Danielle goes to Africa

mzungu, how are you?

dawson8893 — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 22:31:00 GMT

So..I think people thought the last blog was it but im sitting at the airport with butterflies about leaving and about coming home...so I had to write one last journal!

"Mzungu, how are you" are the four words ive heard the most over these past six weeks. Mzungu basicallyeans white person and I definitely stood out amongst the crowd. After all these weeks hearing those words...I finally have an answer: I am very, very happy. This trip has taught me priceless lessons about people and the world and I am incredibly grateful that I had this experience. The day I got here I wanted to leave...I wasad at myself for thinking I could handle this trip and I wasnt far from phoning home to book an earlier flight because I didnt have faith I could last six weeks. I have three people to thank for calming me down: my father and two of my dearest friends. I didnt confess my fears about Kenya to my dad until fathers day but even without telling him those first days here...I knew he believed in me more than anyone else. So daddy, if youre reading this... you should know Im crying as I write this because I cant thank you enough for teaching me patience and perseverence. You and mom have raised Jake Em and I to be compassionate people and I knew I could stay on Africa and have this experience because you wouldnt have let me go if you didnt think I was capable. As for the rest of my family and friends...I cant thank you enough for your unconditional love and support. The atudents I fell in love with here dont have the blessing of such an incredible support system and it was because of the love from home that I was able to be here with them. There are so many things I could say about my trip but words dont do my emotions justice. I just know I have never been filled with so much love and joy because I have found another home in Kenya. I know I will be back because this country has shown me nothing but warmth and love...how could I not come back?!

My uncle billy taught me when I was only 7 that it is never goodbye...it is always "see you later". So...to this incredibly beautiful country...I say see you later. Nakupenda sana Kenya. Asanti sana...for all the blessings you have brought to my life.

"Dont ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -Howard Thurman

Livin on the Edge

dawson8893 — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 03:16:00 GMT

How did my time here fly by so fast? It’s Sunday evening and I’m a bit on edge thinking about the fact that I leave in three days. I remember the first day I got here, stepped out of the cab and slowly started to see my expectations for Kenya fall apart…not in a bad way but actually in a good way. The best way I can think about explaining it is, for example, when you’re leaving for college you have this picture in your head of what your dorm will be like, what your classrooms will look like, etc. and when you arrive, you realize it is completely different and foreign. Well, I got a similar feeling because: A. I am in a different country on a different continent and B. it comforted me to have a picture in my head but once I saw it would be different I was a bit unsettled. Now, however, I know where the dishes are and where to find the coffee so it’s safe to say I’ve found myself a third home here in Nairobi.

Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of Nairobi but the main reason I have fallen in love is Kibera. Who would have thought I adore a city because of its slum…much less the second largest slum (arguably the largest) in Africa. The other day I had the best chai I’ve had yet in Kibera at a little café and I also went to the viewpoint where you can see almost all the slum. It is very interesting because, as with most heavily impoverished areas, just outside of it is fairly nice housing. From the viewpoint, the contrast is stunning to see multiple story apartment buildings looking out over heavily impacted tin shacks. Apparently the government initially built the apartments so that they could get rid of the slum and have the residents move into the new housing, but that was a terrible idea considering no one in Kibera could afford the apartments. Even though I’ve been working in Kibera for the past five weeks, I got a whole new perspective seeing it from above.

BREAKING NEWS: I actually have another volunteer with me at the school! It’s just nice to have some English speaking company although I do love my boys. Besides the extra volunteer, there is not much news to report back from the school but I know come Wednesday, I’ll be quite emotional leaving the students. As for my last weekend in Kenya…well today I did absolutely nothing but watch movies, journal, and chat with some volunteers. Yesterday (Saturday), however, I, along with Liz, her boyfriend Kyle and my friend Laura, hiked Mount Longonot in Naivasha. Naivasha is about an hour and a half from Nairobi so we started the journey up to the crater at around 11. I decided that after no exercise minus walking everyday and a 14k bike ride the past five weeks, this hike was a little ambitious but once I started there wasn’t really any going back. Hiking up to the crater took about an hour and once we were there we had to hike around it to get to the summit. Around the crater took us about two hours, it’s slightly treacherous at times but the view is totally worth it. The craziest part is that Kenyans were RUNNING the entire thing, half of them in their business attire…ties and all. Yea…what the?! That was my reaction…I also was impressed by the women in jeans, flats, and even wedges who were hiking. Now it seems like if they were able to climb in that attire that it would be a breeze but I promise you it is not. In fact, I just learned this morning that two people died a few weeks ago hiking around. By the time we reached the summit I was a bit out of breath but very excited and the summit’s height is about 9000 ft. In total, the hike took a little over four hours and although I complained part of the time, I was grateful to have the experience. It was the perfect beginning to the end of my time in Kenya. I can’t believe it is almost over or that in one weeks time I will be hanging out at home with all of my family. I couldn’t be more excited to see everyone and be home for awhile, but I am definitely sad to leave a country that has only been good to me.

On our way to Naivasha I saw a billboard that read: “Believe me, you’ll get there. Slow down!” I was immediately reminded of my Grandpa Dawson who would have said the exact same thing…makes sense coming from a man who once got in trouble for driving too slow. It couldn’t be more true though considering when I started, I thought six weeks would take forever and now, I blinked and it’s almost over. Well, I plan on slowing down these next three days as much as possible because before I know it I’ll be home…sending all my love to the states!

Indian Ocean Breeze

dawson8893 — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:07:00 GMT

When I called my dad for father’s day he complained that I hadn’t updated my blog in awhile so I figured I would fix that for him! Well, I just got back early this morning from a five day, four night stay in Diani which is near the coastal city of Mombasa. My first night in Kenya, volunteers at the house asked me if I wanted to come to Mombasa with them for a week and at first I thought they were crazy…turns out they become some of my best friends here and I couldn’t resist a trip to the Indian Ocean. I will backtrack a bit to the beginning…getting the bus tickets.

