Limuru Round Two

Been in Limuru since Sunday, July 21st for our second round of classes at St. Paul's University. Let me tell you, it is FREEZING. Low 60s all week. I sleep with a million blankets each night curled in a ball.

Anyways, now about class. This week has been even better than the week of classes in May. We are much more comfortable with each other so there is more discussion. Great discussion.

On Monday we talked about our 8 week placements in our various organizations. Shared all about Lea Toto and the work that I have been doing all summer. Also shared about my one-woman battle against stigma in the informal settlements. Still haven't completely decided whether to continue with that course of study in the future, but I might.

Tuesday we had lectures/discussions on relationships between organizations, the role of global missions in East Africa, Christianity and Islam, and sexuality. Very interesting topics and very interesting answers. It has been clear in my 8 weeks living in Kenya that all these topics are pressing and visible here.

Wednesday we split of into groups and discussed our organizational assessments from our 8 week work placement. Leslie and I talked about Lea Toto and our research done there on stigma and the role of male CHWs in the community.

Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning we were split into groups again and were handed case studies to be presented on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. My group's case study was on how to make the Comprehension Care Center (CCC) model sustainable after international aid ceases funding the groups. It was difficult to come up with a solution to this problem and in the end we were very radical in our proposed solution.

After our presentations on Friday morning we sang a song together and prayed before taking lunch. Lunch was special today since C.B. Peter made Indian food and we had a dessert! Chocolate has never tasted so amazing in my life!

We are going back to the hotel to relax before being picked up at 9am tomorrow morning to begin our long, arduous trek across Kenya to MOMBASA! So excited about laying on the beach all day for a week. Maybe not everyday because we have some things we want to do before we leave. For example, horseback riding on the beach, touring old ruins, eating, shopping, and generally taking pictures of everything.

Onwards! Be back to the US on August 6th!

Maasai Mara Safari

Just returned from a 3-day safari on the Maasai Mara. So amazing! Cannot even express it in words, but I shall try.

Day 1:
Picked up around 11am for a LONG drive out to the national park. We stopped and had a traditional Kenyan lunch in Narok. Should also mention this: the 'road' was HORRENDOUS. Leslie took a video of a part of the drive down there to show how ridiculously bad it was. I will never, never, never complain about potholes in the US. Americans don't know the meaning of  'pothole.' Anyways, we got to the park gates around 4pm and began our first game drive! Within 30 seconds of entering the park we saw gazelles, zebrahs, and wildebeast. -Sidenote: This is the best time to go to the Maasai Mara because of the great migration. The wildebeast come down through the Great Rift Valley of Kenya into Tanzania. Millions of wildebeast moving.- If you are having trouble picturing a wildebeast either Google it or think of Mufasa's death in The Lion King. Mufasa was trampled by the wildebeast migration. Knowing that I was already prone to not liking wildebeast, but I ended up liking them a bit.

After driving through zebrah and wildebeast for awhile we saw a bunch of tourist white vans clumped around a rock formation. Of course we drove over there to see what they saw and it was a lioness! She was up on this rock right next to the sunset and I got some amazing pictures. It was amazing. I thought this might be the crowning moment of the trip, but alas it was not. The park closes at 6:30pm so we exited and made our way to our tented camp. Roomed with Leslie and Emily in a 3-bed tent thingy. Hard to describe- the 'tent' part is where the beds are and then the back is the shower, sink, and toilet, which is stone. We discovered that we had a 4th roommate when we went into the bathroom. A HUGE spider. Not joking. I have never seen a spider this big. It was tarantula size. About the size of my fist. Big. I tried to squash it but it saw me coming and moved into a position I could not get to. Smart spider. Thankfully, we had mosquito nets above our beds so we tucked into those at night and hoped the spider wouldn't come crawling over.

Day 2:
Next morning, spider was gone. Not knowing where it was made me even more nervous. Left the our tented around 7:30am for our second game drive. We were told that we were going all the way to the Tanzanian border, which is a good 5-6 hour drive, without stopping and taking pictures. We saw a ton of gazelles, zebrahs, and wildebeast. We saw some elephants and giraffes. But on to a GREAT story about cheetahs: We were drive 'off road' and saw a couple lime green jeeps parked in the middle of nowhere. We drove up to them and realized that they were looking at two cheetahs lounging around. Jill, one of the girls in our car, was talking about how whenever something goes bad on a trip it always happens to people around her. Very comforting to here. All of a sudden the cheetahs start to get up and start walking towards us. One jeep ahead of us starting moving to get a better view. One cheetah had the same idea. The cheetah jumped on top of the jeep in front of us! (Picture this: these jeeps have a moveable ceiling so that you can stand up and put your head and shoulder outside to get better pictures. All safari jeeps/vans have them and they are ALWAYS up.) The cheetah was sitting on the back of the jeep about a foot away from these people. We heard a bunch of screams for about .5 seconds and then shushed so that the cheetah wouldn't jump down INTO the jeep. The other cheetah decided that this was a great idea and jumped on top with the other one. Our van started to move closer to get a better view, which our view was great anyways. Jill almost shit a brick because we were all terrified that the cheetah would decide that our van looked better and move over. They finally got off after the driver of the jeep starting to inch slowly away. Pretty awesome, but no danger :) Some amazing pictures!

We finally made it to the end of the Kenyan border and had lunch. As soon as we sit down we are surrounded my monkeys. One stole my apple out of my lunch box!! They were so brave. They even tried to get into our van to get to our food in there. After lunch we followed a park ranger (with a rifle) to go see some crocadiles and hippos on the river. FYI hippos are mean and will kill you if you get too close. Thankfully we were on the other side of the river.

Day 3:
We woke up at 5:30am to be gone by 6am so that we could see the sunrise in the park. Did not quite work out since the park doesn't open until 6:30am. But still pretty great. The only animal we had not seen was a leopard and a rhino. The guide said that we would probably not see any rhinos since they are very endangered and the park is very big. We went on a leopard hunt 'off road' because we saw a carcass in a tree. (Leopards are nocturnal. They hunt at night and sleep all day) We did not see a leopard but others did so it is safe to say that we were in the vicinity of a leopard. I was completely ok with that since they are ferocious.

On our way we stopped by the place we saw some lions on Day 2. The lions were still there and this time they had dinner! The pups were nawing on a carcass while the mama slept near them. We drove a little bit and discovered the whole pride! Two male lions were napping in some trees with their lionesses and pups. Got some amazing pictures.

