Nicole goes to Kenya
 
It's now been one year since I left Kenya and arrived back in the United States, back in New Mexico. That just doesn't seem possible! Up until a month ago (heck maybe even two weeks ago lol) if someone asked me how long I've been back from Kenya, I told them, "oh a few months." I guess I've been in denial about how long I've been back in the States! And still, not a day goes by that I don't think about my YAV year. 
It's hard to believe it's been a year, but I guess I have done quite a bit.  Since I returned, I have caught up with many friends, shared my experiences from my YAV year, made new friends, reunited with YAVs and YAVA at the re-entry retreat at Ghost Ranch, volunteered for almost a year at Menaul School, returned to the session at Covenant Presbyterian and became the chair of the Mission Committee, took a class in the Public Administration program at UNM (getting ready to go back full time in a couple weeks), gone on two mission trips, seen fellow KenYAV, Jacob, get married and Kenya roomie, Lauren, graduate from seminary in Atlanta, gone on many hikes, played some tennis, begun job searching, and had many late night chat sessions, skype calls, and phone calls with folks on the other side of the globe, among other things. 
Many people have asked me questions like 'how have you changed as a result of your YAV year?', or 'what things seemed odd or different in the US upon your return?' and 'did you enjoy your time there and do you want to go back?' Let me start off my responses to these questions by saying I absolutely LOVED my YAV year in Kenya; it was the best year of my life, and of course I want to go back! 
To the question about what things seemed odd or different - I've heard lots of people say that grocery stores in the US seemed strange/overwhelming after returning from a volunteer year in another country.  I can't say that I had that difficult of a time with grocery stores.  However, what does bother me, which I never put much thought into before, are those self-storage places...everywhere! It's rather disturbing really. I admit, I am totally guilty of having WAY too much stuff (something I've been trying to remedy as of late) - I am terrible at getting rid of things - but it makes me a little sick that we Americans have so much stuff that there is a "need" for a self-storage facility on every other corner! 
Something else I noticed upon my return was the positive attitude of Kenyans.  I noticed it right away and it's actually something I had a bit of a hard time re-adjusting to when I came back to the US. Kenyans, and really most of the people I met throughout East Africa, are so optimistic, not to mention welcoming. So even though I wouldn't say that Americans are necessarily pessimistic, it was a bit of an adjustment after spending a year with Kenyans! 
And now to address probably the most commonly asked question...how have I changed as a result of my YAV year...This is a very tough question and one I don't think I'll be able to completely answer any time soon - it is, after all, "a year of service for a lifetime of change", right?
1) I certainly look at church differently now.  I will never think an hour and fifteen minute service is long again! But seriously, I do view almost everything about church a bit differently as a result of my YAV year; from services and sermons, the music, and what we do as  a church community.  
2) I think I'm a little more laidback now than I was before and maybe a bit more confident.  
3) I am a bit more intentional in what I do and what I agree to do. I no longer say yes to everything or take on as much as before...it's just not necessary and it causes you to miss out on so much! 
4) I am more grateful for what I have and the gifts I've been given, though I still don't take time to think about that enough, unfortunately.  
5) I do a better job at keeping up with what is going on around the rest of the world. 
6) I am always thinking about where I should go next and when/how that will be possible. 
I'm sure there are many other things that have changed in me and things that others have noticed that I have not, but that's just a few. In the end, though, I'm still a work in progress.  I'm doing my best, but I'm still striving to really be the person I want to be, I suppose. 
And to end this blog entry, I must say some thank you's. Thank you to my wonderful family who supported me before, during, and in the year since my YAV year.  Thank you to my Covenant and PSF church families who made my YAV year possible and have been so supportive since I returned.  Thank you to all my friends who wrote to me and kept up with me while I was in Kenya and have, since I returned, listened to my stories and put up with me every time I've said, "this one time, in Kenya..." Thank you to my YAV family - Phyllis, Whitney, Deanna, Mara, Josh, and, Jacob (thank you all for putting up with me lol and for being such an amazing group of friends/support system); Nancy and Shelvis; all the YAVs who went places other than Kenya in 2009-2010, the YAV staff and YAVA.  Thank you to my Kenya roomie, Lauren; you were the best roommate I could've asked for and my YAV year wouldn't have been the same without you! Thank you to my amazing co-workers at CWSEA who taught me so much and always put a smile on my face! Thank you to my Kenyan family and to all the Loresho folks -there are too many of you to name, but you know who you are :) ; I have so many wonderful and hilarious memories with you all and I miss our Sunday gatherings! Thank you to all of the other friends I made throughout the year - Naomi, Kevin, Benjamin, Anselm, and so many more (sorry if I've left someone out, it was certainly not on purpose)! And thank you to all of the incredible people I met through my work at CWSEA; Matt in the NY office, everyone I worked with at the partner organizations, and all the beautiful people I met in the communities with which CWSEA works. I am grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you!!! 
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Closing Retreat 07/05/2010
 
