DuringMySemesterInitis

** This is also an article in the final edition of Trinity's Courier for this semester, though a couple things have been added or modified, but if you read that article this might sound familiar.

Recently, I read online 7 different made-up diseases that infect college students. One of them was called “DuringMySemesterInitis.” The description listed the symptoms as: a) vocal dissatisfaction with local cuisine, coffee, or alcoholic beverages, b) compulsion to post excessive Facebook albums featuring the patient on picturesque bridges or other tourist sites, and c) repeating the phrase “you HAVE to go abroad” until all others in immediate vicinity are infected. I have witnessed others with this disease. The question was if I had also caught it. What I do know is “During My Semester In” things in my life have shifted irreversibly.

As my time in Africa draws to a close, I can't help reflecting on what changes the past 3.5 months have had on me or our group as a whole. Since I have several posts throughout the semester telling you what I've learned, I will describe a couple of the biggest ways this semester abroad has changed me.

1. I have adapted to life that doesn't always have the luxuries we take for granted at home. It's a pleasant surprise for me when a bathroom actually has toilet paper supplied, or even when I turn the faucet and water comes out. Hot showers have become something I only get when on a weekend vacation. You don't always need a building to use the bathroom. These are just things we've grown accustomed to this semester. When I return to the States, it are these little things – having toilet paper, running and hot water, or even a bathroom in every building – that I will appreciate in a whole new way, and not take for granted.
2. My outlook on food is not going to be the same. Most of all, I will be grateful for the variety I am offered at nearly every meal. In Trinity's dining hall, I have at least 5 options per meal. When I'm at home, if for some reason I don't like what my mom is cooking (though I am looking forward to home-cooking after this semester), I can always cook up something myself. Or when I do fend for myself, I have a full pantry of dinner food that I can choose from. Even at camp, where meals run on a 2-week rotation, it is different from day-to-day, and I only get the same meal more than once a few times a summer. I don't foresee myself forgetting to give thanks for this plethora of options whenever I sit down to a meal, as long as I can remember what my eating experience in Daystar's dining hall was like. On the flip side, I have also grown a new appreciation for fresh food. The meat here is not processed like almost every meat at home, and it tastes delicious. The fruits are straight from the tree or ground. I've come to realize that fresh tastes best, and is good for you. Of course I won't be able to ask Wendys to go slaughter a cow for me to get my hamburger meat, or keep goats or ostriches in my backyard to use as food, but at least I can do what I can, especially when it comes to fruits.
3. Strangers or even mild acquaintances are now like family. A week before our departure for the States, a few of us were talking about the flight home as compared to the flight here. Coming here, we barely knew each other so were careful how we acted, what we said, and so on. Flying home, it is going to be completely different; conversations will flow easily, there will be lots of laughter, and we are going to soak in as much time together as we can before we part for the summer. There is very little that we don't talk about with one another in this group. We may bicker, we may disagree, we may get sick of seeing one another every so often, but the fact is we're family. We look out for each other, we share joys and sorrows, we have inside jokes, and there will be no one else who will ever understand what this experience, Kenya 2013, has been like. I could never forget these people.
4. I am incredibly grateful for the education I have and continue to receive in the U.S. due to what I have seen and experienced here. For the next year as I finish up at Trinity Christian College, I may get stressed and overwhelmed, but if I ever feel like complaining I will remember how I felt this semester in some of my courses. I will remember how blessed we are to be learning within the American school system, how amazing it is our professors push us while still showing us they care, and how all that hard work is setting me up for great success, and I will thank God. Further, as I go on to teach, I will remember what I have observed in schools in Kenya, both what I disagreed with and would like to do differently as a teacher, as well as unique perspectives on teaching that I can learn and benefit from. I will be grateful for the building I teach in, the staff around me, the education system itself, and the students, and for them I will strive to bring my best to the classroom every day.
5. I have a whole new view on Africa, particularly on Kenya, and, in general, different people of the world. Sometimes people think this place is only what you see in National Geographic or western documentaries – a bush country, a desert, where people only dress themselves in beads and loin cloths. But you can't believe everything you see on TV. Though there are the rural areas, there are cities that are hardly different than any city in the U.S., with people in business attire or jeans and t-shirts, malls, busy streets, fancy restaurants, businesses, and anything else you expect to find in a city. More over, I have more in-depth knowledge of the struggles this country, as well as other African countries, go through. I know about tribalism, government corruption, and the ways that they still need to develop. I also know their successes – some successes that don't always get world attention. I cannot be indifferent to what happens in this country, as Kenya will remain in my heart.

I knew this experience would not leave me unchanged, but I could not have predicted the ways that it has changed me. If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I would without hesitation. As much as I am looking forward to being home, it is sad to think I may never be back in this place again. I would love to return someday.

