Emily's Adventures in Kenya: First Post - The reality of leaving sinks in (quite literally)!

"Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day."

Beginning in late November 2008, I will be living in Meru, Kenya, a town just five miles north of the equator at the base of Mt. Kenya. I will be volunteering/interning for International Peace Initiatives, a non-profit working mainly with AIDS orphans and vulnerable women. I know my experience will be rewarding, if not a little bit jarring and unpredictable along the way. I have been wanting to do something like this for as long as I can remember. I'm so thankful for being given the chance to bring a helping hand to an area of our world that needs some extra love. I fully look forward to sharing my Kenyan adventures with all of you.

Peace and love,
Em

Thursday, October 16, 2008

First Post - The reality of leaving sinks in (quite literally)!

Jambo! Yesterday I got the necessary vaccinations for the trip to Kenya and an approved visa, making my upcoming trip all the more tangible. My arms are very sore-- I got the Yellow Fever and Tetanus shots in the left arm, Typhoid Fever and Hepatitis A in the right. And somehow, the Kenyan consulate decided to spell my first name "Emilly" on my visa even though it appears as "Emily" on the rest of my passport and all the paperwork I filled out. No matter, just small and amusing bumps in the road. Now I need to decide which kind of pills I want to take for malaria prevention. Definitely nothing I've had to consider in my travels before!

I decided to start this blog now so I can keep people apprised of my preparations for the trip and some of the logistics that go into such a venture. Obviously more exciting posts than this one (complete with pictures) are to come! Now onto learning more Swahili!