It's All Over

Me with three Masai men I met on my way out of Masai Mara. They have set up a health clinic in their village, which gave us a lot to talk about.

I am writing this on Tuesday the 12th from my friend’s living room in Nairobi, though I don’t know exactly when or where I will be able to post it. The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind that has had me sleeping in four different districts in the country, which I think is just a warm-up for the next month. Unfortunately, much of my last week in Ilula I was very sick, maybe as a result of my attempt to live authentically and eat those goat intestines I mentioned last time. I was bed ridden for almost three full days before I decided to start taking the antibiotics I was given prior to leaving Seattle. This quickly cleared up the problem and by the weekend I was back on my feet, just in time for me to enjoy my first African wedding. It was a lovely wedding that was actually fairly similar to the American weddings I have been to, with a few different customs and a lot more singing and dancing. My time in Ilula wrapped up nicely with a presentation of all my photos from Kenya for the children and staff to see, followed by a wonderful farewell party. Everyone was at this party, even those from the surrounding community that I had connected with, most of whom are runners. They generously presented gifts for my family and me, and even more generously presented many very nice speeches about my time there with them. Holding back my tears as I listened to their speeches and as I addressed them all for the last time was very difficult, but it was a perfect way to conclude my time with them.

Me addressing the group at my farewell party, wearing and holding some of the gifts I received from my family in Kenya.

The very next day I found myself face to face with the immense wildlife of Masai Mara. In just two days there, I observed lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, hyenas, wart hogs, zebras, ostriches, hippos, crocodiles, and scores of different antelope and bird species, all in their natural environment. When I say I observed them, I mean that I was literally close enough to softly speak to them and catch their attention. I watched a lion and cheetah hunt, both of wart hogs and both unsuccessful, and even was charged by a testy and protective elephant. Being with these animals in their natural environment has helped me to understand the traditional tribal cultures that are still present throughout the country. Perhaps the best part of my time in Masai Mara was talking to the local Masai people and getting to know their living situations and beliefs a little bit. These people are the most traditional of the major tribes in Kenya, and they are living in a remote area with very few of the luxuries we consider standard. They do not have electricity or running water in their villages, and they cannot farm at all due to the presence of the animals. They arrange their villages in circles with a double layer living fence to protect from lions and hyenas, among others. Cows, which sleep inside the protected circular arrangement to avoid being hunted by lions at night, are a huge and important part of their culture. They told me that they do not count their cows for fear that they will curse their herd, but having 200-300 is about average for a family. The Masai people are also known for their beautiful clothing and beaded jewelry and their remarkable jumping ability, which comes from the nature of their long-practiced tribal ceremonies. Understanding the people of Africa without understanding their connection to nature is impossible, and so I am thankful to have had this opportunity.

Three lionesses with a cub and a recent buffalo kill in Masai Mara.

From there, it was back to Nairobi, which at times feels a bit like a mid-sized American city. There are a few big buildings, traffic jams, restaurants serving any kind of food you could want, and loads of white people. There is a huge influx of people from rural areas that are moving into the city in hopes of finding good jobs and living in nice homes, which is pretty standard in any urban center in a developing country. The problem I have seen with this is that most of these cities have no regulations on emissions from vehicles or factories, and insufficient or nonexistent waste disposal systems. As you can imagine and may have experienced, if you combine the above, you get a feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia; at least I do. They do not even have any sort of system set up for recycling the incredible amount of plastic and paper they use in production and transportation. This is unbelievable to me for a city with a population of around 4 million people, who all get multiple unnecessary plastic bags each time they visit even a small kiosk. While in Nairobi and Mombasa I get the same feeling that I got when I first visited Eldoret, but on a much larger scale. Mombasa is a beautiful coastal city, with numerous gorgeous mosques and stunning white sand beaches. Unfortunately, they have an even worse case of the same issue that Nairobi has, which we noticed as we stood on the rocky edge of the Indian Ocean and were sickened by the amount of trash floating in the water. There is so much potential in these cities, but the people developing them only see the positive financial increases instead of the budding and soon to be paralyzing environmental effects of those financial increases. Honestly, I can’t really blame them for their perspective, but I try to nicely give them my two cents when I get the opportunity, and I always get weird looks at stores when I tell them I will carry my purchases without a bag.

Three elephants of a huge herd we encountered. I was told that they rub the bark of trees with their skin and tusks to the point that trees this size simply fall over.

Although breathing the air in Mombasa was not always easy, I did thoroughly enjoy the couple days I was able to spend there. Getting there is a mostly smooth 8-hour bus ride from Nairobi, but when you enter the city you feel like you have just crossed the ocean and come into a Middle Eastern city. The call to prayer coming from the city’s countless mosques fills the streets five times per day. A majority of the people you run into when walking through the crowded city are dressed in their respective Muslim attire. Even the Kiswahili that is spoken is a little different from what I learned in Ilula. Though it looked and felt differently than all other places I have been in Africa, the friendly nature of the people was still present and very noticeable. I stayed with some friends I met in Nairobi a few months back, and had a really great time. They are an American family who are staying in Mombasa as they prepare for a mission assignment on Pemba Island. They showed me around the city and even took me for a tour of Fort Jesus and a day at the beach, including a few hours of snorkeling. We talked at length about the path that brought each of us to this point in our lives, and I was able to ask a lot of questions about microfinance programs, which is what they specialize in. I have found that I get so energized and inspired when I have such conversations in this type of context. When I spend time with people who are experts in fields that can help lift people, like many of those I have lived with over the past months, out of impoverished and hopeless situations, I become that much more motivated to get home and involve thousands of others in supporting them.

Two cheetahs on their way past us to hunt a just sensed wart hog.

As the time approaches for me to return home and start the process of involving all those people in what I have just been through, I am becoming overwhelmed. In the past two weeks, despite all the distractions and fun, I have been feeling confused and down a lot. As I read back through my journal, I noticed that the couple weeks surrounding each of my major transitions from place to place produced the same sort of psychological state. I am a very introspective and self-critical person, sometimes to a fault, which is magnified by transitional circumstances. My whole life playing competitive sports has produced a very goal-oriented mindset that causes me to overlook the journey or process in order to completely concentrate on the end goal. When I get to the end of this journey and discover that the end is itself actually just the beginning to a new journey, it produces feelings of emptiness and failure. Though I understand that this feeling is not accurate, it is present nonetheless, and is getting me down whenever I have a few minutes of quiet time. There are so many things I will discover and be able to use positively as I have a chance to really get away and process it all. I just wish right now I could verbalize even 10% of what I am feeling. I remain excited about the next process of sharing this experience with everyone who will listen and signing up as many people as possible for Team ERace. What is now really hard for me to believe is that I am leaving Africa in two days and working my way back to Seattle, which is a day that still feels like it will never come. Until that day, all I really can say with any certainty is that I love Africa and will do everything in my power to come back here as soon as possible. My heart is now spread out all over the world with people of every race, gender, and class. The beautiful thing, as my mom told me once, is that love is not finite; we do not have a limited amount inside each of us to divvy up as we see fit. In fact, it is more like a perpetual spring flowing from our heart that is always available to be given 100% to anyone and anything. I will leave you with that thought from Africa. Please be good to yourselves and those around you, and please, please don’t keep your love all to yourself.