Before and during freshman year of college, several people told me that I should go abroad while in college. They told me that it was the best time to travel, and I wouldn't necessarily get the same opportunity later in life. I would have to say I agree with them. We have done so many things, had dozens of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and over and over I questioned if this was my real life. And all of this cost us the same as a semester at Trinity. So if someone is wondering what is the one thing they should make sure they do while in college, I'd say go abroad. If not Kenya (though I'd highly recommend this program), then any of the other abroad programs that most interest you. Get out there, do something new, even when it's scary. If I had not tried things that scared me, I would not be the same young woman I am today. Take a chance. You won't regret it.

Between my excessive Facebook albums, one of my new favorite foods being ostrich meat, and my desire for everyone to go abroad if they get the chance, it's clear I have the early symptoms of DuringMySemesterInitis. But I don't think I want a cure.

Last week... What.

Well, folks, it's the home stretch. Exams are happening over the next 4 days for us American students. In 5.5 days I will have packed up and left Daystar's campus and be ready to fly out in the wee hours of the morning of the 8th. There is so much to look forward to about going home but also so much I will miss about being in Africa. Nevertheless, I cannot wait to see you all!

In this last full week, I was not expecting it to be anything like it turned out to be. Saturday evening we found out Jeff had booked us a dorm in a backpacking hostel just down the road from Daystar's Nairobi campus, and easy walking distance to some of our favorite stops in downtown Nairobi. We would have this dorm, to come and go as we please, through Thursday morning (we had Monday and Tuesday off as study days, and Wednesday was a public holiday). Eager to take a break from Daystar's campus, I packed a duffel for 4 days and left campus early Sunday morning. Even then I had no idea what this week would bring - I was just expecting some relaxation with people I have come to love, good wifi, hot showers, and meal options that weren't rice and stew. Jeff had more plans.

Monday
The idea of going to the Kenyan Parliament building as been tossed around off and on all semester. Monday it finally came together. We got a call Monday morning to eat some lunch and then dress nicely because we would be going to Parliament that afternoon.
Now, sometimes I can be a government geek. However, I'm not super political or anything, and don't like debating politics; rather, I love to learn about government and visit its key structures. Senior year of high school, I traveled to Washington D.C. for a week with National Close-up, and had an intense week of academic fun running around the capitol, talking with senators and representatives, discussing government with students from all over the nation, and just having a blast. Since that time, I have to be honest, my interest has tapered some because I haven't taken political science/government courses or been exposed to a lot of government-type activities (other than voting). However, sitting in that Parliament building, feeling professional, I had a flashback to sitting in the U.S. House of Representatives and started to remember why I loved learning about government.
A little bit about what I picked up on from the guides as we sat in the National Assembly hall.
- There are 2 houses to the government under the new constitution, similar to the U.S. They are the National Assembly and the Senate. However, they are sort of flip-flopped from the roles of the Senate versus the House in the U.S. 

• Senate: 68 members that are responsible for making county laws
• National Assembly:  349 members that are responsible for making national laws
• Thus, the order for a law to pass will, from the lowest level, go from the Senate -> National Assembly -> President

- There are 290 constituencies in the nation, all have one member representing them in the N.A. There are also 47 counties, and each gets a representative in the N.A. and a senator in the Senate
- The speaker of the N.A. is elected by the M.Ps (members of Parliament; the National Assembly members)
- The hall has several different portions, including galleries for visiting diplomats, another for guests the speaker invites, and another for the press
- Under the old constitution, the M.P.s could serve as ministers in the executive branch as well, under the President, but since the constitution was amended, they no longer can be both. Rather, they stay an M.P. or step down and then can be chosen as a minister
- It's not very easy for the M.P.s themselves to get bills pushed through. The M.P. that represents the constituency that Korr is in, a friend of Jeff and Asaaska, said he has only been able to get 2 bills in 3 terms passed.
- Last fun fact: the seats in the National Assembly were made by prisoners. There was some controversy over the price the nation paid for these, since it was free labor, but I think they're pretty nice. And also under construction is the Senate wing. They currently meet down the road from the Parliament building.

After our visit to the Parliament, and meeting the Joseph Lekuton, the M.P. from Asaaska's constituency, we left to head back to the hostel. There we found out that Joseph had invited Asaaska and a few members of our group out to dinner. Asaaska decided to bring Jake, Jess, Paige, and I with her that night. So I stayed looking spiffy and that night the 5 of us headed out to Ethiopian food paid for by a prominent government official. Amazing, right?
During dinner, we talked about what we'd done as a program, what we loved about Kenya, and then started to talk a little about different aspects of Kenya's politics. One of my favorite moments occurred when Jess asked Joseph about the mental health bill he had mentioned he was going to try to pass. Since she's a special education major, I knew this would peak her interest. Basically, Joseph said the bill is trying to get health care and housing provided through the government for people with mental illnesses, similar to what they have in health care for other illnesses currently. Then - here's the cool part - once Jess told Joseph her major, he told Jess he'd send her a draft of the bill for her to look over, revise, and send back. Jess is going to have a say in a possible Kenyan law! How incredible is that? I think I'm just as excited for her as she is.
After a quick picture, the four of us students were then offered a ride back to the hostel in the government car. Once I arrived back, I was bursting with excitement. I had just dined with a government official. He had bought my food, talked about life and politics, offered my friend an amazing opportunity, then had us ride in his car. I was so incredibly fortunate and blessed to have been a part of this night.


