Monday, October 4, 2010
Sooo...it's been awhile!
Okay, so this is not an actual post, it is just one telling you that another is coming SOON! I can't believe it's been two weeks since the last one! School has actually started picking up in the last week or two, so I have not been able to spend as much time on leisurely activities :(
But, in the next post you can look forward to updates on my experience at two different churches I've visited, a friends birthday celebration & my birthday celebration, and my trip into Thika (a smaller town outside of Nairobi that is developing pretty quickly into a decent sized city)! There is a lot to write about so it may not come until the end of this week! But for sure by the weekend I should get a post up and some pictures to go along:)
I hope life is going well for all of you and that you are all enjoying FALL! (I will miss it dearly this year!)
:-)
In Christ,
har
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Hot, Cold, Sunny, Cloudy? Make up your mind please:)
Entry: #8
So I don't know if anyone is interested in the weather here, but I'll share anyways ;)
I think when most people think of Africa they think: HOT. Naturally that is what I was thinking. Now I know Kenya has its 'cold' season (which cold here means fall in the midwest), but that is usually in June and July and a little of August (so basically when we have summer, they have their 'winter'). So, I was assuming that most of our time here would be spent under the heat of the sun...but, we have actually been spending most of our days under the shade of the clouds. Granted we have had probably combined a week or two of sunshine (and boy does it get hot!), but the majority of our time here we have been experiencing cloudy weather. Which personally I don't mind! I mean I know it will start getting hot more frequently as the months go by, but I am very content to stay under the clouds for a while longer:) My reasons you may ask? Well A. Since we are by the equator the sun is Super hot when it is out (there really is no mild heat here) B. When it is cool out I don't have to do as much laundry (because they don't get all sweaty!) and C. It reminds me of fall, and since I will be missing that season (one of my favorites) I am thankful to experience it a little bit here :)
Well, there is not much else to say...I mean it rains sometimes (actually only about 2 or 3 times so far) and it cools down quite a bit at night so I usually am wearing a jacket in the evenings. It seems if it was a really hot day out the evening will be very cool.
Yeah, so that is the weather I have experienced thus far. Sorry this post is not super thrilling!
Hope all is well state-side! Enjoy Fall for me!!
<3 har
Friday, September 17, 2010
Masai Mara!
Entry #7: 9/17/10
So this past weekend I went on a Safari (Masai Mara)!! It was SOO fun!! I have always wanted to go on a safari and it was great!
We traveled from Nairobi to the south of Kenya (close to the Tanzanian border if you look on a map)...our drive took about 6 hours. It was 6 hours of driving along some paved roads, but the majority of the trip was over dirt roads that had many, many rocks and potholes in them. So our driver was constantly swerving along the road trying to stay on the parts that were packed down from previous drivers. There were many occasions when I thought our van (9 passenger) was going to tip over, because he would go all the way to the edge of the road and then over it, so we were half on the road and half in the ditch driving! Haha, I am SO thankful that I do not get car sick--otherwise that would have been a terrible drive! Yeah, so I am sure that if the roads were paved it probably would have only taken 2 or 3 hours to get there, haha, TIA though (that is Africa).
Yeah, so that was our adventure getting there. Once we (there were 7 of us, the lady in charge of exchange students-Sylvia and Janna, Nick(who is from Bethel), and the three Korean exchange students here) arrived we ate a quick lunch (which was great food compared to the dinning hall food here at Daystar!) then we went out on our first mini safari. We road around in one of those safari vans were the top pops up and we drove around the grassland looking for animals! We did that for about an hour or two then headed back because it was getting dark. On that outing we saw wilder-beasts, lions, and some zebra and gazelles. It was great. That night we ate a great dinner and then went to bed!
On Saturday we woke up early for breakfast...then left for our daylong safari at 8AM. We were out on the grassland from about 8-4 or 5. It was SOO Great! The scenery is all pretty much the same, but I still thought it was so beautiful and the animals were so great! We saw almost every kind of animal we wanted to see: Lions, giraffes, cheetah, elephant, zebra, wilder-beasts, antelope (the smallest there is and the largest there is), and more that I can't think of right now. We also saw a wilder-beast migration..., which was crazy! There were so many of them all moving in a huge line! And then around lunchtime we had a picnic lunch, which was good:)
Then that evening we just hung out at the hotel...it was nice and relaxing. I hung out by the pool for a little bit and read. While we were there some monkeys were hanging around the pool too. Sylvia gave one of them an orange peel and it took it and ran off with its prize. Then she gave another one an apple core and it gabbed it and ran off to eat it. After that more monkeys came wanting things. So she gave them a juice box and a fanta bottle. They were all wanting to get a hold of something and they would just come right up to you! I even saw a momma monkey with her baby hanging onto her stomach, ah they were so cute:) (There are more pictures on my facebook page...)
Then Sunday we made the 6 hour drive back and we stopped at a look out point to see the Rift Valley, which is just a really huge valley (I'm sure you could google it if you are curious), but I think it is well known. At the look out point there were a few touristy stands set up and the owners came up to us and were trying to sell us anything they could. At one point, Nick was looking to buy one of those wool hats (like those Russian wool hats) and so after he bought one, the owner came up to me and kept trying to get me to try on the hat. They are very fond of letting you know that looking is free… haha. He didn’t get the hat on me, but he did get it in my hands and wouldn’t take it back from me. So after telling him no-I am not interested, several times I just handed the hat to someone else standing nearby and went to our van. Haha, they can be quite persistent!
But, yeah so the weekend was a long one and I was quite tired when we got back, but it was such a fun weekend!
So this past weekend I went on a Safari (Masai Mara)!! It was SOO fun!! I have always wanted to go on a safari and it was great!
We traveled from Nairobi to the south of Kenya (close to the Tanzanian border if you look on a map)...our drive took about 6 hours. It was 6 hours of driving along some paved roads, but the majority of the trip was over dirt roads that had many, many rocks and potholes in them. So our driver was constantly swerving along the road trying to stay on the parts that were packed down from previous drivers. There were many occasions when I thought our van (9 passenger) was going to tip over, because he would go all the way to the edge of the road and then over it, so we were half on the road and half in the ditch driving! Haha, I am SO thankful that I do not get car sick--otherwise that would have been a terrible drive! Yeah, so I am sure that if the roads were paved it probably would have only taken 2 or 3 hours to get there, haha, TIA though (that is Africa).
Yeah, so that was our adventure getting there. Once we (there were 7 of us, the lady in charge of exchange students-Sylvia and Janna, Nick(who is from Bethel), and the three Korean exchange students here) arrived we ate a quick lunch (which was great food compared to the dinning hall food here at Daystar!) then we went out on our first mini safari. We road around in one of those safari vans were the top pops up and we drove around the grassland looking for animals! We did that for about an hour or two then headed back because it was getting dark. On that outing we saw wilder-beasts, lions, and some zebra and gazelles. It was great. That night we ate a great dinner and then went to bed!
