Thursday, May 23, 2013

The Lion Hunt


          Once again, there I was sitting in the back of a matatu (van) driving across an endlessly bumpy road while giggling like a maniac…
            We were on a lion hunt. After hearing they were somewhere in the bush, we took off across the red dirt road searching for a tan lump in the distance (which we assumed would be a lion). Can I just tell you how hard it is to look out the window and scan the horizon while looking for something that stood out to me (as I was told to do)? First of all, knowing me, the wildflowers are what stand out in my mind. I scan and pause when I see pretty flowers (not when I see a tan lump that I hope is a lion). Secondly, when my rump is literally leaving my seat every few seconds, I have a hard time focusing on scanning the horizon. But alas, my job was to find the lions, so there I sat, bouncing around in my seat, attempting to scan the horizon (when in actuality, I was about to pee my pants I was laughing so hard). How everyone else was so serious, straight-faced, and focused at the task ahead of us, I have no idea. We never found the lions while we were looking though. We found rhinos, ostriches, giraffes, some random birds, wildebeests, gazelle, and a few others, but no lions. Right before we quit, we were driving back home and saw the lions. Of course we saw them when we weren’t looking…Haha

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

After a long long flight...


         
I arrived safely in Kenya. Oh golly, the flight was super long—however, it was like returning home. I absolutely love it here. I love the people, the smell, the roads and ways of driving, the public transportation, and lastly, but certainly not least—I love the bird that woke me up this morning. The bird had a sharp whistle, almost exactly like when someone whistles at a super attractive person (you know that one with two different notes? Yep, that’s the one!) I know I sound like I am exaggerating or being sarcastic, but I am not. It is such a different world here, and it is so difficult to explain, but I love every moment of it.
            I had Kenyan tea and bread for breakfast, and then we went on an adventure to the store and to Kibera slum. I can’t get over how the meat is sold here. It is the funniest thing ever. We went to a “pork place”, and it had a pig hanging there in the window (which made the flies super excited). We told them how much we wanted, and the man proceeded to cut the meat off of the pig and place it onto a scale. Once he weighed the proper amount, he slid it out of the bowl and into a black plastic grocery bag. We said “asante sana” (thank you very much) and left happily with our BAG of meat.
            Everyone that knows me at home has accepted that I smile almost non-stop. Well, here, people just say hello to me because they think since I am grinning directly at them, I must know them (or at least that is what Aga said.) I don’t mind at all—I love when people say hello!
          We went to the Nairobi National Park today. As one of the guys I had breakfast with today, "are you excited to let the lions see you"? In America (at zoos for example), the animals are in cages and the people are free. Here, the people are in cages and the animals are free to roam. Odd, huh? I forgot how crazy bumpy the roads are here (especially in the park). We had a time where the road was literally at a 45 degree angle--I thought our van was going to tip over!
 I think Rhinos and ostriches may be two of my new favorite animals. Especially ostriches. They are so funny looking. Look at the black one's legs!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Learning to be loved? Who, me?

For my entire life, I have been an expert at loving people and not allowing people to love me back. I am passionate about doing everything I can to make everyone feel accepted and completely loved. I have never before, though, let anyone love me. Being an RA has changed my life. I was blessed with the opportunity to love on these beautiful women that I was "in charge" of, and they loved me back (which isn't anything new). What changed my life, though, was that they taught me to accept compliments (most of the time). They taught me to love myself, and they taught me that I can't get away with loving people and not wanting anything/or allowing anything in return. When they were vulnerable with me and told me the things they were going through, it taught me that I could do the same. They taught me to allow people to love me. I have never had a hard time saying goodbye to people, but this past week was tough. Not only did I cry when (or right after) I said goodbye, I cried in my room once the dorm was empty. I never cry. You lovelies changed my life. Thank you.
 



And my fellow RAs, you also taught me a lot about myself. You allowed me to be myelf--no matter how harsh that was at times. You allowed me to be blunt and to state my mind while calling me out at times. Thank you for everything. 

15 days until I leave for Kakamega, Kenya! I also got my placement a few days ago. I will be working with the Daisy Resource Centre for Handicapped Children. This centre supports children with handicaps resulting from birth defects, debilitating childhood diseases, accidents, and abuse. It seeks to provide for these children through: primary school, physical and occupational therapy, medical care, vocational training, and counseling. I am so very excited for everything this summer will entail. It may be difficult to leave after the summer because of my new ability to love and be loved, but it will teach me so very much that I will not trade it for the world.