Resurrection Sunday

I was sitting here wallowing, thinking about family, church, food, chocolate, lamb cake, Easter eggs, all the things that I associate with Easter, wishing I could teleport home for the weekend, when I realized that no matter where I am, one thing remains constant: the real reason for Easter and why I celebrate it.

Jesus died on the cross and rose again, offering a brand new start for all who believe in Him and I am whining over Reese's peanut butter eggs? What is wrong with that picture?

I woke up this morning with a horrible attitude, not wanting to go to church because I knew it was not going to be the same. I thought to myself, "It's not 'my church'." Jessica! What is wrong with you? You are a part of THE church! The body of Christ is "your church" wherever you are!

Then, when I was actually at church, there was a handful of children from Mulandi Primary school where Hannah student taught. The entire sermon, I heard one of the girls whispering behind me to Dara about Hannah. She was asking her where Hannah went and when she was coming back? My heart was so warm hearing them talk so fondly of Hannah.

Right after the service a few of the girls named Mary, Wendy, and Judy came up to me, alongside some younger girls, and asked me if I was going to stay forever and why Hannah isn't coming back? I tried my best to explain. They did not seemed satisfied with my responses.

Then out of no where, they started singing and signing "Our God is an Awesome God." Hannah had taught them how to sign this song in ASL during her time at Mulandi. We then went over the alphabet and how to sign your name and say hello. I was loving it! They asked if I would come and teach their class. They actually fought over which grade I should teach because they all wanted a teacher like Hannah.

Hannah truly made a difference for her students during her short time with them. They will never forget her, the things she taught them, and stories she told them. I want to make an impact like that one day. An impact that might not seem so monumental on the grand scheme of things, but that is monumental on an individual scale. Hannah may not have solved all of Kenya's education system problems, or provided an entire community with clean water for life, but she surely made a difference in the lives of her students. People like Hannah, that use gifts like teaching to share God's love, are truly an inspiration to me. It was like God was reminding me of why I am here and what He wants me to do with my life. Thank you Lord for that reminder.

Another thing that "hit me" at that service was when the Pastor asked us to turn to our neighbor and share what is special to us about Easter. I immediately thought of traditions and that without Christ rising, Christianity would not exist. While I was sharing these things with the person next to me, I heard the little girl behind me telling Dara how cool it is that the Easter story never changes, but it is still the coolest story ever, every year! What a simple, child-like answer that rings of such truth! How awesome is the Easter story you ask?

Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath  as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.

But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you."

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me. 

That awesome! 

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed! 

Happy Easter! 

Some of my sisters in Christ ready for an Easter service at Lukenya Community Church! 

Elephants, Ostriches, & Other Happenings.

Two weekends ago we visited an elephant orphanage. It was such a cool experience to see so many baby elephants in one place! I have only ever seen elephants in the zoo. Most of the baby elephants were orphaned from poaching and many were found abandoned in deep wells that they fell into.

feeding himself

seeing the baby elephants!

After going to the elephant orphanage, we went to Jeff's favorite Ethiopian restaurant  The food was amazing! It reminded me of the Indian cuisine that I ate on Devon Ave. in Chicago this past semester. The spices were delicious and I definitely ate way too much. The food consisted of a sour-dough bread called injera, topped with different meats and dips. After our meal we had popcorn and the strongest coffee I have ever tasted...even with 5 scoops of sugar. We also had gum arabic burning on the table for a great smell and ambiance. It was quite the amazing dining experience.

YUMMM!!!

To continue our wonderful day, we visited Nairobi's National Museum. Jeff has a project he is working on there and we were able to see part of it in progress. We saw an exhibit of every bird in East Africa, an art exhibit filled with psychedelic black light art, Turkana Boy as well as many more skulls, pictures of Rendille Dancers at a festival, and many African mammals. My favorite part was walking through the history of Kenya. We learn a lot about the Mau Mau (a rebel, resistance group) and how Kenya gained their independence.

entrance to the museum

To end our day, we went to a mall and got frozen yogurt. I had a scoop of tiramisu flavored yogurt on top of a waffle cone. It was TDF. To die for.

Mall in Nairobi

This past weekend we woke up in time to get our mandazi and sausage link at the d-hall for breakfast, loaded a bus, and took off for a hotel that doubles as an ostrich farm and restaurant. Talk about a themed hotel...There were ostriches everywhere! The lampshades were ostrich eggs, the chairs and menus were ostrich leather, there were paintings of ostriches, and ostrich skins on the walls. When you walk outside there is a pool, playground, and outside eating area where we spent the majority of our day feasting on amazing ostrich steak (a delicacy), ostrich burgers, and other dishes such as salads, potatoes, cream of vegetable soup, and rice. Ostrich meat is some of the best meat I have ever had. It is the perfect combination between beef and chicken. It looks like a steak with no fat and is very tender. It melts in your mouth. In between amazing meals, we played on the swing set and RODE AN OSTRICH! It was such a funny experience. I volunteered to go first and was a bit doubtful of this creatures abilities. He was very easy to ride though...which might have had a little to do with the fact that two Kenyan men ran along side me on the ostrich making sure I did not fall. We ran around the pen once and then everyone else got their turn. By the time everyone in our group rode him, the ostrich was a little tired and ornery. He made a pretty funny hissing noise. We are grateful for his services and I'm sure he is thankful that we keep him in service and off someone's plate. ;)

Just your typical college weekends in Africa- seeing cool animals, exhibits, and eating amazing food!

