kenya. Not bad really. A short walk and get some local money to buy things and pay drinks. Dollar bills before 2000 are ...

... this closed off display by walking in behind the brass band as they entered from the street. The ordinary citizens were not allowed till much much later. How was to know? Eventually I became part of the "press" and eventually got game enough to sit in front of the official party with the press taking my photos! I looked the part!<br><br>6 pm pre-departure meeting with my fellow travellers and tomorrow 8 am off for the Masi Mari and perhaps on day 1 we will see the Big 5!