On Saturday we woke up early for breakfast...then left for our daylong safari at 8AM. We were out on the grassland from about 8-4 or 5. It was SOO Great! The scenery is all pretty much the same, but I still thought it was so beautiful and the animals were so great! We saw almost every kind of animal we wanted to see: Lions, giraffes, cheetah, elephant, zebra, wilder-beasts, antelope (the smallest there is and the largest there is), and more that I can't think of right now. We also saw a wilder-beast migration..., which was crazy! There were so many of them all moving in a huge line! And then around lunchtime we had a picnic lunch, which was good:)
Then that evening we just hung out at the hotel...it was nice and relaxing. I hung out by the pool for a little bit and read. While we were there some monkeys were hanging around the pool too. Sylvia gave one of them an orange peel and it took it and ran off with its prize. Then she gave another one an apple core and it gabbed it and ran off to eat it. After that more monkeys came wanting things. So she gave them a juice box and a fanta bottle. They were all wanting to get a hold of something and they would just come right up to you! I even saw a momma monkey with her baby hanging onto her stomach, ah they were so cute:) (There are more pictures on my facebook page...)
Then Sunday we made the 6 hour drive back and we stopped at a look out point to see the Rift Valley, which is just a really huge valley (I'm sure you could google it if you are curious), but I think it is well known. At the look out point there were a few touristy stands set up and the owners came up to us and were trying to sell us anything they could. At one point, Nick was looking to buy one of those wool hats (like those Russian wool hats) and so after he bought one, the owner came up to me and kept trying to get me to try on the hat. They are very fond of letting you know that looking is free… haha. He didn’t get the hat on me, but he did get it in my hands and wouldn’t take it back from me. So after telling him no-I am not interested, several times I just handed the hat to someone else standing nearby and went to our van. Haha, they can be quite persistent!
But, yeah so the weekend was a long one and I was quite tired when we got back, but it was such a fun weekend!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Long Bumpy Rides
Entry #6: 9/5/10
It’s been a week…not much went on during the week, just classes and soccer practice…oh and went to a Bible study on Monday night to see if I would be interested in going regularly, but I think I will pass on that. It is hard at times saying no to people when they ask you to be involved in something, but since I am only here for a few months I am trying to not commit myself to too many things! Otherwise I would not have any time to go on my excursions or be free to visit places on weekends!
Anyways...Fridays I don’t have class, so I took time to do my laundry, which I have learned that I need to do my laundry on a regular basis so that I do not have to wash ALL of my clothes on one day—the one time I did that it took a few hours and I was soar by the end! Haha. In the evening that night there was a boys soccer game that I attended. Now I have not been to many soccer games back home, but this one I’m sure is a very different atmosphere than what I would experience in the states, I’m sure. It was a very dramatic game…meaning the fans are very dramatic! It was quite entertaining and a fun experience, because each time something would happen on the field the crowd would defiantly have a reaction. And anytime the team scored the fans would run onto the field cheering (be aware that we [the fans] were basically on the field anyways, because we watch the game standing right on the field line)… It was fun to see everyone get so excited—they defiantly support their team! After the game I had dinner and then joined some ladies in Dupa for dance lessons again. This time it was a bit more casual…we mainly went over the steps that we learned last week and I was a little tired by that time, so I was a little loopy..! Anyone who knows me when I am tired knows what I am talking about! Haha, the ladies there got a good laugh out of my ‘interpretive dancing’. On Saturday I did some homework, went to a soccer game again (a bit less dramatic this time), did a bit more homework, and then watched some TV episodes on my computer with some girls.
Today (Sunday) Nick, Janna, Daniel, Troy, Sarah, and I went into Nairobi for church.
Sylvia (who is in charge of us exchange students) invited us to her church, Nairobi Pentecostal Church. It is a large church of about 4,000 people and they have 3 services, which we went to the third service. It was pretty good…although for those who know Pentecostal churches, it was a bit more expressive than what I am used to. Following the service we were invited for tea and a snack since we were first time visitors. So we went to a back room with some other visitors and had some chi with a pastry and meet one of the pastors. After a short time of prayer, the six of us loaded back into the van we used for the day and were driven to the Bomas of Kenya, where we had lunch. The Bomas of Kenya is a place where they have traditional tribe homes set up for people to view and they also have a show where you can see traditional tribal African dances.
So first we ate lunch and then we watched the first half of the traditional dances (which was great! Very interesting to see) and then we walked around the different villages they had set up. I loved viewing the huts and seeing what a traditional village would look like.
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Once we left the Bomas of Kenya, we went to a supermarket so that we could purchase some things and then we headed back to campus.
Now this entry is titled, “Long Bumpy Rides”, because there are many roads you drive on here that are not paved, but you just speed right down them anyways. The main road from Daystar to Nairobi, Mombasa Road, is thankfully paved, but the road from Mombasa road to Daystar (which is about 4.5 kilometers) is unpaved. Now for the most part I do not mind the bumpy drive on the unpaved roads we come across…in fact most of the time when we are driving down these roads I find myself laughing! I can’t help it most of the time. One reason I find it entertaining is because when you drive down these roads you hear the car rattling so much that it seems as though it may just fall apart the next time you hit a bump. Another reason is because it almost feels like all the bumps push the laughter up and out of me.
I don’t mind these bus rides because as I see the landscape of Kenya rush by I love to reflect on my day and the time I’ve spent here so far. So, tonight as the van was sailing down the unpaved road and the dusty wind blew in from the window—I caught myself smiling and thinking about life here so far. I was realizing that I have been here a month and although it took some time getting used to life here, I think I am finally getting used to it. I was also thinking that yes I may miss things about life in the U.S. at times, but really I should be and I am content wherever the Lord has me, because I know that He has lead me here and He is in control. It was just a good feeling to know that I am content with where I am right now. So I think that tonight not only was the crazy driving making me smile, but knowing that I am content with where I’m at also helped.
So bring on the Long bumpy roads!
It’s been a week…not much went on during the week, just classes and soccer practice…oh and went to a Bible study on Monday night to see if I would be interested in going regularly, but I think I will pass on that. It is hard at times saying no to people when they ask you to be involved in something, but since I am only here for a few months I am trying to not commit myself to too many things! Otherwise I would not have any time to go on my excursions or be free to visit places on weekends!
