I'm leaving for Kenya in 10 days, so I thought I'd throw out my Kenya address in case anyone was thinking of sending anything. It takes a long time for things to get here (some letters arrived today that were postmarked mid-September!), so from here one out, send to Kenya!
Carrie Kern
Center for Wildlife Management Studies
PO Box 27743 (Nyayo Stadium)
00506 - NAIROBI, KENYA
East Africa
I'm already getting a little sad to leave Tanzania. I have made so many lasting friendships here with the staff. Tanzanians, at least the ones I know, have a way of having sweet moments with people. They'll talk about their best life lessons, or they'll tell you exactly how they feel about you. In the last few days, I've been told multiple times that I make them happy, that they love me, that I'll make a good wife and mother ... the list goes on. They are sweet people, and part of me will stay here.
We walked up Moyo Hill today. It's just a little trail from our camp up to the highest point around. I'd never been yet, and I regret that because it is phenomenal. Almost a full panorama of Rhotia, Lake Manyara, a hill called Kilima Tembo. Ugh, it's disgustingly beautiful. Askari Burra, one of our guards, went with us (he's rafiki wetu, our friend, now). He doesn't speak much English, but it encourages us to speak Swahili. Plus, one of the things I love about language barriers is the depth you can reach despite them.
We were walking down the hill, and I was commissioned by a girl I've met before, Catherine, to herd goats. Yeah, weird. And random. When I joined the group again, Askari Burra used his emotions to tell me how he's going to cry when we leave. He just burst into this long speech about who knows what. I heard moyo yangu (my heart), marafiki yangu (my friends), and some other things that helped me piece some of it together. I'm not sure of much of what he said, but the look on his face ...
Something so great is built here. This isn't just a study abroad program. It's a community.
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