Heather Goes Abroad

Homestays!!! Today was monday which means another new week! Our day was spent inc classrooms observing and spending time with the kids. We had an amazing lunch of ugali and cabbage that the school made for us. Shortly after that, Kat and I met up with an adorable little 8 year old girl named Julianna. Julianna was the daughter in the family that was our host family! She walked us back to her house (about 25 minutes) and we settled in. Stepping foot in their home was a huge wave of shock. This trip has exposed us to many forms of culture shock and this was another example. The house which was about half the size of my bedroom at home was in a compound along with about 20+ other homes. There were two communal squatting potties and two communal “showers” shared by everyone. While we sat in the chairs waiting for the parents to get home a number of other neighbour kids came over and we all hung out and danced and sang together! Once the mom (Regina) and dad (Vincent) got home from work, we helped them prepare a supper of ugali, greens, maize, and fish. The kitchen consisted of a propane tank and burner and some pots and pans all hidden behind a curtain, and a small charcoal fire outside the door. After supper we all talked about our lives and showed each other photos of our families and friends! Soon after we moved the chairs and table then we set up our sleeping bags an called it a night! This was extremely eye opening and humbling and instantly made me more appreciative for everything I have. Tuesday morning we were awaken around 3:30 by mom washing last nights dishes and getting ready for work. Eventually we got ready and walked to school. Today was insanely busy as we were just kind of thrown into classrooms and told to teach with no guidance, and lack of supplies. It was definitely an experience to say the least… Shoutout to all the teachers out there! We once again returned to our homestay family for another night which was filled with laughs, singing, dancing, and lots of chapati! Mom worked with me and Kat to help improve our chapati making skills so if anyone wants one when I come home, let me know! On Wednesday there was no school because of a national holiday so we did not actually work with students. Instead we packed up and said some hard goodbyes with our new Kenyan family and met up with the rest of the group at the school. Simon (the principal) had planned to take us on a walk that day and although there was no school we still went on one. We had no idea what to expect but we figured it would be a couple hours walking around the area…. Well over 4 hours later we made it back to camp exhausted like we have NEVER been before! We ended up going on an 11+ km hike which included bushwhacking our way up the side of a –very steep- mountain/hill, then through the community. Halfway through the hike, right after I had finished consuming my first one litre Nalgene bottle, I went to drink from my second bottle and with my luck as I was screwing on the lid it slipped and all of the water spilled all over me and the ground. It would have been fine if we weren’t bushwhacking at an altitude of 2103m or 6900ft in 24 degree heat but I made it out alive and now I am still thriving! After the walk we went back to relax at the campground and pack up to leave the next morning on our next adventure!!