Mother Teresa's

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work." -Mother Teresa

The sisters at Mother Teresa's home live these words out every hour of every day. 

Mother Teresa's is a home and safe haven for disabled women. The age-range of the women who live there is rather vast. I would say the youngest could be around 10 and the oldest around 40-50. I am not exactly sure. The majority of the girls that live there have physical disabilities, often combined with mental challenges and some have multiple handicaps. I know for a fact that most of the girls have Cerebral Palsy. I also know that a few have autism, Down syndrome, are blind, and/or deaf. 

When you first walk into the home, you are greeted with warm handshakes and smiles from the sisters. Then you put away your belongings and put on a green apron. The red ones are for sisters only. Work time. First, you tidy up the bedrooms while the girls get their teeth brushed. Many against their will. I get the impression they do this routine every single morning. In order to clean the bedrooms, you move around all the crib-like beds so that the sisters can dump buckets of disinfectant-diluted water on the floors which you will mop around with bundles of sticks. These bundles work better than any other mop or broom I have ever used and I am sure they are much cheaper as well. Then the sisters soak up the water with giant rags as they repeat The Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary's, and other Catholic prayers in a beautiful and quiet chant-like way. As they are soaking up the water and wringing it into buckets, you make the beds with colorful uniform sheets. Then push the beds back, let down the curtains and to top it off, spray each bed with the sent of a lavender air freshener. 

Then you will do another task like hanging up freshly cleaned laundry or chopping up massive amounts of green beans for dinner. One thing I love about this is that along with the sisters and other possible volunteers, a few of the girls who are not as physically disabled help out. I love that these girls are expected to help out around at the home, doing chores, and how happy they get when you tell them they are good workers. They really are. One girl named Sara can whip up a freshly made bed in half the time that I can and twice as well done. Plus, it seems to me that she would rather continue with her work than strike up a conversation with me. She is quite dedicated...or maybe I'm just weird. :) 

Lunchtime! This is by far the best part of the day, and sadly the last thing before you are politely asked to leave at noon. Noon is when "everyone awake is either in school or at prayer." Volunteers are welcomed to come back at 3:30 after prayers are done, but the bus schedule doesn't allow us to go back in the afternoon. Now, back to the food. The sisters make quite a good lunch for these girls. They get a heaping plate of mixed veggies, some ugali, and a few hunks of fried fish. For desert they get hot chocolate. Many of the girls are able to feed themselves or help feed their friends, but a majority must be fed by volunteers or the sisters. The first time I went, the girl I was feeding preferred sleeping. She was just not having it. In order to get her to take her food, i would have to tap her face to wake her up, quick squeeze her mouth open and shovel some food in. We weren't the best of friends that day, but the next time I was there she was quite chipper and took her food like a champ. I also was able to feed Lucy. Lucy is a gem. She has CP and is blind. She is verbal but does not say much and repeats herself a lot. Also, she mostly speaks Swahili  She called me Mom and Dada a lot which was kind of hard to handle, but I enjoyed the little conversation we had. She LOVES hot chocolate. She would open her mouth and say "AHHH" then take her drink and say "MMMM." It was too funny and she knew it too. I would giggle at her and she would crack up right back at me. 

There is also a girl named Immaculate. She is a hoot. She has quite the chomper on her. She likes to play this silly game with the volunteers. She will hit the seat next to her and make you sit down, then she will go to bite your arm or push you away. What a joker! She thinks it is too funny. Don't tell her, but it actually is. I'm not sure if she likes me or not, but I really like her, so hopefully the feeling is mutual.

There is another girl who loves the radio and sings and dances along to the beat. It warms my heart to see her love for music. Pauline has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen and whenever I tell her she gets so shy and rolls away in her chair blushing. A girl named Lucy speaks fluent English so her and I had a pretty lengthy conversation about America, Obama, and being Mzungu. She told me that she wants me to stay in Kenya forever. I told her not to give me any ideas. I also told her that when I first got to Kenya that my hair was darker but that mzungu hair changes color from the sun. I did not think anyone else in the room was listening but everyone surrounding us busted out in shrill squeals of joy and laughter at the fact that my hair changes color. It's really the little things like that that make my day at Mother Teresa's. 

This is Ann. She got up out of her chair, leaned on my waist & walked me around to her favorite spot outside to sit. 

This girl's smile is contagious. She loves to shake my hand and greet me, as do many of the other girls. 

On the car ride home last Friday, I asked my friend Aubrie what she thought about everything we saw and experienced while at the home. She told me many things but one thing that really struck me was that she said that being at Mother Teresa's really reminded her of our dependency on God. In the same way that these girls depend on the sister's for every thing they need, that is how we are with God. Everything we have comes from him. We rely on him for everything. He cares for us, loves us, supports us. He is our rock. The sister's at Mother Teresa's are the hands and feet of Jesus to these girls. 

