Guess what? I am on holidays!
I have been in Kenya for about 48 hours and have already noticed a few differences.
Let’s take the universal parents’ plea for their youngsters to find a summer job. You’ve got the kids hanging around the house and you say : “Why not find a job in your field for the summer?” And they do.
Meet Kevin; the wonderful young man who trailed around after Amanda, Jimmy, Francis and myself as we explored the Mamba Village.
The Village is a tourist attraction that houses several exhibits of varying kinds as well as a lovely restaurant and some animals; namely crocodiles and ostriches.
Back to Kevin. He approached us first as we were looking at the first enclosure of crocodiles. I thought at first he was just another park goer until he then took us to where the “youngsters” were together and asked if we wanted to hold one. I was unsure. I wondered what the Blue Cross people would do if I tried to claim a crocodile bite. I did touch the baby though – while my baby, Amanda was holding it. It was kind of soft in a weird way and if you ever needed to know, you can only eat the legs and tail – the rest of the croc contains some kind of poison. (Like I needed another deterrent)
We visited the tortoises and Kevin got the 37 year old out to show us – it only weighed about 20lbs.
Once our heart rates were low enough (a tortoise can be very soothing) Kevin marched us to the two crocodile enclosures where the adults live. A full grown crocodile can weigh up to 350kg and although they appear to be quite sluggish, if they feel like it – they can pour on the speed.
They get fed once a week and they are fed carrion. One of the issues is the fact that they don`t appear to have much of a short term memory – so just because they have been fed doesn`t mean they remember it. Kind of like dim sum. They also don`t have tongues which means they like to swallow their food whole rather than savour it. Frankly – with carrion being an acquired taste and all – it`s likely best.
I had lots of time to speak to Kevin and asked him how he had gotten his job. It turns out that he is studying to become a tour guide or work elsewhere in the travel business. He is in his second year and has one more year to go.
Out of nowhere, he mentioned that from time to time one of his jobs is to drain the crocodiles` pools, scrub them clean and re-fill them. Sounds ok. Or so I thought – until he said:
“I like my job but when you have to clean the crocodile pools and they are in them and they don’t remember if they have been fed or not – it can be risky. I hope one day to just be a travel agent.“
And you thought your summer job sucked?