As sad as it is to say, I am officially writing the last
blog of adventures from my time in Nairobi,
Kenya. I cannot
believe how fast it has gone by! I still feel like I have just gotten here, and
the thought of going back to Munich
feels incredibly strange. I kind of feel like I don’t belong anywhere right now
and that I’m just floating from country to country. I am really excited to be
returning to my German home though, and start the second semester in Munich with friends and
the church. I can’t believe this semester is only about three months long. How
is this one around two months shorter than winter semester??
During
my last week and few days I have been placed in working with Blood Safety, and
continuing what I started before the Maasai Mara safari last week. Out of all
the programs I’ve worked with, I actually feel like I’ve been of the most help
to them. This being so mostly because of my familiarity with Facebook, online
sources, and having the perspective and mindset of international college
students. The blood program they have is actually very, very good, and I have
learned so much from them. However, they are not self-supported yet because
they are fully funded by CDC. In five years, those funds may run out, and they
are trying to continue their program without having to depend on big
organizations like CDC. So for all of you reading this, please go on to
Facebook and like their page! We are still trying to set everything up
properly, but your support would be greatly appreciated! It’s called “HOPE worldwide Kenya Blood Safety”. The name is kind of long, but it works.
Sunday the 24th I was
able to spend more time with campus after church. Because their campus group is
very large, they have family groups (based on what university they attend) that
they meet in every week and plan activities with. Because Fridah and Serah are
close, I started spending a lot of time with Serah, and was added to her family
group. One of the girls in Serah’s group, Angela, and her mom invited us over
to their house and made us lunch for free. It
was soo nice. Her mom made SO MUCH FOOD. I really wish I’d been that girl
and thought to have taken a picture of it. We had a gigantic pan of rice with
potatoes, greens, and pork. And it tasted incredible.
After we ate, Serah, Tony, and I
went outside and started washing the dishes and taking pictures. It was
actually a lot of fun, they are really wonderful people to be around. And when
we were done washing, everyone left, and Tony, Serah, and I decided we wanted ice
cream from town. So we walked around for a long
time trying to find it. We found this fast food place that looked so much like
McDonald’s and bought ice cream from there. Fridah is a health nut and every
time I eat something unhealthy she says something, which I find endearing, and
we have a lot of fun with it. She does the same with Serah, so Serah and I took
photos to show Fridah exactly what she was missing out on. She just said we
were ridiculous haha.
I was rinse, Tony was wash, Serah was rinse again.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I
stayed at the office and helped with the Blood program, so a lot of time was
spent on the computer, while also getting my classes for Munich and Clemson figured out. It’s really
weird that I am signing up for my classes in the Fall before I sign up for my
classes that I’m supposed to be starting in two weeks. I like the German school
system a lot though because it’s relaxed.
I have always felt that American universities cause an unnecessary amount
of stress on students, even making study abroad an extremely difficult process
to pursue. Being in Munich has given me such an appreciation for academics
again because we are able to engage so much more efficiently with our work, due
to the fact that we aren’t cramming ten million facts and biological systems
into our heads every week. I actually have time to breathe and appreciate my
college years. I can actually live outside of a classroom and studying in the
library. And for years that are supposed to encourage personal growth, I feel
like getting outside the classroom and learning is just as important (if not
more) than being inside the classroom.
This past week, starting on
Tuesday or Wednesday night, was the beginning of ‘Mosqueeto’ week. By the way,
Kenyans don’t say mosquito like we do. They stress the ‘qui’ part to sound like
‘quee’ and it cracks me up. The first time I heard Fridah say it, I thought she
was joking. And then when I told her what we normally say, she asked why
because it’s not spelled the way we pronounce it. She has a point. I don’t know
why we don’t say it like Kenyans. Anyway, mosquitoes started invading Fridah
and mine’s room and I could not sleep.
The first night was awful, and I think I got around two hours of sleep. Every
time I would start to dose off, I would hear the buzzing noise again, or freak
out and think one was on my arm or face. I could not believe how persistent
they were. AND THEY DIDN’T DIE. These mosquitoes are crazy. Nothing works when
trying to kill them.
