Summing it up 2 hours before leaving - wanting to get lost in kenya

Hello.
No happy "jambo" this time... since, like everyone else I think, I'm not happy about going home.
This journey has been AMAZING, and we've had the opportunity to do so much people don't usually get the chance to do, for example visit the three different schools. As Reima, one of the finnish students, just said; this was a once in a lifetime journey.
Although it's only 2 hours(leaving 5.30!!) till we have to get on the buss to (sit in a traffic jam for a couple hours) go to the airport, I'm still in denial- this trip can't be over yet!
I already miss my travel company (the wonderful team Kenya and the finnish students) the people here (especially the Taitas, Ken, Valentine and Pauline) the weather, and THE LANDSCAPE. Most of all, though, I miss the rather troublefree (for us pupils, that is...) existance and the feeling of waking up everymorning to a brand new adventure - you never know what to excpect, but you do know you will learn something new, and go to sleep at night a little happier, wiser and a with lot of new experiences.

However, whether I will admit it or not, this trip is coming to an end. So, as there are a LOT of unpublished videos and pictures, and I feel I need some... closure, I thought it would be a good idea to just sum this trip up. Maybe, it will even help you, since many of the posts where posted in a really random order, due to the fact that we never quite new when we had internet connection, and when we didn't. All of the picture.travel blogs are made by Reima from the finnish school, and can be accessed through THIS LINK, if not seen otherwise.. I deff. recommend wathcing them!

So, here we go:

Kenya, 2010

2.1.Saturday
Horrible, horrible news: we might not be leaving after all, due to problems with our flight tickets. Panicking and a lot of questions arrise.

3.1 Sunday
The day we should have left for Kenya - but didn't. Thoughts of suicide were common, although some, Sofia and Ica, stay cheerful and calm.

4.1 Monday
We find out when we leave for Kenya. The ones who were happy before (Ica and Sofia) are suddenly unhappy with a lot of things. The different flight dates stir up a lot of anger, but most try to be positive even though the situation is extreemly unfair. Some manage quite well; after all, at least we are leaving for Kenya!

5.1. Tuesday
First group takes of. Me and our principal, now on known as "Nicke" fly together to Amsterdam, and due to a delayed plane run quite a race with other late passangers on the Amsterdam airport. We make it, and on the plane we  meet the group(containing Ica and Mikaela) who left earlier and flew via Paris.
In Finland, the rest of the girls are panicking about packing; long pants, blouses, will we need binoculours?

Day 1 - 6.1 Wednesday
Me, Ica and Mikaela arrive early, early, early at Kenya airport. Only 4 of our group of 12 people get their luggage, Micky and Ica are two of the lucky ones.

We arrive at Scripture Mission, eat breakfast ("what?? it's not night?? does this mean I´m not allowed to go to sleep??") and swim. Then we leave for Great Rift valley, and see buffalos(a really rare albino one, too!) Zebras, Impalas, Elans, Warthogs, Giraffes among other animals.

 

After a very cool hike/climb in the Hell's Gate Canyon, which was practically lava smoke that had been pressed together and then formed by heavy rains.

We also got to meet Ken and Stan, who were to become our guide and our driver, plus close friends, for the entire trip.


At home the girls left for the airport and immideately got BAD news. The plane was late. After this things only got worse, and we felt rather helpless reading their texts in Nairoby. I will not go into their problems, however, since Maria already listed them well, and they should be the ones telling you.

Day 2 - 7.1 Thursday
In the morning the rest of Team Kenya should have arrived, but didn't. Instead we picked up out lost luggage, that had arrived, and did (a lot) of shopping in one of the Nakumatt's.(which are pretty much big grocery stores) After this we did nothing but stare out the bus windows at the changing landscape while driving towards Voi.
In Voi we got stuck for an hour or two because of a jeep-problem (one of MANY to come) but finally all made it to Taita Hills and our house, Hebron. Here we where greeted by Granton, Valentine, Pauline, Moumburi and the dog, Soffin. And of course a breathtaking landscape, and the cutest house and yard ever

.Meanwhile the rest of Team Kenya woke up in a hotel in Amsterdam, and did NOT miss their Kenya flight, and therefore arrived in Nairobi late at night. Meeting them were Ken, our guide, and Nina, a soon-to-be professor at Helsinki Uni, who has, and is, working a lot around the Taita area with ecotuorism and whatnot. Honestly you name it. But I do hope I, or someone else will have time to write exactly about what she's been doing, since it's pretty amazing and super cool. Before heading to Scripture Mission for some sleep, they had "the world's best vegetarian pizza", which we also got the pleasure to taste later on.


