Thursday, September 19, 2013

Kenya dig it!

It's been three days since I arrived in Nairobi and its as beautiful as ever.  The kids are great, the compound is blooming, and the staff are so friendly!

However being one of the only "muzungus"(white person) on campus has already been a humbling experience.  On numerous occasions I find myself in the middle of Swahili conversations and feeling rather dumb, not able to drive since they drive on the other side of the road (hopefully I'll eventually conquer it), being fed completely foreign food, and again just joining a new staff in general can be difficult in finding where you belong and what your responsibilities are.

None of these things are bad or wrong at all, and they also didn't come unexpectedly... I knew it would be tough.  But it does force me to be a little more flexible and thankful for others patience with me as I adjust to this African culture.

It has been wonderful to see friends that I met in June, so many were surprised to see me again and so soon.  I hope to be an encouragement to the faithful servants serving here in Kenya.

Just as a little peak into what my diet consists of nowadays...

Ugali and kale. (Ugali is cornmeal and water, boiled to the consistency of dough)

Githeri is maize and beans

Maize is the staple food to most of east Africa...so it looks like I'll be eating a lot of it in the next few months! We also only eat meat twice a week, needless to say in my own apartment I am eating plenty of eggs and peanut butter :)