Diani is about a 9-10 hour bus ride from Nairobi and there are about a million different bus companies to choose from but my friend Liz and I who were traveling together decided to go with Simba Coach. To give you an example of how cheap it is here, round-trip the bus ticket cost me about 25 US dollars…not bad eh? Getting to the bus station downtown was quite the trip. We had been warned that River Road, where the company was located, was not the safest of areas and to be sure to watch our bags. Now, if any of you have been to Chinatown, you might understand a little bit of the chaotic feeling we had walking through the downtown area. Getting off the city busy, crossing a few streets and bam! We were in a whole other world. Liz and I had been told it was rather easy to find Simba…WRONG. We were walking around like two lost puppies until we stumbled across a bakery, which didn’t exactly give us good directions, but we did end up buying some cookies that kept us pretty satisfied. Eventually, we found the ticket office, booked the trip and got the heck out of there. Come Wednesday night, Liz and I boarded the bus and, shockingly, it left at exactly 9:30 pm…nothing every leaves on time in Kenya so we were extremely surprised. We couldn’t help but laugh because this bus was straight out of the seventies; I was literally waiting for a disco ball to pop down any moment. After sleeping on and off for ten hours, we finally arrived in Diani at Southcoast Backpackers hostel. Our goal for the trip was basically to do absolutely nothing and that we did. We got some breakfast, changed into swimsuits and headed down to the flawless white sand beaches of the Kenyan coast. Pure bliss if you ask me…minus the “beachboys” pestering us here and there.

The next day, Liz and I woke up and started an hour and a half journey to Mombasa to meet our tour guide Alfred who would be taking us around the city. Lucky us, we had to matatu from Diani to Likoni then we had to take the ferry from Likoni to Mombasa. This ferry holds 1500 people and let me tell you, I am 99.9% positive we were the only two white people on the entire thing, we figured this since anytime either of us looked up, we felt 1498 eyes staring down and at us…talk about feelin the heat. All in all though, our day with Alfred was absolutely wonderful. We walked along the coast, saw Portuguese graves that had been turned into a park, looked at the coral Mombasa was formed on, walked through Old Town where we saw the first post office in Kenya, the “White House” aka the “Obama House”, Fort Jesus (which we didn’t pay to go in but got in anyways because we had to pee…sneaky!), the tusks given to the city as a gift from Queen Elizabeth, many mosques (the city is 60% Muslim and there is a mosque every 50 kilometers) and got a personal tour of a delicious spice shop. We ended the day with a walk on the north coast of Mombasa…yet another exquisite beach. Not to mention I discovered Swahili coffee that day and had mouthwatering pilau (a Kenyan rice dish) where Alfred made me eat the chicken off the bone like a Kenyan.

That was the extent of our activity in Diani because for the next three days, all we did is lay on the beach shooing away men and women who wanted to sell us things…I even got a marriage proposal, my first one here! He went up to Liz and asked her how many cows it would take to marry me…I cut in and said 100 and he asked me for a discount. Please, the minute I’m on sale for a man is the minute he can walk the other way…I politely told him that and so then he asked if I wanted camels instead…there is no escaping these beach boys. It is pretty funny to converse with them and eventually, Liz had to pretend she was sleeping because she was too friendly so I had to take the reigns and make them go away…it’s an interesting game. Oh yes, I also used an entire bottle of sunscreen and still got burned…I prefer to say kissed by the sun :). We also rode camels on our last day, sitting on a camel while they stand up is quite the trip and I have the pictures to prove it…my face says everything! When we weren’t sitting in the sand we were busy living off of nutella and banana crepes and fruit smoothies…rough life I know! While in Diani I also rode my first motorbike ever…go figure the first time I ride one is in Kenya…woops! Sidenote, except for the train, I have taken every form of transportation here in Kenya: boda boda (motorbike), matatu, city bus, coach bus, ferry, taxi, and tuk tuk…whew! There isn’t much more to report back about the beach other than it was breathtaking :).

Ooh! One last funny story, so Liz and I called for a tuk tuk to show up at 615 to take us to the bus station…he didn’t show up until 645 and it wasn’t a tuk tuk, it was a boda boda…picture this: one motorbike, the driver with a backpack on the front, Liz in the middle with a purse on each side, and me, holding on for dear life on the back with my backpack as he decided to not slow down for speed bumps and go nice and fast since we were “late”. Yes sir, we’re “late” because of you…anyways, it was an adventure to say the least. Getting back to the volunteer house after getting into the city at 530 am was also an experience in itself but Liz and I survived and laughed the entire way because sometimes…there is nothing else you can do but laugh at how things turn out. Summing it up…I am not currently engaged to any beachboy looking for an American wife, Liz got burned on the exhaust pipe of a boda boda but is healing well, I am now pink instead of white, and I still have a layer of sand over my entire body. Oh…and for anyone who has said I’m looking “more tan” I can confirm it is A. because of any filter from my phone camera and B. layers and layers of dirt…I’m really not exaggerating…I’ve accepted I won’t be clean until I’m home, I’m really embracing the Kenyan experience J. As always, sending my love to the states!

