Two Months

Two months in country – I’ve never been away from the US for this long. Even at the University of Minnesota, I go home about every two months. I’m moving into uncharted territory!

A lot has happened this month: an amazing adventure to Lamu, the conclusion of classes in Nairobi, my move out to the field, and the beginning of a six-month internship. These are big changes, big moves. After all, the internship is the purpose of this program and it’s why I came to Kenya.

What can I say, so far so good. My family is amazing and I have connected with them faster than I could have imagined. The internship is picking up now, and I’m beginning to understand the structure of the very successful and innovative program. I think that I will do good work with this organization.

Working at Orongo, even for this short time, has shown me a completely different side of Kenya that is very sad. In this area of Kenya, about 30% of people are estimated to be infected with HIV/AIDS – a staggering number. You can imagine how many children this has orphaned, how many families and lives this has disrupted. The organization I work with serves both widows and orphans, wisely putting the orphans in the homes of the widows and providing them with education, support, and income-generating activities. They create homes and safe places where there were none before. This is an example of a technique that I did not know about before I came here – I’m learning a new side of social services that I believe only study abroad can give me.

For that matter, I’m learning all sort of things this month. I can now do laundry for about three hours with my host sister. I’m not so hot at washing yet, but I am a good rinser! I can rinse the sheets and curtains, which is harder than it sounds. I’m also beginning to learn how to cook traditionally: with firewood over three stones.

But don’t let these clever anecdotes fool you: it’s lonely out here in the field. Without my daily American companionship, I don’t really have anyone to talk to in-depth about my day. Kenyans in general tend to have, at least around me, very thin conversation, in that it doesn’t go much deeper than the surface. I miss deeper friendships. I’m sure I will develop them though, as I really like my host sisters, Winnie and Velma, as well as one of my supervisors at work, Moses. Of course I will see my American friends on the weekend for some much needed American slang and conversation regarding the crazy intricacies of rural Kenyan life. But this is why I came, to see how far I could push myself and what I can handle. So far so good.

In this next month, I hope to settle more into a routine. I want to improve at Kenyan cooking and in general learn more about the duties that keep this household running. Learning the Luo language is also high on my list: people barely use Swahili out here, and knowing Luo would be a sweet skill. I shouldn’t forget that I want to have a nice Thanksgiving celebration with my family. Of course, by the end of the month, it will almost be the end of the semester and I’ll have two short weeks until my Mom comes to visit from the US. If things get boring, it certainly won’t be for long.