Yes, living and working in Africa, this is the necessary attitude to have. You've all heard the same message in Disney's Lion King “Hakuna Matata” which means no worries in Swahili, Kenya's national language. On the airplane journey here last week, I finally started to do just that. Packing up my classroom, my house, my things for Marial Bai, crossing all the red tape to take myself out of North American society for a year, planning fundraisers, still having no renter for my house and wondering what I will actually be able to contribute while I'm here all has had me pretty wound up... let it go, let it go, let it go. My flights went as well as they could have and I made it through immigration in Nairobi and picked up my luggage in record time! The adventure begins.
This week in Nairobi will be a good transitioning period for me before heading to Marial Bai. My arms are already sun burnt and I have red welts on my legs from mosquito bites (including two token bites on the sole of each foot). I am living with Valentino, his wife, his two children and his four younger sisters. Now here is a man who practices what he preaches- he values education so much that he and his wife took his sisters into their home from South Sudan so that they could go to school. They also had four brothers living with them a few years ago for the same reason... eight “children” as newly weds, Val in his late 20s, his wife 19. Spending such intimate time with them has made me admire their love, respect and support for one another as well as their like-minded generosity to all who cross their path.
Val allowed me to drive his family home one day while he waited for the Land Rover to be repaired. This is something I said I would never do- for one, they drive on the opposite side as us (which felt the most weird when making a right-hand turn), but for another reason- it seems that anything goes on the roads. You know how Americans allow cars to seamlessly merge into traffic? Kenyan's allow cars to seamlessly cut each other off, drive on the wrong side, and navigate complicated round-a-bouts (there are very few traffic lights). Yes, an adventure indeed. Speed bumps are unmarked and I missed a couple but Arou, Val's 3-year-old, laughed as he bounced on his mom's lap in the front- “this is fun!” Another adventure today took us to the Snake Museum where our guide thought that wrapping a python around my neck and head would make a great photo opportunity. Later I also held a tortoise and chameleon- yes!
Valentino keeps wanting to treat me because he knows what lies ahead. Life is tough in Marial Bai right now- food is scarce, it's still the hot season, the bathrooms at the school have all collapsed and many of the supplies we had acquired before as volunteers have gone missing. The school will have to admit fewer students for these reasons which, on the positive side, should mean smaller class sizes (no more than 35 students per teacher). Things are not going as planned- the semi Val had hoped to rent to ship out building and school supplies got rented out to someone else. School is starting in a few weeks and so we cannot wait. Onto Plan B- sending the Foundation's Land Rover in Kenya with the school supplies to Juba (South Sudan's capital city) to be transferred to the Foundation's second Land Rover in South Sudan and driven the rest of the way to the school. Some building supplies will have to be purchased locally at 5 times the cost... let it go, let it go, let it go.
Your donations were a big help in buying textbooks for the school. In total, we raised $2432 USD. I am holding on to part of the donation for other projects as they arise throughout the school year. Val appreciates that so many of you are behind this project- he genuinely only wishes to better the lives of people in South Sudan through it.
Before I end this first message, so many thanks to go out to so many people for the so many ways you supported me in getting here. Even though my adventure in South Sudan will only begin next week, this past month has been a huge journey of its own. You know who you are- thank you!