Alive

I've officially arrived in Kenya! After over 24 hours of traveling, we landed last night around 7:30 PM Kenya time (and I was right - it felt completely amazing), got all of our luggage by 9, got to the "hostel" (feels more like a hotel - we all have our own rooms with running water and electricity) in Nairobi at around 10:30, had some dinner (rice and beans! I already love Kenyan food), and crashed by 11:30 or 12. We have limited internet access and connectivity, but this is probably the only time we'll have wireless during our service here, so I had to take advantage and post a quick update.

Today has been full of paperwork and an extensive introduction to our new lives in Kenya. We can already tell it will be quite an adjustment, especially for us Americans (even more especially for us women) to dress and act as conservatively as is expected, since most of us trainees find our identities in independence and self-expression. But we can't really complain, we know it's all part of the cross-cultural experience.

I'm excited to rest a bit tonight (under my mosquito net, of course) since we were bombarded with so much information today, we didn't sleep much at all last night, and we have an early morning tomorrow. Our deaf education group (9 people) leaves in the morning for Machakos for our training, while the rest of the trainees (29 people) head to Loitokitok for their training. We'll be meeting our host families on Sunday, and starting our language training on Monday. As you can probably tell, t's all happening rather fast.

Just FYI, the PO Box that we're using is different from the one I initially put up on the right side of the blog, but now it's correct. Also, for the first 90 days, all incoming packages are customs-free (no charge) for me :) If you do decide to send something, you'll probably have to fill out a customs form. No matter what's inside the package, don't check "food" as being in the package, or the customs agents will open it and go through it. Just say "books" or something similar.

And as I expected, Kenya is absolutely beautiful. It's in the 70s and sunny - it reminds me of San Diego! I am so excited to make this my home away from home. No giraffes or zebras yet, but I'm keeping my eyes open.

Also, friends, please send me your address if you'd like to receive mail from me. You can shoot me an e-mail, and hopefully I'll get a chance to check it within the next couple weeks. After today, internet access is a complete unknown.

This update is scattered and not totally comprehensive, but the bottom line is I'm here, alive and quite happy... and ready to start learning

Let's Go!

Whew.

These last twelve days have been an absolute whirlwind. New York was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Spending time with Ian and Kelsey was comfortable and easy but still QUITE eventful. Since there aren't words enough to fully describe the trip, I'll summarize our activities in no particular order: we stayed in a hostel in Harlem, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Frick Collection, took a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, went on a boat tour with views of Manhattan and Lady Liberty, participated in an actor-guided city tour/adventure, went to the top of the Empire State Building, cheered and booed at Amateur Night at the Apollo theatre, watched (and even danced at) the Broadway show FELA, lounged at Central Park, rocked out at a Ratatat concert, and ate at some of the best restaurants I've ever been to (Italian, French, Chinese, Cuban... and Bubby's!), and visited the sights of the city (Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's, St. Paul's, WTC site, the UN, Chrysler Building, etc.) And we walked. For miles. And took the subway. A LOT.

Needless to say, after that kind of itinerary I slept for probably 20 out of the first 24 hours in Philadelphia. After my near-coma, I worked on getting my bags reorganized. Yesterday I finally ventured out of Morgan's apartment on my own (bless Morgan for her hospitality) and saw the sights of Old City Philadelphia. It was actually very calming to see all of the historic places where the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and Constitution were drafted and signed, and where people like Franklin and Washington lived. The old buildings seemed like old friends, and it felt like I was getting a nod of approval from my home country. I don't consider myself zealously patriotic, but I have respect for the philosophies of liberty and equality that informed the inception of our country. However, I do recognize that these noble values aren't always what our country's policies reflect, and my reverence doesn't take into account the collateral damage associated with the birth of our nation. But my optimistic side is hopeful that most people strive to reflect the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood that guided the founding of Philadelphia (and eventually the United States) despite our human shortcomings. I think it's a good model to reflect upon as I start this chapter of my life. I'm attempting to participate in something designed to promote understanding and peace, despite my own shortcomings and inadequacies. I won't do things right the first time (or, in all likelihood, the first few times), but I'm not going to let my mistakes define my experience. I'll just keep trying to do my job correctly, rooted in love.

This morning, after a lovely evening out on the town in South Philly with Morgan and her friends from Temple, I re-packed (once again) and took a cab this morning to... STAGING!! I have been anticipating this day ever since I began applying for the Peace Corps. I finally got to meet all of the other Kenya volunteers, which was very exciting. Everyone is so warm and approachable, and we're all enthusiastic about getting to know one another. I guess that's a good approach, since we'll be each others support system for the next 27 months or so. Staging itself was a 6-hour basic orientation to the Peace Corps, complete with information on what's expected of the volunteers and what we can expect from the experience. I think we'll go into more detail on all of those points during Pre-Service Training (PST), but for now I'm more than content with the information we have. My head is still spinning after all the final phone calls to family and friends (and my credit card company), so I'm ready to just get on the plane. We'll take a bus in the morning to JFK, fly to Amsterdam in the afternoon where we'll spend about four hours, and then fly on to Nairobi. Each flight is about eight hours, which is relatively manageable. I do anticipate that landing in Nairobi will be one of the best feelings ever, though.

I'm officially done with phone communication for a while now, so if you feel like getting in touch, feel free to send something to the address on the right side of this blog. I have no idea when I'll have internet again, but I'll post again when I do. And so this is goodbye for now... I'll see you in December 2012, America!

Packed

It's the first day of October, and my last day in Anchorage. I definitely need to get one last coffee from Kaladi Brothers before I leave tonight... I doubt there's a Kaladi's in Kenya. There will be plenty of goats, but no red goats!

I'm finally all moved out of my apartment, which is bittersweet since I really loved that little place. After consolidating everything, I somehow sorted through all my worldly possessions and eliminated a LOT. The things that I didn't give away and that I'm not taking with me to Africa are in boxes and stored in my parents' house. Then there's the couple of bags that are coming with me to Kenya - my 60 + 10 L backpack and a small duffel bag. They're cleverly packed (no more than 80 pounds total, neither bag weighing more than 40) and actually pretty manageable. I'm a little anxious about forgetting to bring something, leaving something behind that I thought I had remembered or generally being woefully underprepared. But I've gone over the official packing list (and a few other less official lists I found online from past volunteers) over and over again, so now I think it's just time to trust that I have enough, and that I'll be alright.

So, tonight I'll fly out of Anchorage at about 9:30 PM, and this time tomorrow I'll be exploring the streets of Manhattan with two of my best friends. After spending eight days with them, I'll take an Amtrak train down to Philadelphia where I'll do some exploring and sightseeing on my own and spend a few days with a dear friend from college who is oh-so-graciously letting me crash at her place. Then, at 12:30 PM on October 12th, staging begins at a hotel in Philadelphia... and then off to Kenya on the 13th! While I'm looking forward to the next week and a half of seeing some of our country's most incredible cities with some of my best friends, part of me is ready to be in Kenya right now. But I know that will come soon enough.

I'll post an update sometime during staging. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive, loving and encouraging over these past few weeks of rapid preparation. I'm convinced that the people I have in my life are some of the best people in the entire world :)

But for now... to New York!!