Last Week in Kenya. Blood Safety Week 5.

               As sad as it is to say, I am officially writing the last blog of adventures from my time in Nairobi, Kenya. I cannot believe how fast it has gone by! I still feel like I have just gotten here, and the thought of going back to Munich feels incredibly strange. I kind of feel like I don’t belong anywhere right now and that I’m just floating from country to country. I am really excited to be returning to my German home though, and start the second semester in Munich with friends and the church. I can’t believe this semester is only about three months long. How is this one around two months shorter than winter semester?? 

                During my last week and few days I have been placed in working with Blood Safety, and continuing what I started before the Maasai Mara safari last week. Out of all the programs I’ve worked with, I actually feel like I’ve been of the most help to them. This being so mostly because of my familiarity with Facebook, online sources, and having the perspective and mindset of international college students. The blood program they have is actually very, very good, and I have learned so much from them. However, they are not self-supported yet because they are fully funded by CDC. In five years, those funds may run out, and they are trying to continue their program without having to depend on big organizations like CDC. So for all of you reading this, please go on to Facebook and like their page! We are still trying to set everything up properly, but your support would be greatly appreciated! It’s called “HOPE worldwide Kenya Blood Safety”. The name is kind of long, but it works.

                Sunday the 24^th I was able to spend more time with campus after church. Because their campus group is very large, they have family groups (based on what university they attend) that they meet in every week and plan activities with. Because Fridah and Serah are close, I started spending a lot of time with Serah, and was added to her family group. One of the girls in Serah’s group, Angela, and her mom invited us over to their house and made us lunch for free. It was soo nice. Her mom made SO MUCH FOOD. I really wish I’d been that girl and thought to have taken a picture of it. We had a gigantic pan of rice with potatoes, greens, and pork. And it tasted incredible. 

                After we ate, Serah, Tony, and I went outside and started washing the dishes and taking pictures. It was actually a lot of fun, they are really wonderful people to be around. And when we were done washing, everyone left, and Tony, Serah, and I decided we wanted ice cream from town. So we walked around for a long time trying to find it. We found this fast food place that looked so much like McDonald’s and bought ice cream from there. Fridah is a health nut and every time I eat something unhealthy she says something, which I find endearing, and we have a lot of fun with it. She does the same with Serah, so Serah and I took photos to show Fridah exactly what she was missing out on. She just said we were ridiculous haha.

 Tony was in charge of washing :)

 I was rinse, Tony was wash, Serah was rinse again.

                Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I stayed at the office and helped with the Blood program, so a lot of time was spent on the computer, while also getting my classes for Munich and Clemson figured out. It’s really weird that I am signing up for my classes in the Fall before I sign up for my classes that I’m supposed to be starting in two weeks. I like the German school system a lot though because it’s relaxed. I have always felt that American universities cause an unnecessary amount of stress on students, even making study abroad an extremely difficult process to pursue. Being in Munich has given me such an appreciation for academics again because we are able to engage so much more efficiently with our work, due to the fact that we aren’t cramming ten million facts and biological systems into our heads every week. I actually have time to breathe and appreciate my college years. I can actually live outside of a classroom and studying in the library. And for years that are supposed to encourage personal growth, I feel like getting outside the classroom and learning is just as important (if not more) than being inside the classroom.

                This past week, starting on Tuesday or Wednesday night, was the beginning of ‘Mosqueeto’ week. By the way, Kenyans don’t say mosquito like we do. They stress the ‘qui’ part to sound like ‘quee’ and it cracks me up. The first time I heard Fridah say it, I thought she was joking. And then when I told her what we normally say, she asked why because it’s not spelled the way we pronounce it. She has a point. I don’t know why we don’t say it like Kenyans. Anyway, mosquitoes started invading Fridah and mine’s room and I could not sleep. The first night was awful, and I think I got around two hours of sleep. Every time I would start to dose off, I would hear the buzzing noise again, or freak out and think one was on my arm or face. I could not believe how persistent they were. AND THEY DIDN’T DIE. These mosquitoes are crazy. Nothing works when trying to kill them. 

