BUE

By Goede on Flickr

The dilemma

Buenos Aires for New Year's/Robyn's 30th...

or...


Exploring the Berkshires this fall?

National Lampoon's Toronto Vacation

In Toronto I met up with Team Kenya and...


met Miss Teen Niagara...

listened to inspirational speeches...

was amazed and inspired by 20,000 kids...

celebrated Jack's birthday...

rode up the CN Tower...

rode the Maid of the Mist...

ate a lot of delicious food...

biked to brunch...

with Andrew and Katie...

met a pretty kitty with golden eyes...
Goodbye Toronto, I'll be back soon.

Day 11: The long road home

On our last 6am safari

Acacia trees dot the the landscape

Ben & Kristi pose with elephants in the background. I think this was from an earlier day but I don't have many good photos of them. This is from Robyn's camera.

Back at the landing strip, waiting for our plane

Sitting at the propeller of a Twin Otter

A group photo from Bryan's camera

Team Tusker together for the last time back at Karen Blixen

Robyn sweet talked our way in to the country club that Bryan and I were denied entry to  on our first day

Farewell dinner minus Paul & Rudi at Carnivore
I've put off this last entry for a long time. It's been four months since the trip, but I can still find ways to go back there, through pictures, video and conversation.
Our last day, Car 1 (or 2, never determined) dragged our butts out of bed at 5am to take one last 6am safari. We never did get to see a cheetah. After having breakfast we brought our bags out front to catch a ride back to the airstrip, where a plane would take us back to Nairobi. I say "plane" loosely because it was really a twin propeller plane that acted like a safari bus - it stopped a couple of times at different airstrips to let passengers on and off, just like a bus. "More chances to crash," said Jim. THANKS.
We were met back in civilization by Finn's smiling face and he Max drove us back to the Karen Blixen Cottages where we all first met. We arrived late and were rushing to make lunch so that we could have time to go into town to do some last minute souvenir shopping. The KBC cab was too expensive so we decided to walk on the main road to catch a cab. We made it to the country club where we asked the guards for help. A car arrived 10 minutes later driven by a nice man named Alex who had noooo idea where we wanted to go, even after getting Finn on the phone to try to explain it to him. No worries - cute, blonde Robyn sweet talked the guards into letting us into the club for a few hours to hit some balls down the driving range. Golfing in Kenya! Who would've thought. It felt so wrong but it was just too fun. We had some cocktails by the driving range amongst some British expats, bad teeth and all. And then we made it back to the cottages just in time to leave for dinner.
We drove into Nairobi to have dinner at The Carnivore, which is a well-known (albeit touristy) restaurant. In the past, more exotic meats like zebra and hartbeest were served, but this time we got ostrich meatballs and roasted alligator along with the pork, lamb, beef and chicken. The meat is roasted in a big pit and served on long, sword-like skewers. The server sets the tip of the skewer (it's about 3 feet long, mind you) on your plate and cuts the meat off with a knife. I'm not shy, I ate everything. 
Then we split into two groups to ride to the airport. Team Tusker rode together and on the way, we got into a fender bender when Max turned too fast into a stopped car. BLAM! I wasn't looking and all of a sudden my face was smashed up against the chair in front of me. No one was hurt, but we were all a bit shaken, especially Max, who felt terrible that we would be late for our flights. Plus, we were in a foreign country and thoughts of all the horror stories we'd heard about foreign police were freaking us out. The other van turned around to pick us up and we left Max to fend for himself. 
We got to the airport and had to say our hasty goodbyes, not having time to really absorb or discuss anything. Jim and I were on the same flights back and we were the first to get dropped off. It was a bit like leaving home - almost tearful and a little scary. I didn't realize I'd miss everyone so much after spending pretty much 24-hours a day with everyone!
I was stressed getting in to the airport as there was a long line due to a security check at the door. Then checking in took forever, and I was too freaked out and flustered from all the events that day to want to do any last minute gift shopping. 
The ride home was long but Emirates Air has really awesome inflight entertainment, even for coach. Jim and I picked The Informant to watch, pressing "Play" at the same time. But we both fell asleep about halfway through and dozed pretty much the whole way home. Dubai Int'l Airport is gigantic and modern with all the shopping you could ever want. Landing back in New York at JFK was a little unreal. I felt like I was just tossed back into the fray, stepping onto the A train with loud obnoxious teenagers and someone's too-loud headphones blaring hiphop. I could barely explain myself to Alex when I got home.
It definitely took me a while to get back into "normal" life. I didn't know how to answer anyone's questions about the trip. "How was your trip?" How to answer that in enough time, before their eyes started to glaze over? After a while I just stopped trying. 
I don't think I've had a major life change, per se. But there is definitely a mental shift. I still love food and shopping and Brooklyn. But I feel like, and hope, that I am less self-centered and a little more thoughtful. Being there with a big group, you really learn to function as a whole rather than as an individual. We really grew close to one another like a big, semi-dysfunctional extended family.
At least once a day I flip back through our photos just to see all the smiling faces of the kids in the community where we built the school. I can still feel their small hands in mine and hear their voices yelling and laughing. It's definitely an experience I'd recommend to anyone and everyone. After we pooled all of our photos there was even more media to round out the experience. I watched Ben's videos in 42 inches on our flatscreen, which consisted of about 2 hours of bumpy roads (he is a car enthusiast) and Wilson doing the "Cutta" song our last night in Oloosiyoi. Instant pick-me-up.
In three weeks we reunite in Toronto for We Day. We have been talking about it for two months. I CANNOT WAIT. 

