It was a death-defying act, one I wasn't sure I would be able to successfully complete. He kept screaming and yelling and I was trying to help him.
Caterpillars can do that to a kid, you know. Johnson nearly turned wrong side out when he discovered a fuzzy caterpillar inching his way up the beam he was sitting upon. So he instructed me to first move him farther down the beam, away from the caterpillar. Then he proceeded to tell me that I needed to get a stick and move the caterpillar out into the brush. I'm now taking directions from a 4-year old who is terrified of caterpillars. He's not in hysterics by any stretch of the imagination, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Johnson doesn't find caterpillars particularly warm and fuzzy and has no desire to keep one as a pet. So I grabbed a stick and moved the caterpillar to a safe zone and Johnson went on his merry way. I'm sure that is why God called me to Kenya - to save children from caterpillars.
I was just wishing someone would have saved me today at dinner when I sat down and found an entire bowl of beans waiting for me. If you've read my previous posts, you know my sentiments.
But since we're talking about saving things, it is fitting then that this past weekend I went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust over the weekend with my new friend, Kate, who is also here volunteering for a few weeks. The Wildlife Trust serves as an elephant orphanage as well as a rhino shelter. They currently have 18 baby elephants most of which have been saved from Tsavo National Park. They only open the orphanage for one hour a day as they are very protective of the elephants' time and exposure to people as ultimately they will release them back into the wild. They also have a blind rhino, Maxwell, that lives there permanently which basically means he's a couch potato. We also went to the Giraffe Center, which is more of a breeding facility/program rather than an orphanage. I found the sign amusing hanging outside the facility that had a picture of a cartoon giraffe head-butting a person and said, "Beware - giraffes may head-butt you." People are able to feed the giraffes at the center and apparently they get a little impatient when people take too long. I love animals but I kept my distance from my long-necked friends. I had no desire to kiss a giraffe or get a swift head-butt from one. I'll just stand back and watch it happen to others and maybe take a few pictures.
We also managed to make it out to the Masai Market, which as I mentioned in an e-mail to friends and family, it's basically an open-air tourist trap for foreigners who don't know how to say "no" and feel sorry the peddlers. It's the typical trinket and souvenir stop and I got a kick out of the fact that some people tried to sell me some scarves and I looked at the tag and I wanted to tell them that these are the exact same scarves I bought in Russia, but thanks anyways for the line about these being made in Kenya. I might be American but I don't have "stupid" written on my forehead. But nevertheless, I bit my tongue and politely said no thanks and walked away. Even though places like that put you on sensory overload, it's always a good experience to wander through the area and figure out what the best strategy for bartering is and just generally see what's for sale. And then realize you probably could do without most of it. I didn't walk away completely empty-handed though. I managed to snag some jewelry and some fabric and hopefully we can make it back again to pick up a few more things.
As far as work wise, I've plowed through the to-do list and so now we're having to create other things for me to do. One thing I am really excited about is the chance to work with a young boy named Elijah who is hard of hearing. I've got a crush on this kid because he is just the sweetest thing and has got such a contagious laugh. I'll be tutoring him every day, basically just helping him with reading skills and whatever other help he might need with his homework. He knows limited ASL and some Kenyan Sign Language and can speak okay for the most part. I'm just anxious to put my education to good use and to love on this kid in a practical way!
I'm hoping to get more pictures up soon so be on the lookout!
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