The second most amazing thing (cheetahs were first) is the rhino!! We were driving down a dirt road with nothing of interest on it when our driver spoke to another driver. Totally speaking swahili so no one had any idea what was happening. We came upon another jeep with tourists snapping pictures off to the left. We stop behind then and see a RHINO! No way. We are there for about 5 seconds when the rhino starts to CHARGE our JEEP. No kidding. Our driver heard our screams/saw the rhino and hit the gas. When the rhino stopped, we stopped and starting taking pictures again and laughing about how we almost died. Then the rhino started charging AGAIN. No way. The driver hits the gas again until the rhino stops. He finally loses interest in us so we back up and start snapping pictures again. Not sure how wise that situation was, but it was pretty epic.

We started back to Nairobi around 11am and made it home around 4pm. Pretty amazing weekend. Lots of great videos and pictures to be shared on Facebook!

Until next time...

Kitengela

Just realized that I haven't posted anything in a really really long time. So here's to catch everyone up!

Last week Leslie and I finished our tour of all eight Lea Toto centers and did all of our interviews. I ended up with 17 interviews of social workers and counselors. I have been transcribing some each day. Each interview is between 15-30 minutes long so it is not that bad. Transcribing still takes me about 1-1.5 hours each one. I have scheduled it so that I will be done on Thursday and can start coding and analyzing the data I have. I am taking Thursday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to analyze because next Wednesday we are meeting with all the center coordinators and some social workers and counselors to share our results. I can't really work this weekend because Leslie, Emily, and I are leaving on Friday morning for safari on the Maasai Mara! Really excited for that.

This past weekend was loaded with fun. The girls staying in Nyumbani Village down near Kitui came to Nairobi so that we could celebrate some birthdays. Meghan, Amihan, Carrilea and a couple of their new friends came to Nairobi on Thursday and stayed until Sunday. We all went out to a bar/club about a block away from our apartment and had a grand ole time. Seriously, great times were had that night/early morn.

Saturday Emily, Sara, Leslie, and I traveled by bus about an hour southeast of Nairobi to Kitengela. One of our fellow students, Edward, at St. Paul's University invited us for a visit to his church. The service started at 7:30am so we all decided that going a day early and sleeping over would be the best course of action. We arrived around 4pm and were picked up and taken straight to the church to meet up with everyone. Some of the youth were there preparing mandazi for the next day. The best way to describe mandazi is like an unsweetened sopapilla. You prepare the dough, roll it out, cut it into squares, and then drop them into a boiling pot of oil to fry. Kenyans eat them with tea, which they take after church on Sundays. The youth were going to sell them to the church goers to raise money for a P.A. system for music. We all had so much fun watching/helping them make mandazi.

Afterwards Edward divided us into two groups for our overnight stay. Emily and I were team 1 and Sara and Leslie were team 2. Team 1 went back to stay with one of the youths and spent all night cooking chapati and ugali. They were complaining the next morning about how difficult it was to make both foods. But totally worth it. Emily and I stayed with the Theo family. They prepared for us beef stew, cabbage, chapati, pineapple, and watermelon. A typical Kenyan dinner (minus rice). The family we stayed with was so accommodating and very sweet to us the entire time. We made some friends for life in Kitengela.

We got up early Sunday morning to attend the youth service at 7:30am. It was great! I loved singing the songs, even if some of them were in Swahili, and listening to the sermon. It is apparent to me now after attending 3 Kenyan churches that it is tradition to make the visitors stand with a microphone and say a few words in front of the whole congregation. Usually I would be happy to hunker down in my seat and pretend as if I always attend that church, but there is really no hiding here in Kenya. We stayed for the 9am English service so that we could introduce ourselves to the adult population. We left after the announcements and welcoming and joined the rest of the youth outside.

The night before the youth had set up a huge tent outside so that they could serve the tea on Sunday. They also had a ping pong table. I did not play ping pong because I am so bad but I did join about 10 others in a card game. They called it poker, but it just seemed like a crazy complicated game of group Uno, elimination style. I'm pretty sure that some of the rules were made up. But it was a lot of fun! We played one entire game of elimination and Leslie beat everyone. It was hilarious that the muzungu beat all the Kenyans!

We ate lunch at the church with some of the youth. We had beef stew, rice, and cabbage (see? typical), which was all delicious. After church Edward invited us to visit with him and his family at their apartment. We met their adorable twin babies. Technically not babies since they are 1.5 years old but totally adorable. The boy, Clive, only needed about 5 minutes to warm up to us. He was even flirting with Leslie by the end of our time. The girl was not amused with us at all. Sara held her for all of 30 seconds before she got upset and reached for her daddy again. She was very distrusting of these weirdly colored white people in her home. I totally understand her anxiety though.

We got back on the bus to Nairobi around 4pm and totally collapsed when we got home. Overall, it was a very successful weekend and memories that we will always cherish.

Research

Haven't been blogging lately because nothing has been happening that is blog-worthy. I can talk a little bit about my research though! **Disclaimer: Not much detail here because the paranoid academic in me says not to since I may make this topic my dissertation.**

Yesterday Leslie and I had a meeting with Nicholas, the Lea Toto Program Manager. He wanted an update on our research and how we were finding our time at Lea Toto. This meeting actually got me very excited for the work that I want to do. Up to this point I have felt like I was just floating around Kangemi aimlessly. I was told to shadow the social workers but they are usually in their office, which has no room for me. Actually, there was no place for me to sit so many times I would just awkwardly stand in doorways. If you know me at all, then you know that I need direction in my life. I always have a plan and when I don't have a plan I do not function very well. Even if the plan is minute or careless, a plan is still a plan. Staying for the past 3.5 weeks at Kangemi have been great and priceless. I have learned so much about the people and the program by being there. I would not replace this for anything. That being said, I do have to admit that I do not enjoy aimless wandering. I want/need/have to have a purpose.

I have found that purpose. It takes the form of a research question and may possibly morph into my dissertation one day. But that day is a very long way off. First I have to write my thesis, survive prelims, get into Rollins MPH program, complete MPH, and then I'll finally devote 2-3 years to my dissertation. The trick is to decide on a dissertation topic early enough that you can begin writing sections of it for other classes. I also need to decide if I love this topic enough to spend the next 5 years of my life on it. I think I might.

