This weekend was our R&R time, and having been very involved with teaching for 12 days in a row, I was ready for it. This year again we went to the Amboseli Park where we stayed at the Serena lodge. To get to the lodge from the main road you have to take a dirt road, which is the worst kind of washboard you can imagine. The worst thing is that it takes almost an hour of the most incredible shaking, as if you are sitting in a giant vibrator. The closer you get to the Lodge the more wildlife you see, so I was really peering intensely among and into the bushes that dot the landscape when I saw what I knew to be a gerenuk. This is a very rare gazelle which I somehow remembered from seeing pictures of in a book. So I looked twice and was sure I had seen it but believed they were not present in this dry Savannah land. After a minute or so I thought I should ask Washira if it was indeed possible I had seen a gerenuk. Well he just about dropped his teeth, and said, "Why didn't you yell stop, I have been on the lookout for one ever since we hit this dirt road." But by then it was too late. We could not go back and try to find it among all dense bushes.
This lodge is incredible. It is designed to look like the ranch of an early settler and was built with rough hewn logs. It is very attractively decorated all with African and perhaps mostly with Masai motifs. This is truly a luxury resort, which Kizimani gets at a huge discount negotiated I believe by Washira's wife who does that sort of thing for her husband. The luxury impression starts when you arrive and a servant (they seem to stand around every 20 ft) presents you with a warm wet towel to wipe the dust from face and hands, and believe me, you are really dusty because you drive in a virtual dust storm if you drive behind the lead micro bus. Then another servant takes your bag and brings it inside, where it is stored while our team goes for lunch, because we are ravenous and thirsty.
The lunch is buffet-style and we can hardly believe our eyes seeing all the choices we have to face. You can make an incredible salad using lettuce, sundried and regular tomatoes, capers,olives, chopped onions, cut pickled beets, pickled mango, pork and chicken pieces mixed in a macaroni salad, wonderful breads, all kinds of fresh fruits--there is no end to it. It is incredible! You may also choose to eat a wonderful hot lunch, with just as many ingredients as from the salad bar, and finally, one may choose to have a lunch made up from multiple stir fried ingredients. Of course there is a long bar with dessert items that won't quit, so basically we all overate. And finally there was that wonderful cold Tusker Beer to wash everything down. Then it was time for an afternoon nap and all I can say is that I was out before my head hit the pillow.
We were going to go on a late afternoon photo safari at 4:00 PM, and fortunately I woke up from Lance, with whom I roomed, who made a some noise when he left our room and so I was up in time to catch one of our micro buses. The wildlife we saw was amazing, from many different antelopes, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, and even a few cheetahs. When we returned we took a shower and changed, because the dust makes your hair stand out and causes your teeth to grind.
Afterward, I returned to the main Lodge building with most of the rest of the team where we enjoyed a few drinks before we had dinner. Dinner too is an indescribable experience there at the Lodge. Everything is set up in a big open space which is lined with tables all around and with a big rectangular table in the center. Each table is covered with all kinds of meats, vegetables, condiments, fruits, breads, desserts, you name it. So once again I--rather we--overate.
After dinner we sat with coffee on the terrace to wait for the Masai to show up and perform their unique dances. The Masai men are dressed in their traditional red blanket and a stick for a spear, while the women are dressed in their own red blanket but also are adorned with their beaded neck shields and arm bands. Both the men and the women form one long line with the men on the left when facing the audience, and the women on the right. The men begin the performance by singing and dancing in place while the women shake their torsos covered by the beaded shields around their neck. Then suddenly one of the men steps forward and jumps vertically straight into the air, at times reaching a height of about four feet. Like last year some of our women filled out the line of Masai women shaking their torsos with the best of them. Since we had few young men in our team this year, only Lance was willing to join the line of Masai men. I am happy to report that he did not embarrass West Hills, though he did not reach the height Tim Pham reached last year when he basically beat the Masai at their own game. After the Masai performance was over most of us went to bed simply because we were exhausted. I can't remember anything after I hit my pillow.
We got up at 5:40 AM to dress and rush out to get a cup of coffee before we drove away in our micro buses for the morning photo safari. In some respects the morning outing was not as spectacular as last year, since lions had not been spotted in two days and so nobody knew where to look for them. We too never saw them, and so we just observed the many other species of wildlife. Basically the only additional species we saw were hippos. They are impressive animals for sure, and surely to be feared.
After the morning photo safari we ate once again an incredible lunch and left after quickly packing our stuff. The plan was to be back at the guest house at around 3:00 PM. Well, the traffic on the only major east-west highway is a mess and one really learns to appreciate Washira's driving skills as he drives his micro bus ferociously through that traffic, passing endless streams of big Mercedes diesel trucks that haul freight from Mombasa on the coast of the Indian ocean to inland Africa. He is truly an artist at work as he passes truck after truck with inches to spare. Because of his driving we arrived back at the guest house an hour before the other two buses arrived.