Tuesday
Tuesday evening we had a lecture for the cultural class that we all take (essentially this whole semester is part of this class). This lecture was about Islam in Africa, and after a history lesson about the religion, Jeff invited some of his good friends who are Muslims to come over and discuss their religion and answer any questions we have. I remember learning about Islam in high school, but honestly remember very little about the religion, and found it interesting to talk with these men who hold these beliefs for themselves. Being college students, and some people being theology majors or minors, a lot of really deep questions were posed and it was interesting to hear their answers - many of them more similar to beliefs held by some Christians than I realized. It is also interesting to bring up the subject of terrorism and Bin Laden with them. Turns out Muslims are  just as angry, if not more angry, with Bin Laden's actions as everyone in the U.S. was. It was a good night, intellectually engaging (something I am happy about - I actually took several pages of notes!), and definitely worth spending hours discussing.

Wednesday
Wednesday was another day of good discussion. We had a cook-out at Jeff's, just like the very first weekend we were here, and then listened to one of his good friends, Yves, tell us about several African leaders, comparing autocracy to democracy. Then we held a discussion about which is best for Africa right now. Yves is very knowledgeable about Africa, and had a lot of good information to share and provide us with things to think about. I again got to stimulate my brain and learn about government, so again my government geek started to show a little.

What's next
This Saturday and Sunday we get to go to Amboseli National Park, a couple hours from here, which has more safari animals and a great view of Mt. Kilimanjaro from Kenya. More game drives, more sweet pictures, and more relaxation at a really nice resort. I can live with that.
I have now completed one exam, and will take 3 more next week Tuesday. After those are complete, we will bolt out of this campus so they don't think we're cheating (a long story), and then spend several hours in town before heading to Kenyatta Airport and bidding Kenya goodbye.
I can't believe this moment is already here. These months have flown by, especially the past month. It doesn't seem like a month ago we were celebrating Easter, climbing Mt. Longonot, and biking around Hell's Gate. As the time here draws to a close, I find myself with mixed emotions. I dream of one day returning to this place, because it has for sure kept a piece of my heart. I wonder how acclimating back into the U.S. will be. I am pumped to see the people I love in both of my homes and have a whole new gang of friends to visit and hang out with between Chicago and West Michigan. But most of all, I am grateful. What a ride.

Making Memories in the Mara

Disclaimer until I can remedy the situation: my pictures weren't uploading to my blog. Once I can get them to upload, I will have pictures on here. No worries. Okay, read on.

As my last couple of blog posts were pretty somber and thoughtful, this one is pretty much just fun. I mean, it's about a safari so how could it be anything other than fun?

Early Friday morning (as in 6:30), we walked into the car park (parking lot) to see two vehicles – a white van and a yellow land rover. Guess which one I chose to ride in.

After about 7 hours of driving, including a drive through the rift valley and a couple hours bumping along a dirt road that led to the Mara, during which we saw an elephant, zebras, and giraffes, we finally pulled up to the lodge where we were staying until Sunday. They served us apple juice (cold and my taste buds welcomed it eagerly, as I haven't tasted good apple juice since I was last home) and then we helped ourselves to the buffet lunch. There was spaghetti with sauce they made catered to what you wanted in it, real beef, pork, lettuce salad (not cabbage, which is what they term salad most of the time), several varieties of dessert, plenty of veggies, and fruit. There are few times I've eaten more food in one sitting than at that lunch. Everything just tasted so good after months of not having anything like it. I didn't want to slow down because I knew my mind would register my stomach was stuffed, and I wanted to fill every square inch of my belly I could.

After lunch, we headed to our rooms. Leshaun, our driver, had mentioned to us on the drive that we would be staying in “glorified tents.” That was an understatement. These might have been physically tents due to the shape and the canvas walls, but once you step inside I would not call this a tent. Hardwood floors, nice beds, a bathroom with a clean toilet, readily stocked tp, hot water, and a robe for each of us, and a back porch qualified this as better than some hotels I've stayed in.

