Zebras, Giraffes, and Warthogs. Oh my!

Sorry it has been a while since I have written.  I warned you once we turned in the mutatu and got our CRV we would be hitting the roads. AND Seth has been out of town quite a bit this month, leaving me a single mom.  While the baby is beyond wonderful, it is exhausting.  A big shout out to all of you who have done this alone.  Wow!  Anyways, I digress.  We have gone on a few small trips around Nairobi...nothing big, just getting our feet wet. But you know I will be sure to bore you in great detail about those trips.


A friend and I went to the Kazuri Bead Factory a few weeks back.  It is located in Karen.  For any of you who are familiar with the movie, "Out of Africa," Karen is where the author, Karen Blixen lived.  It is an upper class neighborhood about 30 minutes from where we live.  A British woman started the factory to give jobs to
single mothers who had no means of income.  Today there are over 300 women employed by Kazuri, women who have fair wages, good working conditions, and a medical clinic that provides free health care for employees and their families. The tour was fantastic and we got to watch the process--from the preparing of the clay, to the making and painting of the beads. 

You could even design your own necklace and they would make it for you. The rooms where the ladies worked were filled with women humming, singing, chatting, and laughing.  It seemed as if this place was a little piece of heaven for these women--a place where they were safe and were given means to provide for their families.  Amazing.  Made me feel the need to buy several necklaces instead of just one...must support the cause, you know.





The following Saturday Seth, Claire, and I woke up at the crack of dawn and made our way to Nairobi National Park.  It is about 4 miles outside of Nairobi. It is amazing...right in the

middle of the city is a preserve filled with wild animals--lions, rhino, giraffes, zebra, gazelles,warthogs, and so on  As we pulled into the parking lot we saw two warthogs hanging out near the picnic tables hoping for a little snack.  Seth told me to quick grab the camera and as I was getting it out they ran away.  Apparently, their nickname here amongst safari goers is "Fed Ex" because of how fast they are.  Once in the park we saw tons of zebra (there were so many that about 10 minutes in we stopped pointing them out), gazelle, and  other animals.  We were a bit too late too see the lions.  They come out early, make their kill, and sleep the day away.  I was thrilled, however, when we turned the corner and a giraffe was walking down the road towards us.  He stopped for a snack at a nearby tree and then walked right past our car, popping in to say hello.  For a brief moment as he walked by, dwarfing our CRV, I worried about giraffe attacks.  Seth asked me how many people I knew who were mauled by giraffes.  I told him none, but perhaps that's because they never survived to tell their tale.  Apparently unconvinced, he kept the window down.

We could have reached out and pet him.  We spent about 4 hours in the park--Claire loving every second of it, although she was more interested in her teething ring than the wildlife around her.  Seth's chest was puffed with pride when we arrived home, our car coated in red dirt because the neighbors commented on how dirty the car was and how we had finally broken the new car in.  All in all a great day.

The following weekend Seth was off for President's Day so we headed to the Giraffe Center, an orphanage created to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffe.  The Rothschild is found only in the grasslands of Africa. Setting my fears of giraffe attack aside, we climbed the platform to feed and meet the giraffes.  I know this sounds silly, but I am continually amazed at how TALL these creatures are!  And they have these huge, gorgeous brown eyes with eyelashes mascara would kill to go on.  Seth and Claire fed Daisy.  I remember, as I took the picture of my baby girl with a giraffe breathing on her, thinking what an amazing experience this was for her...only to realize that Ms. Claire had no interest in this 19 foot beauty hovering over her.  Kids these days.  Oh well...it was one Seth and I won't forget!

That is about all this currently single mom has time for right now.  Life is an adventure for the Sonnonstine clan and I never know what tomorrow will bring here in Africa.  Time to rest up.  Night, y'all.