October 7
The flight to Nairobi was actually not too bad. I met a fellow missionary from African Inland Mission (AIM) at Newark Airport named Matthew Lovelace. He's around my age, a teacher and is originally from Lincoln, Nebraska. It was actually good that I got to meet him, because he has been to Africa before for two years teaching grade school in western Kenya. So he knows it quite well, I guess. Anyways, I didn't get much sleep on the plane which is unusual, because I usually doze off even before the plane takes off. I ended up watching several shows on board. Saw the last Die Hard movie....interesting and entertaining, I guess. Evan Almighty was fun to watch, that I liked. Oh, and one thing I enjoyed was Ugly Betty. It kind of reminded me of Devils Wears Prada. Haha, that's a funny show.
My first two days here has been surprisingly pleasant. Although I do feel homesick at times, I think staying in this missionary guest house allows you to meet so many different people that you kinda forget about your emotions for a while. So that was good. Just imagine eating with a bunch of people all doing missionary work. It really allows you to put everything in perspective on how these people really want to serve God whether they are a doctor, teacher, security, etc. I think it really reminds you of why you are here. I think I'm still in denial. Honestly, I don't see myself as a missionary...far from it. I don't know, haha. I just see myself as someone going to Africa doing some work. I'm not sure if you understand what I'm feeling. Maybe I generally see missionaries in a different light...haha, whatever.
One thing this experience has reminded me of is when I go on these science conferences during grad school--where you just meet a bunch of people from around the world. Although most of the M's here are from the states, there a couple of Brits and Canadians. But I'm pretty sure I'll see others from other countries in due time. I think it's fun just conversing with people from different countries and see how they think and what their point of views are. Funny thing is that most of the Americans here are from the Midwestern states, so it's still a bit different. yeah, they're different.
October 9
Anyways, I had my first Kenyan meal last night with a local Kenyan pastor named Stanley and his wife Sylvia. They are actually Matthew's host family when he was here a couple years ago. They were quite nice and welcoming..so nice that they make you feel like you are old friends. I think people are generally so friendly and sincere, at least that's my first impression and from what I got from Pastor Stanley. He's quite a funny guy as well. Anyways, so I had ugali for the first time...it's wasn't terribly good or bad. It's just is...quite, no, very very bland. Had cabbages, some meat stew and chicken. Quite tasty.
Funny thing is that as we were about to begin our dinner we had a black out, so everyone scrambled for candles and flashlights. And, in my head, i said, wow, this is just like the philippines. haha, you'll have to excuse me if I keep on referring a lot of stuff to the philippines. I think third world countries have a lot of things in common, in some way or form. And so, Sylvia, the pastor's wife wore a headlight on top of her, same ones you use for camping? She's quite a funny lady. Actually both of them are. So, I really thank God for this opportunity, meeting Matthew and his host family.
Traveling around is a bit hazardous. They have these little buses they call 'matatus' that reminded me of the jeepneys in the philippines. I was told that 'matatus' mean 'problem' in swahili, not sure about that so i'll have to ask them again. So I've noticed that these matatus are everywhere and seems to be the major mode of transportation around here. But it's fun riding on one of these, quite a ride.
And, oh, I went running this morning, cuz I'm so out of shape..and guess what I saw? Haha, I saw three Korean restaurants on this road, I'll have to take a picture of it when I get a chance. I can never run away from Koreans somehow, sigh....jk.