Then we went to the mall to buy souvenirs at the Masai market where I got the last few things I needed, which was good, as I seriously dislike the haggling experience. However, it is what it is, and the Masai actually produce many beautiful things besides cheap trinkets. After we returned from the market, and a Skype session with Lois, we had dinner and now I am finishing this last report. Tomorrow we will pack while some of us will still have to buy a few more souvenirs. But then finally we take to our buses and rush to the airport to fly home via Amsterdam.
It has been truly a wonderful two weeks, I do believe this has been the best trip of the five I have made. This was perhaps mainly because with a little direction from Miriam last December, both Maggie, Judy, Sanna, and Lance's team, and I by myself, put together a teaching program that really resonated with the people here. Theirs was referred to as the "Healing Arts", while I chose and prepared a number of lessons that would foster a biblical discussion about violence to women and women's issues. The result has simply been outstanding. We really saw how the high school kids at New Dawn were helped by the Healing Arts and also how the pastors in Eldoret and the teachers of New Dawn in Nairobi were really helped to begin a new focus on women's ministries and especially how to begin training for and practicing how to deal with women who have been traumatized in one way or another.
Well it has been great. I just hope the flight home is uneventful and that we will arrive on time on the 19th at around 11:30 AM. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.
After dinner we sat with coffee on the terrace to wait for the Masai to show up and perform their unique dances. The Masai men are dressed in their traditional red blanket and a stick for a spear, while the women are dressed in their own red blanket but also are adorned with their beaded neck shields and arm bands. Both the men and the women form one long line with the men on the left when facing the audience, and the women on the right. The men begin the performance by singing and dancing in place while the women shake their torsos covered by the beaded shields around their neck. Then suddenly one of the men steps forward and jumps vertically straight into the air, at times reaching a height of about four feet. Like last year some of our women filled out the line of Masai women shaking their torsos with the best of them. Since we had few young men in our team this year, only Lance was willing to join the line of Masai men. I am happy to report that he did not embarrass West Hills, though he did not reach the height Tim Pham reached last year when he basically beat the Masai at their own game. After the Masai performance was over most of us went to bed simply because we were exhausted. I can't remember anything after I hit my pillow.
We got up at 5:40 AM to dress and rush out to get a cup of coffee before we drove away in our micro buses for the morning photo safari. In some respects the morning outing was not as spectacular as last year, since lions had not been spotted in two days and so nobody knew where to look for them. We too never saw them, and so we just observed the many other species of wildlife. Basically the only additional species we saw were hippos. They are impressive animals for sure, and surely to be feared.
After the morning photo safari we ate once again an incredible lunch and left after quickly packing our stuff. The plan was to be back at the guest house at around 3:00 PM. Well, the traffic on the only major east-west highway is a mess and one really learns to appreciate Washira's driving skills as he drives his micro bus ferociously through that traffic, passing endless streams of big Mercedes diesel trucks that haul freight from Mombasa on the coast of the Indian ocean to inland Africa. He is truly an artist at work as he passes truck after truck with inches to spare. Because of his driving we arrived back at the guest house an hour before the other two buses arrived.
Then we went to the mall to buy souvenirs at the Masai market where I got the last few things I needed, which was good, as I seriously dislike the haggling experience. However, it is what it is, and the Masai actually produce many beautiful things besides cheap trinkets. After we returned from the market, and a Skype session with Lois, we had dinner and now I am finishing this last report. Tomorrow we will pack while some of us will still have to buy a few more souvenirs. But then finally we take to our buses and rush to the airport to fly home via Amsterdam.
It has been truly a wonderful two weeks, I do believe this has been the best trip of the five I have made. This was perhaps mainly because with a little direction from Miriam last December, both Maggie, Judy, Sanna, and Lance's team, and I by myself, put together a teaching program that really resonated with the people here. Theirs was referred to as the "Healing Arts", while I chose and prepared a number of lessons that would foster a biblical discussion about violence to women and women's issues. The result has simply been outstanding. We really saw how the high school kids at New Dawn were helped by the Healing Arts and also how the pastors in Eldoret and the teachers of New Dawn in Nairobi were really helped to begin a new focus on women's ministries and especially how to begin training for and practicing how to deal with women who have been traumatized in one way or another.
Well it has been great. I just hope the flight home is uneventful and that we will arrive on time on the 19th at around 11:30 AM. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.
God bless you,
Hans
Hans
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