Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Home sweet home!
Hello everyone,
As of Sunday night I am back home in snowy MN. It is surreal to be home again and I feel like it hasn't quite hit me. I don't even know what to do! I feel a little disconnected from all my friends and find I am missing my friends in Kenya already.
....
more to come
As of Sunday night I am back home in snowy MN. It is surreal to be home again and I feel like it hasn't quite hit me. I don't even know what to do! I feel a little disconnected from all my friends and find I am missing my friends in Kenya already.
....
more to come
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Leaving is the hardest thing...
Thursday December 4th, 2008 will go down in history as one of the hardest days of my life. Who knew that in a short month and a half I would make such strong relationships and completely fall in love with a village and a community.
I didn't even pack my things until an hour or so before I left. I gave almost all my clothes away to my neighbor girls. I couldn't make myself say goodbye to Nelson because I was crying to hard.
I spent the whole day at the orphanage and at my nieghbors house. I started tearing up everytime Lindsay ran to jump in my arms. I couldn't even think about leaving Dorthy. As I write this now in the internet cafe I am holding back tears. Dorthy kept saying things she would miss about me the whole week leading up to my departure. I know she will miss me and I will miss her so much.
To top things off, Dorthy spent the whole day cooking a huge meal in honor of me. I initially thought she was inviting the Pastor I worked with and some of her close friends, she ended up suprising me by inviting about 20 guests...my neighbors, friends, people I worked with, etc. Each person went around and said something about me then they prayed for me. They told me when they give away a daughter in the community they come together like this, and since I was their daughter, they wanted to hold a celebration for me.
If I already wasn't emotional enough, I stepped outside after dinner to find that Dorthy had gathered all of the nieghbor kids together. About 15 kids were standing outside in the yard with their families...a lot of them wearing my clothes. They were singing a goodbye song for me. I totally lost it...
I am excited to be back in the US but I already miss my village, my home, my family and my friends there. I long to go back and I haven't even left Kenya yet.
I didn't even pack my things until an hour or so before I left. I gave almost all my clothes away to my neighbor girls. I couldn't make myself say goodbye to Nelson because I was crying to hard.
I spent the whole day at the orphanage and at my nieghbors house. I started tearing up everytime Lindsay ran to jump in my arms. I couldn't even think about leaving Dorthy. As I write this now in the internet cafe I am holding back tears. Dorthy kept saying things she would miss about me the whole week leading up to my departure. I know she will miss me and I will miss her so much.
To top things off, Dorthy spent the whole day cooking a huge meal in honor of me. I initially thought she was inviting the Pastor I worked with and some of her close friends, she ended up suprising me by inviting about 20 guests...my neighbors, friends, people I worked with, etc. Each person went around and said something about me then they prayed for me. They told me when they give away a daughter in the community they come together like this, and since I was their daughter, they wanted to hold a celebration for me.
If I already wasn't emotional enough, I stepped outside after dinner to find that Dorthy had gathered all of the nieghbor kids together. About 15 kids were standing outside in the yard with their families...a lot of them wearing my clothes. They were singing a goodbye song for me. I totally lost it...
I am excited to be back in the US but I already miss my village, my home, my family and my friends there. I long to go back and I haven't even left Kenya yet.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A day with Dorthy
**there are two new posts below this one**
Today I took Dorthy out.
I bought her toys for her kids. Some sand toys (bukcets, shovels, toy rakes), toy trucks and cars, balloons, balls, and a bowling set.
Then I took her out to eat at one of the nicest restraunts in town.
She is planning on having a Christmas party for the kids and said she will hire a photographer so she can send me back pictures of the kids playing with their toys.
The kids are not coming to her house for lunch now because it is school holiday and Christmas break and she follows the same schedule as the schools. She also said she needs a break from feeding the kids. She also said it's good so the families don't become dependent on her for food. In my opinion the families already take slight advantage of her feeding center, so it is good for them to feel the responsibilities of feeding a child. Even if it is one meal a day, we have to think it is better than zero.
God the kids are cute. And so is my host mom, she is such a crazy lady. Even though I have to be so so so overly patient with her and half the time we don't understand each other, she has the biggest heart ever. The community is lucky to have her.
Today I took Dorthy out.
I bought her toys for her kids. Some sand toys (bukcets, shovels, toy rakes), toy trucks and cars, balloons, balls, and a bowling set.
Then I took her out to eat at one of the nicest restraunts in town.
She is planning on having a Christmas party for the kids and said she will hire a photographer so she can send me back pictures of the kids playing with their toys.
The kids are not coming to her house for lunch now because it is school holiday and Christmas break and she follows the same schedule as the schools. She also said she needs a break from feeding the kids. She also said it's good so the families don't become dependent on her for food. In my opinion the families already take slight advantage of her feeding center, so it is good for them to feel the responsibilities of feeding a child. Even if it is one meal a day, we have to think it is better than zero.