Mother Teresa's is truly an amazing place. The sisters are some of the most dedicated and loving women I have ever met and the girls are so well taken care of. I wish I could spend a whole week at the home getting to know everyone but as of now I will continue my weekly visits. This place gives me such joy, inspiration, and hope after every visit. I can not say enough how wonderful it is. May God bless them and their amazing ministry. 

may he bring you home rejoicing

Part 1:

Goodbyes are really hard. Change is also really hard. Like you didn't know that already. My amazing roommate from last semester blogged about goodbyes the other day and it really struck a chord with me. About a week ago, our Kenyan family had to say "see ya later" to Hannah. Hannah only stayed in Kenya for about 8 weeks because she is student teaching and has to complete the rest of her 10 weeks in the States. I had no clue how quickly we would all become so close and how hard it would be to say goodbye.

Since being here, Hannah has been someone who I have really looked up to as a role model. Especially since she is another fellow education major. We have shared conversations about our futures, and had our share of  "girl talk." Hanging out with Hannah is always a blast. She has a way of being silly and serious at the same time. Her contagious smile and warm spirit truly shines from within. It is easy to say that she is already missed by her family here at Daystar. She is also surely missed at Mulandi Primary school where she student taught and is better known as "Teacha Annah."

One of the people in our group pointed out that we spend more time with each other than we do with our real families or friends back home. For instance, how many people eat 3 meals a day with the same people every day, stay in the same rooms, and hangout every weekend? OK, maybe husbands and wives. Haha! These are the people I share everything with. My joys, fears, failures, hopes, dreams, clothes, toilet paper...you get the picture. We are about as family as family gets. When the time came for Hannah to actually leave, I couldn't help but cry. I cried because I was sad to see her go. Excited to see what the future holds for her. Jealous that she gets to see her family and friends. Guilty that I get to stay and continue this exciting journey. And most of all overwhelmed knowing that soon, I too, will have to say goodbye to this place that I love and the people who I've shared it with.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness; protect you through the storm; may he bring you home rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you; may he bring you home rejoicing, once again into our doors.

Part 2:

My roommate also said in her blog, "the feeling of being 'home' is constantly changing..." My view of the word "home" has drastically changed since being here in Kenya. People say that 'home is where the heart is'. My heart is in a lot of different places though. To be honest, I thought the only place I was ever interested in teaching or traveling was Africa. Now, I have noticed how much I love getting to know a new place and how much I love the excitement that comes with change. With this new found love of travel, I have decided that I also want to backpack in Europe, visit South Korea, Canada, China, Sicily, France, and Ireland, see the Northern Lights, and swim in the Dead Sea. The list could go on and on.

Now what does that have to do with "the feeling of being home?" Well, I thought that being in Kenya would give me clarity about where I am supposed to go in life. I thought that I would either clearly feel at home in Africa, or at home in America. I feel at home in both places. Not one place will ever feel exactly like "home." My heart is in too many places at once. As I hopefully continue to travel, I'm sure I will find many other places that capture my heart as well.

Although this can be frustrating for me (because it leaves my future as such an open book and I am quite the planner), I am glad that I do not feel at home in any one specific place in this world. I am confident that I will have peace throughout my life knowing that I am exactly where God wants me to be for the time being, but this earth is not my home. Philippians 3:20.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness; protect you through the storm; may he bring you home rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you; may he bring you home rejoicing, once again into our doors.

It's raining cats and dogs.

Disclaimer: This post is rated PG-13 read at your own discretion.

Last week I saw my first dog die. It was horrible to say the least. Traumatizing for sure. After spending the day off campus, we returned to Daystar to find a dog curled up on the sidewalk under a streetlamp seizing, foaming at the mouth, lying in it's own vomit, and crying for relief. Immediately all of us girls freaked out and decided to tell a guard. She didn't seem concerned and was not amused by the commotion or worry in our voices. Every time we walked past that streetlamp for the next few hours, we would see the situation progressively getting worse. At one point we had to just walk a different way back to our hostel in  tears because of the horrific noises we heard and the shaking we saw. I quickly murmured a prayer to God asking Him to make it quick so that the dog would be out of pain. The next morning I dreaded the walk to the dining hall afraid of what I would see but all that was left was a few puddles of vomit. The other dogs that live on campus had been howling all night as if they were mourning. We woke up to find them searching in their pack to find their lost friend. I was determined to find out what happened. I found the same guard from last night.

Me: What happened to that dog from last night?
Guard: Poisoned.
Me: Why?
Guard: Too many.
Me: Too many what?
Guard: Dogs. Had to reduce.
Me: So it was poisoned?
Guard: Yes, it's just a dog. Too many.

I was appalled! Never in my life could I have imagined this. What is so wrong about one extra dog? What had it done that was so bad? I thought about that poor dog for days. I know many others in our group were shocked as well.

Skip a week.

