As most of you know, I was back in The Valley from March 22nd through the 28th for my Grandpa Rip's funeral. I still can't believe he's gone but I'm glad my Dad is an expert penny pincher and was able to fly me home. I don't know what I would've done had I not been able to attend. I'll miss hearing my Dad tell me that Grandpa says hello and to stay safe but I know that he will still be thinking that on a daily basis and at least this way he can keep a close eye on me. Gonna have to name my first dog Shep in his honor one of these days. I'll miss you and think of you always, Grandpa.
Plus side to coming home was obviously all the delicious food that I got to consume. As well as seeing my family. And even if Mom says it's not true, I know Oliver has gotten more obese since I left but to be positive about his weight gain, at least he's more fun to cuddle with now. Jack still remembers me and still hates Kait, so that's pretty hilarious. And the Nugget, ohhhh the Nugget, although I was only able to take you for a short stroll down Woodburn, it was the happiest moment of my life. But although the circumstances under which I went home were far from ideal, I'm so happy I got to spend time with my family and friends even if it was only for a couple days. Hopefully the incredible amount of questions I answered will hold you all over for another year or so. If not, you know how to reach me and I'm always happy to answer them. For those of you I wasn't able to see or even talk to, please accept my apologies and know that if I had more time I would've seen all of you.
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| You can't tell me he's not obese. |
But back to Kenya. Currently it's a lovely 79 degrees Fahrenheit and I know you're all jealous. As you should be. Currently, and for the last couple weeks, I've been working with a group of other volunteers to coordinate a girls empowerment camp called Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) that will take place over the course of next week. We will teach the girls all about health and hygiene issues, creating goals (both career and personal) for the future, and other assorted topics about gender equality, sex, and other fun stuff. We will travel with the girls to the coast town of Kilifi and stay on a university campus for the entire week. Each day they will have lessons on the above topics taught by myself and the other volunteers and then in the afternoon they will have the opportunity to play games and relax before dinner. We have a talent show, photo shoot, and a dance planned for them too which I know they will be ecstatic about. Most of these girls have never left their communities so taking them all the way to the coast will be an incredibly memorable experience for all of them. Plus, they get T-shirts! Nothing is official in Kenya until you get a T-shirt for it! :)
I got a cat. Andrea and I named him Gus Gus. He is insane and has been given many things that Kenyan cats aren't used to. Such as actual cat food, cat nip, toys, and a laser pointer. And yes, I did make the children I live with chase the laser pointer after they watched Gus chase it. It was hilarious.
Aside from this I've been busy styling my new hair. Because, yes, I did indeed get my hair braided and now that it's no longer insanely itchy, I'm kind of in love with it. Andrea has declared I now look so much like a hippie. I embrace this comment. And all of the children I live with (as well as the majority of my community) have decided I am officially Kamba now. They all tell me how smart I look every day (which means I look awesome) and they keep touching my hair. I can't say I don't love the attention for something other than my skin color.
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| Before I take it out I promise to post a picture of it down. |
Anywho, the library project is still in the works. We have it posted online now but the total amount we need to raise is not finalized and is likely to increase quite a bit more. But if you'd like to check it out and donate a little something (**cough cough**), we would all greatly appreciate it. Plus, if you could put the word out there to anyone else that you think might want to throw a little dough our way, that would also be greatly appreciated. Kenya Read Me A Story?
Once the camp is over and done with I'm going to try and get some other stuff going at my site. I'm pretty sick of just sitting around but due to situations generally out of my control, that seems to be what I end up doing more often than not. I love the Kamba people but I swear you have to light a fire under each and every one of them before they want to do anything.
