April Holiday

Pole Sana!! (I’m very sorry!)

It has been a long time since I last posted and I am very sorry for that. I have noticed that the busier I become and the more comfortable I feel in my environment the less I write. My friend Anna and I were discussing how we have both been in East Africa for so long now that it feels like home. In the beginning of our individual journeys, everything was new, different, and exciting. Now that we have been here for over eight months we are adjusted into our new homes and although it is still exciting, it does not feel as necessary to write. I also realize that I am the one in Africa…not you; therefore, I must inform you on what is happening and on all of the exciting adventures that I continue to have every day. 

Since I last posted, I have finished the first term of the school year with my girls at Gathirimu, I have gone on a two week backpacking journey around Tanzania and the coast of Kenya, and I now have some exciting changes in my living situation for the duration of my stay in Mitahato. There have been many things that have gone on during the last two months but if I were to write about all of them you would get intimidated by all of the text and not read. Instead, I will give you the “juicy stuff”…the events that will always stay in my memory and heart, the events that you might actually be interested in reading about.

I will start with the most important, or at least in my opinion—Gathirimu Girls’. I was privileged enough to be asked by Form Two Nile to join them in March for a trip to Mount Longonot. Mount Longonot is a beautiful mountain located in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya (one of my favorite places to go in Kenya). Hiking up this mountain with my girls was an amazing experience—one that will stay with me forever. I hiked up the mountain primarily with a group of eight girls. We were one of the last group coming up the mountain. During our journey up, many of my girls were ready to give up and go back down. It was so inspirational to be a part of this group and work together to help each other reach the top. If you were to ask the girls now if they thought they were going to make it to the top, they would tell you no. Once they reached to the top we were all celebrating and congratulating each other. What amazes me is the girls’ ability to defeat fear, overpower fatigue, and change their negative mindsets to positive. I was more proud of them then I can ever explain during this trip. I am very lucky and blessed to have gotten the chance to go on this trip and even more to be able to work with these wonderful girls every day. 

 

The girls closed on the thirteenth of April for their three week holiday before second term begins. I am proud and eager to say that both of my English classes performed very well on their final exam. Form Two especially did much better than I was anticipating. They had been struggling throughout the term a little and by the final exam they all scored above a C-. The Form One class I teach also did very well and all of the girls scored above a C. I told the girls that if the class as a whole was to score above a C- then we would a little celebration. I am excited to celebrate with them this coming week in school—we will watch a movie and have some snacks.

A few days after school closed, Morris and I went on a two week backpacking trip around Tanzania and the coast of Kenya. Our main purpose for going into Tanzania was to go to a town called Arusha to volunteer in an orphanage called Cradle of Love Baby Home. It was an amazing experience to play with the babies and help out the staff in whatever ways they needed. I was really impressed with the development of the orphanage and how well everyone worked together. The orphanage has 48 infant to three year olds. They have a nursery with nine newborns to six month olds and another house where the wobblers and toddlers stay. The majority of our time was spent with the older babies but we were able to visit the nursery as well.

After spending some time in Arusha with the babies, we took a bus to the capital Dar Es Salaam which was a twelve hour journey. In both Arusha and Dar we couch surfed with two very different people. My favorite experience was in Dar with our new friend Emanuel. He lives in a village about two hours away from Dar. It was so interesting and fun to experience a new village life in Africa. A few main differences from Mitahato were the houses which are made of mud, eating is always done sitting on a mat outside and only done with your right hand, and the soil was all sand. There were many other differences but those are some that stuck out to me. I really enjoyed meeting Emanuel and his family—they were very welcoming and we learned a lot by staying with them. The few days that Morris and I went to the city were spent going to a historic museum and relaxing on the beautiful tropical beach. 

Our next journey was from Dar back to Kenya to stay in Mombasa. The journey back to Kenya was another twelve hour bus ride. In Mombasa we stayed with Charles, Morris’ friend from high school. We were only there a few days but each day was very exciting and memorable. My favorite part of the whole trip was spent snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. Mombasa is home to the Kenyan National Marine Park. While in the marine park we got a chance to swim, go on a boat ride, and snorkel. I love snorkeling and this experience was absolutely amazing. The sea life that we saw was beautiful. I am very grateful for this experience and to have been able to spend it with good company. Our trip was completed with an eight hour night bus ride from Mombasa to Nairobi. It was a trip that I will never forget…filled with many mosquito bites, finishing two novels throughout the 38 hours of bus rides, and many other memories that will last forever.

Back in Mitahato, life has been very busy and exciting. About a day after we got back my friend Anna visited with me for a few days. This was really enjoyable because I don’t often get to talk about my experience in comparison to home and the other East African countries. I laughed so much while Anna was over—I hope to make a quick trip to visit her in Uganda if possible before I go back home. The day after Anna left Erin arrived. Erin is a Portland State University student that spent some time studying abroad and is now spending the remainder of her time in Africa volunteering in Mitahato with me. It has been really fun getting to know her and showing her around the village. She is spending her time volunteering at the new secondary school connected to Mitahato Primary School. She will also spend some time in Gathirimu getting to know the girls I teach. I really enjoy spending time with her an introducing her to my family here.

 

Now…school has started again the students are all back for the second term. This week has been spent having the girls take exams. I am eager for next week because teaching resumes and I missed my students a lot over the three week holiday. That is all the update for now…I will try to write in a timelier manner for the next post!