July 2011
26 posts
Post Script
It has taken a few days for me to gather my thoughts in order to sum up the blog. I don’t know if anyone will be reading this, as the adventure is over, but I suppose it is just as much for my own catharsis as anything. I know I will continue to digest this trip for some time to come, but in the past few days what has stood out is all the lessons learned, observations made, and overwhelming...
“Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”
– Jean Baptiste Massieu
For the next two days Carey and I will be taking on the city of Nairobi! Two girls out on the town…in the daylight…cautiously. Its like Sex and the City, but with long skirts, no drinks, and nooo idea what we are doing!
Suprise!
Last night Carey and I decided to make our host mother Ann “American Pancakes” along with eggs, fruit, and cocoa. It was an adventure. The first complication was trying to find a spatula-like device. Impatiently I decided to use my fingers for the first few attempts…apparently fire is hot over here too. Who knew? Luckily, Carey found a strainer-like flat spoon with a...
“Never seen so much running on T.V. in my life!!!!!”
– Carey Parker
The average Kenyan attends school for a total of 4.2 years. Children in the slums and in the streets will beg not only for money, but to be sent to school. Education is a gift.
“How are youuuuu?”
– the common greeting for a Kenyan child to a Mazunga
“Remember…still waters run deep”
– Vicky the Magic Midwife
Some "Swahili" Slang
What’s up: “Oooohh yeaaahhh”
Response: “Freshie, freshie”
T.I.A.
This. Is. Africaaaa!
Wowza what a weekend! When we first planned this adventure I was very skeptical about arranging to go on Safari. My thoughts after this experience are that it is an absolute must!
Last summer while studying in Italy I spent the majority of my time marveling at what man had made…
This past weekend I was struck by the absence of such creations. It is a predicament I...
“You have a very nice voice….
yes, just like a little girl, about to cry”
– thanks! Big Mike
When it Rains...
Today I learned the importance of caring for oneself in order to care for others. Am feeling a bit under the weather. Hope to feel better after Safari! Carey seems to be really enjoying the orphanage. And we experienced our first thunder storm last night. We even lost power. Carey commented on how little people here are bothered by inconveniences like that. She remarked, “They are all so...
Lanet Dispensary. The only documentation I can find of where I am working.
http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=KlOHLbsgmAwC&lpg=PA835&ots=tpzgKC3u_l&dq=lanet%20dispensary%20kenya&pg=PA835#v=onepage&q=lanet%20dispensary%20kenya&f=false
“Love is that condition in the human spirit so profound that it empowers us to...”
– – Maya Angelou, Even The Stars Look Lonesome (More Quotes by Maya Angelou)
Love like Honey
The past few days here, there has been more happening around me than I think I have had time to digest. Yesterday, Carey and I went with our host, Pastor Antony, on a field trip with kids from his schools. These kids are all children who were rescued from the slum here in Nakuru, the garbage slum. The name certainly describes the place well; it is a huge expanse of material we would put in our...
I never knew hot pink was a part of nature’s color scheme…and then I saw flamingos!
I come to help
And it is you who is healing
So tainted by life
So pure of heart
Little hand little hand
Forever in mine.
“These roads were made for massage”
– Kush Baby
A Place to call Home
We received our new placement today and packed up to head out to Nakuru. A bit of a surprise as we thought we were to be in Nairobi…buttt everything happens for a reason. I will now be spending a few days in a hospital (length is yet to be determined) and headed out on Safari this weekend. The adventure continues!
“He gives strength to continue to those who seek him.”
– from the notes in a borrowed Kenyan woman’s Bible (at mass 07/03/2011)
Redirected
Holy moly! Well, getting here and realizing just what exactly we have gotten ourselves into has been one heck of an experience! After a long layover in “Amsterdam” we finally arrived late in the evening July 2nd. We have been scared and overwhelmed, but have also seen glimpses of why this place is so inspiring. While the structure of the trip may be changing nature, both Carey and I...
