The last week at the clinic was slow. One afternoon, we only had one patient, so the staff all bought Fantas and we sat outside and talked about swine flu. The day after the crazy rainy delivery, I developed a gnarly cough, so I had to deal with that for the remainder of my trip, but I'm starting to feel better now. I'm just hoping it's not tb or some Kenyan giraffe flu (just kidding, but seriously). In the afternoons, Somerlyn and I learned how to make Kenyan food! I can now make Ugali, which is great because I really needed that recipe for home (sarcasm). It was really fun though. They cook it for over 100 people in a giant cauldron with a wooden paddle spoon. When it thickens, it becomes so hard to stir and fold! The Kenyan cooks develop some serious strength making it everyday for so many people. We also learned how to cook crepes and chapati-YUM! I love how much they use their hands to mix and cook on one pan over a fire. Everything is fresh (even the milk) and made from scratch without any fancy toys or gadgets. It was fun to spend time with the people who cooked for us all month long! On Friday, I went with a group to the HIV clinic in another town. The social workers take a different group of patients to this clinic every Friday for their check ups. I sat in with a fabulous Kenyan doctor for the day and helped him see patients. It was quite an incredible experience and I saw a wide range of patients, but mostly children and young adults. As heartbreaking it was to see so many babies and children with HIV, it was really awesome to see how good their lab values were because of the (free) treatment they were receiving and to know that their quality of life is hardly affected. Some patients opened up about how they were struggling and feeling hopeless and rejected, and it was amazing to see a doctor that was comforting and encouraging. On one patient's appointment card, in the comments section, it read, "Express care, show love", and I was so encouraged by that. How important it is to not only physically treat a disease and symptoms, but also to show love and care. It sounds so obvious, but trust me, if any of you have had many experiences at the hospital, you probably understand how most patients don't feel loved or cared for. I was blessed and inspired by the entire experience. The rest of the weekend was spent saying goodbye to certain people in the community, packing, and spending as much time as possible with the children. On Sunday at church, during the offering, people gave live chickens!! I was so confused, I thought they were going to be sacrificed or something, and then they were auctioned off! It was so hilarious. I pictured that going down in Crosswinds and it was an entertaining daydream. That weekend, some serious violence broke out in the community, so ELI was busy dealing with the situation. On Sunday, I had lunch at a staff member's house and in his living room were 3 Kenyan officials with AK-47's. Just a little intimidating! There are some deep rooted issues in the community and very little justice from the government (I heard that a man accused of raping his children bribed the police officials, paid them off, and was let go), so the people tend to form mobs and take matters into their own hands. Sunday night, after a heartbreaking goodbye to the children, I saw 2 huts burning down in the village. It was sad and scary, but very real, and I was glad to see things the way they really are in Kenya.
Saying goodbye to the children was really difficult for me. Not only are they adorable and wonderful and am I going to miss them so, but I felt so guilty breaking the hearts of orphans. They have already been abandoned by their parents and families, and now, here I am, a random American stranger that jumps into their lives long enough to develop relationships and pour in some love, and then leave. I felt like I became their older sister, and then I left. I just feel really guilty and selfish for hurting them when they've already been abandoned. I will be processing this for the next few weeks, but I am struggling with trusting that the love I gave them outweighs the pain I inflicted by leaving.
Monday morning, we began our travels bright and early by driving 4 hours to a safari! It was so much fun! We went to Lake Nakuru, a national park. We saw monkeys, baboons, zebra, impala, gazelles, water buffalo, flamingos, a wart hog, a giraffe, and a rhino! It was really exciting and I will probably never go to a zoo again. It is so fun to observe the animals in the wild! We had such a great time and it was a wonderful way to end our trip. From there, we drove 4 more hours to the airport, flew a red-eye flight to London, and then caught our connecting flight to San Francisco! Got our luggage, no delays, no cancellations, it seemed like a miracle!
Time is so strange... the month went by slow, but at the same time, I can't believe it's over! Somerlyn and I were really overwhelmed as we landed in San Francisco. We felt like we were dreaming and that we were going to wake up and be back in our hut! Every Kenyan we said goodbye to insisted that we "greet our family and church", so I send you all their greetings! I will post pictures really soon on facebook so you can see what I've been talking about these past 5 weeks! I can feel that I have grown and learned so much as a person and in my identity as a nurse, but I can't quite define it or summarize it. I think it's a type of experience where you have to return to where you came from to see how you've really changed, so I'm excited to continue in my nursing semesters and see how I see things/people/nursing differently. I have a lot more processing and reflecting to do, and I am excited to see how the school year goes, and then to graduate! Wow, I'm going to be a nurse in less than a year. That is pretty crazy!! Who knows if I'm ready, I kinda feel like a 15 year old with a drivers permit anticipating their license with only a couple more "behind the wheel" lessons. I better make this year count. Balancing my senior year of college with my last semesters of nursing will be another interesting experience worth blogging, but I'll spare you all from my stress and breakdowns.
Thank you everyone for reading this and supporting me along this journey. I couldn't have done it without your love and encouragement. I missed you guys and it already feels so good to be home sweet home. If anyone wants to meet up to hear more details or stories or ask questions or share their own stories, I would love to, so please feel free to contact me! I love you guys!!!!
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