My time at Kangemi is counting down. Only 3 more weeks and 2 of those I will be traveling around to the other Lea Toto centers. In our meeting we decided that it would benefit Leslie and I the most to get the opinions of other centers and not just our own. We will be traveling to Kawangware, Kibera, Dagoretti, Kangemi, Mukuru, Zimmerman, Dandora, and Kariobangi. We will spend a day at each center interviewing staff and learning about the work routine there. I'm excited to see the other informal settlements around Nairobi.

Forgot to mention this! Several of us went to church on Sunday in Kibera. It was very exciting to visit Kibera. I did not realize how close we live to the entrance- only a 15 minute walk. I was deeply impressed that Kibera had several paved roads. I've been told that since Kibera is known around the world that they get a lot of foreign aid, more than others in Nairobi. Also, there are many, many, many foreign aid workers there that conditions have risen a bit. We were invited to church by one of our St. Paul's colleagues. She is a minister in a couple churches around the area and grew up in Kibera. The service was all in Swahili but you don't really need words to hum along to a hymn. During the service I just looked around and observed the other people. There were only about 10 other people at the service and several children. One child kept trying to sit in our laps and screaming, "Hi, how are you?" It was great fun.

Until next time!

Hell's Gate Gorge

We went to Hell's Gate National Park on Sunday. Our plan was to go on Saturday but it was raining all day. This is a sign of the impending apocalypse because it is not supposed to rain in Kenya unless it is the rainy season, which ended a couple months ago. Anyways, we decided to wait another day because it would not be as fun in the rain and potentially life threatening. Hell's Gate Gorge is known for its deadly flash floods. Not sure how many people die each year, but it's substantial. Spoiler alert- we all survived our trek.

In all the guide books they say that the trip into Hell's Gate Gorge is a bit of a hike and troublesome for the weary traveller. I'm calling bullshit on that right now. Hell's Gate Gorge is part rigorous hike and part terrifying rock climb. I've never been rock climbing... until Sunday. Crash course in a gorge is the best way to learn. We met with another student from Emory last week and she told us a little bit about her experience trekking through the gorge. She said that she did not go all the way to the end because of the crazy acrobatics along the way. I'd like to say that we all survived the entire way. Very proud of myself.

I should have known the level of difficulty within about 2 minutes of starting the trek. Our first obstacle was actually getting down into the gorge. We had to pick our way down a pretty steep cliff and then swing ourselves from a tree branch onto a small (half the width of my foot) outcropping of rock. Then just jump a rushing river and up the other side! Whew, one down. Many, many to go.

I want to express my sincere and overwhelming gratitude to our guide. He was amazing. If you looked through my pictures on Facebook you will see one where I caught him in action. He literally just got a running start at most of the rocks and leapt up on top of them. He was like a mountain goat. Many times he would wedge his foot against yours just in case your foot/shoe gave out and started to slide down the rock face. At one point he swung Katie Sack by her arms to set her down across a stream. It was hilarious. I think I caught the aftermath of that one on camera too.

Also, captured by Leslie, is the look of absolute terror on my face during an especially "fun" obstacle. We had to drop about 5 feet to the ground but missing the water. That is the one Katie was swung over. Did I also mention that it had rained? Plenty of mud and slippery rocks in the gorge, which made the trek that much more fun (aka terrifying).

I'm complaining a ton because it was hard work but worth it. It was a beautiful experience and bonding time for us. I can't say that I would do it again. Not after scraping the skin off my already poorly wounded leg. I got pictures of that too. I would also need to work on my fear of heights. And work out at the gym non-stop to feel even remotely in shape for that journey again. Still have plenty of crazy stories, ask me about them sometime and I will try my best to act them out.

I got some amazing pictures though. Nature at its finest.

Sidenote- some drama here at the apartment. Emily and Whitney went to Nakumatt this evening for some groceries. This is about 7 at night and dark, which also means that the street in front of our apartment complex is busy. They were crossing that street when a motorcycle came out of nowhere and hit Whitney. She fell to the ground and badly scraped up her feet. The motorcyclist also fell off his bike, so that makes us feel a little bit better about the whole thing. He was trying to beat traffic and take the unofficial "middle lane." Poor Whitney, it messed up her feet so much and she was in a lot of pain. She and Emily went to a clinic to make sure that nothing was broken. Hopefully she is just bruised and will be just fine.

Also, Katie Sack has never had ice cream cake and that is a travesty.

Done for now. Until next time!

Babies!

I got to work today and saw that there were two women and a small child sitting outside the clinic. This was odd because the clinic is closed this week. I figured that they had an appointment with a social worker. While sitting and having tea I heard the child cough a couple of times and it sounded like she had TB or some crazy, awful chronic cold. Beth told me that Faith would be taking the car and going to Nyumbani in Karen. This is the respite home where the social workers, doctors, nutritionist, or any of the combination can recommend that a child go. This can be reasons of severe malnutrition, bad home life, or parents not adhereing to the child's medical needs.

After about an hour we all pile in the car, four to the backseat again, which is super fun. Played with the baby a little bit on the 30 minute ride to Nyumbani in Karen. Sidenote- Karen is the nice/expensive suburb of Nairobi. There is no slum/informal settlement there, only the children's home that is run by Catholic nuns. When we get through the gates my first thought is, "Wow, this is an oasis." And it was. There was a gorgeous fountain and paintings on the walls of the buildings. All the buildings were really nice and clean, which is hard because dirt in Kenya goes anywhere and everywhere. The children were at recess when we got there so I saw them playing on the playground and on the football field. It was great to see them so happy and healthy.

We went straight to the intake center where some babies were and where they take measurements of the new children. In the room there were two cribs with babies in them and 3 other babies in small plastic chairs. These babies ranged from 1-2.5 years old and were the best mannered children I have ever met. They just sat in their small chairs and watched the adults talking. The babies in the cribs were smaller than the others and probably could not hold themselves up. One of the babies was smaller and just the happiest child ever. He was playing with his toys the whole time and making cute baby noises. The other baby was the complete opposite. For the first thirty minutes he just sat there staring at the blanket. Not moving, just staring. It was heartbreaking to look at him. After awhile I went over to him and tried to engage him in playing with a couple of the toys in his crib. Didn't really work that well. I got a couple of smiles out of him but not much. Then he started making small noises that I knew were about to turn into crying. I asked one of the nurses if it was okay to pick him up, which she said yes.

As soon as I picked him up he stopped making those horribly depressing noises. He saw the sun outside the window and grabbed hold of the windowsill. I leaned up against it so that he could look outside easier. I made a joke that we were making our escape, just really slowly. He still hadn't really smiled or even looked at me up to this point. What could I do? Other than make a fool of myself, complete with crazy noises, weird circling, bounciness, and playing peek-a-boo with my shoulder. Guess what? He smiled!!! It was amazing.

