See you soon!

“My trip is now complete.”
“That was amazing!”
“Did you see that?”
“I can go home now.”

These were just some of the quotations I heard during our last day on safari. Students gazed across the horizon, or just outside the car at giraffe, gazelle, jackals, antelope, elephants, and the pride of the Mara, a male lion, that let us watch him protect his young and yawn the afternoon away as he gazed at his next meal, unsuspecting zebras.
After an early morning of game rides, an afternoon walk to the Mara River to watch the hippos and an evening game ride to find lions, the students couldn’t help but share the excitement of their final adventure. Many of them had listed “seeing a lion” as one of their trip goals and this incredible spotting around dusk was the perfect end to a fun, challenging, thought-provoking, and moving trip. After sharing pictures and reminiscing, they began sharing their first food requests upon returning home. No, the students have not gone hungry on this trip, but the Kenyan diet is rich in fruits, vegetables and meat, but low on ice-cream. I heard requests for Sonic, Maggie Moos, Sweet Cece’s, even a Wendy’s frosty.
We ended last night with a final “candle ceremony” around the bonfire during which each student shared a “take away” or favorite memory from our time together. Their stories ranged from embarrassing blunders with each other to contemplative questions of themselves about how they view community and possessions after being with the Maasai. I heard numerous sniffles and later watched our students hug each other as they tried to soak up their last moments of reflection and gratitude for this experience. Thank you for giving your students this amazing opportunity. They have many stories to share!

We will leave for the airport shortly.
Tuonane kesho (see you tomorrow!).

-Lauren Wyatt

P.S. We hoped to have the students write some blogs over the last couple days but unfortunately we could not get internet signal on safari. Sorry!