Saturday, July 6, 2013
Arrival into New York
Hello families of BCS. I just want to confirm that you should meet your son or daughter at Berkeley Carroll School and not the airport. BCS has arranged an airport shuttle for the students. Thanks!
Erin Lasky
Director of Operations
Friday, July 5, 2013
Students in the airport
Hi friends and families of BCS! The students are at the Nairobi airport and should getting on their flight in the next hour. We will continue to monitor the flights and will update the blog with any travel delays. Thank you for your continued support of the program! We are thrilled by how well the trip went! Here is the flight information:
Turkish Airline 608 Sat. July 6th 3:45AM IST 10:05AM
Turkish Airline 1 Sat. July 6th 1:15PM JFK 4:50PM
Erin Lasky
Director of Operations.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Students on safari
Hello friends and families of BCS. The group is in the Masai Mara on their safari and they don't have an Internet connection. They had a fantastic safari today and got to see lions, elephants, gazelles, water buffalo and much much more! The students are all happy and healthy! They will try to update the blog before they leave for the airport very very early on Saturday morning. We will keep the blog updated with any travel delays!
Erin Lasky
Director of Operations.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Kenya: July 2, 2013
The group awoke at 6 o’clock this morning to a beautiful
Kenya sunrise upon the horizon before beginning to pack for the long trip to
Nairobi. While packing, many of us were surprised to see that on the other side
of the fence that surrounded our camp were many of the friends we had made
during the trip. Although this was an unarranged send off, it was one of the
more moving experiences of our stay. Friends such as Toikan and Edward entered
our camp to exchange gifts, take pictures, and say their final goodbyes. We all
then got onto a bus where we arrived in Nairobi four hours later and returned
back to the Masai Lodge. The rest of the day was spent by the pool and
participated in a group activity called “Utopia”, in which we discussed how we
would solve worldly problems in order to create our own Utopia.
Dinner was
served in the evening, consisting of cold sodas and beef stew. Towards the end
of the meal, a celebratory birthday cake was brought out for Chris. It was
super duper fun, and Chris said it was totally the best birthday he had ever
had! The day came to a close with a group reflection.
- Aidan, Ethan and Georgia
Photos, Part II
Greetings from Masai Lodge. The group left Shompole this morning, and is spending the night in Nairobi before heading to the Masai Mara tomorrow morning. We hope you've enjoyed the blog so far -- even with our Safaricom modem it was hard to get a strong enough signal to load Blogger (or any webpage). That said, it's pretty amazing one can get a signal at all in a place as remote as Oloika! I'm going to make good use of the WiFi now and post some more photos, since there's usually no internet whatsoever in the Mara.
- BC
- BC
Allie and Georgia getting sand for the cement |
Ethan and Jasper conferring with fellow workers |
Izzy keeping the foundation's surface moist |
Emma and Maddy working on the other end |
Aidan trying his hand at throwing a Maasai spear |
Garrett receiving a necklace from his host |
Homestay group portrait |
Admiring the sunset... |
...which was pretty special... |
...matched only by the sunrises! |
Walking to the market after the last day of work |
Monday, July 1, 2013
Kenya - July2
Sopa! (Hello!)
Today was the
last day at the worksite. We finally finished the foundation for the library
with everyone putting in a lot of blood, sweat and tears, literally (don’t
worry though, everybody’s doing well!). The day ended with a celebratory
ceremony, where Shani, the chief and the treasurer of the Oloika Sub-location
spoke to the community about gratitude, the mixing of cultures and the future
of Shompole. Following the ceremony, we trekked to the ‘market’ where we bought
gifts to support the community. They were selling everything from machetes to
intricate bracelets, and with the help of Shani’s wife, Namelok, we bargained
for good prices on our gifts. Apparently there is a culture of bargaining in
Kenya, where it is expected that the buyer bargain with the seller before
buying the item. It was a great day!
On a different
note, yesterday was the last group of homestays. The entire homestay experience
was amazing! The kids sang/danced/jumped for hours and everyone in the ‘boma’,
or the homestead, were unfailingly polite and kind. We all had chai tea (which
was sugary and delicious) before eating a wonderful dinner of rice, cabbage and
potatoes. By eight o’ clock, the sun went down and the singing began. A lot of
the Maasai songs involve jumping, sometimes for several minutes, and also a lot
of clapping and call-and-response. We sang a few popular songs like Queen’s ‘We
Will Rock You’ and ‘Sunshine, You Are My Sunshine’. Ethan, Shaun and Mr.
Sanchez’s group were treated to stories under the stars and an impromptu rap
battle. Also, we had a translator all along, so we could ask any questions that
came up. In the center of the boma were many, many, many goats, sheep and in
some cases, even cows and donkeys. When morning came, we all got a chance to
milk goats, which was a very interesting experience. In most groups, either the
children or the elders of the boma gave us our Maasai names. We exchanged
gifts, thanked each other for the wonderful night we all had and headed back to
camp to journal about this intense experience.
Tomorrow, it’s
off to Maasai lodge, where we will rest before heading to the Mara.
‘Night.
Nashya (Karen)
and Malodjé (Maddy)
P.S. Karen’s
name means ‘Rain’, and that she’s productive and makes people happy.
P.P.S. Maddy is
not exactly sure that this was her Maasai name/the correct spelling of it but
it means ‘The Sacred One’.
P.P.S. from Mr. Clarke: we'll be back in Nairobi this evening and will be able to post some more photos.
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