Anyways...Fridays I don’t have class, so I took time to do my laundry, which I have learned that I need to do my laundry on a regular basis so that I do not have to wash ALL of my clothes on one day—the one time I did that it took a few hours and I was soar by the end! Haha. In the evening that night there was a boys soccer game that I attended. Now I have not been to many soccer games back home, but this one I’m sure is a very different atmosphere than what I would experience in the states, I’m sure. It was a very dramatic game…meaning the fans are very dramatic! It was quite entertaining and a fun experience, because each time something would happen on the field the crowd would defiantly have a reaction. And anytime the team scored the fans would run onto the field cheering (be aware that we [the fans] were basically on the field anyways, because we watch the game standing right on the field line)… It was fun to see everyone get so excited—they defiantly support their team! After the game I had dinner and then joined some ladies in Dupa for dance lessons again. This time it was a bit more casual…we mainly went over the steps that we learned last week and I was a little tired by that time, so I was a little loopy..! Anyone who knows me when I am tired knows what I am talking about! Haha, the ladies there got a good laugh out of my ‘interpretive dancing’. On Saturday I did some homework, went to a soccer game again (a bit less dramatic this time), did a bit more homework, and then watched some TV episodes on my computer with some girls.
Today (Sunday) Nick, Janna, Daniel, Troy, Sarah, and I went into Nairobi for church.
Sylvia (who is in charge of us exchange students) invited us to her church, Nairobi Pentecostal Church. It is a large church of about 4,000 people and they have 3 services, which we went to the third service. It was pretty good…although for those who know Pentecostal churches, it was a bit more expressive than what I am used to. Following the service we were invited for tea and a snack since we were first time visitors. So we went to a back room with some other visitors and had some chi with a pastry and meet one of the pastors. After a short time of prayer, the six of us loaded back into the van we used for the day and were driven to the Bomas of Kenya, where we had lunch. The Bomas of Kenya is a place where they have traditional tribe homes set up for people to view and they also have a show where you can see traditional tribal African dances.
So first we ate lunch and then we watched the first half of the traditional dances (which was great! Very interesting to see) and then we walked around the different villages they had set up. I loved viewing the huts and seeing what a traditional village would look like. href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3bcNtDSAg5InChRLFm8KoQp-8vSW3l9uYg5wslIaya7OjF9TfhpCWIkaI0sz4ZUbI_jK4CYVKmgoNvZsUbklpWS5aOfv79N8VJKUJnt8imgUyZAjaJFeSuDXEX32b4nd2AOnqU4FHnLok/s1600/IMG_0539.JPG">
Once we left the Bomas of Kenya, we went to a supermarket so that we could purchase some things and then we headed back to campus.
Now this entry is titled, “Long Bumpy Rides”, because there are many roads you drive on here that are not paved, but you just speed right down them anyways. The main road from Daystar to Nairobi, Mombasa Road, is thankfully paved, but the road from Mombasa road to Daystar (which is about 4.5 kilometers) is unpaved. Now for the most part I do not mind the bumpy drive on the unpaved roads we come across…in fact most of the time when we are driving down these roads I find myself laughing! I can’t help it most of the time. One reason I find it entertaining is because when you drive down these roads you hear the car rattling so much that it seems as though it may just fall apart the next time you hit a bump. Another reason is because it almost feels like all the bumps push the laughter up and out of me.
I don’t mind these bus rides because as I see the landscape of Kenya rush by I love to reflect on my day and the time I’ve spent here so far. So, tonight as the van was sailing down the unpaved road and the dusty wind blew in from the window—I caught myself smiling and thinking about life here so far. I was realizing that I have been here a month and although it took some time getting used to life here, I think I am finally getting used to it. I was also thinking that yes I may miss things about life in the U.S. at times, but really I should be and I am content wherever the Lord has me, because I know that He has lead me here and He is in control. It was just a good feeling to know that I am content with where I am right now. So I think that tonight not only was the crazy driving making me smile, but knowing that I am content with where I’m at also helped.
So bring on the Long bumpy roads!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Open Eyes, Open Heart, and a New Culture
The corner of Metty’s room where she cooks
Entry #5: (8/29/10)
As I write this entry I am sitting at my desk in my hostel, as the cool breeze floats through my window. I can hear the twittering of birds mixed with the bass beat of someone else’s music in another hostel and the quite music of worship songs coming from my computer. It is another quite Sunday afternoon on the Daystar campus. This weekend was a holiday weekend (the holiday was a result of Kenya signing a new constitution), so seeing as we had Friday off the majority of students went home…thus a very quite campus all weekend. It has been nice is some ways, but I am also getting antsy to get off of campus and go explore Kenya a bit more. People keep asking me “how do you see Kenya”, but I feel like I can’t really answer that because I’ve only really seen the campus and some of Nairobi. I know that in the coming weekends though I will be getting out and seeing more of this country, so I tried to embrace the quite and relaxing atmosphere while I had it.
Let’s see…Friday I did not do much. I went to breakfast with Janna and while we were there our friend Lucy joined us. After eating we all went back to Dupa (Mine and Janna’s hostel) and just hung out and chatted for a few hours. After talking with Lucy for a while in our room she showed us her room, in the hostel patience, and we meet two of her roommates. Then we headed back to our room to clean. It felt so good to clean our rooms! They have not been cleaned for three weeks because Janna and I have no cleaning supplies and our roommates had not said anything about cleaning! So now I am sitting in a semi-clean room ;-)
Once our room was clean, our newest roommate (Favor who is an international student from Nigeria) made us lunch—we had noodles with tomatoes and tomato sauce with sardines. VERY interesting…I have not had sardines before and I don’t think I will have them again…at least not by my choosing☺ As we ate we watched the movie Knight and Day on her computer. It was an pretty good movie, but the quality was terrible, so that made it worse☹
Then a few hours later we went to dinner and Peter joined us (he is an international student from Tanzania). He is a talker, so we chatted with him for a while about how he wants to start a tourism company in Kenya… After being escorted back to our hostel by Peter, Janna and I joined about 5 or 6 other girls for dance lessons. One of our friends, Goodness, knows a few different types of dance, so she was showing us all how to do them. We learned steps for the Waltz, some swing dance steps, and a few other steps. It was a lot of fun and we are planning on doing it every Friday night, so I am looking forward to that! I’ve always thought it would be fun to take dance lessons for some sort of ballroom dance…who knows maybe I’ll recruit someone to take them with me when I get home!?
Well, not much happened on Saturday…just another lazy day around here!
But today, Sunday, I helped out with Sunday school at a nearby church. I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out well. I went with a girl, Metty (from school), who regularly helps out with different Sunday schools. I met with her around 9am, but the service did not start until 10am, so I hung out in her hostel for a while. She lives off campus, so she cooks for herself and lives in a room with one other roommate. While waiting for church she gave me a cup of drinking chocolate (which we call hot chocolate) and she made herself breakfast (I had already eaten). Around 10:15 we headed to the church, which was right across from her hostel. We sat through the worship and introductory part of church, but before the sermon began we left with the kids to sit outside and have Sunday school. There were about 18 kids there— all under the age of 7 I am sure. They were so cute! Since most of the kids only understood Swahili Metty taught them and I helped out with some songs. After church Metty invited me to have lunch with her in her room. I didn’t want to make her use extra food on me, but when we were inside she told me that in their culture when they have someone over it is cultural to offer them food and to feed them, so I joined and I’m glad I did! It was a very simple meal—rice with tomatoes, green pepper, onion, and egg over the rice—but it was great! I enjoy tasting all the different types of food that I can. It was a good morning; I enjoyed talking with Metty in our free time and learning more about her and the African culture.