We took a short safari Friday before dinner. 2 vehicles headed out into the Masai Mara, which runs right up to Tanzania and the Serengeti. The trip started with warthogs, and within a short time Leshaun said “I see something in that bush.” We drive over – 2 lionesses. I cannot believe it as we drive closer and closer. I'm standing in a car that is right next to 2 lions. One of those “this isn't real life” moments. This wasn't even the tip of the iceberg for animal sightings that weekend. After everyone in each vehicle and taken many pictures and ogled over how amazing this was, we continued driving. We saw many antelope, gazelle, and unique birds. We also saw several elephants along the horizon at different times. Our next mission was to get closer to the large herd. So we did, driving through the grassland towards the elephants until we were just yards away from baby, adolescent, mama, and papa elephants. Some of my favorite pictures I took were of that herd, as the day neared dusk. As we headed back toward the lodge, we saw a large herd of buffalo along the horizon as the sun set.

After a delicious dinner, we sat around the campfire and got briefed on Saturday's agenda as well as heard stories from our friends who were in Korr over the week for their internships.

After a hot shower Saturday morning, we enjoyed the buffet again for “heavy breakfast” (a term Leshaun kept using, telling us to make sure we ate a lot because we'd be gone all day and who knows what could happen before we get lunch). Then it was out to the Mara again for an all-day adventure. Nearly right away, we found 2 lionesses lying across our path. Leshaun knew a male be close by. As we drove on, Leah remarked incredulously,

“I'm in a land cruiser, looking for male lions, because it's probable.” We were about to experience a whole day of these “this can't be real life” moments. Shortly after the lioness sighting, we found a male lying in a bush, injured and tired. It was in a fight the night before, probably with a younger lion who couldn't be far. The fight, Leshaun guessed, was over women. After all, it is mating season so lions go on their “honeymoons” once they find – and win – the lady of their choice. Sure enough, we soon found the other male lion, and he was with 2 females. For a moment, we thought we were going to see lion sex as the male rose and approached a female, but she was having none of it. You go girl. Show him who's really in charge.

I won't go into a step by step of the rest of the day, because I don't entirely remember the chronology, but by the time the day was over and we headed for the lodge we'd eaten lunch in the savannah (spaghetti, cream puffs, and more, in the middle of the Masai Mara, while lions probably slept in the bushes nearby), and seen: 5 cheetahs, 10 lions (not repeating for the 3 we saw twice), 6 crocodiles (4 of them eating a zebra carcass), 5 hyenas, 4 or 5 jackals, 12 giraffes, and many hippos, zebras, topie, gazelle, warthogs, and more elephants from afar. Most of these animals we drove up right next to them, closer than I'd ever thought we could get to these animals. This day was overall an “I can't believe I'm here” type of day.

That night we celebrated Jake's 21^st birthday, which came on Sunday, as well as several other spring birthdays that happen while we are on this semester. There was cake, dancing and singing, laughter, and all-around a party. I went to bed shortly after 2, tired but incredibly content.

Going to bed at 2 am – not the best idea when you are required to get up for a sunrise safari. But I wouldn't have done it any differently.

The sunrise safari wasn't as active as we had hoped (we thought we might see a hunt), but still worth the ride. We saw more lions, hyenas, zebras, and vultures, and one car got to see a leopard from far away (a “happy birthday” present from the animals to Jake). Then we went back for breakfast, a final hot shower, and then headed out on the very long drive back to Athi River.

I knew this safari would be fun, but I had no idea just how fortunate we would be to see so many animals and get so close to each of them. God is a master creator. I am so glad I got to witness these creatures of His in a way few people I know have ever gotten to experience. I am so blessed.

Thoughts on Boston

The news hit me like a ton of bricks shortly after I sat down to breakfast this morning.

“There was a bombing in Boston, at the marathon.”

Jake shared what he'd heard – 2 dead, many more wounded, including loss of limbs.

I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me and my heart was being squeezed in someone's fist.

I loaded Facebook on my phone and every status I scrolled past mentioned Boston. I opened the CNN site and started reading articles, filling myself in with more of the story.

I decided to go to chapel. I thought maybe it'd be what I needed right now.

But no one knew what had happened across the Atlantic. It wasn't mentioned in prayer, in announcements, or at any point in the chapel. The songs they were singing were upbeat and happy. I didn't feel like being happy. I felt like crying.

As I sat on the bench lost in my own world, I knew I couldn't be mad at the lack of knowledge. If the roles were reversed, would anyone back home know something had happened in Kenya? Probably not. So I don't blame anyone, because if I did that would be hypocritical.

Being across the world when this attack occurred has made me realize something. I don't want to be ignorant of this type of news around the world – especially news from Kenya – when I return home. Kenya will hold a piece of my heart; I can't just ignore what happens here when I'm no longer in the country. Whether or not the community around me is aware of news from Kenya, or other parts of the world, I hope to remain aware. This requires work on my part, as I'll have to seek it out because there won't be a lot of coverage on our news stations or in people's statuses. So I'm committing myself to try; I commit myself to care what happens in the world.