                On Thursday I was allowed to go to Nakuru with Margaret to do Blood Safety training for a group of youth around my age and a little older. Nakuru is a very nice city, smaller and quieter than Nairobi, and just pleasant to be in. They are near Naivasha, which is the gigantic lake with flamingos, and a very popular tourist attraction. We arrived early around 10 am (even though we were two and a half hours late…oops), and went on with the training all day from there. I actually had so much fun doing the training with this group. I honestly wasn’t even that sure what we would be doing with them, or what the trip was for because I was told I was going at the last minute. There were about twelve or thirteen of them, and all were there for the purpose of learning about safely donating blood and how to get involved in running blood drives in their areas. 

                My favorite part of the entire workshop was that Margaret assigned us animal names at the beginning according to the first letter in our first name (mine was Jaguar) as way to help us remember each other’s names. I thought they would think it was too silly. However, they loved it and had so much fun with it. Any time Margaret forgot to use their animal name they would correct her and make her use it. And these were 23ish-year-olds. Most people around that age don’t have the liveliest of attitudes concerning workshops and ‘icebreakers’ (I know I don’t), so I found it quite refreshing to be with a group that just had fun together. Not to mention, Margaret is awesome and loved spending time with her. Not to mention she did an excellent job in handling the workshop and running everything. And every time we went to get food for dinner or lunch she would eat Mango milkshakes with me. Fridah wouldn’t do that…and Fridah if you read this I’m TOTALLY right. J Oh and by the way, I even got a wedding proposal from the guy named “Baboon”. He informed Margaret that he was coming back to Nairobi with us so that he and I could get married. It was awkwardly funny because he has a playful personality.

Just some of the pictures from the workshop:

 Margaret leading one of the sessions.

 Acting out various situations that can occur when talking to someone about donating blood.

New friend haha.

Keeps the blood fluid in motion. This is after the blood has been centrifuged.

 Fancy pipettes, and very good at measuring.

 Teamwork.

                Friday we traveled back to Nairobi, passing through the Rift Valley once more, and I took so many pictures. I really enjoyed our conversation of just getting to know each other, talk about where each person is from, how it’s different, each other’s families, and God. I’ve just loved working with a faith-based organization. It’s so encouraging to walk into work every day knowing that that part of my life is accepted and even a preferred conversation topic. I feel like I can be myself a lot easier, especially when everyone plays 21 questions with me about who I am, where I come from, and why I’m in Kenya. Because at the end of the day, everything I am, and came from, and the ultimate reason I had the opportunity to go to Kenya was because of God and deciding to have a relationship with Him. I don’t even know if I’d gone to Germany had I not made that decision because I would have been too afraid. 

Some of my favorite pictures from the journey back to Nairobi:

                With that being said, Wednesday, March 28, was my second spiritual birthday, or two years since I got baptized and decided to really start living my life as a Christian. It was such an exciting day for me to reflect on how much my life has changed since the day I got baptized and now. Within that time, God has changed, mended, broken off, and created so many relationships in my life (not to mention since September I’ve probably met over 1,000 new people. I’m not kidding), I’ve been able to travel and spend time with sister churches in Europe and Kenya, I’ve been learning a new language and even been able to communicate with Germans about who they are in their own language (which was my ultimate goal), brought me closer with my parents, given me a new appreciation for home when all I’d wanted to do was get outttt and start over, helped me appreciate school again, given me a direction with my life and career goals, and just helped me find freedom from everything I didn’t think I could start over from. I truly feel like at this point I finally understand what it means to have a peace that ‘passes all understanding’. It’s really hard at times to stay faithful, but it’s literally the most worthwhile thing I've ever done with my life. Hopefully that didn’t offend anyone or make the uncomfortable. Regardless, thank you for reading that if you did. It’s very important to me. 

