Kenya Day 2

Today (well, yesterday) we woke up at 8:00 to get ready for breakfast. After breakfast we immediately went back to our rooms and packed our stuff to get ready to leave to Shompole. We boarded a bus (similar to the one that picked us up at the airport) and tried to fit 25 people into a bus that comfortably fits 20 (plus 23 backpacks). Fortunately there extra were flip-down seats. Needless to say, it was very entertaining. We drove from the Masai Lodge to a neighborhood in Nairobi called Karen. There, we exchanged our American dollars to Kenyan shillings. After we picked up Shani (our in country coordinator), we got on the bus again and headed south to our final destination of Shompole/Oloika! On our way to Shompole we saw multiple baboons and flocks of cattle.  All the passengers waved to the Maasai and they never failed to wave back. I even gave two of them a high five. We would pass by beautiful parks with lush and colorful plants. We were not bored one bit on the ride. We stopped for lunch on the side of the road and got a chance to step off the bus. We drove further into Masai land and then approached Lake Magadi, an alkaline lake. The lake also had hundreds of flamingos in it that we could practically touch through our windows. After we passed by the lake, we drove on a trail that was sculpted of sand and was hardly visible. At one point, there was so much sand that the van got stuck and couldn’t move! We all had to get off of the van and push the back of it to get it to start again. It was a great team building exercise…but a bit dusty. Twenty minutes later, we found ourselves looking at a sign that said “Shompole Road” and then “Oloika Trading”. We passed the school that we would be working at, and children and adults alike heard our bus and came out to smile and greet us. We pulled into the campsite where we were served cold apple juice. The staff at the campsite showed us our tents (which are very confortable), our toilets and showers. After they read us the rules of the camp, we saw a group of children playing on the other side of the fence. Most of us ran up and although there was a thick language barrier (and an actual fence between us) we managed to trade names and strike up a game of volleyball over the fence. Later, we ate a delicious and filling dinner. Though we were all tired, we had an ANCHOR meeting and talked about our reasons for taking this trip. We all went to bed in our very spacious tents and tried to rest up for our first work day the next day!

Greeting from Kenya!

Lucie and Miranda

Kenya Day 1

We have arrived in Kenya! 

After two long flights and one car ride, we reached the Masai Lodge at 4:00 am. At 11:00 am, we had a light brunch and then off we went to visit the Kitengela Glass Factory. We saw some baboons on the way there, and walked across a long bridge suspended only by cables. Some of us were very scared, but we all crossed safely to the other side. We saw glass blowing, mosaics, and we were able to take many beautiful pictures of Kenya's amazing scenery. We then returned to the lodge and did group bonding activities, and had some downtime before dinner. Everything is so beautiful and the animals are very adventurous, especially the Hyraxes, which are rodents, which we dubbed "nuggets" because they were so cute. We are off to Shompole tomorrow, and we are all very excited!

Lala salama (good night!)

Emma S. and Emma N.

Safe landing in Nairobi! We'll blog tomorrow. Until then, lala salaama!

Karibu!

It is Wednesday, June 12, which means we depart for Kenya in a mere 10 days! Packing lists are being checked and re-checked against the growing piles being stacked neatly around backpacks. It's hard to keep track of how many t-shirts you have folded, though, when all you can think about is the adventures that await.

We'll use this blog to both communicate our safe comings and goings and to document our experiences. We'll try to post every day, but there may be some locations where internet is spotty - don't panic if a day passes without a post!

Quick background. I'm Brandon Clarke, Director of Global Education at the Berkeley Carroll School. This is my fourth time leading BC's Kenya program, and this is our largest group to date, with 18 students and 2 other faculty. You'll be hearing from me very little: there will be 20 voices eager to recount and reflect as we spend two weeks experiencing different aspects of Kenya.

Our primary destination is Oloika, a trading post located in Shompole, a Maasai group ranch just north of the Tanzanian border.

We will spend a week in Shompole, learning about the community and how it is navigating the challenges brought by climate change. Shompole lies at the bottom of the Great Rift Valley, a deep trench that stretches from Jordan to Mozambique. The arid climate has been exacerbated by climate change, and the Maasai, who are pastoralists by tradition, have lost most the cattle herds on which they depend. But this remarkable community has developed a number of goals and projects that will help it survive into the future, including significant investment in the local primary school. Education, the elders reason, will ensure the community's continued strength. We will work with local volunteers on a construction project, get to know the school's students, visit with community leaders, and have homestays in traditional Maasai bomas. At the end of the program, we will go on safari in the Maasai Mara, where we'll learn about Kenya's extraordinary wildlife and how it, too, is being affected by climate change. Stay tuned - you're going to read some terrific posts in the coming weeks!