Halfway across the world, there's several people (mostly wazungu) who now are aware of what's gone on in Boston, and are praying – for Boston, for victims and families, and praying for the country. My heart still hurts as I watch more videos, see more pictures, read more articles. I pray that justice is done, that whomever decided to carry out this destruction is caught and punished. This region of the country has suffered a lot – from Sandy Hook, to Hurricane Sandy, to the shooting at the Marine base in Virginia. So I pray for the whole area, and for the whole country. And I know that God continues to have control despite the chaos.

A Walk Through Kibera

From prison to the slums... What a week.

Friday the group headed to Kibera, the 2^nd largest slum in the continent. I knew it'd be an interesting day, but I wasn't quite expecting everything that I heard and saw that day. If I thought I had seen (or smelled) poverty before, I was wrong. Never before had I walked through streets, sat in houses, of a community that lived on this little from day to day.

I think the best way to go about this is just to give you a bulleted list of some of the facts about Kibera:

• Though it's the 2^nd biggest slum, Kibera is the largest slum that's located within the nation's capitol city. Yes, Kibera is located in Nairobi, not far from the main hub of town. In fact, I have seen parts of it several times prior to our visit. Nairobi itself is a nice city; clean, prosperous, “happening” - a little like GR. Yet, not a far walk from the malls, shops, and restaurants are around 180,000 people in 6 x 8 houses, with sewage running in the rivers, trash lining the streets, and people trying to survive on less than a dollar a day
• As alluded to in the fact above, people do live on less than a dollar a day. Later, I reflected with a friend on this fact. You hear “people in Africa live on less than a dollar a day, so donate money!”all the time, but I'll be honest – I was pretty de-sensitized to this. Until I saw it myself. It is true. If these people can make any kind of profit from menial jobs such as selling small fish, re-selling used goods, or other odd jobs, it's about 75 shillings (1 USD= 85 KSH). But this money is needed to fill basic needs. To get water from one of the tanks located sporadically throughout the villages (no tap in the house, so this is the only way they get water) you have to pay. To get veggies or rice or flour – any food – you have to pay. To get electricity to the home, you have to pay. Even to use public toilets, you have to pay. Pretty soon, that 75 shillings is gone. That is if a person can even make that much to begin with.
• There isn't an official trash disposal system in Kibera. Hence, the streets are lined with trash. Sometimes some of the youth come through and take the trash to a disposal site, but that isn't often enough. The trash also includes human waste. Since you have to pay to use a toilet (or latrine), most people don't use these toilets. Instead, they dispose of their waste on the streets or in the creeks that run along the roads. One of the guides who brought us through the streets grew up in Kibera, and said she used to play in the stream we were standing by. That stream is now dirtied and unsanitary with all the feces and urine in the water. Yet, sadly, children still play in it.
  
  
• Because electricity also costs money, many people rig their own power lines into the home. This makes for a dangerous situation; this is electricity, we're talking about, and very high voltage. People can get electrocuted. Several times, one of our guides, Philip, told us to be sure to duck under the power lines that ran at eye level.
• Most of the houses are about 6x8 feet, with mud walls and a tin roof. Some fit a family of twelve. One woman was kind enough to let us come into her home. There were about eleven of us that went into the house, and we just barely fit simply sitting in there. I was on Aubrie's lap, and others were standing.
  
  
  
  
• Philip told us that he grew up knowing “where the pavement ends, so does the government.” Once the streets become just mud paths, the government officials rarely travel along those roads. However, Philip claims that the people govern themselves. He told us a story about a man who was lynched right in front of him because he had stolen from the hotel nearby just minutes before. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone watches what everyone else is doing.
• Speaking of government... According to Philip, many of the members of Parliament in Kenya, including those representing Kibera, make more than President Obama. So you'd think with all this money, something could be done to remedy some of the squalor, right? Well, the sad fact is that the money is not often put to good use, and so the situation in Kibera remains the same. Even though the government officials in America don't always use their money in the best ways, something good must be happening because we don't have a community of 180,000 people living in this much poverty.

By the end of the day, I had been asked three questions: 1) What did you learn?, 2) What challenged you?, and 3) How would you fix this? Number 3 is the hardest to answer. I learned a lot, as the list above shows. And all together it challenged me to pay more attention to the brokenness in the world, and pray for and support reputable organizations trying to bring a little healing. It also challenged me to always be thankful for what I have, to never take the abundant blessings bestowed on me for granted. But how would I fix this? I still don't know.

After our tour, we went back to the school our guides run, which is connected with First Love, the children's home where Tyler and Max are doing part of their internship. It was only secondary school students still there, and a few of us played games with them and then Koly and I served them lunch. As I interacted with them, I didn't view them as “students from Kibera” - they were simply students, like any other that I interact with. The fact that they live in an impoverished community didn't change the smiles on their faces, the creativity they showed, their eager inhaling of food just as teens in the U.S. inhale food; they were students who loved learning, loved being with their peers, and were eager to have fun with us visitors.