Kittens. The cat that lives in our hostel, who we affectionately dubbed Oscar before we found out she was a girl and had previously been given the name Lily, had a kitten. We call her Fuzz. Oscar and Fuzz are a part of our daily lives. Oscar tends to take Fuzz behind the toilet to nurse her and obviously we all use the toilet so you can see how accustomed we have become to seeing her. When Fuzz is M.I.A. we all get a bit nervous that Oscar is being a bad mom. We yell at Oscar frequently for her daily abandonment of Fuzz. She always comes back though. There is also another litter of kittens that lives in a storm pipe near the dining hall. They are precious to say the least. They don't really like being held because they aren't used to humans yet, but we are determined to people-train them. THEN...dun dun dunnnnnn...I heard a rumor floating around that the kittens were a nuisance and there are too many cats so they too are going to be poisoned. You have GOT to be kidding me! I ran back to the hostels to see if Fuzz was still there. Phew. She is safe. I then ran to my room to interrogate my roommate Vienna to find out the facts.

Me: Vienna, is it true they are going to poison the kittens?
V: (laughing) Yea...of course.
Me: That is horrible! Even Fuzz?
V: Yes unless you hide her in a box in a room...NOT OURS!...then she will eat the food and one day you will wake up and find her dead.
Me: Why would someone do that, she is so harmless and cute. Kill the old, nasty, ugly cats and let the babies live.
V: That's ridiculous  the older cats can smell the poison or something. They won't eat it. What do you do in American when there is too many in a liter?
Me: Sell them or give them away. Why can't they just kill the cats a different way. I don't want them to suffer from the poison and vomit.
V: They have to vomit. I would never shot a cat or something. Poisoning is best. They feel pain, vomit, and die. That is all.
Me: I'm going to save her.
V: (laughs) Whatever you say. One time last semester a girl walked into her room and found a cat had a liter on her bed. She was asthmatic and hates cats. She was so furious. She took the whole liter to the latrine (deep hole in the ground for waste) and picked them up by the tails and dropped them one by one into the latrine. They died for sure. Probably from burning before drowning. The ammonia in the urine would even burn you if you fell into it.
Me: You're joking.
V: No.
Me: If that happened in America, PETA would flip out and send them to jail.
V: You're joking.
Me: No.

So now, I take my pictures of Fuzz and wait. We shall see what happens. But I guarantee you, I won't be happy about it.

May all the animals harmed in the making of this blog R.I.P.

Micah 6:8

80% of all people with disabilities in developing countries live in isolation. 78% of people with disabilities in developing countries do not receive any type of special services. In Kenya, there is no percentage or number available for how many people with disabilities there are. The UK estimates that it is probably about 10-25% of the population though because of factors like poverty, inaccessible healthcare and education services, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is also said that there are around 750,000 students at the elementary level with special needs. Of that, 90,000 have been officially identified but even then, only 26,000 are enrolled in schools. 

The government does not raise much support and provides minimal funding despite the magnitude of the need. People with disabilities have been marginalized during the distribution of resources because they have been perceived as burdens to society. Even though efforts have been made to bring justice, the lack of adequate government funding still prevents many people with special needs to receive the care and resources they deserve.

There are many injustices and inequalities taking place in the education community in Third World countries. People with disabilities are denied justice, equality, and educational opportunities. 

Since high school, I have known that I want to become a special education teacher. It was not until later in high school and especially since being in college that I realized God’s calling for my life to live abroad and start a special education program in a developing country. Since first feeling that tug on my heart, I have had the desire to go to Africa. I planned to student teach there and see what opportunities God would provide. My plans accelerated when I received the opportunity to study abroad in Kenya this semester.

I have been in Kenya for about fifty days and have fifty more to go. I have seen my desire to become a teacher blossom from my first observation in a government-run public school, to my observation in a private-run missionary school. After spending time in a few children’s homes, and with the people at Mother Teresa’s Home for children and adults with cerebral palsy, I have seen the Lord shaping me and building up my desire to teach abroad. I would be willing to teach in the States, but I have seen the global needs of God’s people, from a first-hand perspective, and hope to continue to be challenged to make a change by what I have seen.

Since being in Kenya, I have personally met a girl with Down syndrome in a rural area of Northern Kenya, who has been stuck in nursery school her entire life because she has never gotten the extra help she needs to move on to primary school. She is around 13 years old. I have also seen gifted children with exceptional intelligence levels who will never reach their potential because the materials are not challenging enough for them or their school lacks funds for new higher-level curriculum. “A questionnaire focused on whether individuals with behavioral and emotional disorders are capable of learning. Seventy-eight percent answered that the curriculum does not provide the necessary strategies to teach such students."

I have learned that many factors that play into the injustice:

* The negative perception of people with disabilities, stigmatization, and superstitions. There are many superstitions in Africa that view disabilities as “a curse from the gods.” Many people with special needs could be considered demon possessed and a majority of people in Kenya still believe that a disability is “retribution of past deeds by the ancestors." Many parents are ashamed of their children and I have heard of some children in rural areas being beaten because their parents think their child is possessed or a burden to their community. “In a survey administered to regular and special education teachers, administrators, social workers, and teacher education students at Kenyatta University on the societal perception of individuals with behavioral and emotional disabilities, 80% of the participants indicated that the Kenyan society perceives these individuals as being mad or possessed by demons."

