St. Lawrence has a study abroad program here in Kenya. As it so happens, the compound where they are staying is about a 40 minute matatu ride from Rongai. And one of my good friends is on the program! I was able to meet up with her today, which was amazing! Although getting there was a little rough, we were able to meet up, grab lunch, and catch up. It was so good to see her! I got some insight into the SLU program and was able to share my experiences with her. After lunch, I went back with Julia to the compound in Karen, a rich suburb of Nairobi. It was crazy to see people from SLU, and they couldn’t believe that I was there either! It made me so nostalgic to see their rooms set up like dorms and traces of St. Lawrence all over the place, from the pictures of past abroad groups to the school crest above the porch. It was almost surreal, and even more so for me to realize that this is school for them. Many of them were studying or doing work. I don’t know how I’m going to shift back into study mode when I get back! Thank God I have all summer, because I don’t know how well it would go otherwise! I love that even so far from home, SLU has connections and influence, and that even in Africa I can meet up with friends and fellow students. That, coupled with the fact that 4 of Kenya’s new MPs were SLU students, demonstrates just how wide and influential the SLU community truly is.
Meeting with Julia and seeing the compound also made me realize that I not only made the completely right decision taking the semester off, but that the program that I’m going through is fantastic. The students on the abroad program have so many boundaries: they can’t leave the compound alone, they can’t take matatus – basically the sole vehicles that I use for transportation – and they have curfews. I have so much freedom to move about and truly experience the Kenyan culture. To put it simply, I am living in Kenya. Seeing the compound today and how isolated it is made me really appreciate how involved I am able to get with not only my community in Rongai, but with my Kenyan family. It definitely makes me realize how much I have learned here and adapted to the culture. I hope that I can hang on to what I have learned and experienced here upon returning home to the United States.
