Sunday, September 23, 2007

A lil' bit of Africa - Part 3

Here the final part of my journal entries while in Kenya

June 2, 2007 (In Salabwek)
Sitting here on top of this small mountain we've hiked up to. The view is sensational. The breeze is so fresh & clean. It puts you in a whole different world of your own. I find myself falling in love with this country more each day. There is something special about being amidst God's natural gifts that are untouched and uncorrupted by humans, that gives me a sense of joy and hope that our world still has a chance at preserving its beauty.

A prayer seems so fitting right now. The silence is sometihng I am going to miss.

This opportunity to reflect on changes I want and need to make in my life is great. I can think so much more clearly. I want to take risks and speak about what I feel. I want the world to know that I love them, that I will make a difference, that I will leave it slightly if not a lot better after I leave it. I make this promise today, right here, to take it upon myself to be the change I want to see in the world.

June 3, 2007 (Maasai Mara)
Safari! Wake up was at 5am - NOT COOL! Missed my spot on the lorry and ended up in the jeep. I hate the jeep for the bumps, but we definately ended up having a better view of all the animals because we could drive up closer. We saw a lot of gazelles, impala, wilderbeest, 4 elephants, buffalo, 2 jackals, hippos. Our lion hunts were SO exciting and bumpy! We never found lions but it was really cool being so close - a rush! Bush pee-stops were hilarious - especially being worried that a lion was going to show up. One of the odd hi-lights was losing Raj (the travelling elephant) for 10 minutes. I definately wanted to breakdown and cry (was 2 seconds from doing so). Ming looked like she was going to cry too. We almost stopped the jeep in the middle of the savannah in Kenya to turn back around and look for Raj - a lil' marble elephant. AN IMPORTANT ELEPHANT! Raj was found by Alan in the jeep - PHEW!

So the last 2 hours of my 14 hour day in that jeep was the worst. A migraine hit and I checked out for that night. Worst feeling that whole trip. Everyone was so helpful, and caring...so loving.

June 4, 2007 (In Salabwek)
No migraine this morning! WOOHOO! Our very last build session was sweet! Pushed my last wheelbarrow in Africa (for now). Pouring out that sand onto that mound was... a feeling I can't put into words. Laying that last brick on that school... again, I can't find the words. It something deep inside me, it brings a smile to my face, even a tear. It is SUCH a hard task to walk away from that build site. Everyone clapped, we got our last picture taken as we walked away from the site with our shovels thrown over our shoulders.

Prepping for closing ceremonies went smoothly. I can't beleive we decided on singing "We Will Rock You".

Closing ceremonies was even MORE emotional that opening. The tears just never stopped with anyone. With so little that each family of Salabwek has, they invited EACH one of us individually BY NAME to dance with them and they presented us with a Maasai bracelet of our own. The generosity is incredible. I'll never forget these people. The school teachers also gave us a bracelet each. After our performance (which we ROCKED!), there were some really touching speeches. Pastor Wilson spoke about the children not being able to recover after we leave, and I was more worried about us having separation anxiety.

The Team N. America vs. Team Kenya football game started at 4pm. I played forward the whole game until I got smacked in the face with a goal kick that deflected off some Grade 8 Kenyan's foot! Knocked out... don't remember getting off the field...out of commission the rest of the day. Was woken up in the middle of the night in case of a concussion. Everything's cool!

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That's the END of my Kenya journal entries!

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