Something To Look Forward To

Recently I've noticed that I'm settling in here. A student teacher arrived at the school this week, and in showing her around I discovered that I did know a little about this place... I think being around someone newer than you makes you feel less clueless. We went to the shopping center and I even sort of showed her where things were, though I'm still not entirely comfortable at Nakumatt: I was there kind of late last Thursday night, and they pulled down the giant metal blue garage doors (like when they close stores at malls in the States) while I was still in the checkout line. As I watched the blue metal descend and lock, I thought about how I had not yet put the number for the US Embassy in my phone, so how would they know to rescue me, trapped in this African Walmart? But despite the occasional Nakumatt-induced anxiety attack, things are looking up.

I can tell because there are things I'm looking forward to. At first, everything in a new place is about survival: How do I eat? Where do I sleep? Will it rain into my apartment? What do I do if I get sick? Are there snakes here? Eventually, resolving those issues becomes more subconscious and I can focus on broader but still pressing questions: How am I relating to people? How are people relating to me? Is there something I should be doing about either of those? What are we doing in class tomorrow? Will this amount of money last the whole month? But now, after 2 months in Kenya and 6 weeks of school, I can say that there's been enough stability that I can see beyond my immediate needs and I have found things to look forward to.

Some are small- I know when the new month comes, they will refill the sodas in the staff refrigerator. I have discovered that I really like Stoney, which is like ginger ale on steroids- it's REALLY strong, almost frighteningly so. Sometimes my tongue recoils at the last couple sips, but I like it! Because Stoney is so good, all of them are gone by the middle of the month. So I'm looking forward to the re-stock.

I'm also looking forward to spending more time with Paul Robinson, the director of the HNGR program (HNGR is what I did in Thailand). Paul and his wife Margie are my adopted parents at Wheaton, and Paul is in Africa for a few weeks on HGNR business, staying near campus. As it turns out, there are 4 current interns placed in Nairobi right now, so he brought them over to my apartment last weekend. Travis and Lydia, two more Wheaton friends who are currently missionaries in Kenya, came over too. They each were HNGR interns as well, so they know Paul. The 8 of us celebrated communion together in my living room last Sunday afternoon- it was a balm to my soul. Somehow, seeing the familiar faces of Travis, Lydia and Paul against the backdrop of my apartment here made it real that this is my life now. Something important connected when that happened; I think I decided to really be here. Anyhow, Paul is around for another weekend, so we'll go to church together tomorrow, and I hope to connect with the other interns before they leave in November as well.

Another looming highlight is the birth of Travis and Lydia's baby. They are missionaries in Mehru, their doctor is here in Nairobi, and they're past due, so they're hanging out in the city until the baby comes. Every time I get a text message from them, I check to make sure I have matatu fare to the hospital...

Now, nothing against Paul or the baby, but the thing I am looking forward to the very most has not yet been mentioned: CFS. That stands for Cultural Field Studies, and basically it's a super-cool field trip. Each grade at Rosslyn from 6th -12th goes on a multi-night trip into Kenya to learn about her land and culture and to combat the isolation so often present at international schools. The price is part of tuition, and the teachers go as chaperones. So a week from Wednesday, I leave with the 7th graders for Lake Naivasha. We'll stay at a camp for 2 nights, go hiking, sing silly songs around the campfire, and eat junk food in the cabins. I love taking middle schoolers to camp, so of course that will be great, but it gets even better. You see, there will be hippos. Lake Naivasha has hippo herds. (I love that phrase!) People have tried to explain to me that the hippopotamus is one of the most dangerous animals on planet earth, far more fierce and scary than, say, a grizzly bear, and that my enthusiasm is misplaced. But I am enthusiastic nonetheless- we'll get to take a boat ride to see the hippo herds, and apparently, there is a curfew at the camp because the hippos come up on land at night, and you don't want to tangle with a hippo in the dark! I have a picture in my mind of Rosslyn 7th graders around a campfire, happily singing "Mm-att Went the Little Green Frog," when suddenly the menacing figure of a hippo enters the background. The students run, screaming... I'm looking forward to CFS, and I'll try to post some pictures. ;)