                In my last few days left in Nairobi, I did some shopping, spending time with friends, and finishing up any last work for Blood Safety. The rainy season started about two days before my flight left, which was really interesting. The traffic is already pretty bad during certain times, but it becomes a little disastrous after the rain comes. And it was kind of funny to see how cold everyone thought the weather was, even though I’m pretty sure it only got down to the fifties (Fahrenheit). I loved it though, and eventually it prepared me to come back to the cold weather in Munich. It was sad to tell everyone goodbye, but exciting know that this end creates a new beginning, which will eventually lead to a new beginning at home. It’s crazy how little time it takes for things to change to the point where you have to readjust again. 

                I think this is all for now. By this time I am already back in Munich and I’ll be sure to update on life here soon! I hope you’re all doing well and have a great week!

Jessica

Blood Safety and Maasai Mara - Week 4, Nairobi, Kenya

              Finally, the bed I’m lying in right now is in an actual apartment, and not in the middle of nowhere with spiders crawling everywhere, mosquito nets, and constant nightmares of being attacked in the middle of the night. Sounds a little stressful right? I thought so too. I absolutely love adventures and traveling, but I am just one of those people that cannot fall asleep in nature. I am constantly on edge, thinking every little brush of wind, tickle, or crack of a twig is something that could be dangerous. I have no idea why I’m so paranoid, but I’m at the point where I’ve just accepted it and do my best to deal with it without losing entire nights of sleep (which is generally what happens anyway).

               

                During my fourth week I had the amazing privilege to go on an African Safari in Maasai Mara, Kenya. Even writing that sounds so surreal. I distinctly remember writing ‘go on an African Safari’ on a bucket list during sophomore year when Meghan and I stayed up all night making them and talking. And just a year later, I can say I’ve already done that. And wow, what an incredible experience it was. 

                On Monday and Tuesday I was at the office working with Fridah and Tabitha on blood safety. They’re just starting to expand their outreach to online sources, like Facebook, and I was teaching her how to set everything up, even though it was also my first time creating and organizing a Facebook cause. I’ve seen other organizations set up pages before, but I never realized how much work it is to get the page more professional looking, and keeping their audience entertained and engaged. It’s kind of exhausting. However, even though this isn’t the field I’m most interested in, I think it will definitely be beneficial in the long run. The way our society is going, it seems that the greatest forms of communication are becoming something electronic and needing Wi-Fi.

                Tuesday night was my first chance to be able to hang out with the campus ministry at the Nairobi Christian Church. I’d previously just been going everywhere with Fridah because it was easier, but we finally arranged for me to find ways to spend time with people my age and in my stage of life. There are around fifty students in campus, which is around the size of the campus in Clemson, and deeply encouraging me. It’s extremely overwhelming, and I feel incredibly rude when I have to confess not remembering people’s names…but everyone has been really patient and loving with me, and I’m extremely grateful for that. 

After the devo on Tuesday night, Fridah had asked Leslie to babysit me and make sure I got home safely, which eventually led to me falling in a manhole on the way home. I’m so serious. I fell into a manhole that was so deep, only my head was poking out when I was all the way in. I was so shocked, I didn’t even respond until after Leslie and another one of the guys pulled me out. I guess Leslie gets points from Fridah for saving me. And apparently falling into manholes is kind of a problem here, and it’s a lot more common than I thought. Oh Nairobi…sometimes you’re a little too fast-paced for me.

                Wednesday morning I got picked up from the apartment by Marcus, our driver and tour guide for the entire Maasai Mara trip. He works for “Bonfire adventures” and they actually have a lot of sightseeing and traveling opportunities. So if anyone is interested in traveling to some part of Africa, I definitely recommend them. They work out of Nairobi, though, so that’s something to consider as well. Here’s their website: http://www.bonfireadventures.com/