I kept on with this for about 30 minutes just enjoying watching him smile and stare at me like I was the craziest person on the planet, which could be true. I shared some secrets of the universe with him. I told him to listen to the nuns and not get into any trouble when he left the center. I told him not to chase after girls but instead focus on school. My wish for him was to go to college and then become a doctor. I wanted him to help the world that born him into such bad circumstances. I whispered that being HIV positive was not the end of the world, and that many people around the world live such normal lives with HIV. I wished for him to grow up and help fight the virus inside of him. Be a good man. Be a great man.

Not sure if he listened to me, but I like to think that he did.

After awhile he started getting sleepy. He ended up falling asleep in my arms with one hand on my neck. It is amazing to watch a baby fall asleep. One of the wonders of the world. They try so hard to keep their eyes open and watch you, but just can't help it.

After about 20 more minutes of watching this angel sleep I realized that we were leaving. I was so sad to put him down and leave him. I slowly put him back in his crib and silently prayed that he would make it in life.

Been Awhile

Haven't really updated the blog for about a week now. Sorry! Not much going on lately, at least not good enough to really talk about. I was told last Thursday that it may be a good idea to take a couple of days off so that my leg could heal. I took last Friday and Monday off so that it could scab over properly. Now when I walk it doesn't open up again. The small victories in life, my friends. I still get looks and questions about what happened. Fighting off a lion is a much better story than falling down a cliff/hill/mountain.

Work is pretty slow this week because the medical clinic is closed so the personnel can attend training in Kawangware. The social workers still have home visits to do this week, so that keeps me busy. I went on a home visit with Paul the intern and a CHW. We went to one home that had about 4 dogs outside. Thankfully they did not attack us, just sniffed for awhile. We went inside the home and I got to play with a baby for about 20 minutes. She was absolutely adorable. She kept looking at my hand like I was an alien, which to her eyes I probably was. When we left it really hit me that she was our client. Meaning that she is HIV positive. I still don't know how to deal with these realizations.

I was heroic on our home visit on Monday. We were walking down a ravine/sewer runoff and passed a chicken with some baby chicks. One of the babies' foot was caught in a piece of grass. I could not help it. I reached down and freed the little guy. As soon as I bent down near the baby the mama chicken started to run at me. Thank goodness I was able to free the baby quickly enough to escape the mama. Paul and the CHW looked at me like I was crazy for helping out the little guy. Circle of life. But I believe in karma.

To pass the time at work this week I have started doing the crossword in the daily paper. Getting pretty good at it. There is another one that is called "codeword." It looks like a crossword but they give you 1-2 letters, then you have to fill in the rest of it. No hints or help at all. Just the letters given. Some of them are super difficult. Leslie also does it so we text back and forth at work to see if we are on the same track. Not so much usually.

We met with our future safari guide, TImmy, earlier today. He lives in Naivasha where Hell's Gate and the lake are. It is about 1-1.5 hours northwest of Nairobi. We have decided to make a trip up to Hell's Gate this Saturday for some hiking. We talked with Timmy about planning our 3 day safari in the middle of July. Super excited and he does it pretty reasonably priced. He was a character though. He was the guide that took the Emory group last year and comes highly recommended. I can see why- he is very enthusiastic about what he does and just wants everyone to have the best time they can. I'm excited to see the Maasai Mara in July with the great migration.

Full disclosure- Emily, Leslie, I were sitting in the coffee shop waiting for Timmy when this conversation happened:
*Leslie drinking a Stoney, which is made by Coca-Cola*
Me: "Wow, they make a ton of stuff we don't even know about in the states."
Emily: "You would if you visited The World of Coke in Atlanta."
Me: "It's so expensive. Parking is crazy. I would just take a matatu... wait."
*Crazy laughter ensues*

I am fully embracing the Kenyan culture, I am very happy to say.

Rural vs. Urban

Sorry, I've lost track of the past couple of days. Craziness back home with my sublet and craziness at work.

Yesterday I went with Faith (social worker) and 3 community health workers to Limuru to visit some clients. Limuru is about 20 minutes from Kangemi, but is still the closest Lea Toto Program to them. Most ride several matatus to come get medicine and the social workers take a whole day to visit them. We spent a total of 6 hours going from door to door checking on our clients. Most were not next to each other so we had to pile in the truck to a different home or walk a long way.

Let me just say that the truck was packed. Get this picture in your head- the driver, a upper middle-aged man in the front seat, then me and 3 other grown women in the back. We were literally on top of each other. The road was so bad that the best thing to do was make yourself jelly and just go with the bumps. At one point the bump was so bad that the woman sitting "next" to me landed in my lap. Not the best transportation for 6 hours, let me tell you.

There is a major difference between living in a informal settlement in Nairobi and living outside of the city. Most rural families do not go hungry because they at least have room for a garden that they can subsist off of. Most homes we visited were much bigger and had more furniture. Some even had a cow or two. Going further some were in compound-like facilities.

We met one woman who was clearly the matriarch of the family. She had the roughest hands I have ever felt/seen. The whole time Faith was speaking to her all I could think about was her story. She was older, probably around 75-80, and walked with the help of a sturdy walking stick. I cannot imagine what she has been through in her life or the years of hard, labor intensive work she has endured.

I normally ride with Leslie on the matatu in the morning because we both have to go to Kawangware. At the stop we usually split ways: Leslie walking 100 yards to work and I begin my 45 minute trek across Kawangware and through Kangemi. Going home we usually don't ride the same matatu. We both leave work at 5pm but she gets home much faster than I do. I tell you this so that you know why I catch a matatu by myself in the rush hour traffic to get home. I realized at an early age that my face is a permanent scowl unless I consciously try to turn the corners of my mouth up. I'm not mad or upset, that's just how my face is when it is relaxed. During my attempt to catch a matatu with everyone screaming at me in Swahili in rush hour traffic, I have come to fully appreciate my permanent scowl. If you do not look pleasant or like a newby, then most matatu drivers will not harass you. Very handy to know this. And when you look like you may go with another matatu, then they will open the door to the front seat :) Or if you look nice. Or are American. There are many reasons why you may sit up front. But it is really the best place to sit on a matatu.

Until next time!

