“Amen” is the same in every language.

27 June 2010

Today was our one and only “rest day” so I slept in until 9am (THREE HOURS OF SLEEPING IN!) and went to a local Maasai Presbyterian Church with some of my classmates, Nickson and Charles. I didn’t understand 99% of what was said but I did understand the love for Jesus that was filling that room. “Welcome visitors, we want you to remember that you are in the house of your Father.” That nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was such a joy to see people who live all the way across the world as me worship the same God, be touched by the same Lord, to be saved by the same Jesus. Even though the whole service was in Swahili, I definitely felt the presence of God in that room.After church two Maasai men came to our camp and taught us how to make shoes out of tires. It was really amazing. I really appreciate our opportunity to interact with the Maasai and learn about how they relate to the earth. It has really opened my eyes to the value of different perspectives. Their culture is so very different, especially in regards to gender roles, and it has shown me that different doesn’t mean better or worse. I will always be so thankful to Daniel, Nickson, Moses, Charles, and the Iscari for showing me their world.

Driving Home

26 June 2010

We left Lake Nakuru at 8am this morning and said goodbye to the mosquitoes. I had every intention of sleeping or reading my book during the drive back but instead I stuck in my iPod and started playing my favorite playlist. As I was bobbing my head to some pretty sick jams (no, I don’t actually talk like that…often) this wave of joy and appreciation washed over me. I spent the whole drive back reflecting on what I’ve seen, done, heard, smelt, tasted, etc. I love everything about Kenya: the people, the animals, and the landscapes. Amazing. It breaks my heart a little bit to imagine that in less than two weeks our program is over. I can’t bear to think about saying good bye to the staff!

Hiking to Hell.

24 June 2010

Today was a day we all needed badly. We got away from the mosquitoes of Lake Nakuru for the day and went to Lake Naivasha (briefly) and Hell’s Gate National Park. Hell’s Gate was gorgeous. It was bizarre because there’s a lot of geothermal activity there that has been tapped as an energy source, but that means there’s some construction and piping and a powerplant in the middle of the park. But despite that, the landscape was excellent. Especially the gorge. We had a chance to hike down into the gorge, and it was a pretty intense hike. I’ve been getting these headaches lately so I was a bit nervous about the hike, but it was so amazing and really lifted everyone’s spirits significantly. It was intense but beautiful. Is it even fair that I have gotten to see so much beauty here? It was really sweet to be surrounded by people that appreciated the hike too. I have been absolutely surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation-through landscapes, wildlife, and above all his people.

Hunting Lions. World Cup.

22 June 2010...again.

Today literally the coolest thing I have ever seen (and probably will ever see) happened. I watched 9 lions hunt. There is no way to explain how amazing it was. My heart was racing, arms shaking. It was phenomenal. It started to rain and it was quite cold but that didn’t deter us from observing intently. They didn’t succeed in their first kill so they regrouped. It looked like they had a little meeting to discuss what went wrong. Then they started moving across this huge grass field to try again. We must have watched them for almost 2 hours in the on and off rain. But it was an experience I’ll never ever forget.

Ironically, again, I’m in a foreign country during the World Cup. It’s cool to experience it in different settings. It’s particularly awesome because this is the first time the World Cup has been on African soil and I’m in Africa. It’s really special and means so much to the people here, and I’m so happy I get to be a part of it. And I’ve actually been paying attention! Go Ghana!

Bathroom/Shower (slash gas chamber!)

22 June 2010

We have arrived at Nakuru National Park, and our welcome party? Mosquitoes. It’s ridiculous. There are so many that you can hear their collective high pitched buzz from their wings. It’s quite unsettling.

This camp, despite being located in the middle of one of the most beautiful places on earth, is the perfect setting for a horror movie. I can see it now…the killer being the wildlife and particularly the mosquitoes, one by one students are killed on their way to a bathroom that can only be described as resembling a Holocaust gas chamber. The whole setting is really quite terrifying. Fortunately, we won’t be actually in camp all that long-game drives are our salvation. Oh and did I mention the baboons? They fought Kaleigh to get into the girls dorm and stole Kimaya’s shoes. They are bold…and scary. Lord save me.

