Climbing Mountains n' stuff

22/4/13
I've been writing this blog post over the course of a few days. Since the internet connection is sketch, I just keep adding to it when it doesn't upload.

Lately I've thinking about my return to school and I'm a little concerned at my mental capabilities. After being away from school for so long, will I  be able to jump back in and learn like I did in high school? In some ways I hope I can jump back into my studies, but in a different way, I know I won't study like I did before. I'm not the same person all together that I was when I left. Whatever I do when I get home and go to school, it'll be done differently than before. At least a little bit. With that said, there is still a piece of me that is really paranoid that my brain will be so used to not studying and learning from life experience that it will refuse to learn from books. I guess there's really no way to know until I get there.

With all the destruction and chaos going on in the U.S. I don't think I want to come home. Okay that's not exactly true, but America seems like a scary place right now. It's a shame that when I hear news of what is going on back home, it's destruction and crime. Yes, that kind of stuff happens all the time in Kenya, but it's publicized so much more in America. It puts things out of perspective. It makes me sad that people have to hide from what is going on outside. It was the same with elections here. People were so afraid, and for good reason, to leave their houses because of so much violence. To some extent, I believe in staying safe, but if fear of the outside is going to keep a person from enjoying her life, then really, what is the point. Who can really justify invoking so much fear into other people, to make them afraid to leave their house? Not only do these acts of terrorism rob people of their friends and family, they rob people of living their lives. I encourage my friends, family, strangers and even myself to step out of our comfort zones. How the heck can a person manage the courage to step out of his comfort zone if he is going to get shot down the second he takes that first step? Take the Boston marathon for example, my amazing Auntie had the privilege, and ability (props to her) to run in the marathon last week. Had she known there was even the slightest possible threat of a bombing or had been one in the past, would she still have participated? Knowing her, she probably still would have competed, but I'm sure thousands of participants would have dropped out if they knew of a risk. Thank God she and my uncle and cousin were out of the way when destruction hit, but I can't imagine the horror for all those injured and families of the dead. I won't even pretend to know what their families are going through. Fear keeps people from stepping outside their comfort zones. Yes, stepping up and running the race knowing fully of the dangers is an example of moving away from the known in the unknown, but that is an extreme. For some people, simply running a marathon is stepping out of a comfort zone. It would be for me. But they don't need the extra risk of losing their lives on top of everything else. Things like this keep people, who might be inclined to live ordinary lives, from living extraordinary lives. I know I've rambled for a bit, so I'll get to my point now. What I'm trying to say is that if you aren't going out and trying something new every day, then how are you going to differentiate one day from the next? What keeps all those days from running together? That would be adventure and variety.

Yesterday I climbed a mountain. That is what separates yesterday from the day before that. I know, it's easy for me to say "do something new everyday" when I'm in a new and different place, but this is something I will bring home with me for sure. It doesn't have to be something bit. It can be as simple as brushing my teeth starting on the left side instead of the right side. Okay, a little bigger than that, but that's my point. Why not try something new? It's a little bit of effort, but the reward is worth it. I wish I had realized this sooner.

Going back to the whole mountain thing, it really did happen! There is a cool monument called the Kakapel Monument about a half hour drive away from the mission house. We took all the boys up there and let them loose. 28 of us climbed up a cliff covered in grass and little billy goats. The view from the top was breathtaking. It was a serious lion king moment. My pictures just don't do it justice. However, the pictures that Rae, one of the peace corps volunteer, took do a pretty good job of depicting the behavior of Kenyan teenagers. They are too funny with their strange model poses.
We were joined on friday by Tom and Elizabeth, a couple who lives in Kisumu. They are here from North America (Tom from the states, Elizabeth from Canada) to teach math at a university in Kisumu. They came to Amagoro to teach Math at our camp. Tom brought a ukulele and accompanied his lesson with a song about math. After a long day of Math we were all sitting down to a lovely dinner when we received an unexpected visitor. He swooped in to say hello. It wouldn't have been such a big issue if he wasn't a bat. That's right. A bat came to join us for dinner. Inside our house. I don't know how he got in in the first place, but no matter the reason, we all hid under the table until he got his fill of terrorizing us. After dinner, we had the boys in the house working on their life stories while the bat swooped around. They didn't even notice. I made frequent trips to my room to hide.

The next morning, Nasi, Gilbert, and Matt arrived from Nairobi. I'm happy to have them here. I really enjoy their company. They've started their lessons on creativity, careers and entrepreneurship, and innovation. It sounds like the boys are enjoying the lessons because, yesterday, while I was lying on my bed trying stay alive after that hike, I heard a lot of laughter and discussion coming from the workshop.
We went to church yesterday. I realized I haven't been to many church services since I've been here. The congregation in Amagoro is Anglican. I was prepared to spend 4+ hours in a boiling room, but the service was only a refreshing 3 hours long. Singing, dancing and shouting were plentiful throughout the morning. The Elewana students had prepared a song for the congregation, thanks to Mama Beatrice. We three attending volunteers were invited to get up and introduce ourselves too. We did NOT sing for the congregation.

The next item on our agenda is planning the talent show. Joy sneakily escaped by appointing herself a judge, but Rae and I have to prepare something to present. We've got something pretty good planned, if I don't say so myself. Apparently, our boys have got quite a few talents hidden up their sleeves. We've got a comedian, dancers, musicians etc. It will prove interesting to see where they go with the talent show. Our scavenger hunt went off with few problems, We're keeping our fingers crossed for the talent show panning out similarly.

Today, Joy and I have a lesson on healthy relationships today. I'm preparing to face my lesson this morning. I don't know why teaching intimidates me so much, but I'm just going to buck up and have fun. Here we goooo.