On Thursday I was allowed to go
to Nakuru with Margaret to do Blood Safety training for a group of youth around
my age and a little older. Nakuru is a very nice city, smaller and quieter than
Nairobi, and just pleasant to be in. They are near Naivasha, which is the
gigantic lake with flamingos, and a very popular tourist attraction. We arrived
early around 10 am (even though we were two and a half hours late…oops), and
went on with the training all day from there. I actually had so much fun doing
the training with this group. I honestly wasn’t even that sure what we would be
doing with them, or what the trip was for because I was told I was going at the
last minute. There were about twelve or thirteen of them, and all were there
for the purpose of learning about safely donating blood and how to get involved
in running blood drives in their areas.
My favorite part of the entire
workshop was that Margaret assigned us animal names at the beginning according
to the first letter in our first name (mine was Jaguar) as way to help us
remember each other’s names. I thought they would think it was too silly.
However, they loved it and had so
much fun with it. Any time Margaret forgot to use their animal name they would
correct her and make her use it. And these were 23ish-year-olds. Most people
around that age don’t have the liveliest of attitudes concerning workshops and ‘icebreakers’
(I know I don’t), so I found it quite refreshing to be with a group that just had fun together. Not to mention,
Margaret is awesome and loved spending
time with her. Not to mention she did an excellent job in handling the workshop
and running everything. And every time we went to get food for dinner or lunch
she would eat Mango milkshakes with me. Fridah wouldn’t do that…and Fridah if
you read this I’m TOTALLY right. J Oh and by the way, I even got a
wedding proposal from the guy named “Baboon”. He informed Margaret that he was
coming back to Nairobi with us so that he and I could get married. It was
awkwardly funny because he has a playful personality.
Just some of the pictures from the workshop:
Teamwork.
Friday we traveled back to
Nairobi, passing through the Rift Valley once more, and I took so many
pictures. I really enjoyed our conversation of just getting to know each other,
talk about where each person is from, how it’s different, each other’s
families, and God. I’ve just loved working with a faith-based organization. It’s
so encouraging to walk into work every day knowing that that part of my life is
accepted and even a preferred conversation topic. I feel like I can be myself a
lot easier, especially when everyone plays 21 questions with me about who I am,
where I come from, and why I’m in Kenya. Because at the end of the day,
everything I am, and came from, and the ultimate reason I had the opportunity
to go to Kenya was because of God and deciding to have a relationship with Him.
I don’t even know if I’d gone to Germany had I not made that decision because I
would have been too afraid.
Some of my favorite pictures from the journey back to Nairobi:
With that being said, Wednesday,
March 28, was my second spiritual birthday, or two years since I got baptized
and decided to really start living my life as a Christian. It was such an
exciting day for me to reflect on how much my life has changed since the day I
got baptized and now. Within that time, God has changed, mended, broken off,
and created so many relationships in my life (not to mention since September I’ve
probably met over 1,000 new people. I’m not kidding), I’ve been able to travel
and spend time with sister churches in Europe and Kenya, I’ve been learning a new
language and even been able to communicate with Germans about who they are in
their own language (which was my ultimate goal), brought me closer with my
parents, given me a new appreciation for home when all I’d wanted to do was get
outttt and start over, helped me appreciate school again, given me a direction
with my life and career goals, and just helped me find freedom from everything I
didn’t think I could start over from. I truly feel like at this point I finally
understand what it means to have a peace that ‘passes all understanding’. It’s
really hard at times to stay faithful, but it’s literally the most worthwhile thing I've ever done with my life. Hopefully
that didn’t offend anyone or make the uncomfortable. Regardless, thank you for
reading that if you did. It’s very important to me.
In my last few days left in
Nairobi, I did some shopping, spending time with friends, and finishing up any
last work for Blood Safety. The rainy season started about two days before my
flight left, which was really interesting. The traffic is already pretty bad
during certain times, but it becomes a little disastrous after the rain comes.
And it was kind of funny to see how cold everyone thought the weather was, even
though I’m pretty sure it only got down to the fifties (Fahrenheit). I loved it
though, and eventually it prepared me to come back to the cold weather in
Munich. It was sad to tell everyone goodbye, but exciting know that this end
creates a new beginning, which will eventually lead to a new beginning at home.
It’s crazy how little time it takes for things to change to the point where you
have to readjust again.
I think this is all for now. By this
time I am already back in Munich and I’ll be sure to update on life here soon!
I hope you’re all doing well and have a great week!
Jessica
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