As I am living here I am asking the Lord to give me open eyes and an open heart to all that I am experiencing and learning. I want to see and experience as much of this world as I am able to. I love traveling because each time I see more of God through each new place, each new culture, and through every new person; I am able to see His creativity, His wisdom, His beauty, His love, and His compassion more clearly with each new experience. Over the years I am seeing that every culture is unique, but every culture is at the heart the same as well. We are all here trying to live our lives to the best of our ability with what we are given. We go through our days eating what we can, working, and building relationships. In this life we all go through trials and hard times (some people worse than others) and we also all hopefully have times of joy and happiness.
So although I go about my life back in the states very differently than I’ll do life here in Kenya, I want to get caught up in missing what I’m used to for fear of taking my time here for granted. I want to take in what I’m learning here with a willing attitude and an open heart.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
And some more...
Entry #4: Beginning week three… (8/24/08)
So, it is the beginning of the third week…Honestly it feels as though it’s been a month already! These first two weeks have moved pretty slowly…we didn’t have any classes to go to and not many people have been on campus up until now, so there has not been much to do! But, I went to class yesterday and today and there are actually people in class now! I am hoping that I can get used to having class for two/three hours at a time. I have done class that way during Bethel’s J-term, but that was only three weeks of it. As long as I can stay awake and focused and get the notes that I need, I guess I’ll do fine! Haha.
In other news…I have been able to get to know another exchange student Sarah, who is from South Korea. She is such a sweet girl and it has been fun helping her and encouraging her in her English speaking and it has been fun trying (badly) to learn some Korean! One thing Janna and I have learned is to speak a lot more slowly than we are used to. Apparently WE speak too fast, haha, I always think everyone else speaks too fast.
I have also been getting to know my roommate Grace, and that has been nice☺ She is also a very nice girl—it has been fun talking with her and chatting when we are both in the room. She told Janna and I that she would take us to The Rocks, which is apparently a place that is comprised of a bunch of rocks where people go to just hang out and relax –and she said it was a good take to take pictures, so hopefully we will do that one of these days. Other than Grace our other roommate, Janna’s roommate, is Caroline. She was gone all of last week because (no one really goes to class the first week)—so she moved her things in and then went home. She came back on Sunday, so we have seen her a few times and she seems really nice as well. One thing Janna and I are wondering is if we will get two more roommates, because we have room for two more, but so far there is no sign of anyone else coming. So, it may just be the four of us.
Well, going beyond classes and roommates, another note is the food here. So far I cannot say that I am a huge fan of Kenyan food, maybe it will change once I am more used to it though :) Although I have really only eaten what they serve us in the dinning hall, and I have been told by other students that the school food is not the best, so maybe one of these days someone will introduce me to a true Kenyan meal! The food in the DH (dinning hall) is basically rice and or oogallie (sp??), some type of stew with either meat or beans, and sometimes chapate (sp??). (Oogallie is one of the main dishes that is eaten in Africa and it basically looks like mashed potatoes, but tastes pretty plain and the texture is similar to mashed potatoes only a little thicker and harder. Chapate looks a lot like a tortilla and has a similar consistency, but has a little different taste.) And sometimes they serve a piece of fruit during lunch, which is always great!
One thing that has been a bit difficult getting use to is the different pace of life here. I think this is difficult for me because last summer when I spent my summer with Royal Servants we practiced being on time or early to everything. And since being home from that I have been trying to be a lot more conscious of trying to be on time to things. So now it is difficult to transition to another mindset, but I'm sure I'll adjust!
Some great things about being here have been meeting so many great people and just already learning so much about the Kenyan/African culture.
Over these last few weeks, although I am still working on making some good friendships, I have met a lot of great people—it has just been hard keeping up with remembering names! I am naturally terrible at remembering names, so this has been a challenge for me! I’ll either find myself asking someone their name for the 5th time or I’ll introduce myself to someone I’ve already meet! Everyone has been good about giving some grace in that area though, so I am thankful for that.
Well, I don’t know what else to say…so hopefully you are content with that! Otherwise feel free to ask questions☺
I hope everyone back home is doing well! Love you all and I’m so thankful for each of you!!
~har
So, it is the beginning of the third week…Honestly it feels as though it’s been a month already! These first two weeks have moved pretty slowly…we didn’t have any classes to go to and not many people have been on campus up until now, so there has not been much to do! But, I went to class yesterday and today and there are actually people in class now! I am hoping that I can get used to having class for two/three hours at a time. I have done class that way during Bethel’s J-term, but that was only three weeks of it. As long as I can stay awake and focused and get the notes that I need, I guess I’ll do fine! Haha.
In other news…I have been able to get to know another exchange student Sarah, who is from South Korea. She is such a sweet girl and it has been fun helping her and encouraging her in her English speaking and it has been fun trying (badly) to learn some Korean! One thing Janna and I have learned is to speak a lot more slowly than we are used to. Apparently WE speak too fast, haha, I always think everyone else speaks too fast.
I have also been getting to know my roommate Grace, and that has been nice☺ She is also a very nice girl—it has been fun talking with her and chatting when we are both in the room. She told Janna and I that she would take us to The Rocks, which is apparently a place that is comprised of a bunch of rocks where people go to just hang out and relax –and she said it was a good take to take pictures, so hopefully we will do that one of these days. Other than Grace our other roommate, Janna’s roommate, is Caroline. She was gone all of last week because (no one really goes to class the first week)—so she moved her things in and then went home. She came back on Sunday, so we have seen her a few times and she seems really nice as well. One thing Janna and I are wondering is if we will get two more roommates, because we have room for two more, but so far there is no sign of anyone else coming. So, it may just be the four of us.
Well, going beyond classes and roommates, another note is the food here. So far I cannot say that I am a huge fan of Kenyan food, maybe it will change once I am more used to it though :) Although I have really only eaten what they serve us in the dinning hall, and I have been told by other students that the school food is not the best, so maybe one of these days someone will introduce me to a true Kenyan meal! The food in the DH (dinning hall) is basically rice and or oogallie (sp??), some type of stew with either meat or beans, and sometimes chapate (sp??). (Oogallie is one of the main dishes that is eaten in Africa and it basically looks like mashed potatoes, but tastes pretty plain and the texture is similar to mashed potatoes only a little thicker and harder. Chapate looks a lot like a tortilla and has a similar consistency, but has a little different taste.) And sometimes they serve a piece of fruit during lunch, which is always great!