* The Kenyan school system remains highly examination oriented and children who would struggle succeeding in national exams are exempt from schooling because boards cannot see the need for educating someone who cannot pass the exam.

* Class size makes it hard for teachers to give one-on-one attention. I saw this personally in the school that Hannah student taught in. Not only were the classrooms physically tiny, but the 20+ students were crammed into bench-like desks. I could easily see how difficult it would be for Hannah to be able to assist a student on a one-on-one level in that classroom. 

* School buildings are not accessible, making it difficult for students with physical disabilities to attend and assistive technologies like wheelchairs and hearing aids are expensive and not provided. 

* There are not enough teachers trained to provide students with the extra assistance they need.

* High tuition for special needs schools prevents many parents from being able to send their children to a school that would give their child the help they need. 

* The lack of adequate government funding and poverty level of parents with children who have disabilities are other preventative factors.

I wanted to learn more and get an insider’s perspective on the injustices I hear about and see. I decided to ask one of my Kenyan friends what he thinks.

I asked him: “Why in today’s society, with all the progress being made and increased awareness among the youth, are so many people still uneducated about the needs of people with disabilities?”

He responded: “Our generation wants to help. People need help. But, wisdom and responsibility comes with age. People look down on those with disabilities. Especially in rural areas where they are even made outcasts. People with disabilities are looked at as ‘not normal’ or ‘wicked people’. Rural areas can still be ignorant and don’t know they are normal people just like you and me…with defects.”

I paused awhile and then asked him: “What is your advice on how to make a change?”

He responded: “Keep doing what you are doing. Advocate for knowledge and education. Otherwise there is no betterment of society where development is still needed!”  

In Third World countries, the amount of money available for education purposes is not enough to provide equal facilities, teachers, and curriculum; let alone provide special needs schools, programs, and equipment. My desire is change. I think that every person deserves the right to education and the dignity it provides. Throughout the years and with the abundance of technology among many youths, Kenya has begun making large bounds towards addressing needs and many more people are becoming aware of the overwhelming need. Even though efforts have been made to bring justice, the lack of adequate funding still prevents many people with special needs from receiving the care and resources they deserve. Why should where you live determine the kind of education and help you receive? This is why I want to teach in a Third World country: to do my small part in bringing about justice to a marginalized group of God’s beautiful and diverse kingdom.

Micah 6:8 "What does the LORD require of you but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?"

Jambo Bwana (Zanzibar)

Kenya is in an election year and in previous ones there has been violence. Our program did not want to risk us being here if history repeated itself, so instead of sitting on campus all week during recess for the elections, we decided to create our own spring break and head to the island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania.

British East Africa = Kenya, German East Africa = Tanzania

 

Our Plane

 

Once again us 'spoiled Americans' get to travel in style on a small flight to our beautiful destination. The first thing we noticed when arriving in Zanzibar was that we had all forgotten what humidity felt like. Instantly we were all covered in a glistening layer of sweat and I don't think we were ever truly dry until we got back to Daystar a week later. "Girls don't sweat, they glisten!" Along with the humidity, we quickly noted a few more differences between here and Kenya. Zanzibar is a very touristy area with touristy prices which made bartering a bit of a challenge...like it wasn't already. Even though it was a challenge, bartering at the many small shops lining the narrow streets of Stone Town was a highlight of this trip. Another thing to note is that Zanzibar is over 90% Muslim. It was easy to pick up on this through the architecture, the dress of the people, and the call to prayer that we heard blasted over the city daily.

Muslim architecture

Inside the Tembo Hotel

Jambo. Jambo Bwana. In Kenya, if someone says 'Jambo' to me, it is insulting. They are making fun of me and the fact that I am a mzungo. Instead we say 'Sasa'. In Zanzibar people say 'Jambo' left and right and we would respond 'Sasa' so as to show them that we know what we are talking about and they would just look at us with wide-eyes. Apparently in Tanzania they speak proper Kiswahili instead of the Sheng (basically slang) that we are being taught by our peers in Kenya. What a face-palm kind of moment for us. From that point on we said Jambo as much as we could. Almost as to make up for the time we had lost.

Jambo Bwana is a song that almost everyone knows and in Zanzibar, you could not walk even a kilometer outside of your hotel without a man trying to sell you spices, futbol jerseys, or a CD of the song Jambo Bwana. Here is a YouTube link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VWBND1ggF8

Stone Town was absolutely wonderful. When we weren't eating delicious food, lounging in our beautiful rooms, swimming in the pool, on the beaches of the warm salty Indian ocean, or bartering for cool souvenirs, we were...oh wait, that is all we did! Living the life!!! My favorite place to eat was on the boardwalk right by our hotel (Tembo hotel, which used to be the former U.S. embassy). It was a park looking area by day and a lively music, people, food filled market-like outdoor restaurant by night. There were about 50 vendors with basically any kind of meat, seafood, dessert, drink, bread, or pizza you could imagine. On this trip alone, I tried shark, octopus (tentacles and all), calamari (not even fried), shwarma (my new favorite Mediterranean food which is basically a chicken gyro with garlic mayo sauce and chili-tomato sauce- the perfect combo of sweet and salty), and many different fish (even with the scales on). Justin, I hope you are proud! There was tons of coconut bread, kabobs, and nutella/banana/coconut pizzas being consumed by our group. I have also had many different flavors of Fanta since being in Africa. I have had the basic orange, grape, and strawberry in the States, but here there is pineapple, mango, green apple, passion, and my favorite, black currant. I have also discovered Novida which is a pineapple drink made by Schweppes ginger ale company. I have asked around and I hear it costs around $7 to ship to the U.S. Someone tell me it ain't so! It is SOOO good.

