Ninafundisha watoto Rosslyn

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My time here has been a rollercoaster ride since I have arrived. There are times where I just love being in Kenya, but majority of the time I find myself counting the weeks left. It’s so hard because I have been looking forward to coming here for so long and always dreamed of myself living here.
It’s not Kenya that I don't like. It’s my experience. I have a hard time living in Runda (one of the richest suburbs here) and teaching at Rosslyn. I am trying to keep my head up and take every opportunity that comes my way to go outside of the bubble.

For example, today I am going home with our house worker Lista. I am very excited to spend the weekend with an African family (her husband and 2 girls). It is located in a slum pretty far away so I am also excited to ride the matatus and going to church with her on Sunday!!
Also, I have spent the last 2 Saturday mornings in the slum across the street, in a Kenyan High School. I think that from now on I will plan a children's program for Saturday morning for the HUNDREDS of little kids. So, I am excited about that too.

The best news however is....one week till SPRING BREAK!!!! haha
Teaching here is hard. I don't really like it (at all) so its very discouraging seeing as how it’s what I wanted to do with my life (that and I have to get an A). I often give myself pep talks like "it will be nothing like this where you are going" but that really doesn't work. I think the hardest thing is that I the number one thing I want all of my students to learn is TO LOVE LEARNING. Most days I feel like they hate being there...and really I don't blame them.

But enough about that. For spring break I think that I am going to go up country (OUT OF THE CITY!!!) and meet my compassion child. Then go on a walking safari with my family I live with. Mom you will be so jealous because they are staying in a TREE HOUSE 😊. Then I think I will spend the last few days visiting a "friend" who is volunteering at an orphanage up in Nakuru. Plans definitely have the chance of changing though so I will be sure to write after!

Some other exciting things I have been doing are volunteering at halfway house after school and I have continued to work on my Swahili. Many people say I am doing great for only 3 weeks, but they are probably just not use to Mazungus speaking to them. At the halfway house, I bathe and feed 15-20 babies and sing the stupidest songs to keep them from all crying at the same time. I also started going to a bible study with some Kenyan women (and that one teacher who married a guys from Eastern). I mention this because I want to brag that its at the 1st president of Kenya, niece' s house! Very interesting to interact with the upper class of Kenya.

I will leave you with one of the most positive notes I possibly could. The Lord has blessed me with an immense amount of patience and open mindedness during my time here. I really, really need that to survive. Although I am not like 95% of people that surround me during the day, I get that for many families this is not how they pictured their lives playing out. Which I laugh at myself a lot because at first I just couldn't understand how everyone doesn't want to in a 3rd world country raising their kids- sounds ideal to me! Greatest lesson I have learned is to hold me tongue 

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