“We wander for distraction but we travel for fulfillment” – Hilaire Belloc

Halfway Point

dawson8893 — Thu, 6 Jun 2013 21:49:00 GMT

Things have gotten a little interesting lately...I am now the only volunteer at th school and still no teacher. To be honest...it isnt so bad because I love the students. This week it has only been Martin and Collins because the other students are in wheelchairs and it is very hard for them to get to the school...Kibera isnt exactly a nicely paved place. Im only at the school for three hours a day and sometimes I wonder if really making any sort of difference being there but then I remember that if I wasnt there with the boys...no one would be and also I think Im here to be impacted by the people I meet rather than the other way around. Ive discovered that Collins can count to 100 and today he started counting without my prompting and barely messed up, I dont think I have ever been so happy ..I cant really explain it but these boys bring me so much joy! Martin usually likes to takes naps and he gets jealous when I focus on Collins but once I talk to him he is better and this week he has been dancing up a storm...safe to say we know how to have fun in the slum:) Other than school...things have been good minus the fact that power and electricity were out almost all last week...didnt shower for a solid four days! Thank goodness for my curly hair staying semi presentable. Ive also decides I do laundry like a Kenyan men....Kenyan men cant do laundry...but at least my clothes smell relatively clean? I dont have tooany big updates really...probably becauae Im getting more used to life here...playing human frogger when crossing the street, walking through Kibera everyday, etc. I did, however see a man riding a camel through Kibera....yea interesting sight to say the least! Ive been enjoying my walks though because since its just me, I have time to observe the people more as well as my surroundings. Kibera has been much muddier lately and the smell of garbage and human fesces has been exceptionally strong lately but Ive started to get used to it...surprisingly enough. Ive also seen more dogs with missing akin and bites marks which makes me sad but the reality is that there is not much I can do but recognize the culture around me. Being here is no peaches and cream...just because I love my students and Kibera doesnt mean it is easy for me to see how they live. Just today Collins told me his mom tells him she wants to kill herself because she cant handle him anymore. That isnt fun to hear...neither is the fact that Collins hears voices and it is a possibility that he could have a seizure...fall in the water near Kibera and never be found...so yes I worry. I also know that there are many many families who want their disabled children to come to the school but there is physically no space for them and there is no teacher...just me. I dont mean fpr this to be a depreasing post...I just want to make sure my words are truthful. Dont get me wrong....I wish I was here for more time and I grow from these experiences but in no way is this all fun and games. All I can do is absorb all that I can and make sure Martin and Collins only see me amile and see how blessed I am to be with them.

Volunteer/Tourist

dawson8893 — Sat, 1 Jun 2013 01:07:00 GMT

The past few days at the school have been fairly successful! I discovered a small canvas and paint so I decided we should make a little painting as a souvenir I could take home from the students. I don’t know about you but I love making handprints and it’s a fairly easy art project, minus the messy part. I started off with painting Collins’ hand.

Collins has wiggled his way into my heart. I have mentioned him before but I haven’t gone in depth. We don’t know what his disability is exactly but we’ve been told he gets seizures at times, although he thankfully hasn’t had an episode at school, but the last time he had a seizure he fell into a fire. You can’t really tell but he definitely has some burns on his face and arms, he also has scars that clearly came from some sort of knife but we don’t know the story behind that either. We know very little about these students but their health often worries Jen and I. According to Dan (a worker for NVS and United for Parody), he has also been falling a few times a day and after he falls he becomes very aggressive. Now, don’t let the thinness of Kenyans fool you, they are ridiculously strong. The thing about Collins is that he doesn’t realize his own strength, he can high-five you and you’d be throbbing for a good ten minutes. Despite some challenges, and the fact that he barely speaks any English...he is such an entertaining guy to watch. Ever the drama queen he likes to stretch his entire body by standing up and then slowly contorting his body until he ends up in this pile of limbs on the floor...we all just kind of stare at him with our heads tilted in curiosity...quite the scene. He also only usually responds to anything you say with “Mm” in varying tones but when he smiles, nothing else matters because when he is happy, everybody is happy. He was fascinated that I was glopping paint onto his hand and the fact that he got to make his handprint twice was miraculous to him. The best part, though, is that when I asked him to pick out a paint color, he started counting the paints...I haven’t heard his voice since the day I got there besides when he introduces himself. I got so excited you would think I was going crazy but it was so sweet to hear him counting out loud! After Collins I helped Gertrude and Elizabeth make their handprints, and finally, my main man Martin did his. For awhile he would just shake his head when I asked if he would make the handprint for me but I knew he couldn’t refuse. It has truly been a great few days at school because Martin has been in such a great mood. He has been helping translate instructions to the other students...he’s even led them all in song. Jen and I had our jaws on the floor when Martin started to sing...such a beautiful voice to hear, especially when we don’t hear it so often.

Now I have to admit, I was a complete tourist for today. Myself, along with a few other volunteers went to the elephant orphanage, giraffe park, and monkey park (again). We started with the elephants...SO ADORABLE. We watched them get fed their milk and play around in the dust for an hour. The orphanage rescues these elephants whose mothers have died either of natural causes or from poachers. Unfortunately, poaching has only gotten worse in Kenya because of the high demand for ivory and with the amount of souvenirs I have seen made out of ivory...I’m not surprised. These elephants stay at the orphanage for a few years and then they are released back into the wild where they are then adopted into a new family, so there is a happy ending for the sweet babies:). Next we went to the giraffe park which is where, basically, you stand facing (quite literally face to face) giraffes who walk up to the tall porch you’re on and eat pellets out of your hand and out of your mouth (if you want to kiss them). Naturally, I wanted to kiss the giraffe because when am I ever really going to kiss a giraffe again. The first time scared me because their tongues are huge and they just wipe across your whole face, but then after the third and fourth time, I think I was a natural. What a talent to acquire abroad...hey, yea, that one time in Africa...I learned how to kiss giraffes...I had my fair share of fun and ended the day back with our monkey friends who were greedy as ever...but there’s just something about a monkey I cannot resist! This week has flown by and I can and can’t believe that I’ve been here for 2 and a half weeks already...what?!