One of the food-vendor's spreads. Photo Credit: Dara Veenstra

Shwarmas!!!

Another highlight of Stone town was taking a wooden boat over to Prison Island to see the 100+ year old tortoises, and to go snorkeling! It was lengen...wait for it...dary! We saw many starfish, sea urchins, coral, Nemo fish, Dory fish, angel fish, a puffer fish, and tons of other native fish including a huge school of tiny little fish. We also went swimming at night when the algae glows in the dark when it is touched. Basically you glow blue in the ocean at night, it is so neat!

Snorkeling in the Indain Ocean!

Prison Island

In Stone Town we also:

Dove off a wooden boat in the Indian Ocean

Got pushed into the pool multiple times (with battle scars as proof)

Visited the last slave market to close which is now an Anglican church where the 4% of the island who are Christians still meet at every Sunday. (One of the highlights)

Beautiful stained glass in the church.

Slave Market/ Anglican Church

Memorial

Went to almost every store in the market

Fresh food in the market.

Apples in the market.

Shopping with my girl Aubrie!

Typical set up of earings outside a shop.

The streets are filled with a simple beauty.

Danced in the rain (we later found out that a local shop keeper took a video of us goofy wzungu dancing)

Local boy puddle hopping

I love the rainy season!

Learned more Kiswahili from locals

Got henna

My henna tattoo that was given to me by a deaf woman. We tried to talk in sign language but her dialect was different than ASL.

Babysat Leila!

Such a cutie! She makes me miss the little girl I watch in the summer! (Hi Briella!!)

After our two day excursion in Stone Town, we ventured an entire hour to the other side of the island for what I would explain as beach/resort/camping experience. Our huts, which were complete with sand filled floors, beds, mosquito nets, and fans, were so fun! 7 of us girls piled into that 'dorm-like' room for the rest of the week. The rest of the camp site was filled with other huts, a communal bathroom, a reading loft, volleyball court, and bar where we ate breakfast and dinner every night!

The food at New Teddy's Place was AMAZING! Every morning we were given the option of having sweet or salty breakfast. I had the sweet one day which consisted of 2 pancakes filled with chocolate and fresh fruit. My breakfast of choice was the salty breakfast which consisted of an omelet filled with peppers, a chapatti, and fresh fruit. YUM! My favorite dinner was lemon garlic butter fish with veggies and chips. It was the best fish I have ever had. We also ate some delicious lunches at local restaurants. I even was able to eat Thai food one day. The Pad Mee was sups delish!

While we were in Paje at Teddy's place, we spent many hours walking the beaches with friends picking up amazing shells (that I would pay money for in Florida) and having great conversations. Every morning after breakfast we usually spent the rainy part of the morning (it's rainy season now) in the reading loft or hammocks reading books recommended by Jeff, African history books, romance novels, religious/inspirational books, the Bible, or journaling. What a relaxing vacation-type activity to start each day with.

Almost every morning, with the exception of one, I got up at around 6:00 am to watch the sunrise with my friends. I had never seen the sunrise before and I set my sunrise standards pretty high right off the bat. God's glory was proclaimed through the beauty I saw on those mornings!! Not to even mention the amazing sunsets we've seen on this trip as well. The African sun has got to be different than the one in America. Almost every day, without fail, there is an amazing view to be seen in the sky.

Sunset, Stone Town

Sunrise, Paje

In Paje we also:

Had bonfires

Listened to Luke and Leah play the guitar

Laid on hammocks

Swam a lot and made a sand fort-like thing

Went on a spice tour! (One of the highlights of Paje)

The food we ate on the spice tour! SOOO DELISH!

Decked out in hats and jewelry our guides made us.

Fresh coconut that we ate!

Fresh nutmeg!

My first night at Teddy's I met an awesome women named Marie from Denmark who emphasized to me that you have to realize that you don't go to Africa to change its culture or have an American cultural experience. She is a world traveler and her best advice is to appreciate the differences you notice between cultures and learn as much as you can about them.

On Friday night, Teddy's place held a BBQ where we had a large variety of food. The meats included chicken, fish (an entire fish grilled on the BBQ), and octopus. The flavors of the meat were almost overwhelming they were so good. I could not stop eating! Later that night we went to a dance party on the beach where locals and other tourists of many different nationalities danced the night away. We even danced with Masai warriors decked up in their traditional outfits. It was an 'out of this world' experience. It was very cool to be untied with so many different cultures through dance.

The next day we packed up and went back to Stone Town for one last meal and shopping extravaganza. Then we boarded our plane and took off back home. Home. Kenya feels like home now. What a strange feeling. We first felt it after Rendille, but this confirmed it. Kenya is the most familiar thing to us for now.



