map

This is the route we followed on our journey through Kenya.

Blog 14

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

I have been working on organizing our iBook from our photos so thoughts of our journey are occupying my mind. That brings our fellow travelers to mind also. I have a few things to share.

Shortly after our return, four of us from Kansas City had an interesting lunch and visit with a visiting Kenyan journalist at the Kansas City Star. Samuel Siringi is an Alfred Friendly Fellow who has been working at the Star. He was quite eager to hear our perspectives on Kenya.

We made some presumptions that he would like to see photos (which he was), but we also took the copy of the Daily Nation which contained our picture. He was really thrilled to see the paper and practically devoured it.

Samuel is from the area of Kenya that was most affected by the civil unrest related to the elections. He is enjoying his time in KC. We were interested in his comparisons of life in Kenya and in the U.S. He has been able to travel extensively to get a feel for other parts of the country. He is amazed at how busy we are. 

I haven't read anything that he has written for the Star, but I will pass on anything that might be of interest.

Here is the website for our photo gallery: http://gallery.mac.com/dochs/100116

These are the same photos that were in the slide show with a few additions. We marked them so as to be downloaded by those who would like to do so. We are pleased that our daughter is implementing an Africa theme for a guest room, using the souvenirs we brought her and some prints of our photos.

We have been sharing our experiences with friends and family -- they appear to be interested. You all are probably getting questions also.

I am adding a map scan with our route traced on it, thanks to Br. Chuck. In addition, I scanned in the newspaper article. I will add it to the blog also.

I sent the Lasallian article to Br. Chuck. Haven't heard how that is going.

Kathy O.

Kenya Sweet Kenya

Jambo to All Our Kenya Travel Friends!
Hopefully, everyone has found being settled in with their comforts of home a little sweeter and appreciated after our Kenyan journey. Amazing what we just take for granted!
We had some good friends staying with us all last week, so of course we shared some photos and stories of our travels with them. Somehow, it feels like the experience was too rich to ever be able to accurately relay. I find myself unable to talk fast enough.;-)
I hope to spend some significant time over the coming weeks to sort through our photos, movies, and all of the CD's Justin and Lucas created for me to take home of their photos. It will be a fun task, as it will allow me to relive again, our time in beautiful Kenya. Many of my photos didn't turn out as I had hoped, so thankfully I can pull from Justin and Lucas's, too. I would appreciate it if I could get a copy of good photos any of you might have from the schools and orphanage and close-ups of Kenyan people. I would be happy to pay you to have a cd/dvd made or if I can retrieve from a site online, that would be great too.
Jim and I rented the movie "Out of Africa" as soon as we got home, just to see if we recognized things...anyone know if the crater they flew over was the one we saw? It sure looked like it!!
I went to a birthday lunch yesterday with some of my former co-workers at DeLaSalle H.S. and they were asking if there will be another trip next year....Br. Chuck? I was so happy to be able to give the birthday girl a beaded bracelet and earrings from Kenya. I marveled at the photo on the blog of Br. Chuck's store (WOW-you really did get LOTS the last day!!)Can I come shopping there, as I am now finding I wish I had purchased more for gift giving. That probably shocks some of you, but its true!
For me, one of the most memorable parts of the trip are the visions of the Kenyan faces, young and old, that continue to pop into my head. Their smiles told one story...their eyes another. I guess that holds true everywhere, but there it seemed to make such an impression.
I continue to be ever SO grateful, Br. Chuck, for the opportunity you and the other Brother's made possible for me and my family. The memories will forever be a treasured gift...and no shopping required!!;-)
Joellen

Back Home

Friday morning after being awake, seemingly forever, pickled herring sounded better than cereal for breakfast…I attributed that to jet lag. But then considered Justin’s beer instead of orange juice after a morning game drive and thought, “What the heck and had pickled herring for breakfast.”

It is good to be home. It is good to put clothes into the washer and walk away knowing they will be reasonably clean upon my return. It is good to turn on a faucet and be able to brush my teeth, knowing that it is safe to do so. It is good to have infrastructure…from electricity to roads.

But I miss the beautiful weather with the lack of humidity. I miss have breakfast ready and waiting for me (ditto lunch and dinner). And as I began to go through pictures, I have wonderful memories of all the people we met and the hospitality which they extended. Of waking up to an elephant outside my tent and the necessity of a Maasai walking me to breakfast. Of the graceful gate of giraffes as they saunter across the grasslands. The sway of the train and animals on the Athi Plains. The excitement of seeing lions and cheetah. The antics of the monkeys. The grandness of the landscapes in all their varied forms. And of course the wonderful companions of the journey.

As I made it in and out of a store the other night, without talking to another soul thanks to self-checkout, I wonder who really is the poorer? As we grumbled across the Chalbi, amazed at the people who actually live there it occurs to me they might be happier where they are, because they, too, are home.

Photos

Br. Chuck's store.

Photos

A small portion of the hillside markets.

Photos

Seeking bargains at the market.