Life at Lea Toto

Finally got to actually talk to my parents last night on Skype. Although they could not see me. Mom still hasn't figured out that part :) Hopefully, by next Sunday they can figure it out and will be able to see my shining face. My dad asked me to talk more about my work and my mom asked me to take some pictures.

No problem talking about my work. I have just not had very much to say since I only started last Thursday. Big problem taking pictures. I explained my apprehension to my mom last night and she completely understood. As a white woman I would not feel comfortable pulling out an expensive looking (not really) camera in the middle of Kangemi slum to take pictures as if I was in a zoo. It's just not polite and I would be afraid of any consequences to my actions.

So work at Lea Toto is interesting. Lea Toto has several clinics across Nairobi, a children's home in Karen, and the village out by Kitui. I am stationed at Kangemi, which is an informal settlement not far from where we live. In all fairness, all of the informal settlements are not that far away, except for Mukuru. Kangemi is pretty large, but not as large as Kibera, which ranks in the top 5 largest slums in the world I think. Kangemi has about 100,000 residents, according to the best sources which are not that great. It's really hard to conduct a census in a slum, or so I have heard.

Today started off pretty rough. It was announced that we lost two clients over the weekend. One we had just discussed on Friday and that the family should take him to the hospital for care. They both died of complications due to HIV/AIDS. I had a conversation on Friday with the counselor at Kangemi about the most pressing problems at Lea Toto today. He was saying that most who have HIV/AIDS are prescribed medications, but not everyone who has medication takes them. The major reason for this is stigma. Neighbors know your business and if they know that a member of the family is HIV positive then they can ostracize you and your family. Even to the point of forcing you to move.

Let me just get this out in the open- no one does anything quickly in Kenya. I always feel as if I should be doing something at work then look around and realize that everyone else is taking tea. So I pull out a book and start reading. *If the clinic is busy, then we are working.*

Last side note- I was sitting in the office and heard a baby crying. I realized that the baby was there because it was HIV positive. What a sad world it was born into.

I went on 8 home visits in three hours with Paul, the intern, and a community health worker (CHW). We got in the truck and drove for about 20 minutes to the other side of Kangemi. At one point in the "road" the truck had to stop due to the awful condition of said "road." Pretty sure that if he had kept driving we would have either 1) fallen into the ravine or 2) been stuck in the mud. We walked along the road for awhile to get to our first visit.

Side note- (I lied, this is the last one)- It takes forever to walk anywhere in Kangemi because of the roads. I am constantly wondering where I should put my foot next. God help me if I am going downhill or uphill, like my morning and evening treks.

The first home visit was off the road, up a small hill, turn left at the clothes line, right at the sleeping dog, towards the crying baby, right at the old campfire, under the wooden poles, and through the metal-sheet and bed sheet doorway. By the way, all walkways off the road are only about 1-2 feet wide and usually have some water-like substance running down them. Can you picture that? Now live there. Seems impossible, right? Well, millions of people do it their whole lives. Feel like a horrible American yet? I do.

This post might have been a downer but there was so much goodness in the day too. Walking during the home visits I played with many children. All children from about 3-5 years know how to say "Hi, how are you?" In English and that's about it. As soon as they see me they all start screaming it at me. Very cute. Also, I got a lot of apologizing from random Kenyans when they saw my leg. Everyone gave me a second look to make sure that it was not fresh blood. Then, they all said "Sorry, I'm sorry sister!" Very nice of them to apologize for what that stupid mountain did to me :)

Something else to put this day into perspective- We went to one woman's home for a visit and she graciously invited us inside. She had just gotten home and kept apologizing for the state of her home because she was not expecting company. I kept saying that it looked great and she gave me the best smile ever. This area may just be "slums" to outsiders, but to those who live there, that is their home. They work hard to pay rent and keep it nice. The absolut least I can do is respect these people.

Elephants and Giraffes

I'll get to the animal petting soon but first let me tell you the story of how I injured myself.

Every day to get to work I have to take a 10 minute matatu ride then walk for about 30-45 minutes. During this walk there are 2.5 monstrous mountains. Every morning I go down a red dirt one and then up 1.5 rocky, slip-sliding one. Every afternoon is down the 1.5 deathtrap and up the red dirt one. No big. On Friday afternoon I was going down the rocky one with three coworkers when my right foot settled on a very unstable rock. The next thing I know I am sliding down on my butt with my right leg tucked under me. Everyone immediately reaches down for me to help me back up. I say that I am really fine and that it didn't hurt that bad. Until I looked down at my right leg. Blood everywhere. My friend Rahab says, "I think there is a rock in your knee!" No way. I look down at it and think "nope, that's just my skin." On a closer inspection I realize that there is indeed a rock completely embedded in my knee. Someone says that I should just pull it out because we all think that it is a small rock and no big deal. I have it half way out when someone says "Stop! It's really big, maybe you should just keep it in there." Ummm... no way. I am not pushing it back in my knee or leaving it hanging out halfway. I continue to pull it out. As soon as it is out I realize two things. 1) it is a BIG rock. About the size of the tip of my thumb. You may say that it is not that big, but when it is in your knee that is HUGE. 2) there is blood now gushing out of the hole in my knee down my leg. One of my friends hands me about 5 baby wipes to mop up the blood and another goes back in Kangemi looking for some band-aids.

Also, remember that this is the first mountain and that I still have 30 more minutes of walking and a 10 minute matatu ride before I get anywhere near my apartment.

My friend comes back with the band-aid and I slap it on my leg. I decide not to look down at my leg again until we get to the matatu stop, because I know that if I do I will just sit down and cry. I make it back to the matatu stop with many, many strange looks at me on the way. When we stop I realize that the band-aid is hanging off my knee and there is blood running down my leg. I mop it up some more and slap another band-aid on for the ride home.

Long story short- I get home and have been nursing it to health. I do not want an infection from that bloody rock. I have been lathering it in neosporin and dousing it in hydrogen peroxide twice a day. So now you know why I have been limping around and look ridiculous climbing the 5 flights of stairs to our apartment every day. If you were wondering that is.

On to baby elephants and giraffes! By now you have probably seen the 150 photos on my Facebook of the baby elephants and giraffes we saw yesterday. So amazing!

We went into Nairobi with some other Emory students that are here for CDC research to the Nairobi wildlife place. Not sure of the name right now, but I took a picture of the sign if you want details. Only 500 KSH to see the elephants (around $5), which was a donation to help them along. They house 23 baby elephants from the wild and when they are ready, release them back. Most of them are in the orphanage because their mothers were killed by poachers and park rangers found them all alone. The park rangers are their family so they play with them everyday and feed them every three hours, which means that every baby elephant sleeps in a pen with a caretaker each night. How amazing is that? Anyways, you can see the photos and I will attempt to upload more videos when the internet is better.

