Farewell to Kenya

Well, sadly my time in Kenya is over.  It seems a little crazy but despite that I was gone for a month, I’m not sure I was ready to come back.  I just feel like there is so much more that I would have liked to get involved and help with, and a million other areas of Kenya that I would have liked to explore.  That said, it had to end sometime…..and it’s been really great getting to see all of my family and friends again.  I definitely missed them all while I was gone.

Quick update on St. Frank:  I talked with Joseph via email and they just wrapped up their last few days of the food that we bought for the school.  Thankfully, I’ve received enough donations to be able to purchase another round of goods for them.  So, we are working through a few of the details and will get that done in the next few days.  I’ll send out an email to everyone who’s donated so that you can see where your money is going.  I can’t thank you enough for your generosity.  That said, we currently have enough for this next purchase of food and one more.  If anyone else is interested in making a donation to keep things rolling, you can go online at http://www.gofundme.com/327yqc and do so today.  Any contribution of any size is greatly appreciated and will go a long way for the school.

Thanks to everyone for following my blog.  Although my dearest mother sort of forced me into doing it so she could track my every move while I was gone (love you Joanie), I’ve actually really enjoyed it.  It was kind of nice to feel like I was communicating with everyone without having to be one of those idiots texting & hanging out on Facebook on my iPhone the entire trip.  It also kept everyone informed while keeping me from having to tell the same stories 50 times when I returned.  Bonus!  So, I think I’ll definitely do it again as I travel in the future.  So, before I close this last post (tear) I wanted to throw in a few last thoughts that I have about Kenya.    

What I will not miss about Kenya:

• Weird toilets – Quite a few are just stanky holes in the ground, some force you to go outside to fill a bucket of water to flush, many of them are real toilets….with no toilet seats, pretty much all of them have no toilet paper (so I carried a roll around everywhere with me).  I even saw a few where they paid to put in the plumbing and flusher but never bother to spring for an actual throne (this is a pic of Mary’s new house below).  It’s madness.  I will forever be grateful for the plain old set up that we have here.

• Flies, fruit flies, mosquitoes….and pretty much anything else that is bug-ish.  And there is plenty of it.
• Kenyan Time – I know in the states we need to slow down, but they take it farther here than anywhere else I’ve traveled.  It’s not uncommon for things to begin 2 hours after they were scheduled.  Granted, I think it’s forced me to work on my patience, but the impatient American chick in me thinks it’s still a bit much sometimes.
• Having people scream “Muzungo” at us constantly.  Kenyans will tell you this means English speaking person, but it really just means white honkey.  Where we lived in Nairobi you could probably go months without seeing another white person.  So we stuck out (a lot) and people from 2 years old to 90 really seem to enjoy pointing it out.  But, I’ve never been the minority in my life, so I guess it’s only fair that it’s my turn to see how it feels.  Thankfully this happened a lot less in Naivasha.
• And the winner is…..DUST!  Jimmy told me before I got here that it was a dusty place.  I didn't really know what he meant until I got here, but it’s AWFUL!  My nose, ears, and every other crevice in my body was constantly full of dust.  If you washed your face now, half hour from now it will be filthy again.  And I refused to wear shoes in that kind of weather, so my filthy feet & legs made me look like a homeless person pretty much all the time.  I will definitely not miss the dust.

A few of my favorite Kenyan things:

• The “winter” weather.  It was 75-80 and sunny every day & 55-60 and calm every night.  Perfect weather.  It rained one day for like 20 minutes and sprinkled a couple times, but otherwise it’s literally the best weather there is.
• Mangoes, Avocados, African Oranges (sort of a cross between an orange & a lime) Papaya (they call them Paw Paws)….and anything else that grows here.  Even boring old bananas are incredibly sweet and amazing when they come off the tree rather than fly thousands of miles.  I can’t express how good it all is!  I ate more fruit than any person in history. Yum!
• Banana Gum – All you banana runts haters may not agree.  But you’re also wrong. 

• Pineapple Fanta – Orange is nothing compared to this tasty delight.
• “Be Free” – I heard this phrase from totally different people, for many different reasons during my time in Kenya.  No matter what the surrounding situation was it was always just a really positive message to send.  It clicked with me and it’s something I’ll hold on to.  The teachers at St. Frank said it to the students a lot, telling them to be totally open, share their thoughts, ask whatever questions they had, and just “Be Free”.  Pretty cool.
• Recycled things - Yes, this is more of a necessity than anything for many people, but it's great to see how much they reuse and recycle.  There were a number of things that made me stop and think about what I could do at home, and I'm going to do a better job of it.
• Chipates – I’m not sure what makes them so delish, because it’s really just flour, water, sugar & salt…..ok so the massive amount of oil they’re fried in doesn’t hurt.  Regardless, they are a staple in Kenya and served with a variety of stews.  I like leftovers with banana & peanut butter for breakfast or lunch…..sort of like a PB&B&GH!!  I'm going to try to make them here.

• Mandazis – Basically just a doughnut, but pretty darn tasty with a cup of coffee.

• And of course, Tusker J  I tried a few other Kenyan beers, but that’s the one you see everywhere....and for good reason.

• Matatus – Yes, they’re crazy, unpredictable, smelly, cramped, you’ll quite possibly pick up some sort of disease while you’re in it and without a doubt be near to death at least once no matter how short the ride…..but they’re cheap as hell and it’s always an experience.  Here’s a quick photo I took on a ride the other day.  They crammed 19 people into that thing.  The record that I’ve witnessed is 22……keep in mind they’re intended for 14 passengers.  Yeah, I'm a little odd, but I think I'm actually going to miss them.

• I wasn't going to get all smushy, but just one last note before I sign off.  I will definitely miss the genuine appreciation that people in Kenya have for the blessings in their life.  It's really a beautiful thing.  What they have may be a 10x10 room that they share with their family of 5, clothes and housewares that have been handed down multiple times, the same flour and water ugali dinner that they’ve had for a few days straight, and an extremely laborious job in uncomfortable conditions…..but they are thankful for every bit of it.  And despite what they may not have, they will share whatever they can with anyone they can.  I think we miss the boat in the states.  Sometimes we’re so focused on what we don’t have, that we miss out all together on what we do.  I don’t want to be preachy but take a minute to look around that all that you have in your life.  I know I have a lot to be thankful for, and I'm going to spend a little more time appreciating it all.