Africa, finally!

Africa... huge culture shock.

But I love it. Everything is so different here, it is an adventure with every step I take.

Today was my first full day here. And I have learned so much already. The locals and the other girls here for missions (Ashley and Heather) are so welcoming and made me feel at home right away!

So where to begin...

This morning was a surprise. The neighbor's rooster woke me up at around 4am. And wouldn't shut up. Quite an experience. Hopefully, I will become immune to his crow soon.

Today we went to the Getathuru Rehabilitation Center for young street boys. Such an experience! This week I get to sit back and observe how everything is done around here.

Of course, this is not like America at all. The classroom the kids sit in is so uncomfortable and dirty. Broken windows, chipped walls, spider webs, wooden desks and chairs. Very different. Makes me really appreciate what I had when I was in school. 

But the boys are all so sweet! They definitely have big dreams and believe that God really loves them. Most of these boys are in the rehab center because they ran away from home, were found on the street, got kicked out of their homes, or disobeyed the law. They just want to be loved and it is so good to tell them that Jesus loves them and to let them know that we love and care for them as well.

After the morning lesson, which today was on first aid, we went and got some ice cream for lunch. After that we had about an hour to relax before going back to the rehab center to teach English to the boys. I fell asleep under a tree in the field. Welcome to Africa! Haha.

After English lessons were over (around 3pm) we went home. The transportation system here is nuts! I'm still in shock. Basically, I risk my life every time I get into a matatu (which is like a 15 passenger seat van) or a city bus. There are no speed limits here but there are speed bumps! How funny is that? No stop signs. No stoplights. And everybody jaywalks. Oh, and no lanes! And if there is a faint looking lane on the road, it's ignored. People drive fast here! I figured that whoever honks their car horn first gets the right of way. On the way to the rehab center today, I got to sit up next to the driver in the matatu. He almost ran over a man. It was scary.

On the bus ride home, some young looking dude hit on me! And when I was paying for the ride, the man that was collecting the money looked at me and said, "Oh you rich huh!" (In a thick accent). 

When I walk amongst the African people I hear the word 'mzungu' a lot, which means white. A lot of them know the missionaries here already so today when they saw me for the first time they said, "Oh look, another mzungu has come". Lol. It's definitely a little weird being the only white person sometimes. This whole day, I have only seen 2 other white people. And it brought great comfort to know that I'm not the only one haha.

Life here is so different. Definitely not what I expected. I live just a minute's walk from one of the largest slums in Africa-- Kibera. Today we went into the marketplace part of Kibera. People everywhere. Kids running around. Lot's of food being cooked and sold. Stray dogs. And chickens. As you go deeper into the slum (which I will experience tomorrow) it gets more crowded because of all the mud shacks being so close together. They tell me it's going to be an experience of a lifetime tomorrow. So I'm excited and a bit nervous.

Africa is beautiful. Kenyan people are very caring. The children love white people. And adults have much respect for white people. It has already changed me so much in just one day! 

I miss you all, my friends and family in America :)

Mungu awabariki! (God bless you!)