When I knew I had a chance to come to Kenya, I was excited to see an African country (I don't count Morroco as truly African)...and of course to experience close up the mythological animals of my childhood: lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras. I was eager to learn a new culture and language. What I didn't expect was to feel such a strong attraction to the country itself, one that was evident the instant I arrived in the Highlands...It is really hard to describe what attractas me so much to this part of the world....there is the physical beauty of the hills, mountains, and plains, and the gentle kindness of the people..but somehow that doesn't come near the deep connection I feel with his land... I have talked to other westerners about this...maybe it's the fact that ... read more

Vicki and I were told of a guest house, out in the Aberdare area, reasonably priced, and we decided to go for Friday night. The daughter of the owner goes to the lower school so we got a ride out after school with Petra, the owner, her daughter Tessa, and other guests who had been in town. We picked up the other guests at the home of a Scottish woman who lives close to the school, in a beautiful house on a back lane. We had tea there, and then traveled to the ranch where the guest houses are located, first on the paved roads and then on very muddy and rutted back roads. The main house is amazing! As we came close, there were impala and crested cranes out in the fields, along with horses. ... read more

I have been back at Mt Kenya Academy since Friday afternoon. I spent the night in Nairobi after returning from safari. The hotel where I stayed was minimal, but clean and quiet. However the restaurant was like something out of Starwars, only with Earthlings. There were all kinds of deals going down between people from all over! Much business of all kinds... a younger European woman and an older European man were both speaking English with different accents and talking about problems all over Africa and work being done. A white man was leaving with an African woman and his arm was around her (PDA's are not normal here). An Arab man with a laptop was running figures by two Africans with cell phones....they were dealing in something that came in kilos. The next day, Simon ... read more

These are animal pictures from the second and third days in Masai Mara. ... read more

Good morning new world! We got the news out in the van on a sarfari trip early this am....I think I'm the only American here..but everyone is happy! Tomorrow is a national holiday in Kenya! Everywhere in the camp I hear Swahili and the word Obama.... We have been on safari for three days now....we started out at Lake Nakuru on Monday and saw many animals, including a huge rhino up very close....flamingos, a leopard (asleep in a tree and hard to see...) and hyenas among others... We then drove to the Masai Mara on Wednesday and will stay here til tomorrow. Yesterday afternoon we were able to see giraffes, lions, and elephants up close! This morning we went out at 6:30 am and saw small animals along with wildebeasts....and then (right after the news about ... read more