Our last meal in Stone Town before heading back to Kenya!

plane ride home

 

Weeks in Review

Since our weekend at Rendille, I have been really bad about updating my blog. There aren't enough hours in the day...or enough hours with internet access. So, I am going to buzz through some highlights of the past few weeks and things that have been on my mind. Forgive me for my negligence.

Riding in style on the Daystar bus! 

Going to Town. On our first free weekend as a group, we were challenged by Jeff to hang out with Kenyans (or other African students that we have met) and to do something fun! Sounded like a good plan to me. A small group of us decided to go to Nairobi with our good friends Noni and Ruth. Noni is Kenyan but lives in Tanzania because her parents are missionaries there. Ruth is Malawian. For our trek to town, we all boarded the campus bus and that took us to Nairobi. While there, we shopped at a store called Zanzibar which was good because their gifts were well priced and it gave us a reference point for when we headed over to the Masai Market (where you have to barter). Then we got pizza at the Pizza Inn. It was the first 'American' meal we had all eaten since being here and we definitely splurged. I ate a pizza that was half BBQ sauce, bacon, and pineapple, and the other half was Tikka chicken, green pepper, and onion with some Indian spiced sauce. It was out of this world! Then we walked around and visited a salon where Noni and Ruth got their ears pierced, and we also made a pit stop to Java House (an American coffee shop that is the Kenyan equivalent to Starbucks). Our final stop before heading back home was the Masai Market. The market is very crowded, and it was very hot out but it was so much fun! People are constantly calling you "Sista, sista, I have a deal for you!" and grabbing at your hands trying to show you their crafts, gifts, and handiwork. It is quite the overwhelming and beautiful experience. I got 3 soapstone figures for free because men would ask me where I was from, I would answer Chicago, and then they would give me a free gift because I am from Obama's home. A few of us girls also received a few marriage proposals as well. They would say, "Marry me, I am looking for an American wife" or something of the sorts...Overall, it was a successful day and I am really grateful for our friendships with Noni and Ruth. They are truly gems.

Kenyan time. I believe I have mentioned Kenyan time in a previous post, but if not, here are a few of my thoughts on it. In Kenya, a majority of people are not very punctual or efficient with their time management skills. I can show up for class 10 minutes late and the lecturer and most of the class will not arrive for another 20 minutes give or take (usually give haha). If you are walking around campus and run into a friend, they will stop and hold a lengthy conversation with you whether or not either of you have plans you need to attend to. If we need to be on the road for something by 5:00, that usually means anywhere from 5:30-6:00...if you plan on getting back to campus by 7:00, try 9:00. Time is never a given factor and that is OK. I have come to appreciate not feeling rushed and also the feeling of worth when people stop you to talk and really value relationships over schedules. Of course as an American who loves efficiency and predictability I get frustrated at times, but I can truly say that it is going to be really hard to adjust back to the American way of time keeping.

Java House. This coffee shop has been quite the haven for most of the people in our group. Whenever we go to Nairobi, one underlying  reason is because we know that we will be able to stop at Java House. It is an American coffee shop in Kenya and could be compared to Starbucks except Java has a grill. Their food is AMAZING! It is so nice to be able to go their and get a good meal to sustain our taste buds for awhile and of course you cannot forget the delicious coffee. I have never loved coffee so much as I have here in Kenya. It is such a treat and I can even drink it black now if I have to.

New Life Children's Home. This orphanage is for babies and very young children. I think that the oldest is a little over 2 or 3 years old and I am not even sure of that. The children are precious. We are able to visit this home whenever we can. I have only been their once so far but I am planning on going to it most Tuesdays with Jake since we don't have classes on that day. It was such a cool experience. The facility is quite beautiful and the children are very well taken care of. It seems like they are constantly being held by staff and volunteers. They are not shy children and have an over abundance of love. Many of them have nasty coughs but they are all taken to doctors regularly. It was such a strange experience to be holding children and being so happy and just enjoying loving them and then having an overwhelming feeling of sadness because you know they do not have parents and many of them could be HIV positive. While I was there one child was being adopted. That was cool to see. I overheard someone saying that the adoption process takes 3 hours. I was shocked and am going to find out more information about that on Tuesday. If it literally takes about 3 hours for one of these children to be adopted by a Kenyan resident then could that mean that people could just move to Kenya, establish residence, and take home one of these precious children? It seems unreal to me. Anyways, I was able to hold 2 babies on the day I visited  Anneke (pronounced Anaka) and Joseph. They were so cute! Anneke was quite the sassy little baby and had quite the attitude. Joseph was very chill and loved playing with my glasses and being held above my head. "Super Baby!!" I cannot wait to go back and learn more and love on more children.

Joseph & I :) 

He is the cutest! 