I don't have answers for much of what I saw that day. What can be done? I'm not sure yet. What I do know is God has Kibera in His hands – as Steven Curtis Chapman's song “Yours” says: “every child in Africa is Yours.”

The Day I Went to Athi River Prison (Primary School)

Monday Jess and I went to prison.

Okay, so we weren't arrested or anything – don't freak out. But we did go to the prison grounds. Why? There is a primary school located there, so we went to get some more observation hours.

Athi River Prison Primary School is located in Kitengela, a town between Athi River and Nairobi. The school is not necessarily for prison kids; rather, it's a school located on the same grounds of the prison but educates children from the surrounding area, children of the wardens, and so forth.

When Jess and I showed up, the entire student body was gathered in the front of the school for morning assembly where they raise the flag, sing the pledge, and make any school-wide announcements. They also let Jess and I introduce ourselves, as we were already the cause of many stares and whispers. We tried to project our voices over the sea of 1,000 young faces, who greeted us in unison and clapped for us.

Then the school day began. Wading through the mud, we entered the first classroom, one of the two class 1's. For the rest of the day, we made our way from class to class, hitting every single class from grade level 1-8. They end their term this week, and had already taken examinations, so there wasn't any teaching to observe. In fact, after lunch most of the classes we entered had no teacher sitting in the classroom. Instead of observing, each class turned into a question and answer session about ourselves and about America.

Many questions were repeated from class to class. The not-so-serious questions that often came up included “What wild animals do you have?” (many were surprised there aren't zebras, giraffes, and monkeys running around near our homes), “What's the traditional food of America?” (not an easy question to answer – we essentially said there isn't any traditional food; we have so many cultures and so many foods there isn't one single dish that is a staple), “What's the weather like?” (which launched a lesson on the four seasons), and “How many brothers and sisters do you have?” (Jess included her dog, Max,as part of her family, which issued giggles from many students since dogs aren't as cherished here. If I told them what pet I dream of having – a snake – they all were shocked and appalled).

The students also tested us on our U.S. history and geography. Common questions included “What is the biggest mountain in the United States?” (the biggest range is the Appalachian Mountains, we thought), “What is the biggest lake?” (we weren't sure if any of the Great Lakes were the biggest, but that's what we went with. History-major-and-geography-buff Mattie later told me that she's pretty sure we were right – Lake Michigan is the largest), “Who was the first president? Second? Third?” (first was easy. Second and third get a little confused in my head, but I was able to recall the two in order to answer the question),“What's your biggest export?” (we weren't certain at all; we ended up mostly talking about different crops we grow and a couple of industries), and “Who colonized America? When did they gain independence?” (thank you, history minor, and Schoolhouse Rock for enabling me to know the date of independence). Most of the classes also asked us to sing the national anthem – we accomplished this about six or seven times in duet, only stopping once because we'd started too high.

There were other, deeper questions. One student asked where we would prefer to live – Kenya or America. It was difficult for us to decide – we said both countries have pros and cons. Another student asked about corruption in America. Many Kenyans seem to believe the U.S. is untouched by corruption; what we try to explain is that corruption just looks differently, but is still prevalent. The head teacher also asked us about our university fees – who pays for us to go to college? When we told her both of us pay for at least part of it, working one or two jobs while going to school, she was shocked. Students don't often work jobs, and families pay for students to attend school. She asked why wouldn't our parents just pay, and we said to show us responsibility. She asked,

“Well, are you saying we're raising our kids to be irresponsible then?” Of course we told her this wasn't what we were implying, but as we continued to talk she seemed to be impressed that we work and go to school, putting in long hours most nights a week. She told us most days she gets home by 5, eats dinner, relaxes, then goes to sleep to wake up at 5 am and do it again. Later, I reflected that even when I'm a teacher my work will not end when I leave school – I know a lot of the teacher's duties are completed after school. Just one more cultural difference here.

Two classes had two of the hardest questions of all. Both grade 7 or 8, one student in a class asked: “How do you view us Africans? Like monkeys?” The very next class one of the first questions asked was “Why did westerners think we were monkeys?” How do you explain that attitude people once held to an African adolescent student? We ended up giving them a brief explanation about the slave trade and civil rights, and how through laws and changing attitudes people began to interact with one another, but concluded that we don't know why people felt that way, because we don't. I smiled at the first student and said “We see you as very friendly, wonderful people!”

Besides just asking questions, the students also often sang us one or two songs, especially in the younger grades. One of my favorite moments was when a class of 2^nd graders began to sing “He's got the whole world in his hands.” Here I am, in Africa, listening to children singing a song I learned in western Michigan about God holding the world in His hands. It hit home for me just how awesome it is to have a God that holds the children I love back home in His hands just as much as He holds each one of these cute, young African students. We also taught nearly every class we entered “Awesome God” with sign language. They loved it.