A couple of weeks ago, the Kenya YAV's headed out for our final retreat, and we certainly packed a lot into our 5 day trip! First, we went to the Masai Mara for a couple of days and had a nice time relaxing, reflecting a bit on the past year, and, of course, going on game drives where we saw lions, a cheetah, elephants, a leopard, giraffes, zebras, and even the start of the great wildebeast migration.  After our time in the Mara, it was on to Kisumu to pick up a few things in town, and then we were on our way to the village of a professor we met during orientation. When he gave us a lecture in September about tribal identity in Kenya, he invited us to stay at his home at some point during our year in Kenya, so we decided to take him up on his offer.  It was a great visit. Everyone at his home was so welcoming; they cooked us delicious food, some of the kids did dances and performances late into the night, and they treated us like family. I was glad, also, to be able to spend a bit more time in Nyanza. Part of our trip to the village also included a service project - we painted a classroom at a public school, planted a few trees, and donated some items to a few students.  We had fun painting and interacting with some of the staff and students, and they showed their appreciation by doing a few presentations (which were fabulous!) and even presenting Phyllis with a goat. After we finished painting at the school Friday morning, we went back to the professor's house to say our goodbyes to everyone. We ate breakfast quickly, said goodbye and packed the vans. We made a quick stop at the school so that the rest of the YAV's could see the finished mural and to thank the teachers. After that, we were on our way to Kogelo where Mama Sarah Obama lives. Thanks to the professor, we were able to meet her. It was interesting to sit and talk with her for a bit. We gave her a few gifts for the children's home she runs, and she thanked us with sodas. Once we were finished, we hit the road again. We stopped in Kisumu to have a final lunch with the professor and his son, and then we were on our way to Nairobi. Before we left his home, the professor said to us, "There is one thing that I do not like at all about this visit of yours, do you know what that is? It's that it is too short!" I couldn't agree with him more. Our time with him and his family, and the people of his village was, unfortunately, too short. That statement, though, speaks to my entire time in Kenya as well. This year is flying by, and it's hard to believe that our final retreat has already come and gone.   
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I apologize for how long it has been since my last blog entry. Since I last wrote, I have had quite a few adventures. With CWS, I went on a week-long trip in early March around Kenya to visit some of the Water for Life and Improved Livelihoods projects, which went well. I went back to a few of the villages I had visited in October, and went to a few new places, as well. The people in almost every place we went welcomed us with songs and dances, and even gave us food and gifts. It's amazing how giving they all are!  I enjoyed traveling back to that region, and also working with the lovely people at our partner organizations there - both FSK and Yang'at.
While I was in the car with Andrew, driving back to Nairobi from that trip, I received a phone call from a co-worker telling me that I would be going to Uganda a few days later to see the landslide relief work that was taking place. So, the following Tuesday, Andrew and I hit the road again, and traveled to Mbale, Uganda. The first evening I met with a couple of the staff members and two board members from our partner organization in the region, FDNC, and they gave me a brief overview of what had happened, and what was taking place. Wednesday we visited with a few people in the local government and then drove out to the IDP camp. After meeting with the camp director and getting special permission, I was able to walk through the camp, talk with some of the people living there as well as a few volunteers, and take photos. After we finished at the camp, we drove to the site of the landslide. We drove as far as we could, then had to park the vehicle, and hike the rest of the way up the mountain to the site (about 5km up).  The hike up was interesting. For most of the way, we had a group of three teenage boys leading us to the site, and we also walked with some soldiers for part of the time. The area is absolutely beautiful - lush and green mountains, a waterfall in the distance - but the whole time you're walking you know you're hiking up to a place of ruin and sadness.  But we hiked up, with a brief break while it rained (we took cover under a roof over-hang we came across).  After I walked around for about 20 minutes, taking in the scene and capturing a few photos, we said that we should get going soon before it got too late... an hour and a half later we left. I am so glad we stayed, though, because during that time, I met so many great people, and I got to hear their stories. It was important for me to hear their stories so that I could gain a more full understanding of what happened and the effects, and it was probably good for them to tell others what happened; I was happy to provide a listening ear, and blessed to have the chance.
The following day, we went into Mbale town to pick up some mattresses that had been purchased with some of the money CWS had donated to take to the camp. We waited while 150 mattresses were loaded onto the FDNC bus, and then drove to the camp.  Even though it wasn't the designated day to distribute such items, since I was there (a representative from CWS), they arranged for me to distribute ten mattresses to women in the camp who had not received them during the initial mattress distribution. Friday morning I had a debriefing meeting with FDNC, and then said goodbye, sadly, to the staff and two boardmembers of the organization that I had spent so much time with over the previous three days.
Both of the trips went well and at times, each felt very surreal. I am grateful for all of the people I met on these two journeys, and I must say, the faith and strength of all of them is amazing.
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School Visit 03/03/2010
 
