Kenya wrap-up

Well, I've been home from Kenya for about 2.5 weeks now. I was told I needed a wrap-up post from Kenya, so I'll do my best. Don't worry, Live Out Loud isn't going to go silent.  I'm about to start the next adventure - camp counselor at Grace Adventures - then the ups and downs of senior year and student teaching, so this blog will continue. However, this closes the chapter on my semester in Kenya.
People keep asking me if I've experienced culture shock coming back. Honestly, I don't know that I have. There are some things about home that changed in the past few months - friendships that formed, events I wasn't a part of, things that shifted spaces in my home. There are people who have left us that I wasn't around to say goodbye to. But this is to be expected. The first 3 days at Trinity were filled with happiness over being with my friends, in the community I love, even going to class, and participating in events on campus. Then I drove to Michigan, and again the next week was filled with catching up with friends, meeting my family, celebrating holidays and graduations. Maybe all this excitement saved me from culture shock, from boredom and feeling like I'd hit a lull too soon.  Now I enjoy my relaxation, reading more books, watching TV shows, driving my car around town. That relaxation isn't going to last long, so I'm soaking it in. The biggest shock has been the cold weather. If the Kenyans could be here, they'd stop saying I would catch frost bite in 70 degree weather. And this isn't even as cold as it can - and will - get in the Midwest, of course.

That isn't to say I've stopped thinking or talking about Kenya. I've presented in a formal manner, and talked for close to an hour, and that was just skimming the surface. It also arises in my conversation numerous times a day - whether it be over a meal, while watching TV, before and after church, walking around a store, gathered around a campfire, or in any context I find myself in. And I think about it - about the people and experiences - even more than I talk about it. My life as a mzungu in Kenya hasn't disappeared. It will always reside in my mind, shaping the way I act, think, and speak.

Life continues to move at a rapid pace. My community has been slammed with tragedies in these 3 weeks; more generally, our nation has seen much grief in just the past month. My only brother is finished with high school, something that's hard to come to grips with for his big sister. Some of my friends graduated from college. Children are getting bigger. I already have my bags repacked. The days are flying by. But I find myself still walking more slowly, retaining a positive attitude about things I didn't always enjoy thoroughly before, and seeing this life I love through new eyes.

My RD commented the first night she saw me that I seemed different somehow. I told her it must be the blonde hair. She shook her head,
"It's something more. It's like there's more of you shining through... There's more to Becca than there was before." Even from my perspective, I think she's absolutely right.