Almost every class wanted us to come back to Africa to teach them some day, and two classes even begged us to teach them a lesson on the spot. One grade 7 class asked us to teach them a science lesson, so Jess and I looked at each other and came up with simply teaching them the planets. They already knew each of the planets (although they listed Pluto as a planet and didn't believe us when we told them scientists have recently stated it isn't a planet) but they were still excited to have us teach them. Another class asked for an English lesson. I grinned, excited to teach my strong suit. So I pulled out a quick lesson on verbs, especially action verbs, and played nibble-de-bibble with them, tying it back into how each action could be written using a verb.

Throughout the day, we felt a little bit like celebrities. Students were following us everywhere, we were applauded as we entered a room, little hands were reaching out to touch our skin, our hair, or give us hug, and students who were on breaks crowded windows of the classrooms we were in, eager to see the wazungu teachers. Needless to say, it wasn't quite what I was expecting when I woke up to head to prison that morning. But I loved it, feeling a little worn out but fulfilled at the end of the day. I look forward to that good tired many more days of my life.

Falls, Mountains, Hippos, and Hell's Gate

We have exactly one month until I am on a plane, headed for the U.S. Crazy, right? Anyway, since I haven't posted in a bit, let me fill you in on what's happened the past two weekends.

In short, I have been immersed in challenges, God's creation, and friends for two straight weekends. And I loved it.

Easter weekend

Good Friday wasn't anything too special, other than we started the day with devotions and prayer as we do many other mornings here. Kyle and Leah both have The Book of Common Prayer, and the second week or so of being in Kenya we began to meet every morning to read that day's entry and pray. They have special entries for Holy Week, so we read the Good Friday entry that morning. For me, it was a great beginning for a Good Friday – appropriately somber and calling attention to what it was we remember that day in particular. I found a really interesting quote in that entry:

“Do you see how the devil is defeated by the very weapons of his prior victory? The devil had vanquished Adam by means of a tree. Christ vanquished the devil by means of the tree of the Cross. The tree sent Adam to hell. The tree of the Cross brought him back from there. The tree revealed Adam in his weakness, laying prostrate naked and low. The tree of the Cross manifested to all the world the victorious Christ, naked and nailed high. Adam's death sentence passed on to all who came after him. Christ's death gave life to all his children.” -John Chrysostom

Saturday many of us got into the bus with other international students and headed to Thika, where we spent the afternoon at Fourteen Falls. Called Fourteen Falls due to the fourteen waterfalls that cascade down several meters, it is a beautiful place. Most of the group slipped out of their shoes, rolled up their pants, and slipped and slid across the top of the falls, making it across to the other side. Three people from the United States group even joined in jumping off the top of one of the falls into the pool below. 

Easter Sunday some of us started the trek to Lukenya Community Church, which is about halfway to the pool. Not far into the walk, a car pulled up next to us, an elderly white couple in the front seats. If I remember correctly from the early encounter I had with the woman, she and her husband are some of the original staff members that began the Athi River campus. If I'm wrong, then either way they have been staff members at DU for a very long time. Anyway, they pulled up beside the four of us who were walking and asked where we were headed. Being headed the same way, they offered us a ride and we gratefully accepted. I include this story to indicate a general hospitable nature that is prevalent in Kenya, with most people you encounter.

Lukenya Community Church was just what I needed that morning. As mentioned before, I was anxious about being away from my SGCRC family for Easter, Easter being so special to me. When we got to the small tent where the services are held, the keyboardist was playing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” as a prelude. Once worship started, we sang my favorite Easter hymns such as “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “Low in the Grave Christ Lay,” “He Lives,” and “In Christ Alone.” The sermon was well-done as well – a usual Easter-type sermon – but it was the worship that made me really glad to have attended this church on this particular morning.

Monday dawned and we were preparing to climb our own mountain, Mt. Longonot. I knew it was going to be steep and long. What I didn't know was exactly how long it would get. Or how fulfilling it would be to accomplish that feat.

The walk up wasn't terrible. Sure, it was tiring, steep, and I was breathing heavily but Kaitlan and I tried to just keep going. We gave ourselves pep talks and made goals for ourselves and made it to the top in good time. It was the next hike that proved to be tougher.

After pictures, a rest, and lunch, we decided to take the walk around the crater. Here was where the unexpected adventure began. A short time into our hike we met an Asian-American family who asked us how long until they reached the starting point where we'd just come from. The young girl in the family told us we shouldn't take the hike. Her mom smiled wryly and just said “shh, tell them the positives.” We kept going regardless.