Here is a trailer of the documentary Paul is making about our trip. He's been showing me bits and pieces of it as he finishes them, so I'm pretty lucky to be in same office as he is. Never fails to bring a tear to my eye:


The Story of Oloosiyoi Trailer from UM Worldwide on Vimeo.

Day 10: Pampered

These photos pretty much speak for themselves. We were awoken once again at 5am with tea and biscuits at our tent. After a quick breakfast we loaded up into Keefer's car and took off on another safari adventure. This time we stopped at a small gift shop in the Mara, where I looked but did not purchase. The shopkeeper followed me out to the car, asking why I hadn't bought anything and telling me he'd give me a good price. I was holding out for the outdoor marketplace back in Nairobi, where I hoped to buy the bulk of my souvenirs and presents.

After getting back at around 9, Robyn and I decided to change into bathing suits and head to the pool. I'd purchased a one-piece specifically for this trip since I'd be with work colleagues. You can laugh - but at the time I did not want to be hanging out with our President and head of global finance in a teeny bikini! We ordered strawberry daiquiris (my first time ever to have poolside service) but what came instead was something much better - frozen pineapple ginger cocktails! I got a manicure with Maggie the resident beautician, scrubbing away the last remnants of Oloosiyoi mud.

Slowly, everyone started emerging from their naps/late morning lounging and we had lunch before our next safari. We still had not seen a cheetah and were ready to kidnap the baby we'd seen with one of the other guests to use as bait. Only half joking! But we did get caught in a rainstorm and to shift into off-road gear to get out of it. After much revving and maneuvering (and almost jumping up and crashing into a tree) we were free. Another safari car behind us got stuck, and Keefer got out to help. We came back to the Safari Club tired, a little wet, and some of us (Jim) carsick.

Needless to say we spent a warm night by the fireplace with Smokey the Cat drinking Tusker Malts and Bloody Marys.

Day 9: Drive to Fairmont Safari Club

You haven't heard the last of the trip yet! I've been slacking but also I'm trying to drag this out. We are trying to plan a reunion for next month, so I'm hoping to finish these updates by then.

Our last day in Oloosiyoi, we said a sad goodbye to our Free the Children family, who had been so awesome and hospitable our entire stay. Flo, Wilson, Finn, Rudi, "Maji Moto," Andrew, Maxwell, William and everyone else - we had made some new friends and we weren't ready to leave them yet.



We took a group photo and in order to get Paul in, we had to use the Land Rover as a tripod. It did the job.

En route to the Fairmont - if this looks bad, you should have seen the river we tried to cross. Three days earlier it was low enough for us to cross on the raised cement driveway, but heavy rains had almost flooded the river and we were unsure that we'd be safe going across. 
So as a test we sent the luggage car ahead, and when it stayed on course we let out a big cheer and climbed back into our cars to get across.

Upon a sweaty and dirty arrival at the Fairmont, we were greeted with cold towels and mango juice.

And then an hour later, we were on our first safari!

The weather changed pretty quickly - here is a rainstorm off in the distance.

A pair of Thompson Ghazelles preparing to headbutt

A hyena comes towards us menacingly

Ashley in the other car. It was never decided which one was Car 1 and which one was Car 2 but we kept to the same group and driver for our stay there. Our driver's name was Keefer.
A rare sight! This lion was so hungry he risked being killed by a heard of buffalo. His two brothers were off in the distance - not too far but not too close either. The drivers were so excited to see this as they'd never encountered such a sight before. The lion was actually in another tree earlier, and when he thought he was safe enough to run, the buffalo chased him into this one. Here you can see him eyeing the calf at the bottom right.