Blog 13

Tuesday, July 1

This last portion of the blog is being written after the fact. We are
back in the States, trying to adjust to CDT but still feeling on
occasion that we are on Kenya time.

Tuesday was market day and Chuck was right -- we should have waited to
make any and all purchases here. Items we thought we would never see
again while on our journey are right across the street from our hotel
in Nairobi in numbers you cannot imagine and at prices beyond compare!

Some members of our group, mostly the men, are not the least bit
interested in this phase of the journey. While it appears to be a
shopper's paradise, the Maasai Market in somewhat daunting. Hundreds
of venders have spread their wares on blankets along two hillsides/
curbsides of a very busy city street. Narrow paths allow shoppers
minimal room to meander and be encouraged by vendors to shop their
stores.

Br. Chuck and the three sisters are the first to head to market and
will make several trips throughout the day. They are amazing shoppers!

Four of us less stalwart shoppers (Liz, Pete, Lois and I) head over
together and discover that two-by-two is more efficient. We make the
purchases we need rather quickly and head back to the hotel to
recuperate. A second trip yields a few more items and some photos,
which I will include.

Lois did not go back for a second trip. One item she had been seeking
was a back-scratcher, but we did not see one on our first trip
through. As Liz, Pete and I were heading out of the market, I remarked
that Lois would like a back-scratcher, and a salesman with astute
hearing said, "I have one," and scrambled up to some bags of treasures
and came up with one.

Here is our exchange:
How much? "For you, mama, 1,500 shillings!" Oh, no -- way too much.
"How much will you pay?" 300 shillings "Oh, no, mama. I can't do
that." Okay, thanks. "Wait, mama, 1,000 shillings?" 300 is all I have.
Bye. "Okay, 300."

Lois has a backscratcher -- and a bargain at that! It took me this
long to learn the art of the Kenyan deal.

Br. Chuck amasses a stash of items for his charity work back in the
States. I will also include a picture of that treasure trove.

The day progresses rather slowly as we await our trip to the airport
and the long flights back. Dinner is scheduled at the hotel for 6 p.m.

This is our last meal as a group in Kenya (airplane meals don't
count.) We are joined by Br. Francis, Br. Michael and two other guests
whose names I will have to verify later. One Brother, however, is the
"head guy" for the Brothers in Africa.

The Williams sisters, accompanied by percussionists on Kenyan
instruments, present two songs that sum up our trip. They are received
with rousing laughter and cheers. Pete will be posting the lyrics to
the blog. Sisters JoEllen, Teddy and Kathy sing another song of
farewell. We hope to have those lyrics posted also.

After dinner, it is off to load the bus with ever-expanding baggage, a
slow trip to the airport in heavy out-going traffic, and the arrival
at the airport for the first leg of our flight home. The Brussels
flight is shorter this time because it is non-stop. We have a short
layover in Brussels and then a LONG flight to Chicago where we will
part ways with our fellow travelers, with the promise, of course, to
establish correspondence, and to perhaps plan for a reunion next
summer in Chicago.

Wednesday, July 2
The six of us awaiting our flight to KC face (you guessed it) a delay,
then a waiting line for take-off, then a storm over KC that has us
circling for an hour and then bouncing through thunder and lightning
to land (at last)! We were supposed to arrive around 7 p.m. but we
only got into the airport at 9 p.m. Gathering bags and making the
drive home got us in the house at 10 -- around 35 hours after leaving
the hotel in Nairobi.

Br. Chuck stayed in Lenexa rather than driving home to O'Hara.

Thursday, July 3

In the morning we awake to find that Br. Chuck has laid out his store
of goodies on the pool table. His sales will certainly benefit the
schools we visited.

Our purchases, miniscule in comparison, will be distributed to friends
and family.

The journey of a lifetime has come to an end. I venture to say that
none of us has come away without being affected by what we have seen
and done. We have a greater understanding of nature, a greater empathy
for the plight of the impoverished, and certainly a greater
appreciation for the life we lead. How appropriate to have the July
4th celebration upon our return.

We are back in Kansas and can definitely say, "THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE
HOME!"

K

Trip Pictures

We are home here in Memphis, but even 2 days later we are apparently experiencing jet lag as we just can't keep our eyes open any longer after 8:00 pm and we keep waking up - wide eyed and alert - at 3:00 am. 

Good thing we did not return to work right away. (As a teacher, I don't go back until August, but Karen could have opted to go back on Thursday right after we got back. Good thing she did not.)

I have set up a web page with some of our pictures. We will add more as time goes by. However, everyone is invited to check out the ones we have and if any of our fellow travelers have pictures they would like to share in this way, you can upload them to the site or e-mail them to the site. Both options should be available as you open the site.

The address:

http://gallery.mac.com/dwhit_98/100039

Hope you enjoy the pictures. I have also enjoyed reading kathy's posts to the blog about our trip. I really enjoy her perspective and find her observations to mirror my own. 

I would certainly recommend that anyone who might like to visit Kenya should go ahead and take the plunge. Both Karen and I are so glad we did. The trip was quite educational as well as a lot of fun!

Don and Karen Whittington