Toy Market. The toy market is the largest thrift shop I have ever been to. You barter for the price you want and it is outside. I got 2 shirts for about 1 USD and RayBan sunglasses for about 2 USD. A new bathing suit for maybe 4 USD and had a blast! All my second hand lovin friends would have been in their element here. I cannot wait to go back to here either. There is also a food market in the same area and one interesting thing that happened was that as we walked by, a little girl (whose father owned one of the booths) ran up and hugged all of our legs. Now originally we would have just though "awe, how cute is this little girl?" but after being in Kenya for sometime now, we could all easily see through her big eyes and smile. Her father had trained her to hug foreigners in order to guilt trip them into buying his food. We have also seen many young boys and girls bartering and begging for food. It breaks my heart that many in that generation are being raised to beg, lie, and con.

Things I miss. On random days, at random times, I miss random things. Here are a few: My family, my friends, Chipotle, worship rehearsal, Outcry, church, my car, Trin-air (yes, Trinity's internet even beats this), washing machines, a hot bath, being able to sit on the toilet and not squat haha, clean sheets, clean feet, babysitting, Spotify, straightening my hair. Most of these things are vain and when I really think about them, I could live without them forever, but like I said, at random times these things just flood my mind.

Lukenya. About a 15 minute walk off campus is a resort/pool/motocross/paintball place called Lukenya. Tyler and Max did a promotional video for them in exchange for our group being able to use their pool all weekend, get one free meal, paintball, and ATV. It was such a fun weekend! A few of us were also able to go to Ruth's birthday party at one of the houses right between Lukenya and Daystar. It was also a blast. We played mafia, ate cake, sang, and shared the things we love about Ruth. I loved being able to share that special time with her and our other new friends from Africa. ATV-ing in the African wilderness was an out of this world experience. Jake drove the ATV and I was the passenger. We drove right past many zebra, giraffes and some cool birds and other wildlife. I could have ridden on that four-wheeler all day.

repping TCC

Lukenya pool 

Peace Dinner. At the same place that we attended Ruth's party, a peace dinner was held. Our whole group attended. Sing Africa, Afrizo (Daystar's singing group that tours the US every year), a speaker, Drama club, and a great meal were all a part of the night. A few of my favorite parts of this night were getting to meet more people from Daystar, seeing the moon rise over the rocks surrounding Athi River, and hearing everyone sing the Kenyan National Anthem. It was very cool to hear about peace especially with the upcoming elections. Praise God the elections were mostly peaceful.

Rock climbing. Campus is surrounded with amazing rocks for climbing and exploring. One Sunday a small group of us walked off campus and found a cool place to climb that wasn't too difficult and has an awesome view of Athi River. The rock looked like it was made of granite. It was very neat and I will never get used to the views I have seen since being here. The Saturday before we left for Zanzibar, we went on a rock climbing trip off campus. We were told it could be a hike anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. It took us a little over 3 hours. We were not prepared to say the least. Once we hiked to our destination on the rocks, the group went rock climbing. I thought about giving it a go but hiking up the rocks was about enough of a rock climbing experience that I needed for that day. I have noticed while I am here that I do not get nervous until I am in the process of doing something and then my body freaks out and I have a panic attack. No matter what I tell my brain, my body does not cooperate. This has happened twice since being here on planes and I did not want anyone to have to deal with that happening to me while I was dangling off a rock so I watched and took pictures. It was awesome! The view was incredible and the hike was definitely worth it.

we made it! finally! 

On the path to the rocks...it gets a bit steeper and filled with wildlife the farther you go...trust me! 

Showering with a monkey. One morning I woke up and went to take my daily cold shower and as I was bent over rinsing my hair in the faucet, a monkey decided to climb halfway through the slotted window. When I stood up, I made quite the gasping noise when I realized I had a visitor. After the initial shock, it really wasn't that big of a deal to me. It is a funny feeling when seeing a monkey in your shower seems somewhat normal to you. I quickly yelled "get out of here you creep!" and it went away. That was that.

no picture for this...sorry! haha :)

Doctor's Plaza. Food poisoning stinks. Food poisoning when you are in a foreign place really stinks. All you want is your own bed, a clean toilet, and your mom. After our night class one week, we went off campus for a chicken and chip dinner. It was delicious. A very tasty...but sick chicken. What we speculate happened was that the restaurant bought a very cheap chicken and it was sick. Then they cut it into four pieces, cooked it up, and served it to us. Four of us got seriously ill. I was the only one who made the trek to Doctor's Plaza, but the other three ended up at the school clinic with some antibiotics as well. Paige took very great care of me and Jeff and his wife Asaaska met us at the hospital, took care of me and let me crash at their place for the night. They were awesome surrogate parents and I am so grateful for their help and making me feel so much better. The drugs helped a lot too haha. :) After it was all said and done, it wasn't fun at all, but a good experience and I am thankful for the good care I was provided with and that we are all healthy again.

Oscar and her baby. Oscar is a cat that lives in one of the Patience Hostels. We thought she was a boy until we discovered her pregnancy one day. She is the cat that I also saw catch and devour an entire parrot one day. This explained her hunger. We think that about two days before we left for Zanzibar, Oscar gave birth because the night before we left she came walking up to us with her little fluff ball in her mouth and she introduced us to the newest Patience resident. Her kitten is the cutest thing ever! I can't wait until it is old enough for us to hold without Oscar flipping out and meowing like a crazy cat lady!