One thing that has been a bit difficult getting use to is the different pace of life here. I think this is difficult for me because last summer when I spent my summer with Royal Servants we practiced being on time or early to everything. And since being home from that I have been trying to be a lot more conscious of trying to be on time to things. So now it is difficult to transition to another mindset, but I'm sure I'll adjust!
Some great things about being here have been meeting so many great people and just already learning so much about the Kenyan/African culture.
Over these last few weeks, although I am still working on making some good friendships, I have met a lot of great people—it has just been hard keeping up with remembering names! I am naturally terrible at remembering names, so this has been a challenge for me! I’ll either find myself asking someone their name for the 5th time or I’ll introduce myself to someone I’ve already meet! Everyone has been good about giving some grace in that area though, so I am thankful for that.
Well, I don’t know what else to say…so hopefully you are content with that! Otherwise feel free to ask questions☺
I hope everyone back home is doing well! Love you all and I’m so thankful for each of you!!
~har
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Hey All!!
Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken so long, but internet has been not working well since I've arrived! But, I have been keeping a blog of sorts on a Word document so I will copy and paste:) Hope you enjoy and hopefully I can keep it updated pretty regularly. So this first one will be a VERY LONG one!
Love you all!!
Entry #1: First week—Travel & DOULOS Week (8/13/10)
Sema!! (Kiswahili for-Hey/how are you) So, it has already been about a week here in Kenya! I’m not usually very good at telling stories, but bare with me while I try and relate these last few days to you all!
Saturday I left for the airport around 7PM. My dad, mom, and Sammy, took me and after I was checked in I said my goodbyes and headed through security with Janna to meet Nick at our gate (Janna and Nick are the two other Bethel students on this exchange program trip. Once we boarded and started taking off it was probably 9:45 or 10PM U.S.A. time. Eight hours later we arrived at the London Heathrow airport (12PM London time). On our way to customs we meet someone else who was traveling to Nairobi, Kenya on a two week missions trip, Julie—who has a daughter who attends Bethel as a nursing student ;) As we waited in line to get clearance, she said that she was planning on trying to take the tube into central London and maybe find a tour bus to ride on before heading back to catch out 8PM (London time) flight and asked if we would like to join her. We said yes right away because we were going to do that anyways and loved the idea of adult company!
After getting through customs and grabbing a bottle of water from an airport store we made our way to the tube. We took the Piccadilly tube into Central London, which was about an hour ride. It was each of our first times in London and riding a tube so it was such a great experience! Once we arrived we looked for a tour bus place and with the help of some kind strangers we found one, but it was about 50 Eros so we decided to just walk around instead. It was a great decision! It was nice to stretch our legs after so much sitting and standing around and we saw almost all of the same sights the tour bus would have hit (we only missed three of them!). We saw the London eye (from a distance), Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and many more sights on the way….you’ll have to ask me later or look at my pictures!
After walking around London for a few hours and having some ice cream we headed back to Heathrow on the Piccadilly. Unfortunately we missed one stop on the Piccadilly (for those who have ridden it you probably know what I’m talking about)…once at the airport terminal stops we should have gotten off terminal four instead we passed that and went to terminal 1,2,3. So, after getting help from a very nice passenger we made our way to where we should have been. We stopped in at a airport restaurant for a quick bite to eat and then rushed to catch our 8PM flight into Nairobi. After all the traveling we had done we were not looking forward to another nine hour flight but we were thankfully to get off our feet for a little while after all of our walking! Nine hours later, and after about two or three hours of sleep since Saturday evening, we arrived in Nairobi at 6:30AM Kenya time ( 11:30PM MN).
Upon arriving we had to also go through customs at the Nairobi airport to get our passports and visas verified and such. After about an hour we finally made our way to find our luggage. Worried that not all of it would make it, all three of us were surprised when we found our luggage right away! Praise the Lord! Happy about knowing we all had everything, we made our way the glass doors where we could see a huge line of people waiting to pick up other travelers. After a minute or two we found a small handwritten sign for Daystar and made our way to our helpers. We had three Daystar (DOULOS) students pick us up—these are student leaders who help welcome the incoming freshman/international students.
It was about a 30/45min bus ride to the University. On the way we talked with the student leaders some and enjoyed the scenery. Kenya is a very dry land and there is a lot of bush and interesting looking trees (which I do not know the name of the trees here, I’m sure I will learn soon!). As I looked out the windows I saw a lot of brown and a touch of green here and there. For being such a dry country I also find it a very beautiful land! It is of course the opposite of where I live back in the states, but it is great! As we got closer to the University entrance we saw our first herd of Zebra! It was surreal seeing them just wandering around—I’m so used to seeing them caged up in a zoo—they are beautiful!
Pulling into the University there were feelings of excitement for this all to finally begin and apprehension in not knowing what to expect at all. But, very soon I could see the similarities between Daystar and Bethel, which I continue to see the longer I am here. We stepped off the bus to a group of DOULOS students yelling and welcoming us to Daystar while jumping up and down with excitement. Once all three of us were off the bus they stared encouraging us to dance! Haha, we were probably a funny sight…none of us being dancers really and being sooo tired from our almost two day journey! They proceeded to remove our luggage from the bus and take it to a patch of grass, where it stayed until that evening.
Nothing too exciting happened the rest of the day so I will just sum it up! Basically we were given some tea and doughnut things to hold us over till tea time (which took place around 11:30AM) and then we followed people around all day, which got very tiring! It was a day were all the freshmen and international students were arriving, so people were sorting out financial things and basic things like that and we were also put into groups, which have become our ‘families’ for the week. My family consists of me, Janna, Sarah (an international student from South Korea, whom I’m sure you will here lots about), Kay (an international student from Malawi), and the rest of the students are Kenya freshmen students…David, Francis, Debra, Betsy, & Olive to name a few. We played some get to know you games and stayed together until 4 or 5 that evening. Then we had dinner around 6 and we the rest of the night was getting settled into rooms. Which for this week Janna and I have been living in one room with our roommate Angel…a small space for three people, but there are two bunk beds and a table with three chairs, and some closet space.
Anyways the rest of the week has been similar—just getting to know other students and becoming familiar with the campus (which is very large!). All in all it has been a good week☺ The only thing I would really change if I could, would be the food. It is pretty much rice and stew and bread and tea, with some fruit every once in a while and sometimes chicken or fish—but everything is kind of bland tasting and it all tastes the same, which I kind of expected! Oh well!! I’ll just have to get creative with my food these next few months and I already know that I am very thankful and appreciative for the variety I am able to have back in the states!!:)
So, for now that is it…sorry this was sooo long, I know there are a LOT more things I could say, but I will probably add those things as I go!
