It's been a huge week here in Kenya. Not just for me, but for the country as a whole. Oooh Where to begin. . . I'll start with giving you a tidbit of the mayhem that broke out on our ride to Eldoret, Kenya to visit an IDP camp. When people talk about learning about 'real' Kenya, they often are referring to understanding the depths of the poverty, disease, and hunger that occur here. However, there's another side of 'real' Kenya which I have been horribly ignorant about, until I experienced a bit of it first hand. Many conversations with Kenyans [View Full Entry]

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I want to start off this post by thanking everyone for all of the comments. It's really nice that you're all interested and following along with everything here, and it really means a lot to me! I've spent a lot of time thinking about everything that happened in the beginning of last week, and of course asking the typical 'why' and 'how' questions. Although I don't think there is ever going to be a real concrete questions as to why anyone should have to endure such suffering, the days following last Wednesday helped me come to some realizations. As Thursday started, [View Full Entry]

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I have to say that the past 3 days have been some of the roughest days since I got here, and also the first days that have really made me realize that I am NOT in America or just 'playing doctor', I am in rural Africa surrounded by some of the toughest situations I have ever seen. I'll explain. . . I've been spending most of my time in the clinic with the physician, George. We have a pretty good system going, because I do all of the recording and charting while he translates, and he does a lot of explaining [View Full Entry]

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Here's to hoping this post actually survives the sketchy internet here in Africa and makes it through the airwaves. I say this because on Saturday I spent about 45 minutes giving a relatively detailed update of the week (per Erin's request), while making my roommates patiently wait so I could finish. Naturally, as soon as I hit the 'publish' button, I got that pleasant white screen that says "Error!" (With an exclamation mark, like it's laughing at me!) and it was all gone! Bummer. . . That said, I am going to make this an even more brief update in case [View Full Entry]

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I think it's safe to say that I have experienced culture shock in many regards throughout the past week and a half. I am finally settled into a place where I am staying for another month, and doing my best to alter my mindset from that of an awestruck tourist (which I am), to trying to find purpose and reason in being here. Unfortunately trying to integrate myself into everyday Kenya is incredibly difficult when I am being continuously stared at and hear shouts of "Muzungu!" Everywhere I go. The first true shock I experienced in Kenya was last Friday. I [View Full Entry]

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How do I even begin to talk about the madness that has been this week?! I guess I'll begin with the essentials: I am safe, happy, and haven't been mauled by any wild animals, so that's a good start. Anyways, the trip here was relatively uneventful, except for the fact that I was in such a state of exhaustion from Germany that I foolishly wore shorts to the airport. Thus, the 9 hour layover in Egypt was potentially the most uncomfortable 9 hours of my life, as I stuck out like a sore thumb. I spent the whole day hiding in [View Full Entry]

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Wow, so much has happened since the last update that I dont even really know what to say or how to fit it all in here. Since I last wrote, we have been to been to Cinque Terra, Rome, and are now back in Frankfurt enjoying the last day of the most amazing trip ever. Again, the moping is back, as I am not happy to be leaving Europe, but I suppose all good things must come to an end (if it came to an end about 3 weeks later though, that would be ok with me) So Ill try and [View Full Entry]

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We're coming to the end of our Madrid trip, and are headin out for the airport in about 6 hours. The irony of this is that we decided to go ahead and stay in tonight as opposed to going out with a few of Tim's friends to give ourselves a nice 'easy' night, but at this point our sleep schedules are so out of whack that I'll be lucky to get in 4 hours tonight. Fortunately for me, I have mastered the art of sleeping on an airplane. Madrid has been a very extreme mixture of easy-going and exhausting. It's been [View Full Entry]

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know that I had previously whined about having to leave London and not being ready. Well, I'm pretty much in repeat of that scenario right now. We are sitting the Dublin airport waiting to depart for Madrid, and I am back to my moping self because I am simply not ready to go! I think one of the great benefits of these vacations is that I am only in one place long enough to absolutely fall in love, and then it's time to go. Well, I don't know if this is a benefit or a curse, as it tends to [View Full Entry]

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We have safely arrived in Dublin! Our sanity, on the other hand, is loosely intact. I know I already wrote an entry this morning describing our London trip, but we have a little bit of time before we can check into our hostel and the luxury of free wi-fi at the Dublin Public Library (which I am an official member of now. . . Requirement to use the computer. . .), so I am going to take advantage. Mom, I am also hoping this will put your mind somewhat at ease. . . But I know that might not be such [View Full Entry]

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