God the kids are cute. And so is my host mom, she is such a crazy lady. Even though I have to be so so so overly patient with her and half the time we don't understand each other, she has the biggest heart ever. The community is lucky to have her.
Experience
*There is a new post below this one*
I have come a continent away. I have stood at the border of Kenya and Uganda. I have walked, cried, and laughed in the slums of Nairobi. I have ran through the rains in the mountains of Kisumu, over red soils. I have gotten lost more times that I can count, been frustrated more than I could have imagined, been the most uncomfortable I have ever been. I've swam in the Nile, snorkeled in the Indian Ocean, climbed into a speeding matatu, jumped off of a crashing bodaboda. I have been yelled at, hasseled, misunderstood, mistaken, judged, stereotyped. I have been invited over for dinner by a woman who couldn't afford to put shoes on her feet and school uniforms on her children. I've been welcomed with open arms and hugs from strangers. I've been listened to and talked to with kind words. I've stood in front of classes with over 60something students and have learned more than I ever thought possible. I was taught. Each child with a story I will never have to experience and I'm not sure I could endure. I will never have to suffer alongside them. I've walked past naked, sick, dying. I've been reminded of how lucky my passport makes me, the secret advantages of my ethnicity, the comforts of a third world country. My skin color. I forget the color of my skin, I am constantly reminded. I've gone one month without a shower, hot water, flushing toilets. I splash water on my body from a dirty bucket and I thank God everyday I am alive. I rub my feet with a napkin. I have grown, learned, become an independent girl. My Nairobi mom is proud of me, she texts me "you go girl"... my Kisumu mom has taught me so much. I have a new home. I have new family. New friends. I have lived in this beautiful place called Kenya. My home.
My fellow students sit in desks and walk to class through the cold MN weather, they read in textbooks and party in bars. They listen to old white men go through lecture notes. This semester, my education has been experience. Thank God.
I have come a continent away. I have stood at the border of Kenya and Uganda. I have walked, cried, and laughed in the slums of Nairobi. I have ran through the rains in the mountains of Kisumu, over red soils. I have gotten lost more times that I can count, been frustrated more than I could have imagined, been the most uncomfortable I have ever been. I've swam in the Nile, snorkeled in the Indian Ocean, climbed into a speeding matatu, jumped off of a crashing bodaboda. I have been yelled at, hasseled, misunderstood, mistaken, judged, stereotyped. I have been invited over for dinner by a woman who couldn't afford to put shoes on her feet and school uniforms on her children. I've been welcomed with open arms and hugs from strangers. I've been listened to and talked to with kind words. I've stood in front of classes with over 60something students and have learned more than I ever thought possible. I was taught. Each child with a story I will never have to experience and I'm not sure I could endure. I will never have to suffer alongside them. I've walked past naked, sick, dying. I've been reminded of how lucky my passport makes me, the secret advantages of my ethnicity, the comforts of a third world country. My skin color. I forget the color of my skin, I am constantly reminded. I've gone one month without a shower, hot water, flushing toilets. I splash water on my body from a dirty bucket and I thank God everyday I am alive. I rub my feet with a napkin. I have grown, learned, become an independent girl. My Nairobi mom is proud of me, she texts me "you go girl"... my Kisumu mom has taught me so much. I have a new home. I have new family. New friends. I have lived in this beautiful place called Kenya. My home.
My fellow students sit in desks and walk to class through the cold MN weather, they read in textbooks and party in bars. They listen to old white men go through lecture notes. This semester, my education has been experience. Thank God.
"I have never gotten sick or gotten anything stolen in Kenya - UNITL last week...blah"
It's been awhile since I've been online, I should start by explaining why...
As I was lying on the cold concrete floor of the bathroom - last week, for the third night in a row, I tried staring at the cockroaches in the corner and counting as far as I could in Swahili. That still didn't take my mind off of the toilet, and rather this time around I'd be sitting on it or puking in it. I'll spare the rest of the details, but let's just say I have never been that sick in my life. I never want to be that sick again. It was horrible and I'm so glad I'm better. Experiencing the Kenyan hospital was also not that fun. Trying to communicate to people that it was not a weather change or a spicy meal that was making me sick was not fun. I was sick for about a week with severe food poisoning - and how I got it is another story in itself.
