Merry Christmas everyone! It took me a bit longer to post this than I was planning. I suppose that’s because I’ve adopted a light version of Kenyan time (Usually about 2 hours or a few days late)

Looking back on the entire experience, I am filled with gratitude for the Kenyans who have impacted my life, for the support I felt from friends and family back home, for the good friends I met in Kenya who helped me get through the challenging times, and for the things I’ve learned that will continue to be weaved into my life forever. I am also thankful that I am not God. Kenya gave me a little taste of how crazy this world can be – billions of people all over the world are simply living their lives, making choices and being human. God must be pretty busy!

Here’s a recap of my last days in Kenya:

Saturday, December 11, 2 other girls and I said good bye to our friends and host families in Kenya and got on an 8 hour flight to Amsterdam. This flight went Much better than my flight from Amsterdam to Kenya did in August (I got pretty sick), so that was good. When we got off the plane and went to look for where our connecting gate was, I asked Alyssa, the girl traveling to Minneapolis with me, if she saw what I saw on the screen. She did. Minneapolis = cancelled. We were rerouted through Chicago, and we hung out in the beautiful Amsterdam airport through the night. When we arrived in Chicago the airline attendant announced that the Minneapolis airport was still closed…so I activated my phone to call my family, but my mom then informed me that the airport was open! We flew into O’Hare airport but had to fly out of Midway airport, which is across Chicago. So Alyssa and I hoped in a cab, which happened to be driven by a Kenyan driver, and got to Midway.

We ended up getting into Minneapolis at about 8 pm Dec 12, and I was met by my mom, Rick, Jake, Cookies entire family, and Michael. It was simply wonderful.

I spent a week in Minneapolis working at Disability Services and am now HOME! It is time to prepare my heart for Christmas, get back rubs from my mom, unpack my suitcase, unpack my experiences in my mind, and figure out how to talk about everything with friends and family.

Reverse culture shock has been manageable so far. It’s mostly been tiny things that don’t bother me too much and don’t last long. Here are some examples:

- When we arrived in Chicago the Packers game was on the TV above the baggage claim area. I enjoy American football and haven’t seen it since the Super Bowl last year, and for some reason it just made me truly realize that I wasn’t in a place where football meant soccer anymore.

- Being on the U of M campus, surrounded by college age mostly white people who are studying and going about their everyday routine…

- Going out to eat at Annie’s in Dinkey town – “OOOOOOOO yea…we TIP in America…oops”

- How organized everything is at Disability Services where I work. It was amazing! The aspect of organization is not the same in Kenya.

- Christmas commercials for toys/clothes/presents. The material/Santa aspect of Christmas has never bothered me very much, but it will be a challenge for me this year. Santa does not exist in Kenya unless the family is extremely rich.

- Driving: Clean roads; straight roads; paved roads; very few pot holes; no garbage on the side of the street; street lights; stop signs; and passive North Dakotan drivers. I have a friend who was born in Tanzania, and while I was in Kenya she asked me if I thought winter driving or African driving is scarier. I now vote that African driving is scarier.

- Department stores: They are huge, clean and beautiful…but the Christmas marketing aspect was slightly overwhelming for me.

- The amount of weight loss commercials on TV. Body image in America is a serious issue - more so than I could realize without being removed from the brainwashing media.

I know that these things won’t stay “weird” for long, and I’m happy about that! But I also don’t want to lose the magic of Kenya and stop thinking about what really matters in this world. After meeting with women who are still paying loan debts from 2008 that were only $30 USD and who are running their families and communities since it is customary for the men to drink the local brew all day; after having a widow cry while explaining to me that her merry-go-round support group of women is the first group that has accepted her since her husband died – it is customary for her tribe to take all of her belongings, children and to exclude her from the community after her husband dies; after seeing malnourished children running around with dirt stained, holey clothes and no shoes,  my perspectives have changed. And I’m happy about that.

I had a friend ask if there is a place or group where donations could be made to help these people, and I would say that going through my internship organization would be the best, most direct and helpful way. The organization is called SEED (Support, Educate, Empower, and Develop) and they work with the women and children in stress. It is completely volunteer run, and finding funding for their programs is a huge challenge. They are currently working on getting a website set up, so until that happens just contact me to get in touch with SEED.