                I absolutely loved the people in my group. There were six of us including me, and I was nervous about not knowing anyone. The first two we picked up (Anna and Sam) was a couple from Switzerland! Their German has a very different accent, and it’s strong, but they can speak Hochdeutsch (what’s taught in the schools) when they want. On the first night, Anna even spoke German with me, which was so encouraging! I hadn’t spoken it in so long, I got really uncomfortable and my face turned red. It was embarrassing…haha. Going back to Munich will be so awkward at first. Anyway, the third person we picked up was a girl named Tian, who is from China, but doing research in Uganda and studying in America. And I thought describing my situation was difficult! She’s really nice though, and we ended up rooming together since we both were singles. On the third stop we picked up two ladies from Canada named Soni and Amenika. They both have Indian heritage and were very fun to be around. Soni was especially cute because she said “Right??” after everything. 

                When we got to the Mara, we set our stuff in the tents and four of us went to the Maasai village. It was so incredible to see the way they lived. They build their houses out of mud, cow dung, and very strong sticks. They keep these houses for nine years, and then pick up their lives and move to a new location to build newer houses. Apparently after nine years, the termites start to decompose the houses and they break down. The men can have as many wives as they want, and the numbers of stripes they wear on their cloths represent how many wives they have. I asked if the 2^nd and 3^rd wives were ever allowed to marry anyone else and they straight up replied with ‘no’. Struggles. We also found out that there are even women (from Canada especially) that visit their village, and fall in love with their culture and eventually marry into their tribe. I found that so interesting. I could absolutely not imagine leaving my entire life behind to join their tribe in the Mara. It’s not just two completely different worlds. It’s more like two completely different universes.

                The chief’s son greeted us at the front and told us we were free to take as many pictures as we wanted, and to ask questions. He introduced us to their homes, and the men opened up performing a tribal dance. I don’t remember which occasion they perform it during, but it was still really interesting. The noises they made with their voices alone were really incredible. And they can jump SO HIGH. While they were dancing, one of the men put his cloth around me to wear, and they brought all of us into their dancing circle. Then they showed us how they make a fire without matches. It truly is amazing how they live their lives in comparison to the modern day world. 

                After the men performed, the women took their turn and sang us a song while standing in a line. However, when they were finished, they left and continued on with their activities. The men wanted to show us the inside of the homes. The inside was actually not that bad. Honestly, if it weren’t for all of the small creatures like spiders, termites, mosquitos, etc, it wouldn’t be that bad. They had a section blocked off for their cattle. Another small room was for all of the children to sleep in. Beside the children’s room was the kitchen, which consisted of stones in the shape of a circle, with wood in the middle, and a metal grilling rack on top to cook their food on. On the wall beside the ‘grill’ was a small hole in the wall, which was the only ‘window’ in the entire house, and allowed the smoke from the grill to escape. On the other side of the kitchen was the bed where the first wife and the husband slept. I have no idea where the put the other wives.

They invited us to sit and talk for a while, mostly to ask questions. I was mostly interested in how they viewed their way of life, and they said they loved it. Some of them have been to Nairobi and said they didn’t like it because it’s too busy, fast, and there is no nature around them. But then again, if you have grown up only really knowing one way of life, it would be hard to find an appreciation outside of what you are comfortable with, or rather what feels like home to you.

After meeting the Maasai, we went on our first trip out to the Mara! I was so excited. They said at the beginning we would see the smaller, grazing animals, especially the gazelles and impalas, and eventually it would get to the bigger ones the further we drove out. It was late in the afternoon, and we wanted to get back in time for dinner, so we didn’t stay out in the Mara too long. The animals we were able to see were the impalas, gazelles, wildebeests, giraffes, elephants, zebras, lions, buffalos, a few exotic birds, jackals, and hyenas. We saw so many incredible animals, and I loved being so close to them. It felt safe in the vehicle, and I had no desire to leave (especially around the lions), but it was so incredible to just be in the real environment instead of a zoo. They were in the wild, doing what they needed to do to survive, and we got to experience that with them.