I guess I’ll end with my proud moment of the week which was when I finally didn’t get ripped off at a market and haggled my way to buying baby presents...I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find any gender neutral baby items...yea, now the problem is I can’t STOP finding them... :)

WEEP

dawson8893 — Tue, 28 May 2013 22:12:00 GMT

Today I went with my friend Liz to her volunteer program at the WEEP center which stands for Women's Equality Empowerment Program. It is in Kibera as well and actually only a few doors down from my school...just thought I'd get another perspective for the day! The center is right next to a primary school so from the minute we got there...kids were hanging off our arms...fighting for our attention. The kids, everywhere really, love touching our skin because they think it is so soft (even though African skin is incredibly smooth and gorgeous) and they point at our freckles because they are practically foreign to them. The girls also love to touch my hair. I've noticed that no one woman has the same hairstyle in Kenya and I am constantly fascinated by their braids, however, I didnt realize they were just as jealous of mine. They didnt stop fighting over who could hold our hands until we started circling up to sing songs. A five year old girl named Michelle immediately took her place as the leader of the music and before I knew it we were all clapping and dancing...I dont think I could ever get tired of hearing those voices! Eventually it was classtime again for the kiddos and we headed into the sewing room to talk to the women. There are six women in total and they vary in age from 22 to around 50 and they are at the end of an 18 month educational program to help improve life skills. Also, all of them are HIV positive. We helped the women fill out forms monitoring their progress at WEEP and it was interesting, heartbreaking and inspiring to hear some of their stories and daily struggles. Currently Karin, a volunteer from Austria who is also one of my roommates, is teaching them sex ed and about female anatomy which seems so simple but it is so incredibly necessary for them to understand. We sat and chatted with the women for a bit and they asked Liz to teach them how to cook different foods so next week she will be baking a cake with them and showing them some simple meals with rice and veggies...once again, very basic yet vital.Then we went into the office to have tea with the center's social worker Edna. She is only 24 but she has gotten her college degree, went to culinary school and watches after her three sisters, her brother and her niece. Everyday she cooks for them and brings them to and from school and on top of that she runs the day to day work at the center...I was awestruck for the entire conversation. Her dream is to work with teenage single mothers to help them understand "you can fall and get back up again" in her own words. Yet again, I have met a walking billboard for women's empowerment. I was happy to visit the center today and I will definitely be back!

On a sidenote...Liz and I had a man tell us he loved us on our walk home from Kibera...love is in the air! JUST KIDDING

Outreach/Safari (Warning: It's a long one)

dawson8893 — Tue, 28 May 2013 04:58:00 GMT

I don’t even know how to start this other than...I just had five of the most incredible days of my life. Now, I know I’m only 19 so how much of life have I really seen but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around just that: I’m not even 20 and I’m in Africa...that will never get old. I suppose I should tell you what I did now...so for two days (Thursday and Friday) I went on Outreach and then Saturday, Sunday and Monday I was on Safari in Masai Mara. You’re most likely wondering what Outreach is exactly and basically, it is a two day excursion NVS sets up for volunteers to experience more of what Kenya has to offer. The cost was about $130 US that goes towards the drivers salary partly and our accommodations but also as donations for the slums we visited. I think the best way to go about describing this is going through my days...

Thursday: We left at around 8am from Nairobi and drove to Naivasha. I have one comment about the drive...the talk radio in Kenya is very entertaining. For example, for half of the ride, we were listening to why men leave the delivery room when their wives give birth, the craziest thing pregnant women do, and callers discussed the “hormonal imbalance of pregnancy”. I wish I could tell you about what I learned from these conversations, except everyone who answered spoke in Swahili...sorry Em and Charlie, can’t give ya any tips from Kenya. In Naivasha we visited KCC which stands for Kitendo Children’s Charity. It was started by a young man named Marcus from New Zealand who now lives permanently in Kenya running this charity/school. This school is for children who live in the slum which is within walking distance. On our walk from the school to the slum we crossed the main water source for the town, a river. The river is brown and mucky...and not like the Petaluma River, worse. People use this water for bathing, for cooking, for drinking, for laundry, and the animals use it as a toilet, so that gives you an image of how unsanitary it is for them. Just across the bridge is the actual slum which isn’t as terrible as Kibera (where I work) but it is not pretty. Immediately a little dusty boy came up and grabbed my hand. He didn’t leave my side for the entire tour, constantly looking up at me with his adorable toothless smile. Walking through the slum Marcus explained daily life for the men, women and children. One of the most shocking aspects was that for every hundred people, there was one squat toilet surrounded by four tin walls. At the end of the tour we visited a group of women who make jewelry out of magazines and bought some of their creations...so wonderful! Upon our return to KCC we played with the kids who climbed us like trees and we handed them out their lunch then we were off to Hell’s Gate. A little background on Hell’s Gate...it is home to Pride Rock...otherwise known as the rock Lion King is modeled after (and featured in). The bike ride was a 14k to the gorge and back. We sort of just drove up to the entrance and our drivers said “Ok, now, you cycle” and dropped us off with very beat down bikes. This means that I didn’t have time to bring my sunscreen (yes, I was burnt to a crisp...sorry Mom and Grandma...) and I was without water (I’ve never been so happy to have water in my life at the end). It was a bumpy ride with a bike that decided to switch gears on its own when it wanted to...it had a mind of its own. Maybe it was a little rough at times and maybe I was very sore the next morning but whoa, what a beautiful ride it was. Riding through the landscape flanked with zebras, giraffes, antelopes, and of course, Pumba (warthogs), I was one happy camper breathing in nothing but fresh Kenyan air. Once we arrived at the gorge it was a slippery and steep hike down (good thing it is no longer rainy season or else we all would have died in a flash flood...) but it was breathtaking. We passed a part of the gorge where Indiana Jones was filmed...check off two movies for the day! It was just overall fantastic...no camera could capture the beauty but you bet I tried and I also filmed some of the ride to hopefully bring a little landscape back home. After the ride we drove back to the hotel for the night to shower and then grab some dinner before bed. Oh, yes, our accommodations were old prison cells in a Kenyan prison that has been converted to a little hotel...very interesting. Onto day two!

