One Month in...

So I have now officially been in San Antonio for a month now (well technically Saturday would have been my month anniversary but its just a technicality)!! So since I have been here for a month now and have neglected in writing a blog to tell everyone about everything that is going on here, I must write one now to both celebrate the anniversary and do some making up in the blog department!

¿Hablo Espanol?

Well...the wait is finally over! I have now been back in the states for just about a month now.  I have definitely had my share of culture shock, but I think I have been doing well since I have been back in the states. For the most part I have been feeling really bored since I did not have a lot to do and since most things here in Florida cost money...which my money supply was depleting very fast since everything is so much more expensive here then in Kenya!!

Finding My Way

            As I look back to the beginning of my YAV year to this point of time I have determined that I have grown a lot as a person and I have learned so many new things as well. I grown personally and I have grown in my faith with God. I have learned how to think of myself (not to sound selfish) and how to really listen to what God is telling me. Because of everything that I have been growing in and from really listening to God I have been able to see that Kenya at this point in my life is not where I am suppose to be.

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.