[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]This morning I eagerly volunteered to write today’s blog not knowing I would ultimately have something very embarrassing to write about, but we’ll get to that later. We started the morning bright and early at 7 am with breakfast at 8. After breakfast, we traveled to an elephant sanctuary. There we heard the heartbreaking stories of orphaned elephants; yet from afar you would never be able to tell as 7 happy baby elephants trotted into the area. There they were bottle fed by the staff and their backgrounds were shared on a loudspeaker. Some of us (cough cough Izzy and Claire) were lucky enough to receive the elephants’ affection. By affection, I mean getting a mud-covered trunk wrapped around their legs!! Later on we made our way to a giraffe sanctuary where we received little pellets to feed them. I later found out (a mix of shock, disgust, and awe soon followed) that people were doing much more with the pellets then just feeding the giraffes ..they were kissing them. To name a few, Caitlin, Emma, Izzy and Bobby all took part in this very interesting affair. You see if the pellets were put in between the lips of a human, immediately a very large, slimy, purple tongue would retrieve it. I sat that one out.
Lastly, we traveled to Bomas, which means home in Swahili. This is the embarrassing part. At Bomas we watched a traditional Kenyan dance. Now I will admit I had previously been warned that they may ask for volunteers. The first volunteer was Bobby; he was given a very large stick and just bopped around. As I sat there laughing at Bobby hopping on stage, I soon too was picked to volunteer. That is called instant karma. After my short trip around stage, I prayed I wouldn’t be picked again. I was wrong. This time I participated with the acrobatic group and was lifted very high into the air. We then visited the traditional huts of each tribe while Felix and Naomi (our wonderful tour guides) explained the complex history of Kenya. A country that I learned was only a mere 56 years old. I like to believe my comfort zone is pretty big and there aren’t many challenges I’m not up for; dancing in front of a large crowd with strangers just so happens to fall out of reach. While for the minute max I was on stage and was embarrassed, I still wholeheartedly believe that this experience is incredibly important when it comes to SStS trips. I think most people today pushed themselves whether it be kissing a giraffe, climbing into a very dark hut, or dancing on stage. Today was a day we all grew.
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