Hello there!

So I feel that perhaps I've been unfair, that maybe some updating is indeed in order, if at least so that I can just begin to share some of the knowledge and experiences gained so far.

Let me start from the beginning?

So I left Chicago on New Years Eve. It was a VERY long 26 hours of traveling, with a stop in London before going on to Nairobi. From this bit of travel I learned a few things.

One is that I LOVE the huge airplanes that have the little personal televisions, they offer hours of entertainment. :) Another is that it is not nearly as much fun to ring in the new year over the North Atlantic as one might think. Our captain announced when the clock struck midnight in London, shortly after taking off from Chicago, and there were a few cheers, but the crossover from 2009 to 2010 in our time zone (Wisconsin) went by completely unnoticed except by those in our group. As we were whispered Happy New Years to each other across the rows, I was struck with a very thoughtful mood, in comparing this new years to some of my past ones. It was interesting to say the least. After landing in London, I made the decision that I'm not a huge fan of Heathrow airport, but I was reminded of how much I LOVE English accents! And I learned that Enlish children have far cuter accents than their adult counterparts, and thats saying something!

ANYWAY, from London we flew on to Nairobi, and we arrived in Nairobi just before 10 pm on New Years Day. I LOVE the airport btw, and we noticed that heat RIGHT away. It was MUCH warmer than the weather we had left back home. From the airport we stopped at a small local restaurant to grab a bit to eat, where they had live music and a great atmosphere, then we went on to the Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi. It was a nice little place, but after a quick round of showers, as we were all so tired, we went straight to bed. The next morning we woke up early, had breakfast at the Guest House, then all piled in to our large 15 passenger van for the 6 hour trip to Kipkaren, in western Kenya. Or what was supposed to have been only six hours anyway :(.

As I mentioned, our group was all in one van, and there was another van going with, filled with some of the children from the Jirani Project that were from Nairobi. The reason we were heading to Kipkaren was to work at the Jirani Camp, which happens once a year, and it brings all of the students that the Jirani Project sponsers from all over Kenya to Kipkaren for four days of workshops and fun. The van that the kids were in happened to break down about 10 minutes in to the trip. Fixing the belts took about an hour, but after that initial delay, we were on our way. We were driving on what is referred to as the East African Highway, and it would take one all the way to Uganda if they so wished.

Here's another thing worth mentioning, the roads in Kenya.....they are absolutely HORRIBLE. Initially I thought it was just another quirky addition to my experiences, but now, I've realized, that it is really just a pain. With every HUGE pothole our van lurches up and down and its a wonder no one has gotten completely carsick yet. Add to that how CRAZY people drive here, lanes and speed limits don't seem to matter, and you have one interesting road trip. There are police stops every few miles, which also get annoying after a while, especially when you realize they are stopping for no other reason than to bribe you in to paying them. For those of you who don't know, Kenya's government and Police force is still very corrupt, and its common to get pulled over for "speeding"but if you give the officer 500 Kenyan Shillings he'll waive the charge. This has indeed happened to us, and it's absolutely heartbreaking.

There have been many moments so far in which I have again realized just how difficult it is for Kenyans and exactly what they're up against, but it doesn't make it any easier....

On the drive, the first thing on notices after leaving the outer city limits of Nairobi is how GREEN everything is. It absolutely beautiful. Kenya is just getting out of its first rainy season of the year, coming in to about 3 months of fair weather before the next rainy season starts again. And the landscape is just gorgeous. The next thing one notices, are the animals. We passed by zebras just munching on grass right next to the highway!!!! And baboons would run up to cars parked on the sides of roads! It was INSANE. Definitely something that is uniquely African in my book.

After another delay, for a flat tire, we finally arrived in Kipkaren, just short of 11 hours later. (Let me remind you that this trip was supposed to take 6 hours, but if we had been in the UNited States, on properly built roads, it would have only taken 3 and a half-sad I know)

We didn't do much our first night in Kipkaren, the jetlag and long travels and definitely weakened our group. We did meet all the kids, and played a few games, but then we went right to bed.

The next morning we woke up bright and early for excersizes and games before breakfast. The kids were absolutely adorbale, ranging in age from 5-18 and all with the brightest smiles one could ever imagine. They were all so thrilled that we were there. Kenya's youth, in my opinion thus far, are so bright and open and outgoing, so hopefully. Out of the kids we worked with at Jirani, Franco wanted to be a pilot, and Zuberhjad wanted to be a surgeon, and Lucy wanted to be a teacher. They all have such high hopes and dreams, and in contrast with their surroundings, its a wonderful thing to witness.

We spent the day with this kids, laughing, playing, learning from each other. Our group did steal away for a coupole hours to go to Mark's (the director of JIrani) church to meet the people there and attend their small service. The day was once again, a most wonderful one. The only downside was my own health, which later on that evening started deteriorating...kind of alot. That night was a bad one, I didn't get any sleep and I was very physically sick. BUT I've come to the realization that I get sick just about every where I go for a day or two, but then I'm fine. I figure it was just my body adjusting to the different foods and the VERY high altitude we were at. (Kipkaren is up in the mountains). But I woke up the next morning feeling quite a bit better, and as it was our day of service, I decided to go and help out, even though I wasn't felling one hundred percent, and I'm glad I did, as by that evening I felt fine. Half of us spent the day at the church we visited the day before (myself included) and we were doing various things. Two of our members worked with the church youth to put up a barbed wire fence around the area, and the rest of us worked inside to paint the altar.

This community, by the way, was more marred by poverty than any I have ever seen. I feel like I won't ever be able to find the right words to describe it so I won't even try. I will hope that the pictures I have taken will suffice. Because even trying to explain it tightens my throat...let's just say this trip has made me realize far more than ever before JUST how good we have it in the states. Its incredible.

Anyway, we took a few breaks during the day, and got to interact with some of thechildren from the area who had come near the church in their curiosity. This one young girl was SO scared to come near me! She saw me at first, half a field away, and waved, but when I waved back, she ran and hid behind a bush! I thought that to be somewhat strange, but then even after a lot of hopeful persuasion by myself and her tribe elders, she stil wouldn't come closer. It was then explained to me that she was so afrain because I was the first white person she had ever seen so close. She had never seen one before. She finally did come over and ended up sitting right next to me for quite some time. Her name is Maxmilia and she's gorgeous, and she helped to teach me various words in swahili. After the children learned we were harmless, they were quite keen to play games with us all day long. Again, I was struck by their smiles. Smiling should be it's own language here. When the children smile, it lights them up from the inside, and you can't help but smile back. Everyone in this small community was so warm and so welcoming and so hospitable. And so thankful for the work we were doing. I couldn't get over it. I would feel completely comfortable, and indeed hope to, return one day. The children ended up watching us work for some time, they were sp surprised that we, as white people, would be doing any kind of work for them. I'm glad I was able to start breaking down such harmful stereotypes in my short time there.

The next day we returned to the church one last time to finish painting and say pained goodbyes, and then we started our return trip to Nairobi, which went much smoother.

The trip took the better part of another day, with various stops in between.

Goodness, I wish I had an entire day to talk of all my experiences so far, but alas, I don't have nearly enough time here. I can't believe I come home in THREE DAYS!! Where has the time gone?? I want to rehash every detail for you all, but it is dinner time at my current location, so I will have to continue later. I still have to tell you about our day in Nairobi, at the national parks and attractions, our trip to the east african coast and my new found love of the Indiand Ocean AND ALL THE FOOD. I can't wait to tell you about it.

I wish you were all here with me, sharing in the experiences and the laughter and the amazement. Love and (VERY HUMID) warm wishes from Kenya.:)

Kadie