South to Eden

The top photo is of a mother cheetah. She was searching the grasslands for something to eat. The middle picture is of a leopard we saw that had just killed and begun to eat an impala. The bottom picture is of a lioness that we saw only fifteen minutes after driving into the Masai Mara.

I returned last night from the Masai Mara, and all I can say is, "Wow." It is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I took so many pictures with the intention of capturing this place's beauty, but my pictures don't do it justice. It is the East Africa of my dreams - large, open grasslands of golden tipped grass that sway when the wind blows. The swaying gives the illusion of a sea of gold. It made me think that Eden must have looked something like this.

All throughout the park are large herds of Thompson's and Grant's gazelle, wildebeest, giraffe, elephants and plenty of predators to hunt them all down. The migration has not started yet, so I did not see the large herds that I hoped to, they are still down in the Serengetti, but I did see some amazing things. I saw a mother cheetah and her two kittens, two groups of male lions (two a piece), a leopard with a freshly killed impala lying in a tree, a lioness with three baby cubs, and so much more. I even saw two elephants mate. That was something interesting to say the least. I saw the complete "Big 5," which consists of elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and rhino. In short, it was an amazing experience even though I didn't get to see the great migration.

The only thing that I really disliked about the park is that you're allowed to drive pretty much anywhere you please in the park. You can go off the road if you like or if you see an animal of interest from far away you can go and basically chase it down. After we left the mother cheetah and her kittens, a bunch of cars drove up and surrounded them. I counted eighteen cars making a semi-circle around them. It's great being able to get so close, yet it seems very unfair to the animal, especially when that animal must rely on hunting in order to survive.

We stayed at a Maasai tented camp right outside of the park. Our guide, Wambua (Vincent is his Christian name), gave me a Kamba name. I am now called Kioko, by him and some other Kenyans. The name means born in the morning. I feel just that much more Kenyan now.

That is all for now. I have to finish my paper for my MSU Study Abroad. It is due in a few days and I haven't finished it yet.

Take care.

Jordan

Far From an African Shack

This is a picture of the house that I'm living in here in Nakuru. It is owned by a woman and her husband, we call them Mama and Papa Kena. They seem to own nearly everything in Nakuru.

Tomorrow morning, about 4 a.m., I will be leaving for the Masai Mara near the border of Kenya and Tanzania. It is home to one of the greatest migrations in the entire world - the migration of wildebeest and zebra from Tanzania up into Kenya. The migration, as a whole, has probably not started yet, but the first herds may be grouping there now. I'm really excited to see this. Many people call it the 8th Wonder of the World. Over 2 million animals make the annual journey and along the way many are killed by crocodiles, lions, leopards, and many more drowned as they cross the Mara River. "Nature is a real hard bitch of a mother" as one of my lecturers once so eloquently stated.

The chance at seeing part of this migration, let alone the Mara, is a dream come true. This is the Africa that so many think of - open savannahs, enormous skies, and animals in every direction.

I have still not started my internship in Nakuru. I really don't have any idea when I actually will. I thought after being here for two weeks that I would have at least made it into the office, but that was some dream. This whole mess up really makes this trip to the Mara even greater. I really need a vacation now (I say that lightly as everyone back home is working).

The great thing is that here in Nakuru I'm living with Mama Kena and her family as well as 6 other interns. 3 of them are Americans that are currently living in S. Korea and working as teachers. The other three are students at different American universities and are here to study varying fields. I really like all of them, which is great because we all live fairly close together even though our home is enormous. Well I must be going now. Not that I have a job to rush off to, I just don't have anything more to say.

Take care.

Jordan

Baseball - I'm at my breaking point.

Above is a picture of me taken the other day when I crossed from the Southern Hemisphere into the Northern Hemisphere about an hour north of Nakuru.

Last night I was laying there in my bed trying to think about what I missed most from the United States. I initially thought popcorn and Pepsi, but then it came to me. I miss baseball the most.

I miss freaking out when my team goes 3 and 7 over a 10 game period. I miss Baseball Tonight on ESPN. I miss John Miller and even Joe Morgan on Sunday Night Baseball. I miss Rod Allen saying the most outrageously rediculous things you could think of. I miss the crack of the bat. I miss hating the Yankees. I miss the people - Sweet Lou Pinella, Griffey the kid, Curtis Granderson flying into the centerfield wall, Rollins and Utley making amazing double play after amazing double play. I miss the teams in 1st place slumping and dropping to 3rd place, so long as it's not a team I like. I miss hoping Carl Crawford will steal another bag. I miss waking up and checking the box scores. I miss seeing that Josh Hamilton went 0-4 and fearing that it's the beginning of some giant slump. I miss hoping Manny Ramirez will get suspended - well that already happened, but I'm still hoping A-Rod will. I miss baseball and can't wait to watch it again in August. Just in time for the playoffs.