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Last week, I was able to accompany Sarah on a visit to a primary school in Murang’a.  I am always happy to spend a day in the field – to get out of the office, see places in Kenya which I have not seen before, and more importantly for the opportunity to see the CWS projects in person rather than on paper or in photos, to gain a better understanding of the program over all, and to meet the people involved.  I was looking forward to this visit in particular because I had not had the chance to visit any of the ‘School Safe Zones’ schools yet. Once we arrived at the school, we had a meeting with the school committee.  During most of the almost 3 hour meeting, I must admit, I did not understand most of what was being said because it was conducted mostly in Kiswahili (a good time to practice my ministry of ‘being’), but I was glad to be included.  In the close of the meeting, they clapped for each of the guests individually, and I must say that I certainly did not deserve any sort of applause as I hardly followed what was being said throughout most of the meeting, but it was very nice of them any way.  After the meeting was completely finished, some of the committee members began carrying in lunch for everyone – a delicious home-cooked Kenyan meal - and then the head teacher insisted that we stay for sodas before we hurrying back to Nairobi.  Toward the end of lunch, I asked if I may walk around the school and take a few photos for the story I’ll be putting together, and before I knew it, one of the teachers was outside gathering every single student so that I could take group photos. I felt bad that they were taking all of the children out of class just so that I could take a photo, though I hadn’t asked them to do that in the first place, however, I appreciated the fact that they were just trying to help, and I was glad to get to see the students.  Pretty soon there were children coming from almost every direction – out of classrooms, some returning from the river, etc. – and eventually, 330 students in their uniforms were being lined up outside, in order from tallest to shortest.  I ended up with a few large group photos as well as photos of each individual class.  The visit to the school was great; they were so gracious and accommodating in every way possible.  They did not laugh at, or even seem to mind, the fact that I cannot really speak their language; instead, they welcomed me, even clapped for me, and thanked me for being with them. They fed me a huge, delicious meal, and then they pulled all 330 students out of class just so that I could take a few photos. I couldn’t help but think that if that same situation happened in the U.S., if some visitor from another country happened to visit an elementary school in the U.S., that visit would be much different.  The people at the school probably wouldn’t be as welcoming when the visitor barely spoke English (and the visitor could forget about the Americans knowing their language!), the visitor would probably not receive a huge, home-cooked meal for lunch, and the school would certainly not pull the entire student population out of class unplanned just so that the visitor could take a photo. The nature of the visit and the welcoming environment at the school is representative of my experience as a whole over the past few months. The people of Kenya have continued to make me feel very welcome here. Karibu sana, indeed!

