The Ups and Downs of Kenya

Welcome back!

I've had it with the regular updates on what I've been doing, where I've been going, yadda yadda, etc... So this time, I wanted to shake things up a bit. Rather than writing a journal-like account of how my days are going, I thought I'd do a little "ups and downs" post. Follow along!

Up - The American dollar is pretty strong here. By pretty strong, I mean that I can buy a full meal for two dollars, five bananas for a quarter, and a Polo shirt for three bucks. Gotta love exchange rates!

Down - My gym here doesn't have quite the same equipment as the one back home.

She's a bit lacking!

Up - I've discovered the culinary wonders of Middle Eastern food, including Kenyan, Somalian, Indian, and the granddaddy of them all, ETHIOPIAN FOOD. If you know of an Ethiopian restaurant near you, order the Mixed Wot and Shekla Tips. You can thank me later.

Down - On the culinary side of things, the food at the Center is fairly...regular. By regular, I mean that if you don't like rice and beans, well, that's too bad. Chili sauce, cheap vegetables, and peanut butter work wonders.

Mmm....rice.

Up - In the Kenyan way of life, it isn't strange to get up and dance to any song that you like while eating dinner. No, they don't mind if you join them, either!

Down - Matatu rides. A matatu is a taxi-like van, which is made to seat 14, and actually seats 25. Any long trek in one of these can be pretty taxing. You have some great conversations when people have to sit on your lap, though!

Up - I can cross waterfall hiking, giraffe kissing, touching an elephant, climbing a rock tower, dancing in an international nightclub, haggling at an tribal arts market and bungee jumping off my Bucket List!

Sorry, Alison..

Down - I can also cross off living with cold showers, food poisoning, persistent beggars, a missing toilet seat, intermittent electricity, and quite the assortment of bugs that make their way into our apartment!

Up - The kids, the kids, the kids... I can't say enough about how amazing these kids are. Walking into the gate at the Center and hearing "Gitu! Gitu!" can put a smile on my face anytime. They're also pretty good teachers of Swahili, acrobatics, and soccer!

Down - Being a muzungu has become a way of life. If I don't get an inflated price on something, or stared at when I walk down the street, it's a lucky day!

Up - There's a kitten named Simba that likes to hang around where we live. She meows for milk, will follow me when I walk somewhere, and yes, is cute as all get out.

See, I've made one friend!

Down - Toilets are kind of optional here. If you're lucky, you'll get one with an actual seat!

Up - Maybe I'm just used to living in Kansas, but when I can walk down the road and look out over a lush, green valley and huge mountain range, with Mount Kenya barely visible in the distance, well, that's pretty special. Beauty is present everywhere you look. Wildflowers adorn the roadsides and fields, the shops are all painted whatever color seems fun, and it's not uncommon to suddenly see a monkey, warthog, or tropical bird.

Down - My camera can't do this country justice. Neither can my words.

Kenya is more than a country. It's a way of life, a deep and ancient culture, and a proud people. It's the young man in a sharp suit, waving at you from the street corner, and the old woman, forced to work for a living carrying sticks at eighty years of age. It's the churches that provide people with a sense of hope and family, and the poverty that deprives them of it. It's the matatus, the goats everywhere, the street children, the market stalls. It has so many problems, yet so many solutions. For every part of Kenya I'd like to change, there's another than I wouldn't touch for anything in the world. I've been both a student and teacher here, a talker and a listener, the giver and the receiver. The biggest lesson I've learned in my time here? Kenyans aren't strange, or different. They aren't to be pitied, or feared. They're you and me, if we were born into a different country, with different culture, beliefs, and values.

What's striking to me isn't how different I am from the people I meet. It's how much we're the same.

Until next time,

Chance