After the baby elephants we went across the park to the giraffes. Amazing! As you can tell from my photos they have no fear of humans. I even kissed one! On the cheek :) Leslie caught a picture of it so I will have to look for it on her computer to post to Facebook. It was very cool. There was a great gift shop there where I bought some really cool stuff.

I will confess that I have done two American things this weekend. 1) I had KFC yesterday. It was so good! Not sure if it was good because it was American or if it was just because it was good food. Probably a mixture of both. But they did not have mac'n cheese which was upsetting. I have also caught myself saying chips, instead of fries and petrol, instead of gas. Changes. 2) I just got back from the movies. There is a cinema in the mall that we live by and if you know me at all, then you know that I adore movies! It was so cheap, only 550 KSH (about $6). I guess that isn't that cheap but compared to Atlanta it really is.

That's all for now. I'm about to head downtown to meet one of Leslie's coworkers for some amazing views and sightseeing. And we will also buy our train tickets to Mombasa for August :)

Stay tuned!

Day One of Real Work

Here are a few things that I have learned on my real first day of work in Kangemi at Lea Toto.

1. When a Kenyan tells you that it is only "10 minutes and a hill" do not believe them!! More like 3 dead-trap-MOUNTAINS! Even the Kenyans were slipping on the 80 degree-incline-loose-rock-neck-breaking-shenanigan. They kept looking at me after and saying "normal, normal." Haha I do know that I will probably be losing a good amount of weight this summer. That is both terrifying and exciting. Exciting that I am getting in shape and terrifying in the way it is happening.

2. If you don't know Swahili, then think twice about coming to Kenya! I'm super excited to learn, but if you aren't willing then life may be difficult for you.

3. Once you get someone talking about something they love, be prepared for a passionate conversation. It was great hearing about everyone's job at Lea Toto and learning the ins and outs of the job.

4. Tea time is the greatest thing ever to be invented.

5. Matatus are not the most comfortable mode of transportation out there.

6. If you tell a Kenyan that you took a matatu (the small ones), they will be super impressed.

7. I'm learning a ton about HIV/AIDS.

8. Breastfeeding in Kenya is required by law. Giving birth in a clinic or hospital is required by law. Being tested for HIV/AIDS when you are pregnant is required by law.

9. Traffic in Nairobi is terrifying. Anyone/everyone will move out of the way of the car no matter what. If there is a pothole, the car will go on the wrong side of the road and play chicken with oncoming traffic.

10. I really just wanted a tenth point.

Stay tuned for more!

Day One at Lea Toto

First off, Happ Birthday Dad!!! I love and miss you very much :)

This morning John and Mimi picked up four of us for a meeting with Lea Toto, whom we will be working with this summer. We drove to Kangemi, an informal settlement (slum) in northwestern Nairobi, and met with Francis and Nicholas. They gave us an introduction into what Lea Toto is all about and what they do. Then, John gave them an idea of what Leslie and I are interested in and how we might contribute this summer. I am interested in social determinents that may hinder someone to not seek medical help, be it micro or macro. We decided that I was best suited for Kangemi and working with Francis. Also, interesting and exciting news is that Lea Toto has just started collecting longitudinal baseline data for all their clients. I would love to be involved in that and running some preliminary regressions to look for connections or trends in the data. We shall see if they let me :)

After our meeting Leslie and I got a ride down to the actual Kangemi clinic where I will be working. Met some amazing people and I am excited to get to know them better this summer.

Then, Leslie and I got a ride to Kawangware, where Leslie will be working this summer. Took slightly longer meeting everyone because I am pretty sure that we got our wires crossed about a meeting time. But it all worked out in the end and we got a tour and had some awesome conversations with the staff there.

Looks like it is going to be an awesome summer and I am so happy to get started.

Now that all the awesome things are pointed out, let me move on to the not-so-awesome things:

-Very sporadic power since Monday

-Very slow internet

-Water outages since Monday, and when we do have water it is brown. No shower since Monday morning, I think. But I still smell reasonably good!

-Realized that we don't get access to Netflix, Hulu, or Pandora here.

-The supermarket does not have macaroni and cheese...

That is the end of my rant. Other than that, things are splendid! We heard that the water should be back to normal tomorrow!

Stay tuned for more!

Venturing into Downtown Nairobi

Today was our matatu lesson with Duncan. We all met at the apartment  around 10am to catch a matatu to downtown. First off, the bus station is very close to us since our apartment is directly behind a mall (Junction) so that makes it very easy to get on and off. The bus station was a mess. The matatus stop on the street and then a person gets off to yell the destination at you. If you look confused, then they will come up to you and try to swindle you onboard. The trick is to ask them where they are going before you tell them where you want to go. They might say yes just to get your money and then you end up in a shady part of Nairobi.

Duncan (our kind-of guide) told us which matatus and buses to take to get downtown and how much they typically cost. A normal  bus downtown from our apartment is about 40-60 KSH, depending on the time of day. That comes out to about 50 cents USD. Super cheap and it is how we will be getting around in Kenya while we are here.

Once we got off the matatus we met up again with Duncan and went to go pick up the Mukuru On The Move t-shirts for those who will be working there. That was an interesting walk around downtown Nairobi. Let's just say that I prefer the suburbs and rural areas much more than downtown. I can't even describe the amount of cars and people on the streets. There are not traffic laws, at least not any that are followed. And when walking on the sidewalks you can usually just walk in the street as long as you don't get hit by a car. I had 4 very close encounters with large buses trying to run me over. There are no cross walks and traffic lights are only suggestions. I will say that Leslie told me that India is much worse. So that's something at least.

After our matatu lesson Leslie, Sara, and I got off a couple stops early to go shopping at Adam's Arcade. Another very interesting experience. The outside space is probably a couple hundred square feet and they sell everything. I mean everything. We walked to the produce area to buy some fruit for the week. I bought 6 mangos, 1 huge pineapple, and 6 green apples for less than $2. But that is definitely not my doing. I owe that to Sara and her haggling. Since we are "musungu," or "white people" they tried very hard to jack up the prices. Sara, who was born in Ethiopia, knows the ropes and wouldn't let them get away with it. The better the price, the more business they will get from us. It was exciting and I will definitely be buying from there many times.