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Half-way Point 02/15/2010
 
     No crazy adventures to report this time, but it's been a good couple of weeks.  With work, I went on a one-day trip with a few of our partners to check on an emergency response project that was done through ACT, attended a couple days of a training that CWS put on for our partners, attended a couple of meetings, and worked on some things around the office.  The day trip was interesting - we went to see some project sites around Kajiado.  Some of the people there have, for the first time, started growing crops.  In a society that has been solely pastoralist for generations, a switch to growing maize and beans in addition to raising livestock is a HUGE change - change in not just culture but an entire way of life.  While it is sad that these people are forced to make such huge changes, it was good to see some of the people in that community adapting to climate change because the alternative is quite grim. 
     Other than the day trip, I've mostly been around Nairobi the past couple of weeks.  I had a very nice birthday (or maybe I should say birth-weekend).  We had some friends over for dinner, had a nice birthday dinner at Phyllis's, got to see Bloodshed perform in a battle of the bands that weekend, and on my actual birthday, Lauren and Whitney made a fabulous taco dinner! Oh, and we also discovered at work that Dan and I have the same birthday.
     This past weekend was also nice. I got to hear Lauren preach at a church near Kiambu; it was a nice service and Lauren did a wonderful job.  We also had tea with Reverend Agola and his family, which was good; I was glad to be able to visit with them a bit and catch up. And, on Sunday evening, we had a great time hanging out with friends at our apartment.  Lately I've been very aware that I only have 5 1/2 months left, maybe because I've hit the halfway point or something, but it feels like this year is going very fast. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about that,. But, I've enjoyed my time so far here in Kenya very much, and I look forward to the second half of my YAV year!
Peace :)
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Zanzibar 01/28/2010
 
  So for our first YAV retreat, we went to Zanzibar, which was amazing. It is quite an incredible place.  The beaches are beautiful, it has an interesting culture and history, and the people are very warm and welcoming; even our hostel was fascinating.  We were supposed to stay on the island for two nights, and then spend a couple days in Dar, but instead we ended up staying on the island for four nights and tried to take in as much of that magical place as we could before we left.  Here is a quick run through of what I (and most of the time the rest of the YAV group as well) did before leaving Zanzibar (sorry it’s short, if I went in depth this would go on for pages):

We had a tour of the former slave market site and the old church next door, ate fresh fish at the open air market on the water front, walked around through the alleys and markets of Stone Town, admired the architecture, went on a spice tour, relaxed on the beach, enjoyed sunsets over the ocean, went snorkeling and swimming with dolphins in the Indian Ocean, and hung out with some local people we made friends with while we were there. 

Though a couple times I was reminded of Jamaica Kincaid’s ‘A Small Place’, and I certainly felt foolish walking to the hostel from the ferry and back again with my big suitcase and all my belongings (how ridiculous I must have looked and like such a typical American or Westerner), I enjoyed Zanzibar immensely.  It was quite a retreat, and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to visit such a wonderful place.  Now, my hope is that, in going from one big adventure to another, I won’t forget to pay attention to the little things.  I don’t want to miss anything, nor do I want to take this time for granted.  I still have those moments when, for example, I will be walking down the road to my apartment, and it hits me randomly, ‘wow, I’m living in Kenya’, though as I get more and more used to things here, those moments happen less and less.  I hope those moments don’t go away. I want to pay attention to and remember the small things that are happening, too, because, as exciting as all of these big adventures are, the small things are what shape the majority of my time here.  So, today, I am thankful for both; I am blessed to have the opportunity to do things like go rafting on the Nile and go on vacation in Zanzibar, and I am equally blessed to have the opportunity to spend a year living in Kenya doing communications work for a cool organization, living in an apartment in Nairobi, getting to know lots of new people, and for everything that happens in between.

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Trip to Uganda 12/29/2009
 
 Happy Holidays everyone!
I hope you all are wonderful! I’m sorry it has been so long since I’ve updated this blog.  I guess I will say a bit about my trip to Uganda. At the very end of November, I went to Uganda with Lauren, Josh, and Jacob to go rafting…on the Nile. It was a fabulous trip. The day after Thanksgiving, we took a twelve hour bus ride to Jinja. We stayed at a hostel that the rafting company owns, and it was really nice place. Saturday was our rafting day. We got on the river at about 10:30 a.m. with our guide, Peter, and rafted until about 4:45 or 5.  The scenery along the Nile was/is absolutely beautiful (as you can imagine), and we had a blast rafting.  About half way through the trip, when we were on a peaceful part of the river, we ate lunch – water, fresh pineapple, and biscuits.  We went on about 12 rapids, grade 1-5, and probably flipped on about 40% of them; Peter was always there to help us, though, as well as kayakers that were there along the entire trip.  So, it was an awesome time rafting, and we had a lot of fun on the whole trip. 

