In high school, one of my teachers had us write a “life list” as an assignment in her class. 10 years later, I found that list and my #3 was: Visit Africa. I grossly underestimated the feelings of elation & accomplishment that would accompany crossing something off of that list.
In October, I jumped on a plane {which is certainly my favorite thing to do other than eat & kitchen experiment} bound for Eldoret, Kenya. I was going to visit the Legal Aid Centre inside one of the AIDS hospitals in the area. There is so much I could say about the people of Kenya, but understand this: there is a spirit of resiliency that flows through that country beyond anything I have ever experienced.
Over the coming weeks, I will reflect on my trip and my experience as best as I can. Nothing, however, can substitute for just going there yourself.
On the way over, I had a layover in Istanbul. When I travel, I do my best to only eat the cuisine of the area, dine at local restaurants, and get the best experience I can. Even though I probably had time {layover was 6 hours}, the last thing I wanted to do was leave the airport and go on a 2-hr tour of the city. It would be just my luck that my chocolate behind would get lost, left, or broken. So we played that safe and stayed put for a while. In accordance with my princess personality, I was lucky enough to have an entire row all to myself. As a side note: Turkish flight attendants are the most gorgeous people ever. The end.Several hours {and lovely Turkish in-flight meals} later, I arrived at the airport in Nairobi and waited for my domestic flight to Eldoret. It was here that I would have my first encounter with Kenya. The Kenya at 2am in an empty international airport with one outside restaurant and nowhere to sit until your domestic flight leaves at 6:30 from a terminal that you can’t go into until 1 hour before the flight. {Yes, it is a run-on sentence}.
Welcome to Kenya little American girl.
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