I love you all and appreciate your prayers and support☺ I will send out an address as soon as I know it haha!! , but TIA (That Is Africa)!
MUCH LOVE! Blessings to you all~ har
Entry #2: Beginning of Week Two—Starting Classes… (8/16/10)
Hey ALL!!
DOULOS week is officially over, the last night was Saturday. On Sunday Janna, Nick, and I went with Lukas, a Daystar student who has visited Bethel, into Nairobi. We went to meet a friend of Nick’s, Luke (who is a recent Bethel grad) and Jan Korbel, who works at the Nairobi campus of Daystar and who has a mutual friend with my mom and who is now Facebook friends with my mom;). She ended up taking us to her church, Nairobi chapel and then we all went out to lunch at a nearby Ethiopian restaurant—which was VERY GOOD!! (It was nice to have food that tasted different from what we have been eating at school!) The church service was pretty good, the topic of church was The Insecure Leader (they are doing a series on personality types so the pastor and his wife taught on one of them, but I can’t remember what they called it).
After lunch Jan took us to one of the larger Sunday markets, Yaya, so we could look around and experience it. It was rather large and had a lot of scarves, blankets, purses, and many other tourist items. I did not buy anything because I want to wait until the last few weeks or the last month to do most of my souvenir shopping! I don’t want to have to worry about keeping it safe while I am here…
Then after the market we went to get a sweet at the Cake Plaza, which was really good☺ It was a nice restaurant-with actual green grass in their courtyard! (you don’t see much of that here). And it is in walking distance of where the bus drops us off in Nairobi, so we may be visiting there again… After our sweet treats we made our way back to the bus and back to the Athi-River campus where we are staying. Not much else happened that night, just hung out in my room and visited a friends room before heading to bed.
I’m writing this blog today (on a word document since I still do not have access to internet) and it is Monday at about 4:30pm. Today has been a hectic and tiring day! Janna and I had a few things to get done before the end of the day, and being that we are here it took from about 9am—1pm to actually get done. We had to print off an extra copy of our class list and get that photocopied. Then we needed to get the original print off stamped by the accounting/finance office, we needed two more passport size pictures of ourselves, and we needed to change rooms today. Luckily we had someone, Peter, helping us get these things done. I’ll spare you the details, it just was long in that we kept getting sent back and forth between one office to another, so there was a lot of walking to and from the same place and a lot of waiting…But, we are finally moved into our new rooms! We are now in the dorm/hostel across from the one we stayed in last week. Our new hostel is called Dupa and our room consists of three bedrooms, one shower, and a toilet and sink. There are two people to a room, so there will be six of us. So far Janna’s roommate is moved in (although she will be staying at home this whole week still) and the two of us are moved in…my roommate I am told is on her way and one of her friends told me that SHE is nervous to meet ME! Haha. That makes me feel a little better because then I know we are kind both in the same spot.
So classes start tomorrow and I am unsure of what to expect. I have been told that although students are only allowed to miss 4 classes (for each class I believe) before being expelled, a lot of students do not show up to classes the first two or three weeks! Which is just odd to me…so I am interested to see if that is true and if I’ll be one of the only ones in my classes for these first few weeks or if people will actually show up. I am also a little apprehensive for classes to begin because they will be very different from what I am used to. First of all they will be taught by lecturers who have Kiswahili accents (which I am starting to get the hang of for the most part), and second of all I am told it is straight lecture and note taking, third of all two of my classes are two hours long and three of them are three hours each! I’m used to 50-70 min classes, so that will take some getting used to…and I am not the best at taking notes so hopefully that will go well! Oh and in case any of you are interested these are the classes I will be taking: Christianity and Islam in Africa, Study of Theology in African Context, Synoptic Gospels, Introduction to Social Work, History Systems and School of Psychology, and Philosophical Foundations of Early Childhood Development. So, I don’t need a lot of them, but the theology ones sounded interesting!
Well this post is getting pretty long as well, so I’ll write more later!
Love you all!! And you can continue to pray for each of our health and safety while here as well as for relationships with new friends, our ability to adjust to this new culture, and for protection from homesickness for all three of us! Thank you <3!
~har
Entry #3: And so goes the week…(8/19/10)
Classes began on Tuesday and it has been interesting…very different from what I’m used to. For example Janna and I showed up to a class today at that was supposed to start at 1:30 and after waiting until 2:00, we left because no one had shown up…not even the prof (lecturer as they call them here). It has kind of been like that all week. The most that have been in a class this week for me was six students. Apparently no one really starts showing up until the second or third week, so hopefully next week students and lecturers will actually show up to classes.
I’m actually looking forward to classes starting because A) I’ll meet more people through the classes I’ll be in and B) it is kind of boring on campus when I’m not in class…there is not much to do on campus. I feel like whenever I ask anyone what they are doing they are either going to take a nap or going to watch a movie…which both of those are fine things to do, but they are not great ways to get to know people! I think the other students are bored too. So, overall right now not much exciting is happening. I would love to get off campus and do something, but the closest place to go is Nairobi, which is an hour/hour and a half away and as far as I know there are two buses that leave campus for Nairobi, one at 8AM and one at 5PM (which takes people home and doesn’t come back until the next morning). Also Janna and I would love to go and explore the campus but we have been told to not really go anywhere by ourselves because we never know what we could run into (i.e. snakes, people, other animals we are not used to!). I am hoping to make some friends that are adventures and actually go and do things or who will want to show us around and explore things with us. It is only the second week and a lot of students are still not moved in yet, so hopefully I’ll be able to meet someone like that! There is one girl that Janna and I meet at lunch today, Faith, who talked about the giraffe cages in Nairobi and how we should go visit it. She also said that she lives in Nairobi and mentioned that her dad loves having visitors, so maybe something will come out of that? We are hoping so! It would be fun to go see something and possibly stay at someone’s home at some point.
Well, in other news, I talked to Dad for the first time in about two weeks last night! It was great to hear his voice and to connect in that way with someone. It didn’t really make me miss home necessarily; it just was nice to talk about what has been going on here with me. I’ve emailed my parents twice, but email is just so different from an actual conversation. After that phone call I went with a group of people to watch a movie. We went to the classroom buildings and found an empty one and watched G.I. Joe on someone’s laptop. While we were picking a movie to watch one of the guards who was patrolling the classrooms we were by, came in and joined us. It must have been a nice break for him because he doesn’t really have much else to do (although I heard that just a night or two ago some guards had to kill a python that was on campus).
