I’ve spend my last few days in Nairobi- and I must admit, as much as I love traveling, it’s been nice to sleep in my ‘own’ bed. On Tuesday I spend the day shopping. Lisa and I went to the Maasai market. The market covers a huge area along side the road… people have their items spread out on blankets on the ground and you go around choosing items and bartering down the prices. This was the most stressful shopping experience of my life… partially since I have a zillion people I want to bring back presents for and also because the sellers kept grabbing me and trying to drag me to their blankets. We got to the market rather late, and it was about to begin raining so people were packing up their stuff- this was actually good because the sellers wanted to sell their items fast so we were able to set the price. Lisa did all my bartering for me- and she was SO good at it.

They next few days, Evans, Lisa, and I went to the elephant orphanage, Giraffe Center, and Nairobi Walk/Orphanage. At the orphanage, there were 8 baby elephants. They can’t be out in the sun too long so we watched them play in the mud and petted them for only an hour. The orphans are taken to the orphanage until they are out of the nursing stage. If they were left in the wild during their nursing stage, with no mother, the other elephants wouldn’t accept them and they therefore wouldn’t survive. At the orphanage, the workers are their ‘mothers’. Each ‘mother’s divides their time between all the babies to ensure that the elephants don’t get attached to one human. Once they are old enough, they are taken to Tsavo to be introduced back into the wild.
Next we went to the Giraffe Center. At the Center you climb up to a fenced platform, this way you are nearly at eye level with the giraffes, then you feed them. Apart from feeding them out of my hands, I got a giraffe kiss! I placed a pellet between my lips and then leaned towards the giraffe and it ‘kissed’ me to get the pellet. The pellets are very small... and the giraffe’s tongues are SO long... so I was really scared to give it a kiss. But actually, the giraffe kisses rather well! Their tongues are scratchy and slimy, but their breath really isn’t too bad. It was definitely an interesting experience... that Lisa and I did over and over! Most of the giraffes were very friendly. There was however one giraffe- named Betty- who wasn’t very nice. She likes to head butt people- luckily we did not experience that.
The last trip, today, was to Nairobi Walk and Orphanage. One of Lisa’s college classmates is the boss at Nairobi Walk so we got in and had a tour for free. Even though it’s always more fun to see the animals in their natural habitat, I had some incredible experiences here. My favorite part of the day was going into the cheetah cage and petting them!! They are so soft and they purr just like a cat... it was amazing. I got to pet a young buffalo, also. The scariest part of the tour was when Lisa’s friend lead me around to the back of the crocodile fence right next to one of the crocs... then I stuck my hand through the fence to touch it! I was completely terrified.

I am extremely sad to announce that this is my last post. I leave tomorrow at 11:30 pm for London. I will spend two days in London and return late on the 19th (sorry, not the 20th like I told some people). Yesterday, I read through my old posts... It’s interesting to remember how scared I was to come here... and to read about my first reactions to certain things and see how much my views have changed. Like the driving; it seemed crazy at first, but now it just seems normal... I hadn’t realized how much I’ve adjusted to things here; everything feels so familiar now. I’m so used to making tea for my guests, stepping outside and seeing banana trees, passing baboons alongside the road, stopping for cattle and goats every second in small towns, drinking everything out of a bottle, and hanging my clothes outside to dry.

It’s really hard to believe that I’m actually leaving Kenya in 24 hours. I came here not knowing what to expect at all and I’ve had a better experience than I ever could have imagined. The friendships I’ve made and the wildlife I’ve seen have been absolutely incredible. And talking with the people here... the people actually living in the conditions I saw on TV, the people experiencing hunger... living with AIDS... you can’t see this poverty and not reevaluate what’s really important. Since leaving here still seems unreal (just like coming here felt) I’m trying not to think about it! I know it’s going to be sad to say goodbye to everyone and everything.

It’s been a bit strange to write a blog - knowing that people are actually reading about me. But, it’s been a perfect way to share my experiences. I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Please pray that I don’t get myself lost in London... see you all next week!