And Yet Another Take....

Kenya Observations....The next items are a few thoughts that aren't bloggable but worth passing on. 

* It' s wild to see Kenyans selling coal by the bucket

* You don't know irony until you go 5 hours into the Masai Mara to immerse yourself into a Masai village where the warriors are in full tribal gear from head to their Nike covered feet

* There are three times more Kenyans than its infrastructure can support

* Everybody in Kenya has a way to survive -- from driving unauthorized taxis to selling grilled corn on the side of the road

* Kenyans in the slums (and ghettos) of Kibera have no government services but they do have access to mobile banking

* Kenyan labor is so cheap (and non-unionized) that they are trenching fiberoptic internet cable from Kenya to Uganda...BY HAND 

* The expanse of Kenya is such that most schools are boarding because children have to travel so far to get from home to school

* Security is everywhere, from uniformed government to private firms

* It's true, animals in the wild do look different than animals in the zoo 

* Sleeping in bug nets is not romantic

While at the farm, we visited two schools. One was an elementary school and one high school. Both were supported by the Olerai Farm founders. We toured the schools and at each one, we were greeted by children genuinely happy to see us. When arriving at the first, we had no idea what to expect. The schools were less than modest by Western standards but the buildings were newly constructed with functional outdoor toilets. The highlight was a Masai song and dance done by the students. It was absolutely soul stirring.

When arriving at the second, there were about a hundred kids playing soccer who began to drop their game and run alongside our car singing WELCOME, WELCOME, WELOME! They surrounded the car once we stopped and drenched us with smiles, handshakes and the traditional leaning forward of their head so that we could touch or pat them on top. They loved it! They loved being greeted and visited and we loved being there as well. They as well sent us forward with a song and dance but this time it was with the students in full Masai gear. 

Mount Leyloni