Merry Christmas! Thanks for all of the support! If anyone’s planning on traveling to Kenya, let me know – I want to come :)

Good Bye Kenya

4 days left in Kenya! Many strong emotions! We finished finals and exams yesterday and had our last group lunch at a wonderful Indian restaurant today! Tonight Ellen Melrose and I will be taking the night bus to Malindi - a beautiful coastal city that has a strong Italian influence. Then I'll take the night bus back to Nairobi on Friday evening and FLY HOME ON SATURDAY EVENING! WOW!

This experience has been amazing. We had "reverse culture shock" orientation yesterday, and at the same time that I am ecstatic to be home with everyone, there will be new challenges to face. Our program director told us that reentry in America will be difficult emotionally - there's nothing we can do to truly avoid that.

I have learned more than I can explain - I know that I will continue to digest this experience as I return - probably for years to come! During these next few days in Malindi, I hope to take some time to evaluate feelings/new ideas and work on finding better words to express everything. Can't wait to see you all! Love you! Love you! Love you! 

Also - I plan on writing a few more blog entries when I return. I have about 35 hours of traveling in the next 4 days, so I will hopefully be able to iron out some thoughts and write better when I return! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Poverty and Juice

Exactly 3 weeks until I am on a plane leaving this 90 F degree, 70% humidity weather and coming to winter in Minnesota! I cannot believe how fast this has gone. Here's a short update of the past week:

Monday - I met with a group of women who just started a merry-go-round loan group where they each contribute about $3 each week and then that money is given to one member to use for business purposes. They are a group of about 10 widows who cannot access loans alone, and when their businesses build they plan on taking small loans to continue growth. I interviewed a few of the women, and one woman named Pascaliah has stuck in my mind through the week. She lost her husband 2 months ago, and the entire time she visited with me she wiped small tears from her cheeks as if it was completely normal and did not phase her that she was crying. She described to me that in her village widows are looked down upon and their property and sometimes even children are taken by the husband's family. She was brought to this merry-go-round group by a friend and has found support knowing that she is not alone and a better day will come. She kept saying, "But I will manage" after every challenge she shared with me. Pascaliah sells liquid soap to hotels and neighbors and also bakes cakes. She does not know if she will make any profit in a given day and finding food for her children is a daily struggle. Pascaliah's story is common in Kenya - the poverty is overwhelming for me at times - there is so much that needs to be done in the Kenya at the same time that there are incredible things happening everyday. And this is just Kenya - the world is HUGE!

I saw another aspect of poverty last Friday when I visited the hospital where my host mom works. It is basically a physical therapy center for children who have disabilities, and many of the kids come from extreme poverty. The hospital sends out a van every Monday that visits villages around Mombasa, and the workers educate people such as the village chiefs about not hiding kids who have disabilities but allowing them to have surgery and to share their gifts with the world. Many of the kids are 10-15 years old and have been hidden from society for their entire life because of being bow-legged or having clubbed feet, and their parents were unable to afford surgery that typically costs about $500.

The kids were awesome. They sang and danced and yelled "Mzungu" at me. I asked some of the girls what they want to be when they grow up and they were so excited to tell me they wanted to be a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, or a pilot. Cool.

My host family is still incredible. Today I told me host mom that I sometimes get dizzy when I stand up, and she said "You need more iron. Let's go to the garden and pick some greens." So we did! And she cooked them just for me - delicious and made with love. My host dad has noticed how much I love the mango/papaya juice that he makes fresh every night, and he has started making extra for me to have in the morning too!

I can't wait to get home, but this place is very amazing and I will miss many things - especially that juice! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!

A Loss of Hope

I had a wonderful day today! I went “to the field” as my supervisors say to meet with a womens’ merry-go-round small loans group in a very rural village. It took us 4 different matatus (public transportation) and about 1.5 hours to reach our destination. The final matatu must not come to the village very frequently because there were 25 people crammed in our 14 person vehicle! 25 sweaty, smelly bodies…yummy. 