Around the crater is 7.2 kilometers. If Max did the math correctly, 24.5 football fields can fit inside of the crater. For some reason, we thought this hike wouldn't be too difficult – it's just walking around. We were incorrect. The hike included climbing up steep hills, scrambling up the rocks themselves, sliding down slippery paths, and just a lot of walking. When we reached the very highest summit of the whole mountain, we were at 2780 kilometers. That's 9,120,735 feet. We were higher than some airplanes. Getting up there involved pushing ourselves up some big hills, enduring pesky gnats that swarmed our heads, and climbing up some rocks like a ladder. We thought that was halfway. Not exactly.

We began the hike at 2:45 and finished just less than 3 hours later. We hadn't realized the bulk of the hike would consist of the walk around the crater – most of us were originally just concerned about the up and down of the initial climb. However, despite the long walk, I was content. A lot of it had to do with the company. None of us are avid hikers, yet we all for the most part stayed upbeat and friendly with one another. There was lots of encouragement and even some laughing. Plus, it was quite an accomplishment. Even looking at the mountain a week later, I just couldn't believe we had climbed all the way up there.

 

View of the summit from across the crater

Inside the crater

View of Mt. Longonot from Lake Naivasha

We came down shortly after finishing the walk around the crater, dirty, tired, but feeling accomplished.

Naivasha

The following weekend we spent a weekend camping near Lake Naivasha. Being a girl who loves camping, I was really excited just to be at a campground. But there was more than just camping that this weekend had in store.

We stayed in tents at Fisherman's Camp. This camp is right on the shores of Lake Naivasha, one of the bigger lakes in Kenya. However, this lake is not like the lakes in Michigan where you can feel free to swim. These are hippo-infested waters, and hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Kenya. Within a few minutes of arriving, while we were still waiting for our tents to be set up, we spotted our first hippo in the water, right along the shore of the campground's campus. Thankfully, the hippos stay in the water during the day, only venturing out later at night when the electric fence separates them from the sleeping campers. 

 Saturday morning we headed down the road to Hell's Gate National Park. This park was the inspiration for the animator's of Disney's The Lion King when they were creating the scenery for the movie. It's also the only national park in Kenya where you can ride a bike right alongside the many animals that inhabit the park.

Koly and I split off from the other girls that had come in the first wave of people to the park about one kilometer into the bike ride, heading for the tall, craggy rock tower called Fisher's Tower. She and I, and later Tyler and Kyle, were going rock climbing. Not the “fake” rock climbing up a wall like on many campuses or adventure sites in the sites. This was literal rock climbing, finding holds in the cracks of rocks to try to make your way to the top. Intimidating to me, having never done this type of rock climbing before and being a girl who was once mildly afraid of heights (last summer at Grace Adventures broke me out of that fear). But I was determined to make it to the top. Despite some challenges with figuring out certain tricky areas of the rock, I made it to the top and sat looking out over the scenery. Across from me was Mt. Longonot. I had to grin, sitting atop one accomplishment and looking at another.
 After rock climbing, Koly and I hopped on our bikes and headed for The Gorge. This is the place where “the stampede chased Simba,” “Mufasa died” and there's the original “pride rock” (all in quotes because, of course, it was animated). It took us about an hour to bike there, and we rode alongside zebras, giraffes, warthogs, and gazelle (as well as buffalo on the way back). Koly and I decided to take the shorter hike through The Gorge, something no one else in our group decided to do. We also invited a friendly young woman from Switzerland to join us, paid a guide, and headed down, down, down. It took an hour to hike through the ravine, gazing at crazy natural rock formations, feeling the water pouring down from hot springs, and re-creating scenes from The Lion King in our heads while humming tunes. The hike itself, as Koly put it, “isn't for older people.” It involved a lot of jumping, balancing on slippery rocks, leaping over puddles, and we were even bouldering down a wall at one point. By the time we emerged from below, Koly was cleaning the mud off my face and my tennis shoes had puddles inside of them. Then we had to bike the hour back to the gate to leave, and by that time my body was exhausted. Yet given the choice, I would have chosen to do everything I did that day all over again.

Where I went rock climbing!

Sunday we got up close and personal with the hippos on Lake Naivasha. From our campsite, boats offered tours around the lake to see the hippos and the lake. I was fortunate to get in the boat that ended up being the lead boat, so lots of hippo heads sticking out of the water before they would submerge themselves. Our boat even ran over a hippo at one point! We also were fortunate to see two African fish eagles swoop in to eat the fish our boat driver tossed to them. I had never seen these creatures in their natural habitats before this weekend, of course, and I was reminded of just how creative God is.

God has created a masterpiece in creation here in Kenya. The past two weekends have shown me the beauty of nature.

Furthermore, it also showed me a lot about myself. Never again should I believe I shouldn't try something because it's going to be challenging for me. I climbed a mountain and rock-climbed up a tower this weekend. I biked several kilometers and walked for an hour through a gorge all after pushing my body to reach the top of the tower. I can't tell myself I can't do something. I can. I just need to give myself the opportunity to challenge myself. I'll end up feeling proud of myself and very accomplished by the end.