Tomorrow we are going to try to explore more of Nairobi or go to a national game park that is close by. Wednesday Leslie and I will find out where we will be working, probably either Kibera or another informal settlement.

Stay tuned for more!

New Apartment

We drove into Nairobi this morning and arrived at the apartment a little after 2pm. Beautiful apartment and I am so glad. I was very worried that we were going to get scammed since I did everything over email. I have to say, it looks exactly like its photos! I will hopefully post some pictures either on Sunday or Monday to Facebook.

The apartment is up 5 flights of stairs so that is going to be so much fun for the next 9 weeks. It has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms for the 6 of us. Perfection! Currently sitting outside on the deck listening to the birds and chatting with my roommates. Life is pretty good right now.

We went to Nakumatt (supermarket) earlier to buy food and I am kicking myself for buying so much stuff in the US that I could have bought here much cheaper. They had pretty much everything except clothers. A Nakumatt is a cross between a Target and a WalMart, but the really nice ones. The Nakumatt was located in the shopping mall so we went to lunch at a restaurant  there. We sat outside because the weather was perfect. They had a TexMex section on the menu! I took a picture of it for proof and will upload it to Facebook later. I had French fries (chips) and a turkey sandwhich and it was heaven after a week of rice and Kenyan food. Don't get me wrong, I am loving the Kenyan food but sometimes you just need fries and Heinz ketchup.

We are excited to start exploring the city tomorrow. We are having a late lunch and meeting up with a former student who was on this trip 2 years ago. She is currently working in South Africa but comes to Nairobi often. This means that someone with an MPH has a job! There is hope for all of us :)

Stay tuned for more!

Last Night in Limuru

This is our last night in Limuru. Sad to leave St. Paul's University. We have made so many great friends. Today we ended our time together singing songs and dancing. We learned a couple amazing Kenyan songs in Swahili. They taught us a song with "hakuna matata" in it!! Such a great moment. Then all the Americans starting singing from the Lion King. You know when someone asks you a typical song from the U.S. and all the songs you know immediately leave your brain? That happened to all of us today. We taught them "This Little Light of Mine," which is a great song but we could have done so much better. We promised that when we came back in July that we would be ready with some great songs.

Tomorrow morning we head back into Nairobi and set up our apartment. Apartment hunting was my job and I found us a place about a month ago. I really hope that it is legit and everything works out. We shall see.

Next week is our orientation to Nairobi and matatus (bus system). All of us are going to be working at different places this summer. Emily is going to CHAK (Christian Health Association of Kenya, I think). Whitney, Sara, and Amihan are going to be working with Mukuru on the Move, located in the informal settlement (slum) of Mukuru. Carrilea, Meghan, and Katie are going to Nyumbani Village, which is about 3.5 hours from Nairobi in the middle of nowhere. The village is self-sustaining and houses about 1,000 orphans and older adults who take care of them. Leslie and I are going to be working with Lea Toto, which is an organization that has branches throughout Nairobi that helps adolescents who have HIV/AIDS. Not sure exactly what everyone will be working on but at least we know where we are going! We are all of the mindset that we will just go where they need us. Flexibility is the word of the summer.

Very excited to be in Nairobi :)  Stay tuned for more adventures!

Highlights

What can I say about the past two days? Only that they have been absolutely amazing. Here are some highlights:

-Malarone (malaria medication) will give you crazy dreams. Totally dreamt the zombie apocalypse last night.

- Traditional healers are common in Kenya.

-Curses and spells are real, so don't piss anyone off.

-Our conference center knows how to throw a party! Had amazing stir fry and a great bonfire last night. We all lamented the fact that we did not have marshmallows.

-We had DONUTS this morning. One of the only sweet things I have seen since being in Limuru. Not quite American donuts, but still.

-A monkey came in through the second story window to use the restroom in one of my friends' rooms. On the floor. Which she then stepped in. While trying to kick the monkey out of the room. All ended well. I would have screamed and ran.

-Man is not an individual. Man is community in Kenya.

-The biggest development challenges in Kenya and the US in the next ten years are mostly inequality issues.

-Being poor is bad for your health. Being sick is bad for your wealth.

-In Kenya you cannot separate health and religion. If the land is sick, then you are sick. If the ancestors/spirits are sick, then you are sick. If your community is sick, then you are sick. There is no separation.

-Kenyans know how to dance!! I have videos :)

-Chipati and coconut rice is amazing. I will really miss them when I return to the US. I need to learn how to make them.

-Limuru is cold! Only about 30 minutes outside of Kenya at a steady incline takes you up to about 7,500 feet. But an afternoon nap in the sun around 1:30pm is amazing.

-"Interact" sounds like "intercourse" according to one of the St. Paul's professors. He is absolutely hilarious. Example: he lectured on polygamy and how it is really more feminist than monogamy. Many of us were skeptical to say the least.

Stay tuned for more!

St. Paul's University

Today we had our first class at St. Paul's University. It was amazing. I have never been so completely welcomed into a new community so fast. Immediately we were all sisters and brothers. Also, I'm going to be completely spoiled with how Kenyans live here. Class is from 9am-4pm with tea time at 10:30am and lunch at 1pm. I love it.

We had an introduction to the course that will be in all week and got to meet the Kenyan students in our class. There are about 10-15  Kenyan students all ranging in age and discipline. All are masters students since St. Paul's does not have a PhD program... yet! It shocked me that there were so many pastors and reverends in the group. Most of the students work with faith-based organizations or with churches in either Limuru or Nairobi.

Everyone had to go around the room and say why they were there. Why did we choose to take a course on health, religion, and development? What do those terms even mean to us? How does our background help us? This really made me think. I said in my first blog post about how I just kind of fell into this program. Now I really need to know why I am here and how I can make a difference in these people's lives.

I started thinking about social networks, which is a topic many sociologists research, so I'm not thinking completely out of the box. Then I started thinking about how the church is a huge social network and has vast influence over their congregation. This leads to the topic of trust. If the pastor/preacher/reverend, etc. tells their congregation not to use condoms or not to take ART, then they will most likely comply. This is a HUGE problem for HIV/AIDS prevention. It might even be one reason why the epidemic has spread so far and so many people have died.

A Kenyan student sitting next to me started talking about how, as preachers, they need to be more open talking about sex, HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, and treatment. We need to take the stigma out of HIV/AIDS so that more people seek treatment as soon as possible and so that they are not embarassed to tell their partner to take preventative steps.

