Cassidy Johnson this week in Kenya. Cassidy, a student at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, is one of six Arizona students participating in a Crutches4Africa service project sponsored by Arizona Rotarians.
The following daily diary is from Cassidy
Johnson, a Scottsdale student who is one of six Valley high students visiting
Kenya this month to distribute mobility devices as part of Crutches 4 Africa, a
service project sponsored by Arizona District 5495 Rotary’s Interact Club. Miss
Johnson is a senior at Desert Mountain High School and an assistant governor
for the District 5495 Interact Club.
Miss Johnson has agreed to share her
journey with the Independent readers via her personally written dispatches.
Today I woke up a bit earlier than normal to go on a Lake
Naivasha walk with Emily, Lauren and Piper (Emily’s dog). It was pretty chilly
last night and I wore my jacket for the first time during our morning walk.
Although we didn’t spot
any zebra or giraffes, Lauren and Emily identified many different species of
birds, all unique to Kenya. We had breakfast as normal, but afterwards, instead
of heading to BN Handa, we drove to Deliverance Church to attend Sunday
service.
I was excited to dress up
a bit after wearing dry-fit pants and T-shirts for the past week. We arrived an
hour late to the service because, well, Kenya time. However, Lauren and I didn’t
miss much despite being the last arrivals of our team. One service lasted until
10:15 a.m. It started at 7:30 a.m.; we arrived at 8:30 a.m.
The church was large and
had TV screens to magnify the stage. One service itself was filled with gospel
singing, convoluted chanting and praying, and mixed English and Swahili
preaching. I really enjoyed the cultural experience.
After church, 10 Interact
Club students from a local high school joined us on the bus to hike Hell’s Gate
and watch a car rally. Our bus was completely full, so it was easy to converse
with the students. I sat next to Alex, a 17-year-old who loves history and futbol.
I loved talking to Alex, and he was fascinated by my iPhone and photo library.
After driving into Hell’s
Gate, we parked at the “Devil’s Bedroom” trailhead and began our hike. The hike
was pretty challenging, requiring rope to hoist oneself up steep rocks at some
points! I was totally up for the challenge and loved every single minute of our
two-hour hike.
At the end of the
trailhead, several stands with souvenirs were set and their vendors were eager
to make a sale. As it turns out, I am horrible at bargaining and caved into
four purchases that I am ultimately very happy with.
After departing the
beautiful Hell’s Gate, we drove to Crescent Island, the peninsula that occupies
the center of Lake Naivasha. On the island, the only words to come out of my
mouth were “wow” and “beautiful.” We were able to get extremely close to
giraffes, zebra and wildebeests. I love giraffes so much that I almost started
getting emotional just seeing them.
On Crescent Island, I
also enjoyed watching one sunset and taking photos with Caleb, Peter and
Quandy. After this amazing sightseeing we drove to dinner where we didn’t eat
until after 9 p.m. I love talking to my fellow Interact Ambassadors and feel we
are getting closer every day.
When driving through
Emily’s neighborhood on the way home, just outside her gate, we saw two giraffes
walking right in front of the car – and a huge hippo taking an evening stroll!