Day 8: Last day in Oloosiyoi

Our last day in Oloosiyoi, Sammy was granted a stay of execution.
Let me back up.
First, Sammy was gifted to us by the community as a big thank you for donating money to build schools and a water well, and also for coming to build their last classroom. Ashley named him, brought him back to camp with Wilson, and visited him every chance she got.

It became a horrible running joke and we had to LIE to her about Sammy, telling her that he was going home with Wilson's family to be their pet, and that his dad was coming to get him in the morning (he was to be slaughtered on site). Flo felt so terrible about it she decided to get a new goat at the market and have Sammy live with her and the staff at Bogani.

We spent the day building but we were rained out most of the time. Each time the rain started to stop we'd start building again. We managed to get up to the bottom of the windows and set the stones for those, which was good enough progress but we were all disappointed we didn't have enough time there to completely finish the classroom.

To pass the time in the rain, we were each called into classrooms to speak with students. Robyn and I played our hangman game, having them guess the word (THUNDERSTORM). Instead of having a man in a noose, I drew a giant lion and parts of him were erased with every wrong letter guessed.

Here is the second goat we ended up getting, not as meaty looking but just as good. Robyn, Bryan, Jim and I decided we'd watch it get killed, and we ended up doing this not that far from camp. I figured I eat enough meat and this is a rare chance I'd get to see it go from living to table.

I took a lot of photos but I'll spare you. They stretched the goat out on the grass and it uttered a single cry. Then Wilson took out his machete and cut its throat. The blood started spilling out, a much brighter red than I thought and he started shouting "The cup! The cup! The cup!" We had frozen in our tracks so he reached out for the plastic mug he is holding above to collect the blood to drink. The goat was gurgling and spewing blood, and then they pulled its head back to finish it off.

Then Wilson stood up and took a few swigs of blood, offering each of us the cup and smiling with blood stained teeth. If he had insisted I would have tasted it but I think he knew not to. He and the other Maasai (I've forgotten his name) quickly skinned and took apart the goat, to be marinated for dinner.

I turned to Jim and said, "Well I guess I'm still a carnivore." High five!

After lunch on our way back to the school to continue building, we walked past the kill site, hoping Ashley wouldn't notice from her ride in the car. "OH MY GOD." Bryan had spotted the mug hanging on a tree branch, still dripping with bright red blood, a symbol of our treachery. We all cracked up over that one.

Here is the goat. We had to be careful not to say it was goat, instead calling it "Nyama Choma" which is Swahili for "BBQ," lest Ashley catch on. It's not Sammy but she would've been upset. I asked Flo what it was marinated in and she said light soy sauce, garlic and rosemary. That's it. I preferred the meat on the bones better than the skewers and had two helpings.

We also had some roasted potatoes with caramelized onions and some roast chicken. I later learned that the kidney and heart of the goat were shared among the staff, eaten raw as is customary.

This is sauteed cabbage, often served in traditional Kenyan meals. It is eaten with ugali, pictured below.

This is ugali, which is made from maize. It looks hard and stiff but it's actually soft and malleable. You tear off a small piece, make a hole with your thumb, and pick up some meat/cabbage in the hole, then pop the whole thing in your mouth.

Robyn Wiszowaty, Free the Children's Program Director, was with us for dinner along with two other team members. We were able to talk at depth with them about the situation in Kenya, future programs and also to ask our own questions. Sadly, no photos! She is a great speaker and told us a few stories from her life in the Mara (going on 10 years now).

This is a cake that the staff made for us our last night, with thick and slightly salty chocolate icing. It was served with what looked and tasted like thickened evaporated milk. So good because it was not too sweet.

All of a sudden Wilson busted out with the "Cutta" song, which is a traditional cake cutting song. We were dying! Jim didn't know what to do because he was so disoriented by the clapping and singing. "Do I cut it?" "Cut it cut it!" "Okay I cut it!" "Keep cutting they're not going to stop until you finish cutting the cake." So poor Jim cut the entire cake, while the entire staff sang the Cutta song.

After cake, we sat around the table and had an iPod battle, Finn & I against Bryan, Rudi and Jim. Diplomatically, the judges called a tie but it was a lot of fun razzing and laughing at each other (and Jim sang us some Miley Cyrus as well).

It was bittersweet because despite all the fun we were having, knowing it was our last night in Oloosiyoi was always at the back of my mind. I can say without question that we all would've stayed another week there if we could, to finish the school and spend time with the community.