After an interesting time getting bus tickets for the way back, Lauren and Josh left Sunday afternoon, and Jacob and I left Monday morning to head back to Nairobi from Jinja.  On the border between Uganda and Kenya, our bus stopped so that we could get our passports stamped with the ‘exit Uganda’ stamp and as soon as we got off the bus, there were people (both children and adults) there to try to sell you stuff.  A young boy, of about 8, immediately targeted me.  He came over with his box of various sodas and bottled water, and asked if I needed a cold soda for the bus. I told him no, thank you, I already have something, and kept walking; he to followed me, and told me that surely I must need something, and that the drink I already had would not be enough for the entire bus ride. While I did not need anything from him to drink, I did need his help for something else. See, while you’re still on the bus, the couple of staff people from the bus company do not give you any instruction on what to do or where to go. So, after I got off the bus, I had no idea where to go. Luckily, that boy, whose name is Musa, by the way, could tell that I didn’t know where I was going. So, while he was trying to sell me a drink, he was also showing me where to go to get my passport stamped.  After I stood in line, and got the stamp, he was still there waiting for me. He walked with me a ways, and showed me where my bus was waiting. I got back on the bus, and it drove us all over to the Kenya side. When I got off the bus to get my passport stamped to show that I was re-entering Kenya, Musa was there once again. He once again showed me where to go, and after I got the stamp, he walked with me again, and showed me where the bus was waiting. For the first couple minutes he still tried to sell me a drink, but then he realized that I wasn’t going to buy anything, and just continued to walk with me and talk to me. He speaks incredibly good English, and talked to me about all sorts of things; at one point, he asked me how long I would be around and what I am doing here. I told him that I am in Kenya for about a year doing a volunteer program, to which he responded with the question, “but how will you one day retire if you are volunteering?” which I thought was a pretty good question. As we neared the bus, he told me that one day, when he finished his studies, he would go to the U.S., and go to New Mexico, and he would look me up and find me, and I must say, I hope that one day he does have that opportunity. Now, I don’t say that because I think the U.S. is just so amazing and I want Musa to be able to go there (it is simply an example of something he could do), nor is it because I have this need for him to find me one day; I say that because I hope that this 8 year old Ugandan boy who is having to sell drinks to bus passengers crossing the border in order to help support his family’s income IS able to complete his studies and that one day he has the option to choose what he does with his life.  Musa has stuck with me, and for me, I guess, he represents all of the children in this area that have to work to supplement the family income, many of which are not able to go to school.  I hope that one day that changes.
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Trip to Kajiado 11/17/2009
 
     I went on a day trip to Kajiado to do an assessment of the drought situation in that area for the Emergency Response program (ERP) at CWS and the organization called ACT with which ERP works. While some areas in Kenya are flooding - people have been displaced and some even killed because of all the water- other areas still haven’t gotten any rain. Kajiado is one of the areas that has not gotten any rain. People are still struggling to get by, their cattle are all dying, and there have even been quite a few suicides in the past couple weeks because people don’t know what to do any more; this has also left a number of orphaned children. Very sad. We also stopped at a school in the area that is held at a Lutheran Church. There are about 60 kids that go to school there. For the past three years, the two teachers who work at the school have not gotten paid – not once. They have been able to continue to work without pay for the good of the children because their husbands have been able to support their families, but pretty soon, they will not be able to afford to work for free any more.  Who knows what the children will do, then?
      It was nice, though, to see another area that I haven’t been to yet, and to get to meet some of the people in the area. Mostly Maasai people live around there, and it is very much a pastoral community, which is why they are suffering so much.  Unfortunately, we came across lots of dead cattle - although we were planning on that when we headed out there . One cow even collapsed in the ten minutes between when we drove up a road and came back. The people were all very nice, though. When we were getting ready to meet with some of the folks from the community, a few of the elders were there, and we, of course needed to greet them and everyone else. It wasn’t proper for me to shake everyone’s hand (something to do with me not being circumcised, and the status of the different individuals in the community I think). So, with some of them, I would shake their hand, and others I would just stand in front of them, bow very slightly, and they would put their hand on top of my head. Well, I had no idea beforehand, what I was supposed to do. When we got there, I noticed someone else in front of me that was not shaking everyone’s hand. Luckily, there was a woman from the community who noticed me observing what was going on, and she immediately helped me (thank goodness because I was about to walk up to shake these people’s hands). So, when I got to each individual, she would say “hand”, “head”, “hand”, etc. so that I would know what to do. I am so glad she was there and that she helped me, because otherwise, I may have really offended someone without even knowing it.