At one point there was a large group of female lions in an area that had already attacked a wildebeest, and they were feeding on it. All of the Safari trucks began surrounding them from a distance, and we just sat and watched. It. Was. So. Insanely. Awesome. And then what was even more amazing was that a very large group of wildebeests (it looked like hundreds) came running from a distance toward the lions eating the member of their herd. They eventually surrounded the lions, looking like they were going to attack. Our driver Marcus said that they were mourning for their loss. All of these wildebeests traveled from afar just to mourn the loss of a member of their herd. 

The lions finally noticed the wildebeest’s presence and confronted them. I thought they were going to fight, but the wildebeests eventually ran away after one of the lions charged toward them. We drove away toward the huge herd about 150 yards away from the feeding lions, and while we were there, the wildebeests charged again! So we drove back and tried to see the action. The lions actually walked away from the dead animal and lay together as a group in the shade behind one of the safari trucks. While they were there, the wildebeests just surrounded their dead for a while and did nothing. Eventually the lions got tired of waiting, and confronted them again, driving the herd away again for the final time. They all ran off into the distance and did not come back again.

Seeing the animals on the first evening was wonderful, and I loved it. But I would have to say my favorite part of the entire first day experience was witnessing my first African sunset. It was seriously like no sunset I have ever seen before. It was unbelievably beautiful, and I tried so hard to capture its  beauty through pictures. We parked our van on the side of one of the paths, stuck our heads out of the top, and patiently watched it set before us. The colors were bright, vibrant, and striking; changing with each moment the sun sank further. And in a span of only a few minutes, it had already set.

I think I took around 300 pictures on the first day, which sounds successful….except for the fact that my camera died and I had not brought my charger with me. I was so mad at myself. I even went around asking other people if they had Canon chargers, but apparently Canon decided to make every battery in their cameras different sizes, making each charger too short or too thin in width for my battery. So I had to accept my very unfortunate situation and do my best to remember everything I’d seen without pictures. However, everything was so new and exciting; I highly doubt I will ever forget it.

The second day we woke up very early to go on a day long ‘drive’. The plan was to drive all the way out to where the hippos and crocodiles were, and eat lunch with the monkeys. The animals we saw earlier in the morning were the same as the day before. The ones I was really wanting to see where cheetahs. I think cheetahs are so interesting. I love how fast they are—able to run up to 70 mph when attacking prey. They literally deplete every ounce of energy in their body to run that quickly, and have to rest for long periods after, but the fact that an animal can move faster than some speed limits on highways is beyond full comprehension for me. 

The Hippo and Crocodile river was about three hours from the gate and camp. Upon crossing over the bridge, Marcus stopped the van and allowed us to look out the top, and down toward the waters. We saw a few hippos bathing in the sun outside of the river. I saw this one bump in the water directly below us that looked like a rock, but it also looked like the back of a hippo. I said it was a hippo and Sam was adamant about it only being a rock. All of a sudden the bump fully submerged itself in the water, and immediately shot back up with the full, gigantic body of a hippo, mouth wide open. Everyone yelled with excitement and Marcus laughed at us.

 When we arrived at the shelter, it was time to eat lunch, and we were informed of the Vervet Monkey manifestation in that area. Apparently these monkeys like to live in areas near water, in bigger bushes to accommodate the larger groups they stay with. Marcus so disliked these monkeys that he chose to eat in the van haha. We sat by the bush of monkeys, holding on to our plastic food containers for dear life. Marcus had given Sam a rubber whip to scare the monkeys if they got too close to our food. The entire time we were eating, the monkeys stared (some were babies as big as my first and so cute!), only a few feet away, waiting to pounce on our food if it was left unattended. I asked Marcus the Swahili word for ‘no’, and he informed me that it was ‘hapana’. However, it never occurred to me until later that if the monkeys knew any human language it would be Maasai and not Swahili. Either way, they took the hint, and I learned more Swahili. Win.

At one point I had dropped my napkin on the ground, and leaned down just for a second so that I wouldn’t litter, and the next thing I know, Sam was cracking the rubber whip and I screamed after looking back and seeing one of the more persistent monkeys grabbing at my plastic container of food. The monkey squealed, dropped my food, and ran back into the bush, still staring at us. Immediately after, Marcus yelled out, “Jessica, why did you just scream?” and all I replied back with was, “Why would you assume that was me?!” and he just laughed.