Friday: We woke up early and by 7am all of the volunteers were scooping flour into bags for the families we would be visiting during the day. Once all of the bags were filled up we drove to an IDP camp. IDP stands for Inter Displaced Persons aka these people are refugees in their own country. Our guide informed us that Kenya has tens of thousands of these camps all over. Like most of the slums, the homes are small huts, these ones made of tins, supported by sticks and twigs. This camp was also in a valley so you can imagine that when it rains, it isn’t pretty. We sat in a woman’s home while she explained the background as to why they are where they are. Long story short, after the violence and political chaos in Kenya, these particular families did not register as IDP families so they will not be given land by the government although they qualify for property. We walked to the school that the kids attend and handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste we had bought for them as well as cookies. Then we gave out the bags of flour to families. I was grabbed, rather forcefully, by an elderly woman and she started singing and dancing in Swahili. Another woman came up and explained she was blessing me because she had been hungry for so long. I was a little overwhelmed especially because I didn’t even personally hand her flour and it was only a small bag but she was so excited that I couldn’t help but feel her love and happiness. Once we were finished playing with the kids, we were off to the Garbage Slum in Naivasha. There is a slum that is based at the only dump site in Naivasha. Hopefully you will see my pictures but just picture your local dump and place huts, a school, and shops on top of the garbage. Everywhere you looked there were flies swarming the garbage. We walked into a home where the children sleep on the floor, rain or shine and then we walked over to families to hand out the rest of the flour. I wish I got the chance to see more of the slum but I didn’t need to see it to understand how poor the conditions were. The man who runs the tour and feeding program in the slum explained that he began the program because he witnessed young boys feeding on the garbage despite the dead rats infesting the food. Yes, it is that bad. Finally we left and drove back to Nairobi which gave me some time to reflect but I had a quick turn around because early Saturday morning I was off to Safari in Masai Mara.

Safari Time: Our safari had three vans full of people and we got lucky with only six people in our van and the best driver: Uncle/Captain Mike. The ride to Masai was long and extremely bumpy...pretty surprised I didn’t get a concussion from that ride. My friend Liz and I sat in the back...worst seat for the bumps and dips in the road, and our seatbelts were essentially nonexistent so it is safe to say we were very happy to arrive at the “hotel”. We stayed in tents that were very nice, bathrooms and all! By 4:30 pm we were out in the game park on our first game drive. The entire safari we had music playing in our van, African songs on repeat and we saw four out of the big five in under three hours. Mike didn’t exactly give us any rules in the van, most likely because he likes to bend park rules anyways. We went off-roading quite a few times one the rangers passed and we got closer to some animals than allowed. The first night we were also out in the park until 7:30...the park closes at 6:30 but Mike is a smooth talker and is friends with the rangers and the warden. We did see the moon rise which was amazing at the park and we also saw a leopard which hasn’t been spotted in over a month. Our first game drive was filled with lions, buffalo, antelopes, elephants, and a leopard...it was already the best night of my life. The following day we started at 7:30am and ended at 4:30pm. Even if we didn’t see any animals, just the view was enough for me. I have to say though, at times, it mirrored the California scenery, nevertheless it was beautiful. We had a picnic in the middle of the game park and yes, we took bathroom breaks on the side of the van...I don’t think I sat down for longer than 10 minutes the entire day. Our final day, Monday, started at 6:30am and my ultimate dream came true: we saw the alpha male lion (along with the pride of lions and adorable lion cubs). We didn’t see any other animals and then went in for breakfast at 8:45 but seeing that lion was bliss. On the way back to Nairobi we stopped on the side of the road and stalked about 20 giraffes that were staring at us, the crazy creatures snapping ridiculous amounts of pictures of them...inching closer and closer until they started to run off...I feel I became a giraffe whisperer today. Maybe this whole “Doolittle” thing is real...I’m starting to think I can talk to the animals...possibly.

Hands down, the best couple days of my life where I learned a great deal about the culture and the wildlife. I wouldn’t trade this trip for anything and I still cannot believe how blessed I am to be here at such a young age. I’ve started to discover my compassion comes from my mother and my patience from my father...two things I sometimes struggle to have but I’m thankful when these characteristics are present. The entire time I was on safari I thought of my father because I know he would have absolutely loved the adventure, despite the bruises I developed from being rocketed through the van and, once again, my mom would have had a heart attack on the ride, but that’s why I take all the pictures :) Sorry for the novel, I tried to sum things up...sending my love to the states!

Monkey Whisperer

dawson8893 — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:43:00 GMT

The past two days I have made a great deal of progress in my life...I walked home from the slum by myself and to the cafe by myself WITHOUT GETTING LOST. For anyone who knows me, they should be very proud because I get lost everywhere and anywhere...go figure I finally have some sort of directional sense when I’m on another continent. I hope my dad is reading this and can finally say I’m actually his daughter, I think he wonders how his own child could be so terrible with directions when he seems to have an internal compass, although I guess my sister, to this day, cannot get north and south correct :)

Anyways...besides not getting lost, today we went to the monkey park in Nairobi. Actually, it is just a city park and there happens to be hundreds of monkeys frolicking around, swinging from the trees, attacking one another, and stealing any sort of food a person takes out of their pocket. Now, when I say “we” I mean that I, along with some of my roommates, Jen, Julia, Randy, Carly, Camilla, Liz, and Karin took the five students from the Disabilities School on a bus to the park with two NVS workers (Dan and Jack) and the school cook, Evelyn. It is safe to say that I had just as much fun as the students did feeding the monkeys. One of my favorite students, Gertrude, liked to throw the peanuts on the ground so the monkeys had a feast, dueling over who got the most food. Collins, another student, scared the monkeys, not intentionally, but he doesn’t do well with impulsive animals. Then, my favorite, Martin, would tease the monkeys with the peanuts which didn’t exactly make them adore him...