It is interesting to compare and contrast Daystar and Bethel. It is similar in the way that people here are just as friendly and they have some similar programs you can get involved in (like the DOULOS group that is similar to Welcome Week). But, instead of having security cameras everywhere and having swipe cards to get into buildings at night, they have guards almost everywhere you go. Half the time I don’t even realize they are there until I walk past them, because once it gets dark they blend right into the night. At times I think I feel safer knowing that there is someone within hearing distance of me, rather than knowing there is a camera watching me from a distance. Overall things here are for the most part are done more simply than back at home, but you can tell that even here technology and all that comes with that is making it’s way into their every day life. Everyone here has a cell phone, just like back at home, and they use then to call, text, and listen to the radio all the time! And although not everyone has them, a handful of people also have laptops. It is just interesting to see how our cultures are so different and yet they seem as though they are becoming more and more similar.
Hmm…well that’s all for tonight, I’ll write more later!
<3 har
Love you all!!
Entry #1: First week—Travel & DOULOS Week (8/13/10)
Sema!! (Kiswahili for-Hey/how are you) So, it has already been about a week here in Kenya! I’m not usually very good at telling stories, but bare with me while I try and relate these last few days to you all!
Saturday I left for the airport around 7PM. My dad, mom, and Sammy, took me and after I was checked in I said my goodbyes and headed through security with Janna to meet Nick at our gate (Janna and Nick are the two other Bethel students on this exchange program trip. Once we boarded and started taking off it was probably 9:45 or 10PM U.S.A. time. Eight hours later we arrived at the London Heathrow airport (12PM London time). On our way to customs we meet someone else who was traveling to Nairobi, Kenya on a two week missions trip, Julie—who has a daughter who attends Bethel as a nursing student ;) As we waited in line to get clearance, she said that she was planning on trying to take the tube into central London and maybe find a tour bus to ride on before heading back to catch out 8PM (London time) flight and asked if we would like to join her. We said yes right away because we were going to do that anyways and loved the idea of adult company!
After getting through customs and grabbing a bottle of water from an airport store we made our way to the tube. We took the Piccadilly tube into Central London, which was about an hour ride. It was each of our first times in London and riding a tube so it was such a great experience! Once we arrived we looked for a tour bus place and with the help of some kind strangers we found one, but it was about 50 Eros so we decided to just walk around instead. It was a great decision! It was nice to stretch our legs after so much sitting and standing around and we saw almost all of the same sights the tour bus would have hit (we only missed three of them!). We saw the London eye (from a distance), Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and many more sights on the way….you’ll have to ask me later or look at my pictures!
After walking around London for a few hours and having some ice cream we headed back to Heathrow on the Piccadilly. Unfortunately we missed one stop on the Piccadilly (for those who have ridden it you probably know what I’m talking about)…once at the airport terminal stops we should have gotten off terminal four instead we passed that and went to terminal 1,2,3. So, after getting help from a very nice passenger we made our way to where we should have been. We stopped in at a airport restaurant for a quick bite to eat and then rushed to catch our 8PM flight into Nairobi. After all the traveling we had done we were not looking forward to another nine hour flight but we were thankfully to get off our feet for a little while after all of our walking! Nine hours later, and after about two or three hours of sleep since Saturday evening, we arrived in Nairobi at 6:30AM Kenya time ( 11:30PM MN).
Upon arriving we had to also go through customs at the Nairobi airport to get our passports and visas verified and such. After about an hour we finally made our way to find our luggage. Worried that not all of it would make it, all three of us were surprised when we found our luggage right away! Praise the Lord! Happy about knowing we all had everything, we made our way the glass doors where we could see a huge line of people waiting to pick up other travelers. After a minute or two we found a small handwritten sign for Daystar and made our way to our helpers. We had three Daystar (DOULOS) students pick us up—these are student leaders who help welcome the incoming freshman/international students.
It was about a 30/45min bus ride to the University. On the way we talked with the student leaders some and enjoyed the scenery. Kenya is a very dry land and there is a lot of bush and interesting looking trees (which I do not know the name of the trees here, I’m sure I will learn soon!). As I looked out the windows I saw a lot of brown and a touch of green here and there. For being such a dry country I also find it a very beautiful land! It is of course the opposite of where I live back in the states, but it is great! As we got closer to the University entrance we saw our first herd of Zebra! It was surreal seeing them just wandering around—I’m so used to seeing them caged up in a zoo—they are beautiful!
Pulling into the University there were feelings of excitement for this all to finally begin and apprehension in not knowing what to expect at all. But, very soon I could see the similarities between Daystar and Bethel, which I continue to see the longer I am here. We stepped off the bus to a group of DOULOS students yelling and welcoming us to Daystar while jumping up and down with excitement. Once all three of us were off the bus they stared encouraging us to dance! Haha, we were probably a funny sight…none of us being dancers really and being sooo tired from our almost two day journey! They proceeded to remove our luggage from the bus and take it to a patch of grass, where it stayed until that evening.
Nothing too exciting happened the rest of the day so I will just sum it up! Basically we were given some tea and doughnut things to hold us over till tea time (which took place around 11:30AM) and then we followed people around all day, which got very tiring! It was a day were all the freshmen and international students were arriving, so people were sorting out financial things and basic things like that and we were also put into groups, which have become our ‘families’ for the week. My family consists of me, Janna, Sarah (an international student from South Korea, whom I’m sure you will here lots about), Kay (an international student from Malawi), and the rest of the students are Kenya freshmen students…David, Francis, Debra, Betsy, & Olive to name a few. We played some get to know you games and stayed together until 4 or 5 that evening. Then we had dinner around 6 and we the rest of the night was getting settled into rooms. Which for this week Janna and I have been living in one room with our roommate Angel…a small space for three people, but there are two bunk beds and a table with three chairs, and some closet space.
Anyways the rest of the week has been similar—just getting to know other students and becoming familiar with the campus (which is very large!). All in all it has been a good week☺ The only thing I would really change if I could, would be the food. It is pretty much rice and stew and bread and tea, with some fruit every once in a while and sometimes chicken or fish—but everything is kind of bland tasting and it all tastes the same, which I kind of expected! Oh well!! I’ll just have to get creative with my food these next few months and I already know that I am very thankful and appreciative for the variety I am able to have back in the states!!:)
So, for now that is it…sorry this was sooo long, I know there are a LOT more things I could say, but I will probably add those things as I go!
I love you all and appreciate your prayers and support☺ I will send out an address as soon as I know it haha!! , but TIA (That Is Africa)!
MUCH LOVE! Blessings to you all~ har
Entry #2: Beginning of Week Two—Starting Classes… (8/16/10)
Hey ALL!!
