And let the adventures begin..

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There is so much to write so let me jump right in…
I have learned more in the last week than I thought I would the whole trip (I will be honest, I tend to be a little arrogant when it comes to cross cultural speeches from people because I believe I have seen the worst of the worst). However, after venting to my new found friend Jill she said it best by responding, “yeah when I first came my husband’s and I’s first letter home was title Reverse Cultural Shock” (yes her husband did go to Eastern and I didn’t even know them before I arrived- “we” tend to find each other somehow). I did not lie to you when I told you that I love it here and when I described it as rich in culture and diversity, because it is. But now let me describe this country to you like this… all of those things you hear me rant and rave about in the US (the rich white people, the marks of racism that still exists, etc) is AMPLIFIED by at least 10. I was in shock by the western mark on this absolutely beautiful country.
I live in a place called Runda- on my first day they told me I live in the Beverly Hills of Kenya -you can imagine how ‘thrilled’ I was (I have tried to escape on my many of occasions haha). There is Runda Road that literally separates the guarded “mazungus” (rich foreigners) from the slums. I will never understand how people don’t learn from each other mistakes. To help you understand my DEEP feelings you must understand the core of CaraMay. I CAN’T look at a group of people and see exactly that. Without any thought I see a little boy named John who loves to play soka (soccer) and who can’t wait to take me to his one room shack and introduce me to his toothless mother who probably has never taken a proper shower. As I pick up the 3 week old orphan who was found on the street last week I see the same thing that I did when I babysat back in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and that is God in His purest form.
But enough of that haha, this weekend has satisfied a small amount of my adventurous and curious spirit. On Friday I went to the Nest. It’s a halfway house for women who were in jail to be reunited with their children. Recently, it has taken in infants who are orphans. I love this place because the teachers at my school foster the babies and take them as often as they can to help them grow up with at least a small amount of love. Something I would love to do. Then I went to our schools soka game and met the sister of a friend from Eastern who attends RVA (the rival school to Rosslyn). I then went out with some teachers to a place called DP for Indian food-my favorite!
On Saturday we went to the country side to farms. I got to see tea field after tea field (a mark of the mazungus). The houses were hundreds of years old English style homes and were BEAUTIFUL! The Kenyans worked in these fields picking leaves by hand. It kinda felt like a I was in a scene from Out of Africa. Then I made my escape. I did something NO mazungu (especially female) would ever do. I walked into the slums with my little friend John and went to have tea in his home. Unfortunately, I visit was cut short because I made quite the impression and after being surrounded by at least 50 people I looked at John and said “Ummm I feel nervous, can we go?” haha no worries mommy I was never in danger- its just that most mazungus are deathly afraid of Kenyans. Then I did something else that is very rare for female mazungus, I got on a matatu. It’s a “taxi”-white van that crams in as many people as it can- and went to the market. When I told people that have been here for years that I did that they all responded exactly the same, “Well good for you, I haven’t even ever done that yet”.

Sorry this is getting so long but I haven’t written in forever. The only other thing to report on is that today I went to a slum church down south. One of the things I love the most about Africa is that you can dance in church haha but seriously….
But I am still learning the language and learning to be content in all circumstances. The Lord has done wonders in my heart and taught me so much about what He desires. Today, the baba (father) I live with told me the following thought, which I will leave you with.
“Motivation behind your actions has a huge part in it. The end of human nature it is pleasing humans. The end of Christianity SHOULD be pleasing God. If you feed the hungry for any other reason than to please God, even to help them, it does nothing. It’s like leading worship. Sometimes when I see people leading, I think if their motivation isn’t in the right place I’m sure God is plugging his ears and saying ‘I’m not listening to you’”.

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Comments

[Katie]

Ahh Cara what a life you live. I am so happy you are exploring the world to its ends. I miss you terribly though and want you to come home! But I will get over my selfishness soon enough. Your thoughts are amazing and I hold them close to my heart. I will pray for you (when I do haha) and think of you always! Love you and miss you!

[Michael futebol]

Hey
I loved your blog and your claims of Kenyan colonial mentalities and inferiority complexes had a lot of truth in them. I'm a native Kenyan high school student and I see it all the time in this country, it's down right sickening how so many of my country men literally "worship" wazungus. A lot of it is spanned from colonialism and the post colonial reassurance of missionaries. It's funny that you mentioned RVA because I went to RVA for a brief stint before high school and I absolutely hated it. It always shocks me to see soooooooo many foreigners and former colonial masters in the Kenyan elite. I also wanted to add that I appreciate your courage to venture out into the slums, it's not something that many foreigners (particularly women) do. I know MANY foreigners in this country who have lived here for years but have never stepped foot inside a slum let alone a matatu. Kuddos Bravo As far as your mission work is concerned..... I'd rather not get into that because I don't want to come off as too aggressive or offensive. I have a serious dissent when it comes to mission work but I appreciate your humanitarian effort. Kwaheri