I can go without apple pie, Uncle Sam, and I'm even skipping the 4th of July, but missing baseball is nearly too much.

I think this year will be the year of the greatest World Series in history - Tigers v. Reds.

It can happen.

Jordan

Philadelphia Orphanage

The other day we were driving down the road and there were some street children playing in a big pile of trash and one of the other interns here, Dustin, asked, "How many orphanages do you think are in Nakuru?" I responded, "Not enough." It seems everywhere we go there are kids all over that are right on the edge of not making it to the next day.

After seeing these kids I realized that as sad as it seems I'm kind of becoming numb to this scene. Traveling down the roads, whether in the rural or urban areas, you see this every single day. To think you can get used to seeing people in extreme poverty is rough, but to think you can get used to seeing children in poverty is truly heartbreaking.

Three months ago I never would have believed that you could grow accustomed to seeing blood shot eyes and swollen bellies and sewage streaming by in the streets and ruined buildings and just an overwhelming feeling of despair. This isn't the worst place in the world. Many places probably have it worse, but I just wish it wasn't so. There are places and people that are doing something about it and making a difference.

One place is the Philadelphia Orphanage here in Nakuru. They take in street children that have no other options. Some are housed there and others just come for the day. They all get at least one meal and the beginning of an education. The orphanage is not without its issues, but it is a start. For some of these kids it is the best opportunity they have at a half decent chance of a better life.

I've found that Kenya is full of these stories. Orphanages and schools that are trying to make a difference no matter how small or subtle, and I think that this is the first step, although a large one, in trying to break the cycle of poverty that is constantly looming over the lower class here. Kenya is an amazing country with so many possibilities and so much promise. Hopefully it can move forward and there won't be a need for so many of these orphanages, and travelers to this country, like myself, won't grow accustomed to the street children because they will be such a rare sight.

Jordan

The Cluster "F" that Is Nakuru

So I have now been in Nakuru for nearly 5 days. I am here to work in an internship position with the Kenyan Wildlife Service, and have I worked with them yet? Nope. Have I even talked to someone that works for them? Nope. Apparently there has been some sort of mix up with my paperwork and I am now forced to wait around until it is sorted out. I'm really anxious to start here and so it sucks having to sit around and wait. Hopefully I'll be starting on Monday at least, but it may be another week or more.

I've since been placed with my host family. This is the great part about my internship. I am living with a woman that we call Mama Kena. She is, to put it best, pretty well off. We live in a really nice home that is far nicer than any home I've ever lived in to date. It is nearly a mansion. We live about 4 miles outside of Nakuru and have to be driven into town so that me and the other interns can go to work. The only difference is that I don't have a job and they all do. Mama Kena, seemingly, owns half of Nakuru. She owns a gas station, transportation line, bar, restaurant, streetside cafe, and a few other franchises. Honestly, every place we go she either owns or frequents enough to be known by the owner. It's pretty sweet.

However, I still have the issue with KWS and my job. That part really sucks, but to pass my time I've been going with the other interns to the Philadelphia Orphanage. I've been playing soccer with the kids on their lunch breaks and after school. In between, I just write in my journal or read a book. If I have to do this for another week the monotony may cause me to explode. I hope this whole thing gets settled, otherwise who knows what I'm going to do for the next two months. As it stands right now it is a giant cluster "f" as my mother would say.

Well that is all for now. Take care and kwa heri.

Jordan

Sunday Driving

The last few days I have been having some very sickening and painful stomach issues. Lots of meals left uneaten because my stomach can't take it and the food the does go down seems to come up within an hour. I think it is because of a sandwich I ate on the flight back from Mombasa. Not too much fun.

However, I felt quite a bit better today than I did yesterday, so I decided to go out and do some of the things I've always wanted to do.

1) My roommate Adam, the son of this ranch's owner, has a pet cheetah. So he took me up to where they keep it and I got to play with it for a while. I probably outweigh the cheetah by at least 90 lbs. but it still remains incredibly intimidating. Looking at the cheetah it has two black stripes beneath its eyes that seem very much like war paint. It had such a loud purring that you could seemingly feel it in your chest. Not to mention the cheetah is amazingly quick. One second I'd be petting it as it lay down, then the next it would be up on all fours and looking me directly in the eyes. It was an amazing experience to get to spend time with one of the world's fastest animals.

