discovery

I swear there is a lot that the Peace Corps does not tell you during the pre-departure and basically the whole time you are here. Let's be honest.

It has been 4 times now that we have been lined up for shots I thought I already had. The more protection the better, I suppose.

What else?

That first week felt like I was at some summer camp or something with an incredible amount of tea breaks. Sit in a room. Talk about poop for an hour and a half. Get a shot. Tea break. Learn how we are going to stick out. Tea break. And it went on and on. Then for a few days go camping at a volunteer site. Just check it out. No one except the volunteer will know English. Good luck.

It was not what I was expecting.
You adjust. Be flexible.

But here in this Peace Corps group you can't find the normal tree hugging hippies you thought you'd encounter. My RED group has a wide variety of people. There is everything from the frat boy who still loves to party to the drama geek and the loveable hipster to the awkward amine lover. But we are all here for one purpose and it is beautiful. It makes us family.

It is really hard to remember sometimes but important to make sure we don't tear each other down.

I have been assigned to the Bemba language.

The Bemba language.
Oh my.

My greatest desire is to be fluent one day. For now I still in class and struggle. I dedicate my every non-busy moment to studying the language. I wake up early and go to bed late in efforts to study a little bit more. Hopefully my efforts will be blessed.

I love my host family. My Zambian mom is awesome. I think she is my age but I have not asked. I know she dropped out of school in 9th grade and got married. I have a little brother who is 5 and a sister who is 10. I love them both. My dad is very protective and kills spiders with his hands like a boss.

Zambia is beautiful. It is the typical African picture you have in your head. Huge savannas with grass huts dotting the land. Riding my bike through the area is magical and something out of National Geographic. I get to see the Milky Way every night when I brush my teeth. Heaven is in my backyard. Zambia is beauty you have to see with your own eyes.

It is really weird being in Africa where the people don't speak Swahili and it is not Kenya. I am adjusting and finding a love for this land and people in my heart.

Maybe even Bemba.

But my reason for not blogging is that it cuts into my Bemba studying time.
True fact.

why

I have been asked a lot where my desire to join the Peace Corps came from. I have no idea when it started or how I even heard about the Peace Corps. 

I do remember my friend, Brittany Duffy, in high school talking about how when she is older that she is going to join the Peace Corps. I remember thinking in that moment that she was crazy and I would never do the same. I was more focused on the BYU-Idaho dream. They don't call it BYU-I do for nothing. But fast forward 6 years; she has the cutest toddler and husband while I am leaving for the Peace Corps on Monday. 

But where did the reminder of the Peace Corps come all these years later? I have no idea. 

One random day, I found myself on their website watching their 16 minute informational video and I was hooked. 

I mentioned this before. I was in a crossroads in my life. I was trying to figure out if the Peace Corps was right. There was this moment that I knew. I knew with every part of me that it was what I needed in my life. No doubt in my mind. 

I was at church and it was Sunday school time (my least favorite). I went to the converts class. I have no idea what the lesson was on. Latu Tuakalau was teaching, I remember that. He ended the lesson with is clip by Alan Watts. 

Literally changed my life. 

I knew all along I was supposed to do the Peace Corps. It was the slap in the face I needed. All I wanted was someone to remind me why and that is what I got.  

"It is better to have a short life filled with things you like doing then a long life spent in a miserable way."

-Alan Watts.

whirlwind

It all happened so fast. I was just busy living my life. Waking up early, washing clothes and the house, fetching water, taking bucket showers, going to the hospital, hanging out with the elders, playing with the kids for hours, etc. And all the sudden, I was going home on Thursday. 

Just like that. 

It came out of no where. 

It was hard for me to swallow but everyone else seemed like they had an even harder time. They all took it like I was playing a practical joke on them. I couldn't have been telling the truth. Oh, but I was. 

And so I am home now and currently waiting for 6:30 am to roll around so I can head off to work. 

Just like that. 

Back to the thug life. 

But there was a ton we did before we left. Let me try to summarize it with lots of pictures. 

Hung out with the kid like everyday.

Gave all the kids BYU-I shirts.

Went to 14 Falls for a Zone Meeting with the missionaries.

Matching lunch dates with the elders. 

Many hospital trips for this lush lady. 

YSA activities at Mountain View.

Handing out donated backpacks collected by my mom and Tim. 

Swimming for Papa's birthday

Tim came and got a girl friend. Aren't they perfect?

Stake sports day!

Taking some kids to the Tusker's game. 

Falling in love with this boy. 

A baptism for a really good friend's sister.

Taking all the kids swimming. 

Prize giving day.

Saying goodbye. 

Being famous at the stake center. 

And letting the kids experience Easter the American way. 

And that was Kenya 2014.

letters

I have been inspired by my cousin and my friend Madison. 

Dear Mosquitoes,

Thank you for loving Kaleigh way more than you love me. 

Dear Kenyan Hospitals,

You need to treat your patients nicer, give them pain killers and numbing medicine when necessary. I hate you so much. I just had to get it off my chest. See you soon! 

Dear Muddy Roads,

Enough is enough. I am tried of washing my shoes. 

Dear Kenya,

You are beautiful. I adore you. 

Dear Prayers,

I am sorry I have so much to say lately. There is just so much to be grateful for and there is so much need I see around me. I hope you understand. But please, please help shosho feel better and let Opondo have a better home. I want those two in particular so bad. It would mean the world to me.

Dear Elders,

I love you. Keep the funny texts coming. Can we please match every time we see each other? No one has to know it was 100% on purpose. I love the little mzungu flare you add to my life. 