It all started when I had the brilliant idea of testing my newfound independence by traveling from one side of the country to the opposite on my own in what turned out to be a over 23 hour bus ride total. A bus ride to remember. I started in Kisumu and traveled to meet friends in Mombassa, then we traveled up to an island off the northeast coast called Lamu. Once I met my friends and we had all got to Lamu, I admit that I did a little bragging about never being sick or getting anything stolen. Well, that was a bad idea. While in Lamu, which is a small island made up of a Muslim community, with no transportation except for donkeys - we had a blast. We ate great food and booked with a crew to sail us out to surrounding islands. We spent the day on the beach, in the sun, playing in the Indian Ocean, jumping over huge waves, it was beautiful. After a gourmet lunch of fresh caught fish and fruit, we went out for a walk. We came back and all of my money was gone - taken from the wallet in my purse. I'm over it now, but it was upsetting at first. It also sparked something out of the movie Pirates of the Carribean. Our trusted and beloved crew yelled at us to get on the ship as we tried to chase down the other boat that had been at the island. Allegedly, the other boat consisted of Somailian Pirates who were in Kenya illegally, banking in on tourists and local tourist businesses. We chased them, yelled at them, and our crew waited for them to come in at night. The Somalians who took my money were hiding out in a house nearby and our crew wanted us to get involved in this elaborate plan which we def. said NO to! In the end, the men were arrested and confessed to taking my money, they said I would get it back but I'm still waiting. I was embarrassed to say how much was stolen because it was about $80 American dollars which is a lot of money here.
So, I had money stolen, it could have been much worse, I'm thankful they didn't take my camera or phone. Next - the source of the food poisoning. We were excited when a random guy approached us on the street and invited us to his home for dinner and music. We trusted him because we read in our guide books that he has been inviting tourists to his home for dinner for over 30 years - he was somewhat famous around the island. We went, things were a little dirty and we sat on his floor to eat with our hands. The next day, we were all sick. So, I experienced being sick for the first time in Kenya. At least we enjoyed the food before getting sick - it was a fish and lobster dinner.
I am better now and back in Kisumu but my program is ending soon and I'll be leaving Kisumu for Nairobi on Thursday night. I don't even want to think about leaving the people in Kisumu, it's hard just to imagine it.
As I was lying on the cold concrete floor of the bathroom - last week, for the third night in a row, I tried staring at the cockroaches in the corner and counting as far as I could in Swahili. That still didn't take my mind off of the toilet, and rather this time around I'd be sitting on it or puking in it. I'll spare the rest of the details, but let's just say I have never been that sick in my life. I never want to be that sick again. It was horrible and I'm so glad I'm better. Experiencing the Kenyan hospital was also not that fun. Trying to communicate to people that it was not a weather change or a spicy meal that was making me sick was not fun. I was sick for about a week with severe food poisoning - and how I got it is another story in itself.
It all started when I had the brilliant idea of testing my newfound independence by traveling from one side of the country to the opposite on my own in what turned out to be a over 23 hour bus ride total. A bus ride to remember. I started in Kisumu and traveled to meet friends in Mombassa, then we traveled up to an island off the northeast coast called Lamu. Once I met my friends and we had all got to Lamu, I admit that I did a little bragging about never being sick or getting anything stolen. Well, that was a bad idea. While in Lamu, which is a small island made up of a Muslim community, with no transportation except for donkeys - we had a blast. We ate great food and booked with a crew to sail us out to surrounding islands. We spent the day on the beach, in the sun, playing in the Indian Ocean, jumping over huge waves, it was beautiful. After a gourmet lunch of fresh caught fish and fruit, we went out for a walk. We came back and all of my money was gone - taken from the wallet in my purse. I'm over it now, but it was upsetting at first. It also sparked something out of the movie Pirates of the Carribean. Our trusted and beloved crew yelled at us to get on the ship as we tried to chase down the other boat that had been at the island. Allegedly, the other boat consisted of Somailian Pirates who were in Kenya illegally, banking in on tourists and local tourist businesses. We chased them, yelled at them, and our crew waited for them to come in at night. The Somalians who took my money were hiding out in a house nearby and our crew wanted us to get involved in this elaborate plan which we def. said NO to! In the end, the men were arrested and confessed to taking my money, they said I would get it back but I'm still waiting. I was embarrassed to say how much was stolen because it was about $80 American dollars which is a lot of money here.
So, I had money stolen, it could have been much worse, I'm thankful they didn't take my camera or phone. Next - the source of the food poisoning. We were excited when a random guy approached us on the street and invited us to his home for dinner and music. We trusted him because we read in our guide books that he has been inviting tourists to his home for dinner for over 30 years - he was somewhat famous around the island. We went, things were a little dirty and we sat on his floor to eat with our hands. The next day, we were all sick. So, I experienced being sick for the first time in Kenya. At least we enjoyed the food before getting sick - it was a fish and lobster dinner.
I am better now and back in Kisumu but my program is ending soon and I'll be leaving Kisumu for Nairobi on Thursday night. I don't even want to think about leaving the people in Kisumu, it's hard just to imagine it.
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