Adventuring/Holidays in Kenya!

           Here are some adventures that I have been on! I have been up to a lot of different things! Lets see its been almost a month since my last blog so I must talk about my trip to Ratta, Thanksgiving, Christmas decorating, and the giraffe center!

"Being not doing"

I have now been in Kenya for 3 months! Time has sure flown by and I still can’t believe that it is December! As I look back at this past year I can definitely say that I have done many things that has shaped and changed my life forever! At the beginning of the year I was starting my last semester of my undergraduate years with my final internship, then I graduated from university, then spent another amazing summer in Montreat where I met some of my closest friends, and now I am in Kenya for “a year of service for a lifetime of change.” Each decision that I made this year has changed my life completely and I know this is all apart of God’s plan.

How are youni?

            I have now been in Kenya for 2 months now! I have a little less than 8 months left. I will be leaving late June with Amy and David. Amy said that we came together and now we will be leaving together!

            The past few weeks have gotten a lot better since my last blog post! I am still homesick, but Nairobi is starting to feel like home.

            Last Thursday and Friday I was able to go on a team building retreat with Across. For those of you who don’t know, I am working with Across in the afternoons now. I am working with the ID department where I have been critiquing their website, looking at lots of pictures, and editing articles. During the team building retreat I was able to get to know everyone that works at Across. We did a bunch of different team building activities from getting everyone on a plank of wood and making everyone go from tallest to shortest without touching the ground to following a line in the woods at night! We did all of those activities on Thursday and on Friday we went white water rafting! It was so much fun! I would have to say that this rafting experience was by far the best I have been on. After those 2 days I really feel like part of the Across family.

Life in Kenya

Wow it’s been a while since my last post! I am sorry that it has taken so long but I have been busy with settling in to my new place and new job that I have not been able to get on the internet to post a new blog. I have been doing a lot on my own now and I am still getting the hang of Nairobi and my new life here.

            As I think back to orientation, I think about everything that I learned and how none of the “bad” things would happen to me, but I was completely wrong! I thought that none of the things that the YAVAs talked about would ever happen to me, but I have been proven wrong! I never thought that I would be one of those people that got super homesick, since I have been all over the place since high school and I hardly saw my parents in college anyhow. But that mindset of never getting homesick person all changed. I now felt the sadness that homesickness can bring and I never felt more alone than ever. I found myself shying away from the Kenya group and not being myself. After a talk with my site coordinator, I began to become myself again and open up to the group more. I was able to show my weaknesses and get help from my fellow friends.

Quick Update!

I finally am able to get on the internet for a little bit! YAY! Well this will be a quick update. Since my last blog a lot has changed with my job placement. Across was not responding quickly to my site coordinator so she decided that I could be used somewhere else that will use my talents in a better fashion. I will now be working at a Lutheran Church in Nairobi as a teacher at the school as well as working with the youth at the church. Once I know a little bit more about what I will be doing I will post again. I am looking forward to teaching and working with the youth and hope to start there soon! I meet with Sam the coordinator at the church tomorrow and will hopefully know a little more about what I will be doing.

The Mombasa not so Express!

Wow a lot has happened since my last post about 2 weeks ago! I am really beginning to get use to the fact that I live in Kenya and will be living here for a year. Nairobi is really becoming home to me and I can’t wait to see what the year brings.

Mombasa was fun and crazy at the same time. Mombasa is completely different than Nairobi. It seemed like everywhere we went there was a mazungu(white person in Kiswahili) unlike Nairobi where most of the time the mazungu only hang out at the various malls in the city. Mombasa is very much of a tourist trap and reminded me a lot of Florida. There were beach resorts and very touristy shops and the weather was just like Florida’s as well; hot and humid! We were very busy while in Mombasa with waking up early and going to bed really late! We learned a lot while in Mombasa about the culture in Kenya and we also had fun at the beach!

Mombassa or Bust!