After an eventful lunch, one of the men gave us a tour of the Hippo and crocodile river, which was nice to be able to walk around instead of sitting the van longer. When we were rounding one of the corners, I saw a hippo floating on its side by the shore. I had just assumed it was relaxing away from the hippo chaos in the middle of the river. I mentioned it, only to realize right after that it was actually dead. It had scratches down the side of its belly and on its face. The tour guide said it looked like the hippo had gotten into a fight and lost. The hippos will compete for male honor and control of the area, and apparently hippos are just really aggressive. An extremely large hippo was staring at the smaller dead one, with scratches down his side as well. I guess we know why the baby hippo died now.

Seconds after we all saw the dead hippo and the tour guide explained what had probably happened, a crocodile lashed out of the water and tried to bite into the dead hippo! It was so crazy! The guide said after about three days’ time, the crocodiles will have finished off the dead body of the hippo. Normally crocodiles in this river grow up to about nine feet, which sounds extremely  terrifying, but in comparison with the hippos weighing over one ton a piece, the crocodiles don’t stand a chance. And they know it.

On the way back from the Hippo/Croc river, Marcus was called about CHEETAHS nearby. It was a baby and the mama hanging around near a bush, right beside a large open field. They were so beautiful, and sat perfectly without moving or walking away. We probably stayed there for thirty minutes just watching them. I wished so badly that I’d had my camera with me.

Those were one of the last animals we saw as we ventured back. There are the “Big 5” that are promised to be seen, like the giraffe, elephant, lion, zebra, and…something else, and then the “Big 2” that are not promised, which are the rhino and the leopard. Leopards are actually more prevalent than cheetahs, but they tend to be much shyer. We also never saw the rhino, but I’m okay with that. They are honestly not that interesting to me, and they probably could have taken down our van if they’d really wanted to.

When we got back to the camp, we had a two hour break before dinner, so I grabbed my quiet time stuff, my Digestive biscuits (which were the BEST cookies ever until I had a bad experience with them a couple of days ago), and sat out in the dining area, facing the beautiful Mara. After I finished, Sam and Anna came from their tents, got beers from the bar, and we all sat, drank, read, and talked for a while. Eventually Anemika, Soni, and Tian came from their tents, and we all lounged and laughed until dinner. I seriously don’t think I could have ended up with a better group of people.

The next morning, on our last day, we went for a short drive to see the sunrise and see the animals one more time before heading back to Nairobi. We didn’t see any new ones, but every time you see any animal, it’s always doing something completely different and interesting because they are in their real environment. My favorite part was when we saw two male lions sitting in one of the pathways. They were so gorgeous. I’d only seen female lions up close until that moment. There is something about male lions that are just amazing. Fridah and I were talking about lions in general, and she was saying the only thing lions are really afraid of are the Maasai. And honestly, I don’t blame them. At one point there were also two German girls leaning out of their Safari truck and yelling at the animals in German. I kind of thought it was hilarious.

                That is basically the entirety of my first (and hopefully not last) African Safari. It was seriously one of the best trips I’ve ever taken, and would hands down recommend to anyone who comes to Africa. Make an effort to go, no matter how far it is! As far as safaris go, I promise it doesn’t get better than Africa, although Animal Kingdom in Disney World did a really good job mimicking the African lands. But seriously, go. You won’t regret it. 

       

                I’m sorry this blog is so late; I started it right after I got back from the Mara, but then I got a little lazy as the week went on. I’ll be sure to start Week 5, the last week and few days, very soon.

                 

               Until then, have a great week, and to my family and friends in Munich, I will see you soon!!

Love, Jessica

Here's a link to my Safari Pictures from Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151466959925235.840905.654390234&type=1&aft=10151467031875235&l=b5e8e65b91