Day 20 - Conrete Contrasts

Today was a day of contrasts! It began with a meeting with nature (quite literally - it felt like warm rough concrete) and ended with a hair-raising drive through an African metropolis... But let me take you through it from the beginning.

Awakening to the cries of monkeys as our alarm clock (rooster crows or phone alarms needn't apply), we devoured a delicious buffet breakfast, tossed our belongings into our bags and headed off on our very last game drive.

And what a drive it was! We were able to get up close and personal with Baraka the blind black rhino. He had been blinded by poachers and now lives in the rhino sanctuary at Ol Pejeeta Conservancy. We each fed Baraka a handful of grass, had a pat (see earlier comment re. warm, rough concrete) and had a photo op with this majestic creature.

Moving on, we also saw elephants, chimpanzees, impalas, zebras and one hotly contested sighting of a cheetah in the distance. Was it a cheetah or was it a dime-a-dozen guinea fowl? We will never know...

After a scrumptious buffet lunch, we settled in for our last team debrief time - all about re-entry. We shared the things we were nervous about and what we hoped the change going forward. The answers were rich and thoughtful, many centring on how we'd respond to the consumerist Christmas rush and how to share our stories with people who haven't experienced the same things as us. Joel also shared his seven tips for re-entry (one translated tip for those reading along at home: please take the time to really listen to our stories!) and closed with a last reflection from John 21 encouraging us not to fall back into our comfort zones.

With that said, it was time for five hours on a bus to Nairobi! We stopped by for a quick photo at the Equator and eventually watched the landscape turn from a dusty bumpy dirt track in pristine wilderness to a three-lane expressway complete with honking horns and neon lights. We finally arrived at our accommodation for the night at 8pm, enjoyed KFC* for dinner at 9pm and most of us were in bed before 10pm! Tomorrow is home time! See you all very soon!

​- Kaitlyn

*Kenyan Fried Chicken... Not the Kentucky Fried Chicken one student has been asking for since the start of the trip!