Day 13 Nate

Even though our last day in Kenya was mostly spent driving from Masai Mara to Nairobi, there were still lots of things we got to see and do along the way. In the morning we started with our last drive through the park, seeing tons more animals and even being the first people to spot a leopard in 3 days! From there we exited the park and began our way east to Nairobi. I remember being surprised by the landscape, and specifically by how much it reminded me of places in California, with an arid environment and lots of mountains. Along the way we stopped at a souvenir shop where buyers are encouraged to haggle and bargain for better prices. This was my first experience with a shop like this and I found it to be rather overwhelming, especially with the way shop employees would follow us throughout the store, but there was also an element of fun to it and I think for my first time haggling I didn't do half bad. 

After a quick lunch we were back on the road and our next major stop would be at a vista point overlooking the Great Rift Valley, an area where part of East Africa is slowly drifting away from the West due to plate tectonics. The view was absolutely beautiful and I think this was when I really started to appreciate how diverse the regions of Kenya are from each other, and how the nation is far from being one-note. Speaking across the trip as a whole, I have really appreciated that we got to experience Kenya in so many different ways and see so many of its facets, geographically and culturally. This sentiment continued as we got into Nairobi and saw a glimpse of the urban life in Kenya. What surprised me most was when the highway cut through a highly impoverished part of the city and we saw just how large of an area it was. Both the urban and rural poverty we witnessed on the trip has made me hyper aware of the privileges we have in our lives back home and makes me want to do more in the future in service of these communities. Without a doubt this trip has been a powerful experience.