Sidenote about Collins and Martin: Collins doesn’t speak much English except when you meet him. He’ll say, “Hi, what is your name?” Insert name. “My name is Collins. Where are you from?” And from then on all he says is “Mm” to anything you ask, unless Martin translates for him. However, he does like to hold my hand, not for a quick moment, for a long time. So we sit at the table or stood at the park holding hands for a good long time. Then, there is Martin who also doesn’t speak much but when he does work out his math problems out loud, I love it! He will also hold my hand and even though he pretends like he doesn’t like it, the minute I start to let go he will hold on tighter. Now Martin can get a little jealous so when Collins holds my hand, Martin will hold out his too with a little smirk on his face. I know that isn’t much but let me tell you, those are the best moments I have had so far on this trip.

Now back to the monkeys! We bought a few bags of peanuts and passed them around to the kids and adults and then...monkey mayhem ensued. I’ll admit, the first time a monkey climbed on my back I freaked out a bit and shed a tear, a little out of joy and a little because I was thinking “THERE IS A MONKEY ON MY HEAD”. But then I got over it and kept trying to get them on my head which worked a little. One monkey decided to just lay across my arms then swing from one like it was a branch, man those animals have strong little fingers! The cutest monkey, although very fiesty, was the mamma who had a small little baby clinging to her. It was hard to see because she protected her baby so well but if you got too close, she let you know she was not happy...All in all it was an entertaining day at the park with some greedy little monkeys and some very happy students (and volunteers for that matter).

OH, before I forget...it is about 6:30 pm here in Nairobi. I usually write my blog anywhere between 2:30 and now because that is when I get wifi. I like knowing that when I’m going to bed my family is in the middle of their day because it makes me feel like I have some company when I go to sleep. I know it’s cheesy but it is a very comforting feeling!

Tomorrow morning around 7am I am off for Outreach which will take all of Thursday and half of Friday. I’ll report back on more of what happens but I know there is a bike ride through Hell’s Gate and a walk through the Garbage slum...among many other activities. THEN...I’ll be back Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning I am off to Safari! I’ll most likely cry of joy when I see the animals...I already know. Safe to say this weekend will be one for the books.

This final comment is for my mother and my sister (who thinks the baby aka me never has to do any housework:) ). Today, I did my first load of handwashed laundry...now, no promises it is fully clean but nevertheless, I did it! It’s an interesting experience but I’m pretty sure I should never complain about throwing clothes in a machine that magically come out clean again. To be honest, it wasn’t that difficult but I felt fairly accomplished.

When I was younger...I never thought I’d be in Africa by age 19...it’s still surreal but I couldn’t be happier with my decision.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed y the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain

It pays to know a Kenyan in Kenya (cont)

dawson8893 — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:31:00 GMT

My phone freaked out on me...sorry for the abrupt end to the other post! Anyways...my other meals all included rice and kale and then chipati, beef, and lentils. His mother is an incredible cook!

I learned a few things about Kenyam culture over the weekend. First, land is not sold here. What I mean is that when you have a house in one place and move to another city, you dont sell your home...it remains yours. The government also doesnt own your land...your land is your family's...forever. Second, if your husband dies, you are not allowed to remarry. The widow is expected to stay in the home and raise the children. If she is young enough she can have another man come to the home for protection, otherwise her deceased husband's brother takes over the duties of a husband. Now if your wife dies, you can remarry but then again man can have as many wives as they want. My dear sister will get a kick out of this...Dan asked why it would be weird if I married my sister's husband. After I pulled my jaw off the floor I explained we dont share like that...he didnt understand but hey, just another one of those major cultural differences right? Oh my parents will also like this...Dan's mother and sister in law insisted I finish my studies in the states then return to Kenya where they will find me a husband and I will become Kenyan! Sounds like a solid plan to me minus the fact that my sister would quite literally kill me if I planned on moving half way around the world :).

I suppose I should tell you about my favorite little boy Ochibo. He is 12 years old and takes care of Dan's home and livestock when he is away living in Nairobi. TWELVE. He does more work than Ive ever done. He feeds the cows and chickens, helps cook and clean and is constantly being sent to the market to fetch items. He goes to school 6 days a week and I found out that every school, public or private, costs a fee. It was insane to hear that the cost of university in Kenya wpuld cover the cost of my books for two semesters. Whoa. In short..he is a boy full of personality and always smiling. He was quite the photographer with my camera amd when we were looking at pictures of him he said "I'm beautiful!" I sure wasnt going to argue because he is a handsome young man! He also said he does not like girls but he likes me...so basically...I became best friends with a little boy in 24 hours and even though Ill probably mever see him again...Ill never forget that smile!

I could go on and on about my weekend and all the small details I noticed like how matatus dont slow down except for chickens and speed bumps or how I saw a family of baboons on the side of the road coming home but my fingers are tired and this phone keyboard is so small! I had an excellent weekend though experiencing another side of Africa that only makes me love this place more.

I have one more comment to make though. When leaving Dan's his mom followed us for a bit on the path then sent us off with a double hand wave just like my Grandma Jane...a sight I will never forget. Mary is a brilliant woman with great strength and I can see how wonderful of a mother she has been. Speaking of...I can officially announce my sister and best friend Emily will be expecting her first child with my fantastic brother in law Charlie in December! I cried when she told me in April because I already love this little bundle of joy with all my heart. After forcing my sister to play house with me when I was young, I kmow ahe will be a beyond incredible mother and I have complete faith Charlie will be an excellent father. So congrats to you both! Little elf...your aunt cant wait to see you in December and I promise to return from Kenya with a special something for you:).

Much love from Kenya!