Once we arrived at the village, we had to walk about 25 minutes through brush, cashew trees, and a herd of cows to get to the mud hut where the meeting was held. I was to interview the individual women about their businesses and see if they had received a loan through NCCK (National Council of Churches of Kenya), the umbrella organization for which I intern. At the end of my internship, my supervisor wants me to write reports for each group of women whom I’ve met and give them recommendations on how to improve their business.

The group I met today was different than the others that I’ve met. First of all, I asked questions in English, and then my supervisor translated it into Kiswahili, and then a village elder was present to translate into their local language! Secondly, all of their businesses were physically destroyed during the post election violence of 2008, and they are still working to repay some of their members’ defaults. Loans through NCCK start at 4% interest and after 6 months if the loan is not fully repaid the interest jumps to 10% - after another 6 more months 20%, and so on. This is considerably low for Kenya since most banks will start their loans at 16%! With their businesses destroyed, the women said that they had lost hope and the energy to begin saving again, and that has been their biggest struggle in the past few years. A loss of hope. 

I also learned from my supervisor that this village is known for its village brew. She said that traditionally the men in this tribe will drink the village brew all day long while the women run the homes and bring in the money. At first I thought, cool – women having a bigger role in the community – but she continued to tell me that it can get very violent with the men expecting their wives to pay for their drinks, and the kids not having safe dads around. Recently the “local brews” have been in the news for making many people go blind after one drink. This is some scary stuff.

I have exactly one month until I am on an airplane coming home! I have learned a lot and want to take advantage of every moment and opportunity I have here in Kenya, but I can’t wait to see everyone!!!

5 weeks to go!

When I was in Nairobi this weekend I received a package from my mom!!!!! She sent chocolates on Sept 20^th and it just arrived this week! While in Nairobi I spent the night with my original host family, and my younger host sister, Angel, LOVED the chocolates. She couldn’t stop asking about the different kinds of chocolate we have in America - we have a lot in common.

When I arrived in Mombasa tonight the chocolate was melted…back to the human furnace of Kenya! 

I attended a wedding this weekend for one of my Swahili professors, Omonga. He was marrying a woman from a different tribe than his, and “intercultural marriages” are not very common in Kenya, so it was neat to experience that. We met Judy our other Swahili professor at 11:00 am to travel to the rural church together, and when I asked her when the wedding actually started, I was surprised to discover that is started at 10:30 am! Judy said that Kenyan weddings can be very drawn out and use “Kenyan time” or they can be right on time – this one used Kenyan time. We arrived at about 11:30, and the bride didn’t even come until 12:30! The bride’s tribe’s (I believe Luya) tradition is to have the aunts and cousins stall the bride from departing for the wedding for as long as possible. Then when she did arrive, the women danced around her car for about 20 more minutes trying to stall her. 

The ceremony began with the congregation dancing and clapping to some traditional music and then the bridal party danced down the aisle. It was awesome – similar to the wedding that was on you tube and the office for dancing down the aisle, but this was actually part of their culture! 

After more dancing and singing, the pastor’s message was about God creating man to not be alone, so the woman is made to be his helper, his supporter, his caretaker and so on. My MSID friends and I had a hard time relating to the message, but it was all part of the experience. 

I only have 5 weeks left in Kenya! During my 9 hour bus ride back to Mombasa, I started thinking about all of the people that have been a part of my Kenyan experience. My host families, my professors, the people at my internship, the women and children in stress that I work with, the kids from the Kibera slum, the orphaned infants, and the strangers on the street who yell “Mzungu” to me every day. The world is pretty amazing and full of so many different people with different cultures and life stories. Kenya is just one dot on the globe, and there millions of people here living super hard lives and there are people here rejoicing in the gift of living each day. My home in America is just one dot on the globe and there are people there who are suffering and people who are working hard and people who are laughing. Thinking of this makes me feel so small and part of something much greater than I can explain. When I was at Passion 2010 last winter break, one of the speakers said that being a part of something greater than one’s self is a time when life’s purpose and vibrancy is very apparent. I think this is why I love the stars and is one of the reasons that this Kenya experience has been had such a huge impact on me.