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So, for those of you who are hoping to find a meaningful story about Kenya in this blog post, I apologize, for you will be disappointed. I felt the need, however, to share this story in order to provide some amusement and comic relief. So here you go...   Yesterday, Lauren and I decided we were going to make our first attempt at making beef samosas, so after work, I walked down to Uchumi (a store near our apartment) to meet Lauren and pick up some groceries. We picked up all the ingredients we needed to make the dough, as well as some ground beef and veggies, and walked back to the apartment. When we walked in, and tried to turn on the lights, however, nothing came on. "Looks like the electricity is still out," she said, and told me that it had been out when she had stopped at home earlier as well. She noticed, though, that there was a light on in the hall outside, and lights on across the way. I then remembered Rachel at work asking if we'd received a bill from the power company a couple weeks ago (which we hadn't ever received) and figured they must have shut off the electricity to our apartment. Luckily, we have one gas burner, so we decided that, even though it would be tricky to make samosas with just the light from a torch (flashlight), we would go ahead with our plan, as we really had nothing else to do anyways, and we didn't want to have to throw away the beef. So, I started making the dough and Lauren started getting some veggies ready and cooking the beef. Once we were both finished with those tasks, Lauren got a small pot ready with some oil to fry the Samosas. We got one all ready, went to put it in the pot, and the gas was off - yes, our gas ran out as well.  What are the odds that our cooking gas runs out at the same time as our electricity gets turned off.  Now we had a bunch of dough and a lot of ground beef to eat. So, there we stood, in our dark kitchen, by the light of our torch, laughing, because what else can you do in that situation. At about 8:40, we sat down and ate our ground beef, some chopped up tomato, and a slice of bread. And let me tell you, we ate WAY more ground beef in one sitting than we needed to; we probably don't need to eat meat for two weeks, but we couldn't save it, so we thought we ought to finish it. We finished our dinner, played a few rounds of 'pass the pigs', and went to sleep pretty early (especially for me since I rarely go to sleep early at all). So there is my story; I hope it put a smile on your face :)  
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Travels in Kenya 10/18/2009
 
I just got back from a trip around Kenya for work. I went to Nakuru, Eldoret, Kitale, and West Pokot, among some other smaller places.  All in all, it went very well. I had it built up in my mind as this really rough trip, based on what I'd heard from a few folks, but it went well. The only problems involved some miscommunications with one of the partner organizations, so we weren't able to talk with many people in a couple of the communities, which was unfortunate, but other than that it went well. It was also nice for me to be able to see some new places, communities, and people in Kenya. Also, I am so thankful for the wonderful people that I get to work with. They are all so nice, such great people, and a lot of fun to hang out with. So, it was a great trip. It is sad to see the situations people are dealing wth in the really dry areas in Kenya. Please pray for them to get rain soon, they really need it! Otherwise, I'm not sure what they are going to do.  It's also interesting to learn about some of the different cultures I come across on my travels. Some of the things that children, especially girls, and women in many of the communities have to deal with are very difficult. It was encouraging, though, to learn about some of the progress that has been made in some of the communities since the sand dams and other programs have been started there. Many of the folks have been able to start growing vegetables for themselves and to sell at markets. Some are interested in starting small businesses as well, and there were a few women that have started making baskets. I must say, however, that though I am certainly not one that likes to impose my beliefs on others, nor am I a person who thinks that all cultures should adopt the ways of the West, but I do hope that in some ways, things can change at least a little bit, at least to the point where people are informed of their options, and then they can make the choices for themselves. Improving the situations in communities like these, is a tricky thing to deal with, there is a very fine line there that you have to be careful not to cross. And, I am glad that these communities are getting access to water, which is a basic necessity, and  also allows them to grow some crops, because no one deserves to struggle like so many people here currently are. Ok, that is probably enough of my rambling about that. Things are going well here. I will try to write more frequently. Thank you all for keeping up with my adventures!
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