Tomorrow we get to go to the place that I will be working all year for a lecture on the Sudan! I am exciting about the lecture, but I am really excited about seeing where I will be working for the next year! I am also excited to be meeting some of the people that I will be working with as well.

After the lecture tomorrow, the other YAV's and I are on our way to Mombassa for 5 days! :) We are going with an archeologist and learning more about the different cultures in Kenya. Even though this trip is filled with educational things, we are all hoping that we will be able to swim in the Indian Ocean! The trip is about 7 hours, according to our wonderful driver Hudson! We are driving by van, which is similar to a matatu(the type of public transportation). It should be a pretty interesting ride.

Karibu Kenya!

I have finally made it to Kenya! Its been a crazy couple of weeks since my last update; from "Hurricane" Irene to finally making it to Kenya! These past two weeks have been filled with happiness and sadness, but altogether it has been a great past two weeks!

After a week of orientation I was ready to leave for Kenya, but the weather wasn't looking to good. I was never worried about this "Hurricane" Irene since I am so used to hurricanes, but the Northern folks that hardly ever get hurricanes were making this small hurricane (if it can even be called that) into a huge disaster! Flights for Monday were already getting canceled starting on Friday! Which was crazy since the storm wasn't hitting till Sunday! When Irene finally hit late Saturday night, it was only a tropical storm, bringing only heavy showers and some wind. Irene was gone by lunch time on Sunday!

YAV Orientation

My journey to Kenya is approaching rather quickly...I LEAVE TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!! WOW! I am feeling scared, excited, worried, nervous, etc. I cannot believe how quickly my year in Kenya has finally come!

Right now I am in Stony Point, NY at the Stony Point Presbyterian Conference Center for YAV orientation. I have been here for a week now and oh has it been a crazy, long, informing, friendship making week! Throughout this week we have been made aware of what we may encounter in our next year. We have made new friends and caught up with old friends. This week has been full of laughter and worry. This week has been full of rain as well. After this week I have been filled with tons of information that I will take with me to Kenya.

Placement in Kenya!!

Hello Everyone!
My time here in Montreat is coming to an end and my time in Kenya is about to begin. 33 days till orientation and 40 days till Kenya!! :) I am so excited and can't wait for my new adventure to begin.

I have been waiting for more details on what I will be doing in Kenya and today was the day that I got that information!! I will be working with ACROSS (which is a Christian organization working with Sudan.) I don't know too much about the organization yet but I am in the process of learning more. With this organization I could have the opportunity to train teachers and to promote education in Sudan. This is a great organization and I can't wait to be involved in it!

80 days till Orientation, 87 till Kenya!

Jambo!

I can't believe how fast time is flying right now! The summer has just started but its only about 80 days until I leave on this excited adventure! Right now I am up in Montreat, NC on the summer staff for the third summer! It is absolutely amazing up here! Its only the beginning of the summer but so much has happen here already! I have made some great new friends and have reconnected with some old friends as well. 

While up here in Montreat, however, I still have to be thinking of my very fast approaching trip to KENYA!! :) As everyone knows I have to raise $8000 in order to help offset some of the costs that YAV will be making for my year of service. I will be hopefully updating the blog with how much I have raised so far as much as possible. As of today I have a total of $1,857. I am getting really close to my July 15th goal of $2,500, which is really great but I still have plenty more to raise as well.

YAV Placement Event

WOW! What a weekend! I made it back to Tampa today at about 9pm. I am so physically and mentally exhausted, but I am so happy about what has happened this weekend. For those of you who do not already know or did not notice it in my title for this blog but I got a placement in KENYA!!!

Wait...let me say that again... I AM GOING TO KENYA!!!!!!!!

Let me start from the beginning of my YAV experience. I first heard about YAV during an informational meeting that Sarah (I'm sorry I am not sure of the last name but I know she went to Guatemala!) did for the Montreat Summer staff this past summer. I was really intrigued by what YAV was and started thinking if this was the path that God was leading me on. I soon found myself interviewing with Essie over the phone and then next thing I knew I was on a flight to Louisville, KY for the placement event!