I Swore I Would NEVER Be That Mom...

It's amazing how time can seem to move so slowly, and yet I can't believe it's been over a month since I have written.  Weird how life works like that sometimes...

Seth was able to take Monday and Tuesday off this past week and we went to Amboseli National Park.  Amboseli is on the border of Kenya and Tanzania and is the home to Mount Kilimanjaro.  Seth, Claire, and I left at the crack of dawn Sunday morning to head to the game park.  The park is only about 150 miles from Nairobi, but with the bad roads and crazy drivers it takes a lot longer than it should to get there.  Luckily, Claire is an awesome car rider and snoozed most of the way. Seth and I joke that she won't know what to do with herself in the car once she actually gets to the US on paved roads--the bumps seem to naturally rock her to sleep.  I, on the other hand, am continually worried that she will get shaken baby syndrome along with malaria while on our little excursions. 

I want to give you a little background story to help explain the title of this blog entry.  When I got to Nairobi one of the first stories someone told me was about an elephant trampling.  Apparently, a woman and her baby went on a walking safari with a tour guide.  Now, walking safaris are typically done in areas that are  "non-predatorial".  That is, you should only stumble upon giraffe, zebra, impala, etc.  Well, apparently this lady and her tour group stumbled upon a mama elephant and her baby.  The mama got scared, stampeded towards the group, and I am sure you can guess what happened next. Awful. When my neighbor was telling me this story I thought, "Who would even THINK about taking their baby in an area that could be dangerous?!?"  Fast forward to Seth and I at Amboseli. :)

America has taught me that there always is a fence, generally an electric one, when wild animals are involved.  Seth and I seemed to forget that we were in Africa, where safety is an afterthought at best.  We were on an elephant hunt and I was NOT going home without seeing one.  We found a place marked "observation hill" and went to check it out.  Poaching is a huge issue in Kenya, particularly in regards to elephants who are wanted for their ivory.  Observation Hill was created so that the game park workers could look over the plains for poachers.  We got to the hill and didn't see anything.  There were some stone steps leading to the top so, after some consideration, Seth and I decided that it was safe to take Claire up to the top to look over the park.  We certainly weren't in an area where lion were (think tall grassy plains and we were in sort of a swampland) and could see no immediate danger.  So we hoofed it up to the top of the hill and not 20 feet away were about 8 grazing elephant--one being a mama and her baby.  I almost died.  I was THAT mom. :)  Now, we were in a covered "shelter" with a short brick wall between us, but...  At any rate, it was amazing.  It was so still and silent and we were able to watch the elephants having lunch...ripping up huge tufts of grass to dine on with their trunks.  You could hear them chew, it was that quiet.  Beautiful Kilimajaro in the background, elephants so close we could just reaaaaaaach out and touch them.  Awesome. Needless to say, we didn't take our time getting down the hill to get back to the car.  Breathe easy, everyone got back in safe and sound.  But Seth and I looked at each other, sharing the same thoughts...WHEW.

As we turned around to head home for the afternoon we nearly ran into a hippo, also eating his lunch and meandering through the park.  He was adorable and was accompanied by two little white birds who enjoyed dining on the bugs on his back.  They would jump up on his back, nibble, and get down again.  I was surprised at how big hippos are!  I know that sounds silly--I knew they would be heavy, obviously, but I had no idea how tall they are as well.  I bet this one was just shy of 6 feet.  They have very fat, stumpy legs but huge bodies.  Hard to believe that this sweet faced animal can be one of the fiercest in the park.  Seth and I sat and watched him for quite a while.  I was enjoying our little friend when I heard Seth, "Look in the rear-view mirror."  Our elephant friends had grazed over to the other side of the hill to finish their munching...not 30 feet from the path we had just walked down.  It was at that point that I made the command decision that we will not be getting out of the car on our excursions again.  Woah. Well, at least not with Claire.  Africa is making me a bit brave, I do believe.


We had a great time at the game park--seeing the incredible Kilimanjaro, walking with the monkeys at the resort (I did NOT like the baboons who were there---some as tall as me and I am scared to think weighed as much, also), witnessing two lions after a morning kill wandering in to the grasses to take a nap, hippos, elephants, warthogs, ostrich, and more.  I was able to see the Masaii tribesmen herding their livestock through the grassy plains, wearing their red plaid cloth and carrying spears in case they ran into any lions.

One of the workers taught me a Swahili phrase to say to Claire at night.  "La la salama, m'toto." It means sweet and peaceful dreams, my baby.  We have many memories to bring home with us from this adventure and something to add to our goodnight ritual, as well.

I laid in bed Monday night, my sleeping Claire in between Seth and I, listening to the hippos snorting in the swampland near our cabin, and just thought, I am so blessed, I am so blessed.  What a journey.  For every moment during the day I wish I were back home, I need to remember that there is much worth having here, too.  I need to take this all in because it will be over before I know it.

La la salama to all of you!  Sending more love than we can hold, all the way from Africa.
Sarah, Seth, Claire, and Walter