But, on a less terrifying note, Jay, Brenna, and I saw a black rhino today…close up! It was amazing. Picture black rhino on the shore of Lake Nakuru, gazillions of flamingoes in the background as the sun rises over the mountain. Gorgeous. The park really is beautiful. The campsite may kill us all.

One of the Maasai.

19 June 2010

Today Elise and I were paired together to spend the morning as one of the maasai. I was really thankful to be paired with her knowing I wouldn’t be paired with Brenna and fearing the clash of some of my classmates’ personalities with my own. But Elise and I are solid.

Our objective was to spend the morning with a Mama and learn what they do every day and their culture. Our first task upon arrival was to drink chai…it was rough (not). Then we did the dishes. It was pretty much exactly like doing dishes at camp, but there was a bed in this “kitchen”. This room had a mini generator, a hot plate, a shelf, lots of dishes, and a bed. It wasn’t really what you would call a kitchen. Elise and I sat on the bed doing the dishes and sharing our lives with each other a little. Turns out there are some parallels in our romantic lives. Next we swept the main room. Their brooms are more bristle and less handle. Elise and I were not very good at it…and we were laughed at. I suppose that is part of the process though. Next onto cooking. That was done in a completely separate unit unattached to the main house. It was quite cool though. We cooked over firewood and sat on benches. That is, until I couldn’t handle the smoke anymore and had to excuse myself. My eyes were burning pretty badly (and still are a little to be honest). We cooked ungali (made of cornflower…delicious) and made more chai (also delicious). Then we went back into the house where we were informed that our chores were over. We still had over an hour to stay there…what on earth were we going to do? There was a pretty significant language barrier too, so talking wasn’t really an appealing option. So they turned on the tv (using what looked like a car battery on the shelf below the tv) and watched a very dramatic, very poorly acted Kenyan movie (or soap opera, hard to tell). Needless to say we were enthralled by this. I was a little sad when it was over actually, especially since I was confused (the “background music” was really foreground music meaning we could barely hear the dialogue). Then Francis (one of the local guys who works for SFS) dropped off some cabbage. Elise and I were relieved to have another task-cutting and cooking the cabbage. After that we ate what we made. I was not at all expecting to like the cabbage but I LOVED it. I hope I remember how to make it later. And then we left. Nothing particularly thrilling.

I did make some observations though. Dogs do not receive much affection from many of the maasai families that own them (if any), smoke does not bother the eyes of the women here (even the youngest ones), you can make the most modest of homes feel homey with the right wall decorations (and if you’re Kenyan then a calendar and a wall clock are staples of said wall decorations), Kenyan children are adorable-and very shy, I am spoiled. I really did enjoy my time there.

Getting back to camp I was in a bit of a funk. It’s hard to explain but instead of talking (which is often one of my favorite activities) all I wanted to do was listen. I sorta wanted to be invisible so I could just step away from being the “life of the party” and just observe people-without drawing attention for being quiet. That’s my curse (brought upon myself), because I’m so social the second I don’t want to be and I just want to fade into the background I remain in the forefront because people wonder why I’m not chatty. Sigh…

My funk, however, was lifted when we visited a local preschool. I am designed to be a mother I know it. One little girl and I clicked in a big way and spent the majority of the afternoon playing. She is quite ticklish and has a beautiful laugh. Every time she’d enter a giggle fit I too started giggling. It was the best therapy ever. I look at these children here and I am so happy. The kids here, by the way, are incredibly friendly once they aren’t so shy. They especially love to run out to the road to wave to us as we drive by. All over Nairobi this is true :)

Today was full of ups and downs, highs and lows, but yet again I am ridiculously happy to be here.

Untitled.

18 June 2010

These days I spend the majority of my time (while at camp) in the library. Which is ironic considering how little time I ever spent in the library at WSU. I mean, I think I studied there once and that was only because Andy went to the library to write a paper and I tagged along. Oh and then the couple of times Kevin, Ashley, and I used the study rooms during our break between classes.

Today I did some hand washing. I am not a huge fan of handwashing ma undies, but you do what you gotta do.

Presentation happened today. Other than that, I’ve lived in the library…as previously mentioned.