It pays to know a Kenyan in Kenya

dawson8893 — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:39:00 GMT

This past weekend I traveled to a small town outside of Lake Victoria...I would tell you the name but I know I would butcher the spelling but it is about 8 hours from Nairobi by bus. Yes, it was a full day of traveling but I found it quite fun. For example, about an hour into the trip we stopped on the side of the road and all the men got out to pee in the middle of nowhere, lucky them. I should back up a hit and first tell you about just simply getting to the bus station. Another volunteer, Jen, and I got up at 545 to meet Dan who works at NVS ( the partner company with IVHQ here in Kenya) and we started our half hour journey to City Center. We all know Kenyans are born runners and I'm not generalizing...I even asked Dan about it and he said "we run". So naturally his normal pace is the equivalent of my jog...I tried to will my little American legs to go that fast but it just was not happening for me. We finally got to the main road where we took a bus to the station downtown. I started to notice somethingbout Kenyam traffic: it is organized chaos. The whole time you are in any vehicle you wonder how in the world you are going to exit it without injury. I like to think of it as hundreds of little streams flowing into one river because for how crazy it is, it flows very well. Sure you could hold hands with passengers in the car next to you because yo're so close and sure blinkers are not used and there are no speed limits and rules about passing lanes dont exist BUT the cars dont crash and Ive obviously survived so it's entertaining more than anything.

As far as the actual bus...when I got on, they gave me water and crackers...it was like I was going on a plane ride! It definitely was not the smoothest of rides but I decided it was like a roller coaster and I trusted we wouldn't crash. My faith faltered slightly when we saw an overturned semi and almost tipped over ourselves but then we were good to go! All I could think was, "My mother would absolutely havr a heart attack". Although I was told it would be a six hour bus ride...7.5 hours later we were finally sitting by Lake Victoria watching as cars drove onto shore to be washed...interesting. I also thought that Dan's home was on the lake and we were done traveling....WRONG. So began our rides in matatus and because I experienced them so much this weekend I can confidently say it is one thing I dont feel the need to try again.

Matatus are thr cheapest form of transporation and they are basically ten person minivans that they shove twenty people into. Yes...20. There is a driver and a man who takes money and gets customers. Where there aren't seats...they make one with a piece of plywood which I know because I was pushed onto these in between seats many times. The worst was when I sat in the seat above the engine because it was pretty darn hot on the feet. It is also always a bummer when a person in the back has to get out so everyone has to file out or have people and their dead chickens climbing literally on top of you. I really didnt mind it so much, it was kind of fun at times but also very stressful. My favorite part about the matatus though were their names..especially Joymack...that was my favorite.

Eventually we arrived in Dan's town and walked about a mile in to his family's property. It was starting to get dark and rainy by the time we arrived but I could already tell how beautiful the land was. Surrounded by farms of corn, beans, peanuts, avocados, mangos, and bananas, it looked like the paradise of Kenya. We immediately met his mother Mary, their helper and Dan's 12 year old nephew Ochibo. The property is divided into land for each son so there is his mom's home, his brother's home, the kitchen, and Dan's home. We sat down for a dinner of fresh chicken, rice and kale along with orange fanta. Ok so Kenyans are ridiculously skinny but they eat SO MUCH. His mom complained multiple times that I didnt have thirds...seconds was hard enough considering how full I was but whoa...the food doesnt stop. But food is an essential part of their culture considering all the women do all day is cook. Dont get me wrong, it was delicious! Just alot at one time. Then after every meal we had chai which made me very happy considering it is the best chai I have ever had...note to self: learn how to make this chai! The other meals we had over the weekend

Kibera

dawson8893 — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:47:00 GMT

Today I started work in the Kibera slum. As the second biggest slum in Africa, it has roughly 3 million people in 2.5 square kilometers. So yes, to sat it is crowded is an understatement. To give you an idea of living costs, it is about 300 shillings to rent a house per month. When I say house, picture your room at home, cut it in half and you have a luxurious size home for residents in the slum. Oh and 1000 shillings is about $12, so do the math and, like mine did, your jaw will drop. It is insane how little people live with and overwhelming when I think that the cost of my shoes could pay for multiple families' rents. Huge culture shock today. Huge.

After the initial shock, we (Jen and I) settled in to school with Gertrude and Martin. The school is about the size of a shack but it is nice and clean inside and there is a small area to sit on the side in the sun. There is also a back room with school supplies and a small cooking area. Technically we don't really teach we just sit with them and color and we took a break to dance :). My favorite! Good thing Martin enjoyed playing Beyonce!

Only the firat day and my heart belongs to a 23 year old autistic boy named Martin. He is very intelligent and worked on math problems for most of the day and then told me about differnt countries. He took some time to warm upto mr but eventually he started playing games with me. He has a history of getting violent so when he grabbed my arm I was a little apprehensive until he started rubbing it saying "soft skin soft skin". He played hand games with me and held my hand sometimes...so sweet! I already cannot wait to go back to this boy.

Overall it has been a great day full of new experiences and love and now I'm sitting enjoying a mocha shake after being bombarded (and ripped off) by marketplace tellers. Good end to a good day! Hope all is well back in the states...everyone here who learns I am from Kenya says I am a sister because of Obama...cracks me up everytime!

Orientation

dawson8893 — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:10:00 GMT

Struggle of the day: apparently I didnt bring my bath towel...woops! It's ok though I haven't been able to shower yet since being here...but on the bright side I just purchased a fine Kenyan towel! Phew...crisis avoided.

Today we had orientation where we learned more ahout Kenya and its history. Fun fact: there are 42 tribes in Kenya and everyone is part of one...thus there are 42 different languages. I swesr, everyonr I meet here speaks over three languages; it amazes me. We also learned about all the activities wr can do outside of our program work. In case you were wondering...my lifetime dream will come true when I embark on a three day safari...I'm surprised I'm waiting so long! I'm also signed up for an outreaxh weekend which is just a few more days of taveling around parts of Kenya...biking through Hell's gate...visiting Masaii land, sounds retty darn incredible to me! It's safe to say today was a productive day of planning and spending some money BUT I justify it because how often does one really come to Africa?! Anyways I am excited to go to my project tomorrow even though there is a whoping total of four students at the disability school...two of which don't go often but I'll take what I can get!

One last fun fact: There is a KFC right next to our house...they kmow Americans well.

After my official full day in Kenya I can say Africa is a beautiful place that scares the heck out ofe but in the best of ways.

