The end...

This has definitely been long awaited and I’m sure most of you can understand that since I have been home I have just been busy. Well let me be honest, business isn’t the whole part of the problem, I knew writing this would be a challenge and have been well, avoiding it. I think since it has been over a week if I wait much longer my readers will be gone and disappointed that I never finished, so let me finish.

Finals were interesting. What you do is write…and write and write and write. You answer anywhere from 3-5 multi-part questions by writing. So I will see how I did in a while, probably not until February – that is Kenya you know. Some exams were fair and some I hadn’t even heard of what was being asked but there isn’t really anything I can do about that now.

The last week I stayed on campus nearly the whole time. I spent a lot of time with friends. Raija and I had a few sleepovers, I spent time talking with Adams and just hanging out. I climbed to “the rocks” with a group of people so as not to start any relationship rumors (because that is what happens). I hiked to some other rocks outside of campus with my friend Octavian, had an awesome meal of cookies at Alice Matthew’s cookie party and tried to enjoy myself the best I could.

On Thursday, Raija accompanied me to Nairobi at 5:30 in the morning. We began our day at Gi Kom Ba, the biggest market in Nairobi. There were clothes EVERYWHERE; they even had shoes, towels, drapes, hats, and toys. It was the biggest “rummage sale” I have ever seen. When we were shopping for shoes the number of people was countless and you got pushed around and it was just crazy! The deal here is, almost everyone – especially in the morning – was shopping for massive amounts of items at a really cheap price to sell in other markets for a profit. I bought some tops and shorts for 20, 30, 40, or 65 cents. It was very cheap!

Life had been very good until Friday at 5 o’clock came…and everyone began to leave. It was this realization that some of these people are your best friends in the world and the chances of you ever seeing them again are slim. I mean I promised them I would be back in 2-6 years but if cell phone numbers change or contacts get lost it may be hard to find them. It is all about accepting what you have though. I am so grateful for everyone I met on this trip and I wouldn’t change that for the world. You learn a lot in making relationships. I remember being hesitant, not even long ago about making relationships you have to lose because once the two people are separated, what is left? But relationships are so much more than what is left physically. The memories you make in life, most of the good ones, and most of those that will ever stand out are the ones with people you are close to.

Being back for more than a week now and sharing my experiences with others I touch on all of the things I did, everything that was exciting and everything that was different than home. Than I am asked if I will go back and yes of course I will go back but what I’m not sure if people realize is my real reason for going back. It is all in the relationships – the country is beautiful but the people who became my friends and welcomed me there are the reasons I want to go back. When telling someone about the trip it is difficult to explain those relationships, they just sort of blossom out of something and eventually become strong. I have friends who may not exactly be my “Alaina” but for the amount of time I spent there we definitely made a strong bond.

I was so nervous going that I would have a hard time making friends, and it did take a while. The last night in Kenya when I had a “sleep over” with Raija we talked about how making friends is difficult and how deciding how much time to spend with a person is even more difficult. We both had feelings the first weeks we started hanging out about how much time can I spend with this person – does she think it’s weird if I always want to go for meals with her? Does she want to spend so much time with me? You waste a lot of time being bored worrying you are spending too much time with a person who actually wants to spend just as much time with you. I think looking at a lot of my friendships – especially those that developed in the last couple weeks I wasted a lot of time in the beginning not spending time with them.

I can prove to you in a very simple way how it was these relationships that made the trip worthwhile. Friday when everyone left I began to get teary eyed, it didn’t escalade to full blown tears because Raija and I began our girls night together. The next morning Monica, Lora, and Raija all left about 9 o’clock. Monica and Lora said good bye and loaded the bus. I stood waiting for Raija because she had run back to her room to grab something. As I stood there alone realizing hey my best friend is leaving and I don’t know when I will see her again I definitely began to cry. As soon as she got on the bus I walked back to my room – the back way. I had other friends loading those busses but I couldn’t stay to say goodbye because I couldn’t stop crying. My roommate, an RA, was the last good friend to go. There was a special bus for them at 11. She was the last one to load because she was writing me a goodbye note so we ran down to the bus and quick said goodbye as she hopped on. I walked back with someone which helped hold the tears in but once I was alone I got that bad feeling.

I spent about 8 more hours at school that day. I was still in Kenya and still had the beauty of the country but it just no longer felt right. I had a few friends still hanging around the school, but no one I was really close with. I spent about 45 minutes talking with one of the security guards, and a lot of time on my own just messing around on my computer. I had lunch with some guys and ended up with a Kenyan scarf because Map just said I had to have to have one.

On my way back to the room before supper I ran into Eric. Eric was a student in my Intro to Counseling class and was the first student picked to come for exchange. He wasn’t able to afford the plane ticket and won’t be able to come. We had never really talked before but on the walk back to the dorm he began to tell me his life’s story and we stopped and sat for a good hour or more as he talked. I have never heard something so amazing and the ways God has worked in his life are just unimaginable. I wish I had the permission to share with all of you but just know that if you have faith you can overcome anything.

We had a quick supper and I headed to the dorm to wait for the van that was to take me to the airport. Eric accompanied me and brought with him his friend Joseph. My other friend Peter Mathew also came with. We talked and shared some stories on the ride and it was great to have them with and not ride alone. When I got to the airport it was a quick goodbye because the driver needed to get out of there and you couldn’t walk into the airport without a boarding pass.

Well I got on the plane and in about one day I was home. If you ask anyone who came to pick me up from the airport if I was excited to be home they will tell you “no.” My face and actions weren’t exactly the overwhelming excitement you expect from someone who you have been waiting months to see – and they have been waiting months to see you as well. It was hard. I don’t really know how else to explain it, I was excited to see them but at the same time I have left a lot behind.

The transition back home has been difficult. I enjoy every minute of my life here and with these people but the “excitement” factor is relatively low compared to what I have just experienced. Just the other day I started really acting like myself again and I believe I truly annoyed my mom and Jordan. I think however that is a good thing. Just talking with someone today gave me the notion to actually think about being back and I came up with something to this extent – there are things you have to wait for – but in the waiting live life the way it comes. I think from here on out this is what I will try. I want to go back so badly and I know it will happen someday but instead of sitting here waiting for that to come; I am just going to play out life the way God hands it to me. All should go well.

As for this blog, I think I will leave it at that. You don’t need to be checking any longer to see what I have to say. Maybe one day I will begin a new one about some other exciting adventure but for a while life will simply be humdrum.

Thank you for keeping track of me and reading my experiences. There is so much more I could say and there are so many experiences I have left out but I know your reading time and my writing time are limited. Just so you know I am open to specific questions, and I like those because they are easy to answer. There are some tough questions too but I am open to those as well because they get me to really think and even realize new things myself. And if you want to see pictures just ask because I have many and am more than happy to show them!

So anyways, nice time!