Dear Person,

Hi. I am here for you. Share the burden. Let's do this. 

Dear Children, 

You are addicted to temple run. It is time to confess and forsake. 

Dear Mom & Dad,

Thank you for supporting me and my crazy love for Africa. It means the world to me. 

Dear Water Buckets,

You get really heavy when you are full and make me really tired when I carry you upstairs. I would love to have running water but you the best I can get right now. We definitely have a love-hate relationship. I can't picture my life right now without you. 

Dear June 10th,

You are coming up way too fast. I am not ready to move to Zambia. 

falling in love

I went back to the place where I fell in love with Kenya. It seems like every patch of grass, mound of dirt and tree has a memory. 

This is where I saw Musa's head sliced open for the first time. 

This is where I super glued Francis's foot to his shoe. 

This is where I was taught how to do a somersault and a cartwheel.  

This is where I knew my life had been changed. 

Oprah arranged for us to come. Last time we were in Kenya the manager at TCRC (Thika) told us she has been looking for a new home for some of the boys. Naturally I thought of Eternal Hope (where we are now). We set up the arrangements and now three of our favorite boys are going to have a new safer and loving home soon. 

There has been a lot of complications with paper work and the process is long and complicated but soon the boys will be changing homes.

Oprah called TCRC and said she wanted to visit the boys. Tony drove us. We got there and it was like a flood gate of memories hit. 

The boys were in school and so we went into the kitchen to set up the snacks and food we brought for the boys to munch on. As soon as the bell released them from school a flood of my favorite people in the world rushed into Kaleigh and my arms. It was like out of a movie. One boy after another jumped into my arms. I could have died. I was so happy. 

It was one of those moments that you wish you could stop time. 

My kids. My heart. 

It was all there.

We fed them. We played with them. We gave them books, toys and games. We took pictures. 

They begged us to not go. 

But as all good things.

It had to come to an end with a resolve to come back. 

I love those boys with all my heart even the annoying ones. 

I cannot wait to see them again. Oh my gosh. I cannot wait. They are perfect. 

The lucky three. 

Can we just take a moment and look at this child? 

Edi Opondo. 

He is my favorite. I know we are not supposed to have favorites but I couldn't help it. 

I would do anything for him. 

You have to agree that he is one lush son of God. 

trying to fit in

This trip to Kenya is not like my normal pop by. The orphanage we were going to stay at refused to let us come. Luckily another orphanage in Nairobi was welcoming. 

Here there are just over 30 kids. It is a mixture of boys and girls but definitely more girls. Our house is large and spacious. We have rooms that we do nothing with except maybe hang our delicates to dry after we wash them or let my dirty clothes pile up. We got here and in the house we only had bunk beds, mattresses and blankets. 

Perfect. Sleeping is covered. 

Nothing a quick trip to the supermarket could not take care of. 

Now that we have been here for a week, it is almost like we live here. 

The locals are getting more used to us. (Or not. We still get called all sorts of tribal names and the famous, mzungu.)

Here in Kayole it is a constant battle to find out where I fit in. In Thika we had made our mark. Everything seemed to flow. Now it is back to the square one. 

It was a new adventure to get my phone to work and new internet. It was an adventure to find a bank. Every time we need to get new food from the shop it is an adventure. Nothing is what we are used to. There is no flow and independence seems to be slightly taken away. 

As time passes it will get better. Things will also flow here in Kayole. But for now there is a lot of texting, calling, asking Oscar for help. Bless his soul. 

The kids are also at school all morning until like 4 or 5 in the afternoon sometimes. So Kaleigh and I have a lot of down time. I read, The Kite Runner, in 3 days. It was seriously so good. I highly suggest it. 

Also a perk about living with girls: they can braid hair! Guess who got lines in their hair last night? That's right. This sister right here. 

And I didn't end up going to Uganda that first week. I came to Kenya and realized I was needed somewhere else. 

So, kwaheri from Kenya for now.

oh canada

As it is snowing outside and I am waiting for my next flight here in Toronto, Canada, I thought that I would blog. I am going to Turkey next and finally Nairobi getting into country at 3:30 am. Who found these flights anyway? Me.

First of all, it is freaking weird to think that I am going somewhere super hot and it is all snowy outside. I flew in and literally thought to myself that I am not prepared for this but I am only here in snow land for 6 hours.

Okay. Okay. Now to the goods.

I feel like a lot of people are confused. I am not in the Peace Corps yet. I am just taking a little trip to Kenya before I head off for 27 months. I will be back in America in May.

This trip has been a struggle to plan. The orphanage that normally hosts me does not have as open arms as they say. They say that they have "other projects" going on and so they do not want any volunteers right now.

I did some research into that and it sounds like the manager is just lying to me.
After a few days of feeling homeless and SUPER stressed, I found the next best option.

Kaleigh and I will stay at Eternal Hope. It is an orphanage run by an American Mormon family. It is co-ed. That is going to be so weird. Girls are so dang moody. I know I will learn to love these kids so much.

I have gone and visited this orphanage many times. Oscar and Gabby work here. I am going to get to see those two lush men almost every single day now. That will be way different.

As you have also maybe noticed; Kaleigh and I are flying out a week apart.

I am taking this first week to make a trip to Uganda. What am I going to do there? I have no idea. Who do I know there? Not a soul, really. It is just because I purely have this desire to go to Uganda. Seize the day!

And that it is. I will be in America in May and then make my more permanent move to Zambia in June. So, don't freak out if you were not able to give me a proper goodbye.

We still have time.