Etranger

dawson8893 — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:55:00 GMT

Kenya! So nice to finally meet you! Culture shock doesn't come close to describing my few hour experience in Nairobi so far. The traffic is insane, the driving is chaotic but you somehow know you wont crash, the pollution is suffocating, there are people everywhere....I think it has started to hit me I'm not in America anymore. I have to say though, when I got off the plane, nothing mattered except for the fact that I am finally here. I will be living in the volunteer house for three weeks in Nairobi and the school I will be at is in the heart of the Kibera slum. I dont get to go until Wednesday but I am told I wont believe the devastation.

While Im happy to be here but at the same time I am starting to realize just how much I have gotten myself into...BUT thats the whole experience..adjusting and adapting.

I'm currently hanging out with a variety of volunteers sipping on delicious tropical juice just slowly taking in this world. The people have only been friendly and welcoming...my cab driver especially! he did comment thta I didnt look like I am from California because of how pale I am....yes thank you I am aware George! I am just proud of myself for making it to Kenya....that is a miracle in itself Let the true journey begin.....

Ethiopia

dawson8893 — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:23:00 GMT

Well, no turning back now! After a long few flights I am FINALLY in Africa. Im not quite in Kenya yet but at this point...a two hour flight sounds like a piece of cake.

The flight consisted of multiple children screaming...running up and down the aisles...kicking my seat...oh and throwing up but I cant be mad...I wasn't exactly ecstatic to be cooped up in a plane for all that time either. Other than that, once I figured out I could listen to Jason Aldean and watch a documentary on African wildlife, I was pretty content. And when I found out I could listen to Beyonce...I was over the moon happy! This whole no iPod thing has been workin out so far.

So besides all these minor details...I have to tell you all about my seat partner. She was born and raised in Africa but has lived in North Carolina, Minnesota (shoutout to Sarah Kolb...she knew where St. Cloud was!), and she now lives in Seattle, Washington. Get this, she has been married for six years but her husband lives in Africa and they have lived separately since a mere three months after their wedding. They travel back and forth and have a four year old son but you cant imagine the challenges she has faced.

She knew I was writing a blog and had confided in me so much that she asked me not to write her story so out of respect for her I wont. I just had to share a snippet about this amazing young woman who let a complete stranger into her life when she didnt have to. She educated me on her Muslim faith while I attempted to translate some words from French to English for her and she also gave me some tips for my trip. She is about to have an exciting but difficult trip in Africa and all I ask is that you keep this woman in your prayers. She kept telling me how fragile women are and how we are not as strong as men...but Nimo, I must say you are one strong, independent woman and I admired you from the moment you started telling your story.

Sitting at the aiport in Addis Ababa, I am already surrounded by a culture so different than my own and it's nerveracking of course but if the people I have encountered already are any indication of those who I will meet, I couldn't be in better hands.

See you soon Kenya!

One Leg Down...Two to Go

dawson8893 — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:25:00 GMT

With one flight under my belt i now have the 13 hour flight to ethiopia which...by the sounds of the airport gate...will include a small screaming child. It's at a time like this I wish I was a baby whisperer! Really the only update I have is that we had a slight casualty on the plane: my iPod. Woops! My theory is that this was God's way of telling me to cut the distractions and be present....with this very upset baby apparently. Looks like the Big Man Upstairs felt like playing a funny joke on me today... But in all seriousness, I have a feeling this is only the beginning of my realization about how much excess I live with. So you're welcome to the lucky person who gains a new iPod today and, for now, I'll enjoy the airport tunes.

On one last note, there is an elderly man watching some Ne-Yo music videos to pass the time...what are the chances he will share?

See you (semi) soon Africa!

Let's go to Kenya!

dawson8893 — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:34:00 GMT

Tonight I embark on a 28 hour journey to Nairobi Kenya where I will be spending six weeks working at a school for children with disabilities as well as an HIV/AIDS prevention program. I don't think it has even hit me yet what I'm getting myself into. I have never traveled internationally, I don't know anyone and, let's face it, I'm terrible at navigation...I once got lost going to my own house...BUT, apart from my lack of natural sense of direction, I could not be more excited for this trip!

Words cannot describe how thankful I am that my parents and family and friends have supported me through this process. A special thank you to my parents who have been dedicated to making sure I don't miss any steps in the preparation. I know it is not easy to let me fly over 9000 miles to a foreign country with minimum communication but they know this is something I am passionate about and they have enough faith in me to let me do this on my own. I'm leaving on mother's day of all days but it just reminds me how lucky I am to have such wonderful parents and especially to have such a loving mother!

I decided to apply for this trip back in September 2012 because I wanted to travel with a purpose and I wanted to prove to myself that I could be independent and push myself to leave my comfort zone. I am a little nervous about the travel to Kenya but other than that, I feel excited and curious as to what I will find when I arrive. Being thrown into a world so different from my own is nerveracking but such a necessary experience in my opinion. To be honest, I don't like to label this as a "volunteer" trip. I understand I will be working within poverty stricken communities but I'm also aware that the people I meet are about to open my eyes and my heart to places I never imagined. I look at this trip as a time to explore a rich culture, a beautiful place and to discover truths about myself. From my past experiences with trips like this I know that I will gain a great deal more than I give which is overwhelming and incredible all at once.

I don't think anything or anyone can prepare me for what the next six weeks will bring but I have faith that I will learn to navigate this journey one way or the other. More than anything, I know I am not alone. I have all of you supporting me at home and I know God will never give me anything I cannot handle. I am blessed to have four special guardian angels looking out for me like they have throughout my life. Grandpa, this one's for you my friend, you have encouraged and inspired me to expand my horizons and seize the opportunities the world has to offer me and my courage comes from your compassion and confidence in my abilities.

Hopefully I will be able to keep this journal updated...I will try my hardest! I already appreciate anyone reading this who is taking this journey with me back at home.

Well...ready or not...Kenya here I come!

"I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it." -Rosalia de Castro