See you in 5 weeks! Hakuna Matata 

Siku ya yangu Kuzaliwa (My Day of Birth)

I haven't had access to internet for about a week now - so sorry for not replying to facebook/email messages. Also - thanks for all of the birthday wishes! I had a wonderful 21st birthday in Kenya!

On Nov 4 I was at a workshop called "Women for Sustainable Business Development," through my internship. It was at a beautiful resort on the beach with about 70 middle aged, moms. Right before lunch they had my introduce myself in Kiswahili, and after that, they all stood up and sang a Kenyan version of "Happy Birthday" to me that included dancing! It was fabulous! Then I got hugs from many of them - the motherly birthday love was definitely appreciated!

For lunch that day we had crescent rolls, mashed potatoes, fish, soups, SALAD! It was delicious - things I haven't had for a while!

That night I went downtown for dinner with some friends from the MSID program, and we danced to Nsync Spanish music! When I returned home my host brother had bought me a pink and green cake! Great day!

I spent this weekend in Nairobi, and attended a Kenyan wedding! Logistics were very interesting - more to come on this story! Internet is not going to last much longer here, but when I get back to Mombasa and the internet returns, I will give more details on the wedding. (Wedding started at 10:30, and the bride didn't arrive until 12:30!) More to come!

How many Mombasans does it take to get Lacey Home…

What a day! I have to travel about 30 minutes in a matatu (14 passenger vans that Mombasa uses for transportation) across the Indian Ocean to the Mombasa Island to get to my work every day. The past 2 days my host sister, Norah, has assisted me. Today I did it alone – with the help of 9 kind Kenyans. In the mornings, the matatus don’t come as close to my house as they normally do. So I had to walk a bit further than I did the past 2 days. I got a little lost. So I asked 2 women and they directed me. Then my host brother, Isaac, found me wandering around the village and helped me get on the matatu. 

At work traveled to a small village and visited with some women who are working on receiving a loan from the place where I intern, NCCK (National Council of Churches of Kenya). It was a beautiful place with mud huts, cute kids, and wonderful women. They were very patient with me since I had to communicate mostly through my supervisor since they speak Kiswahili. I interviewed most of them and found out what their business is like and what challenges they face. Within the next few weeks my boss wants me to get to know them better and then give them advice as they prepare for the loan. Pretty neat!

By the time we got back downtown, it was close to 5 which is rush hour here. My boss dropped me off at a different matatu station than I had used before because she thought it’d be easier to catch a matatu there. I couldn’t find the matatu going to my village, Mikindani, so I asked a woman waiting next to me for help. She said I wouldn’t find a Mikindani matatu at that station, and then she walked me to a different station and helped me get on one. At the next stop, I heard the driver yell out something other than Mikindani, so I asked the woman sitting next to me, and found out that I was on the wrong matatu! Helper #6 of the day told me where to get off the wrong matatu and to catch the right one. So I did, but this matatu stage was super busy and people were shoving each other to get a spot on the matatu. So a Kenyan man asked me if I wanted help, and he shoved me through the crowd to get a seat. I made it home 2 hours after I had left downtown! Wow. 

Mombasa people are said to be extremely lazy, but I have found them very helpful. Most will drop everything to help me, and they are extremely friendly towards each other as well. Mombasa is also extremely hot. I don’t think I have stopped sweating since I arrived, even when I sleep. No wonder they are stereotyped for being  lazy. It’s tooooo hot to move fast. 

My host family is incredible. My host mom is a wonderful loving mother who has 6 of her own children, at least 1 orphan that she’s adopted. Also, I believe she has taken in children on and off throughout the years. She has hosted 9 other MSID students and is very good at it! My host dad is great too. They have 2 grandchildren ages 1 and 5 running around the house and he is always playing with them and he makes me fresh mango/papaya juice every night!!!! YUMMY! All of the host siblings are great as well. 

So far so good. I turn 21 in 8 days in Kenya! There is a restaurant which floats on the ocean, and I’m hoping to go there with some friends on my birthday!

Miss you all! Love you!