Day 3 - 8.1 Friday

We woke up in Taita Hills and headed for Wundanyi to explore the town and update the blog.

After this we drove to Canon Kituri to meet the students we where going to work with the two following days.
The other girls had sat in Ninas and Kens jeeps for the whole day, and finally arrived at around 7 a clock!


Day 4 - 9.1 Saturday

A pretty much amazing day. We walked from 11 to 15 with the Caonon Kituri students to the local dam, passing many farms and farmers. Had a heard of farm-kids following us around, who were truly fascintaed by our cameras. Got an own little friends of mine, Samba, who followed me for the entire walk.Barefoot and thirsty. We all agreed she was an extreemly beautiful girl, and had she lived somewhere more "Western" she would already be a model.
We also talked to the local farmers, which was very interesting.

The day did have a down side to it - everyone except Emilia got badly sunburned. Wohoo. This was also the hottest day we experienced under our trip - but the warmth was something I enjoyed, since the rest of our trip has been quite chilly.



Day 5 - 10.1 Sunday
Again, another amazing day. In the morning we went for a long hike in the Ngangao mountain rainforest.

Afterwards we met the Canon Kituri students once again, to make a SWOT (strenght, weakness, opportunity, threats) presentation about the Taita Hills area, based on the interviews with the farmers. We also held presentations about Finland and gave out the cellphones and cameras we had brought along - which all were extreemly appreciated.


Day 6 - 11.1 Monday
Safariday. And yes, yet another amazing day. Compared to the other days in Taita, when we had mostly spent time with locals, we know had a real "tuorist day" in Tsavo East National Park. We saw lots of animals, and the whole experience was so much fun, but being that much of a tuorist, was something at least I got enough of.

Day 7 - 12.1 Tuesday
Leaving Taita. An extreemly sad day, did not want to leave. Earlier, everyday had felt so long, and it felt as if we had already been in Kenya for months - suddenly it felt like our trip was ending and we had only just arrived.
A long jeep and bus drive later we arrived in Nairobi, and at least I did not get any happier. Nairoby was shabby, the air was hard to breathe and everything was "like in Finland". More agriculture and local farmers, clean air and amazing views, us being treated like zoo animals (mzungu, mzungu!!!) -yes please! But that didn't seem to be anywhere to be found.

Day 8 - 13.1 Wednesday
Visiting Mathare, and the Special Training Center made me tear-eyed more than once. Hugging the little children and talking to their brave parents and teachers was overwhelming, and, at the risk at sounding utterly stupid; I really really felt "blessed" to be able to experience this. Although the school was quite well equipped, giving the laptops, pens and papers felt amazing - we could actually do something to help. We definitely have plans for how to help this school and it's students in the future - so keep on checking this blog!
After this we went to an extreemly expensive suovenir shop, and then rest continued to a fancy mall. Ica and I decided to stay at Scripture Mission and swim instead.

Day 9 -14.1. Thursday
Our last day. Denial, denial, denial. Can't be.
Left for the finnish embassy, and then Nariobis largest slum, Kibera. Visited the Drug Fighters school, which was both amazing, and extreemly disturbing  when you started to feel like everything they were saying was just part of their rehearsed "commercial" - a commercial for a "poor, needy school" with "poor, needy, rescued children" who need lots of lots of everything.
 Lunch at the same pizza inn, as the girls that arrived later ate at, an yes, the vegetarian pizza was to die for even(or specially?) without cheese.
Giraffe spotting at a tuorist place - not too nice. Soccer game and swimming back at Scripture Mission - very nice. And then packing. I can't believe this is over. I want it to last forever. If everything goes my way, I'm so not boarding the plane tomorrow, but instead sitting in a bus (matatu) on my way back to my beloved Taita Hills. I don't think I'm the only one hoping for this miracle.
"A blog about our trip to Kenya... ....and hopefully NOT back" is what the title should be changed to. We didn't even manage to get lost. yet. Ken, our guide, says it's all thanks to him. Might be, might be... how to loose him tomorrow morning then?

//Hanna

EDIT: got so tired, and the internet was so slow, so didn't even add half of the pics I was going to, and none of the videos.... I'll keep adding them to this post as soon as I get back to Finland. Sleep tight, and next time I'm blogging -it'll be from Finland if everything goes as planned - how sad is that??