Top 10 Tidbits from my 4 days in Kenya...so far...

1.) Hair dryers cannot handle the voltage here and will catch on fire sending sparks out into the room and leaving the area smelling like fire for hours here...oops

2.) Coffee mate is a luxury...which equals expensive...which means, if you don't know that, you will spend 20 dollars on 1 1/2 bottles of it...oops...again

3.) Machetes are sold in the gardening section of the Nakumatt (Wal Mart)...like it's no big deal!

4.) Police officers walk around with HUGE machine guns in the malls...and it is NOT comforting

5.) Everything is made of cement

6.) My favorite food...chicken....is also a luxury...which means I can't afford it on a regular basis...which means I might have to be introducing beef into my diet again...sad day...on the flip side...my other favorite food...french fries...are a staple here and are served at every meal...YES!!!

7.) In order to support the economy...I will be forced to get house help to cook and clean, get pedicures and massages to help people live (you don't even want to know how cheap all that is or you will be very jealous)...just doing my civic duty!

8.) People stare at Wazunga's (white people) like we are famous or something...I don't like it

9.) Being on any sort of time schedule is out the door...nobody is going anywhere fast...

10.) Don't even get me started on driving and pot holes....

That's it for now....lots more to come!

And it's go time!

Well, after months of anticipation, training, and weeks of goodbye's (not fun), my 6 bags and I are headed to Kenya. This whole process has been so surreal, I can hardly believe the day is here. As I flew off to London for my first leg of the flight I was feeling really good. I stood in line at Starbuck's with my absolute favorite choreographers from So You Think You Can Dance (Tabitha and Napoleon) and am still kicking myself for not snagging a picture with them...oh well. I got comfortable in my seat, that had an empty seat next to it, kicked my shoes off, and began to enjoy the very nice selection of movies and music. Pretty soon, a nice dinner was served with some red wine...again...feeling good. Then, I landed in London. Now, it's slowly hitting me that things are slowly getting different. I follow the signs and end up standing in line to go through customs to enter the UK (by accident), realizing that I don't have enough time to head into London and have to turn back around and try and follow the nice signs in English correctly this time to make it to my terminal. Then I get to where I need to be, finally, and my card is declined at Starbuck's. I still don't know what's going on with that, but I have to use cash to get my coffee...only to receive pounds back that I have no clue how to use....so I buy a breakfast sandwich I think I can afford with money I don't know how to use. Finally, with no gate to sit at because it's too early for my flight to have an assigned gate, I'm wandering around with my 2 very large carry ons, trying to pass the time. Hence, a nice long blog post, with far more information then most will probably care to read, but alas, this being part of my entertainment for now as I pass the 8 hour layover I have, here it is. Counting the hours til' my final leg to Nairobi...hope I can follow the signs in THAT airport...

For my last post from PFO, thought I'd just show you a few pics from this week! I got to enjoy some memphis BBQ (twice!), once with the Kenya group, and then again at a banquet thrown for us by the amazing organization I am now a part of, NICS. As exhausting as these past two weeks were, they were just as equally wonderful. I have made friendships with girls that will be my new family for some time to come. I have learned tons and tons of new info and now feel quite prepared to go out into the mission field. I am so excited!!!! 20 days and counting til' take off to Kenya. I will try and stay updated on all the amazing things I know God is going to do in the days to come and will continue with the fun posts from Kenya. Thanks to all who are praying. They are being felt and are being answered!