2) After this Adam taught me how to drive a stick shift. We took out his old Range Rover and went on a bit of a sunday drive. I stalled 4 times I think, but seemed to quickly get the hang of it. Cruising along the dirt roads of his ranch next to giraffes, wildebeest, and zebra was a very surreal moment. I don't know if there has ever been a greater place to learn to drive a manual then here in wild Kenya.

Tomorrow I will be leaving to head about 4 and 1/2 hours north to my internship in Nakuru. I talked to the woman that I'll be living with and she seemed very friendly. Hopefully this first impression will hold true. In a sense I'm really excited about this new chapter in my summer story, yet I also am slightly unsure of what I should be expecting.

This next part is more for my brother. The ranch I'm staying at was used to film a portion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In one of the tucked away warehouses here they have a canon from the film, a full sized plane that was used in the filming, and some other props. When I come home we'll have to watch it and I can point a few things out.

Jordan

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Well it has been well over a week since my last post, and while I really wanted to post an update it was made difficult by the fact that we have had NO internet in nearly a millenium. So where to start...

We traveled down to Amboseli National Park, which sits right on the border of Kenya and Tanzania and at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro - the roof of Africa. At first the mountain was covered in a thick cover of clouds, but then at night the clouds rolled back and exposed the nearly 20,000 foot tall summit. The glaciers are still atop the mountain, but are sadly disappearing as time presses on.

From Amboseli we traveled to Ngulia Safari Lodge in Tsavo West National Park. This was out in the absolute middle of no where, yet it was a beautiful place to spend a few nights. Right before dinner, the restaurant workers would tie up a piece of meat that attracted two leopards every night. So while we were eating and conversing, one of the more deadly African mammals was munching just a few yards away. Then from our balcony there was a watering hole were buffalo and elephants would spend the hotter portions of the day cooling themselves. You could just go out, sit down, and take in these great creatures.

After Tsavo West we traveled to Watamu, Kenya and stayed at the Turtle Bay Beach Club. This stop marked the final week of my Study Abroad trip. Here I spent probably 75% of my day laying in the sun or swimming, while the other 25% was spent eating. It was an absolutely beautiful place to visit. I also went snorkeling and saw a stonefish (one of the deadlier fish in the world), an octopus, and lots of sea urchins. Then two days after that we went scuba diving there in the Indian Ocean. It was amazing. We saw two green sea turtles, a sea anemone with lots of clown fish, other tropical fish, lion fish, and crocodile fish.

The best part about this stop in Turtle Bay had to be - the dancing. My group had some amazing dancers in it. A few special shout outs to Mike with his rendition of MJ's Man in the Mirror. Stevie and Colton for keeping it going everynight. Amanda for a guitar solo, which stopped time. Wes for showing us how to dance all crazy like. In short, everyone for dancing because it may have been one of my favorite memories.

With that being said we all parted ways yesterday. If was a very sad affair. As our Professor Dorothy commented, "Of course we can meet again. Mountains are the only things that don't." That woman will be tremendously missed and without her I'm 110% sure that the trip would have ended differently. I don't say it lightly when I say that she really acted like a mother to all 15 of us. Whenever we just needed a laugh or someone to vent to she was always right there. She even went so far as to teach us life's most valuable lesson - what love is. That I will probably write about some other day.

Having everyone gone is a really weird feeling. My roommate Jim left early on Friday morning and when I woke up it seriously felt like I was having withdrawls. You get so used to having the same person around then when they are gone it's kind of like being blindsided. Then waking up this morning and going to breakfast with only my roommate Adam around was really strange. Where did all 15 of my friends go?

Looking back, I can't believe 5 weeks have passed. Then again it seems like a year. Every journey must come to an end and though this study abroad trip ended yesterday, I'm positive that my friendship with all of these people will not. I have never grown so close with a group of people and though saying goodbye to them yesterday was very difficult and saddening, saying hello will be an even greater joy.

Now I am staying back at the Hopcraft Ranch in Athi River. Then on Monday I'll be heading up north to Nakuru National Park and starting my intership. I expect the first week will be difficult as I will know absolutely no one, but luckily nearly every Kenyan I've met loves to talk to a white guy that knows some Swahili.

Take care,

Jordan