I'm excited to see what else I learn about throughout the week. Stay tuned for more!

Day One in Kenya

Catching everyone up on my adventures- I'm in Kenya! After about 24 hours on planes and in airports I finally made it. Flight #1 was about 8 hours from Dallas to Amsterdam and not too bad. Had two meals on the plane and watched all three Lord of the Rings movies. Didn't sleep much but I got to see an amazing sunrise over the ocean, so I'd say it was worth it. Flight #2 was about 7 hours from Amsterdam to Nairobi and was more cramped than the first. Mostly I was just exhausted from not sleeping. I finished up the LOTR trilogy, watched The Hobbit, and took a nap. Pretty successful. Going home I think I'll take the flight attendant's advice and drink some wine with my meals to help me sleep. Landed in Nairobi around 8:30pm local time. Two others in the program, Meghan and Emily, were on my plane so we went through immigration and customs together. Not much trouble there and I got to exchange some USD into Kenyan Shillings. We were picked up by Duncan, who works with Mukuru on the Move, and taken to our hotel to sleep.

Woke up today to Leslie calling our hotel room at 7:30am. Not a bad wake up call since I went to sleep around 10pm. Her flight had just landed and was at the hotel. She came up to our room to hang out before we left at around 11am for Limuru. Before going to Limuru, Duncan and Steve (our drivers), took us to a mall to buy phones and some water. This mall was swanky! We were wanded with metal detectors before entering the mall. They had pretty much everything that a good American mall has, including a huge supermarket. There was a kiosk selling that salt sea exfoliation scrub that are always in American malls. Pretty interesting how similar things are around the world- globalization at its finest. Or should I say Americanization?

We drove through Nairobi to Limuru, only about a 30 minute drive. I kept freaking out the whole time because I would constantly forget that the cars are supposed to be passing us on the left. That will take some getting used to. We are staying at the Jumuia Conference Center in Limuru, Kenya. The temperature is much lower here since we are at a much higher elevation than Nairobi. The difference between direct sunlight and the sun behind a cloud is staggering. After checking in to our rooms all the students (there are 9 so far) ate a very large lunch. They take their 4-course meals very seriously here.

Afterwards we walked down to St. Paul's University to take a look around. Very pretty but not as large a campus as I was expecting. We saw some students having class outside since it was so nice. After our brief tour some of us decided to go back to our rooms for a power nap, which did not work out so well for me. Could not sleep, which just means that I am going to sleep like the dead tonight. Four of us, Leslie, Meghan, Emily, and myself, decided to go out front to read. We found a great spot in the grass at a picnic table in the sun. We didn't do much reading and just ended up talking most of the time. We all remarked that we don't really know what to do with ourselves with no work or studying to do. We are all so accustomed to having a million things to do at a time. I'm really going to need some time to adjust to a more laid back summer than I have had in a long time.

Tomorrow is our fist day of class at St. Paul's University. It will be taught by three professors from Emory, John Blevins, Mimi Kiser, and Deb McFarland. A couple Kenyan professors will be joining them. In the class will be our team of 9 plus about 10-15 Kenyan students. I'm excited to see the differences and similarities in learning. I know that this is only the beginning of a great summer!

Stay tuned for more!

Pit-Stop in Dallas

Flew to Dallas yesterday so that I can spend this week with my family. Made it in time for Mother's Day! Totally not planned, but I can pretend like it was. Happy Mother's Day!!

When I was on the plane yesterday from Atlanta to Dallas it hit me: I'll be on a plane to Nairobi in a week. Surprisingly enough, I was not prepared for the almost-panic attack that followed. Until now, going to Kenya has been an abstract thought. I knew it was coming, but it always seemed a long way off. Now I'm packing, taking medications, and stocking up on bug spray and antibiotics. I seems very real now and I am excited/terrified.

I met a woman at the airport yesterday. I started up the conversation because I asked where she got her amazing bag from. No, I am not fashion-crazed, but this bag was amazing. It was satchel-like with about a million pockets. She was excited that I asked and explained that it was designed by flight attendants for traveling. I asked her where she was headed to - it was obvious that she was going abroad based on the amount of bags she was towing along. She said that she was headed to Europe for a couple months to travel around with her family. She asked where I was headed and I said Kenya. "Oh, I've been on safari there. It is beautiful and you are going to have a great time!" she replied. And then we wished each other luck as the security line moved along. Every time I come across someone who has been to Kenya, or even Africa, have told me how beautiful it is and how much fun I am going to have. Africa seems like a happening place based on what everyone one is saying.

I think that one of the best things about travel is how it brings people together. As soon as you say that you are going somewhere, anywhere abroad people automatically pop up with everywhere they have ever been and "You won't guess what happened to me when I was in [Insert amazing country]" It's pretty amazing to hear their stories and you bet they all have difference advice for me on how to survive.

After all this I feel pretty prepared for Kenya but I know that as soon as I step off that plane in Nairobi I might have a complete meltdown. Good thing I have a pretty strong support system, both in Kenya and in the US.

A Bad Case of Wanderlust

Wanderlust: a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world

This is the story of how I came to spend three months in Kenya-

Like many great stories this one begins with boredom. Early last semester I realized that I had no plans for this summer, and if you know me, then you know that I am a major planner. I have my entire graduate life planned out in excruciating detail in an Excel spreadsheet (I can show it to you). Upon this realization I decided to do something about that.

Not sure what happened to me when I was younger but I have always felt this need to travel. It's part wanting to get out of my comfort zone and part not wanting to die without seeing as many spectacular things as possible. I've never wanted to spend the rest of my life in my hometown of Mesquite, Texas. The idea of never moving to another city/state/country/continent always seemed suffocating to me. I just wasn't built to stay put in one place my entire life. It might have been easier on my family if I was.

During my first semester of graduate school one of my favorite professors passed out a flyer from one of her colleagues at Rollins (school of public health at Emory). It was for an opportunity for a interdisciplinary team to travel and conduct research in Kenya. Bingo! I quickly jumped at the opportunity and began reading everything I could about the Global Health Institute, which funds many different teams to conduct research over the summer.

I soon realized that I really wanted this. Although I am pretty sure I was the least qualified person. I have never been to a third-world country for such a long period. I have never been to another country for 3 months straight. I have never read/done research with HIV/AIDS. It was partnered with a religious organization, which I don't read about or research religion. But I decided to go for it anyway and see what happens. The worst they could do is say no, right?

Well, they said yes and thus began the crazy rollercoaster towards my summer in Kenya.