DOULOS week is officially over, the last night was Saturday. On Sunday Janna, Nick, and I went with Lukas, a Daystar student who has visited Bethel, into Nairobi. We went to meet a friend of Nick’s, Luke (who is a recent Bethel grad) and Jan Korbel, who works at the Nairobi campus of Daystar and who has a mutual friend with my mom and who is now Facebook friends with my mom;). She ended up taking us to her church, Nairobi chapel and then we all went out to lunch at a nearby Ethiopian restaurant—which was VERY GOOD!! (It was nice to have food that tasted different from what we have been eating at school!) The church service was pretty good, the topic of church was The Insecure Leader (they are doing a series on personality types so the pastor and his wife taught on one of them, but I can’t remember what they called it).
After lunch Jan took us to one of the larger Sunday markets, Yaya, so we could look around and experience it. It was rather large and had a lot of scarves, blankets, purses, and many other tourist items. I did not buy anything because I want to wait until the last few weeks or the last month to do most of my souvenir shopping! I don’t want to have to worry about keeping it safe while I am here…
Then after the market we went to get a sweet at the Cake Plaza, which was really good☺ It was a nice restaurant-with actual green grass in their courtyard! (you don’t see much of that here). And it is in walking distance of where the bus drops us off in Nairobi, so we may be visiting there again… After our sweet treats we made our way back to the bus and back to the Athi-River campus where we are staying. Not much else happened that night, just hung out in my room and visited a friends room before heading to bed.
I’m writing this blog today (on a word document since I still do not have access to internet) and it is Monday at about 4:30pm. Today has been a hectic and tiring day! Janna and I had a few things to get done before the end of the day, and being that we are here it took from about 9am—1pm to actually get done. We had to print off an extra copy of our class list and get that photocopied. Then we needed to get the original print off stamped by the accounting/finance office, we needed two more passport size pictures of ourselves, and we needed to change rooms today. Luckily we had someone, Peter, helping us get these things done. I’ll spare you the details, it just was long in that we kept getting sent back and forth between one office to another, so there was a lot of walking to and from the same place and a lot of waiting…But, we are finally moved into our new rooms! We are now in the dorm/hostel across from the one we stayed in last week. Our new hostel is called Dupa and our room consists of three bedrooms, one shower, and a toilet and sink. There are two people to a room, so there will be six of us. So far Janna’s roommate is moved in (although she will be staying at home this whole week still) and the two of us are moved in…my roommate I am told is on her way and one of her friends told me that SHE is nervous to meet ME! Haha. That makes me feel a little better because then I know we are kind both in the same spot.
So classes start tomorrow and I am unsure of what to expect. I have been told that although students are only allowed to miss 4 classes (for each class I believe) before being expelled, a lot of students do not show up to classes the first two or three weeks! Which is just odd to me…so I am interested to see if that is true and if I’ll be one of the only ones in my classes for these first few weeks or if people will actually show up. I am also a little apprehensive for classes to begin because they will be very different from what I am used to. First of all they will be taught by lecturers who have Kiswahili accents (which I am starting to get the hang of for the most part), and second of all I am told it is straight lecture and note taking, third of all two of my classes are two hours long and three of them are three hours each! I’m used to 50-70 min classes, so that will take some getting used to…and I am not the best at taking notes so hopefully that will go well! Oh and in case any of you are interested these are the classes I will be taking: Christianity and Islam in Africa, Study of Theology in African Context, Synoptic Gospels, Introduction to Social Work, History Systems and School of Psychology, and Philosophical Foundations of Early Childhood Development. So, I don’t need a lot of them, but the theology ones sounded interesting!
Well this post is getting pretty long as well, so I’ll write more later!
Love you all!! And you can continue to pray for each of our health and safety while here as well as for relationships with new friends, our ability to adjust to this new culture, and for protection from homesickness for all three of us! Thank you <3!
~har
Entry #3: And so goes the week…(8/19/10)
Classes began on Tuesday and it has been interesting…very different from what I’m used to. For example Janna and I showed up to a class today at that was supposed to start at 1:30 and after waiting until 2:00, we left because no one had shown up…not even the prof (lecturer as they call them here). It has kind of been like that all week. The most that have been in a class this week for me was six students. Apparently no one really starts showing up until the second or third week, so hopefully next week students and lecturers will actually show up to classes.
I’m actually looking forward to classes starting because A) I’ll meet more people through the classes I’ll be in and B) it is kind of boring on campus when I’m not in class…there is not much to do on campus. I feel like whenever I ask anyone what they are doing they are either going to take a nap or going to watch a movie…which both of those are fine things to do, but they are not great ways to get to know people! I think the other students are bored too. So, overall right now not much exciting is happening. I would love to get off campus and do something, but the closest place to go is Nairobi, which is an hour/hour and a half away and as far as I know there are two buses that leave campus for Nairobi, one at 8AM and one at 5PM (which takes people home and doesn’t come back until the next morning). Also Janna and I would love to go and explore the campus but we have been told to not really go anywhere by ourselves because we never know what we could run into (i.e. snakes, people, other animals we are not used to!). I am hoping to make some friends that are adventures and actually go and do things or who will want to show us around and explore things with us. It is only the second week and a lot of students are still not moved in yet, so hopefully I’ll be able to meet someone like that! There is one girl that Janna and I meet at lunch today, Faith, who talked about the giraffe cages in Nairobi and how we should go visit it. She also said that she lives in Nairobi and mentioned that her dad loves having visitors, so maybe something will come out of that? We are hoping so! It would be fun to go see something and possibly stay at someone’s home at some point.
Well, in other news, I talked to Dad for the first time in about two weeks last night! It was great to hear his voice and to connect in that way with someone. It didn’t really make me miss home necessarily; it just was nice to talk about what has been going on here with me. I’ve emailed my parents twice, but email is just so different from an actual conversation. After that phone call I went with a group of people to watch a movie. We went to the classroom buildings and found an empty one and watched G.I. Joe on someone’s laptop. While we were picking a movie to watch one of the guards who was patrolling the classrooms we were by, came in and joined us. It must have been a nice break for him because he doesn’t really have much else to do (although I heard that just a night or two ago some guards had to kill a python that was on campus).
It is interesting to compare and contrast Daystar and Bethel. It is similar in the way that people here are just as friendly and they have some similar programs you can get involved in (like the DOULOS group that is similar to Welcome Week). But, instead of having security cameras everywhere and having swipe cards to get into buildings at night, they have guards almost everywhere you go. Half the time I don’t even realize they are there until I walk past them, because once it gets dark they blend right into the night. At times I think I feel safer knowing that there is someone within hearing distance of me, rather than knowing there is a camera watching me from a distance. Overall things here are for the most part are done more simply than back at home, but you can tell that even here technology and all that comes with that is making it’s way into their every day life. Everyone here has a cell phone, just like back at home, and they use then to call, text, and listen to the radio all the time! And although not everyone has them, a handful of people also have laptops. It is just interesting to see how our cultures are so different and yet they seem as though they are becoming more and more similar.
Hmm…well that’s all for tonight, I’ll write more later!
<3 har
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