Game drive

We just got back from spending two days out of the city at a game preserve. It was an amazing experience, to be outside under a huge sky, look for miles across the endless wild savannah. We took the kids and sat on the roof of a landrover, as Aram drove slowly though the prairie—now passing an ostrich alongside the road, now a herd of wildebeest, a lone eland, then a family of giraffe. The earth and sky swept us up into their own silent, ineffable drama.

It takes about 45 minutes to get from Nairobi to Africa. But once there, Africa carries a sense that little has changed there since the beginning of time. Living here is giving me new windows to see through: I feel like I am able to understand more deeply the world of Native Americans—what their lives might have been like, so close to the earth and the elements. It also makes too much sense why “we” caused them to disappear, and why their lifestyle is now lauded for its mysticism. I also understand better the world Jesus lived in, with hand-fired clay pots, homemade wine (ok, I understood that before), people who sell live animals at market, the poor day laborers. In general, the experience of living here is making my world deeper and broader, and it’s fun to add those thoughts to the other small widgets banging around in my head.

This picture, my favorite from the trip, is Priska sitting on top of the landrover, watching a herd of zebra. You mighgt not be able to see the zebra very well; I made the picture small so it might hope to load. If you click on it, you might be able to see it bigger.

This is the whole group of us--us, and another family, on top of the car, watching animals. The other family we were with are becomming dear friends. They remind me a lot of David and Brooke, which makes them even more endearing.