First impressions...

So I arrived in Kenya yesterday morning at 6:30am after 30 hours of traveling and about three hours of naps interspersed between airport terminals and airplane seats. Apparently I can not sleep sitting up no matter how hard I try or how tired I am! Everything went without a hitch and I safely landed in Kenya and was surprised to see a really blonde, white girl waiting for me. It worked out that Tam was able to come to the airport to pick me up, so that was a nice surprise. After a couple stops, we headed out to what is my temporary home- Watoto Wa Baraka.

After a short orientation, of which little information actually entered my head, I tried to unpack and was hit like a ton of bricks with this wonderful phenomenon of jet lag- wow! I finally got at least two hours of sleep and eventually forced myself to get up. To be honest, I felt completely overwhelmed and like I couldn't handle one more piece of information- I was hoping more for overwhelming excitement and energy, but that's okay. I am much better today and trying not to have a nap so that I get into a regular sleeping pattern.

But enough of details about my sleep and travel. This place is amazing. I am super impressed by the thought that goes into how they do life and organize things. The orphanage is working hard to cut costs and increase their sustainability. They have recently gotten pigs and rabbits because of the fast maturation and ratio or babies that come in a year. They plan is to use some of this meat to sell and some of it to increase the amount of meat they can provide to the kids. It is so refreshing to be in a place where making good use of everything is the norm, rather than the exception. Take cow poop for example. The cow poops and it is put in a vat with water which is hooked up to a system that I don't really understand and that creates a bio fuel which is used to make supper. After the poop has given off its gas, it goes into another place where it settles or something and then it is taken to the fields to increase the nutrition of the soil. All of this is done by hand, of course. The yogurt container that came in my luggage full of cookies is now very valuable to me since there isn't a ready supply of organizational containers, dressers or anything else that I am used to.

Being here feels good. There is something holistic about here. I remembered how much I miss this feeling from when I experienced it in Haiti. But I can't really describe it. The things that matter in life become glaringly apparent. Life moves at a pace optimized for psychological health and I haven't seen anyone stressed out yet (except for maybe me after realizing that the laundry pile wasn't done yet after doing laundry for four hours already!). Appearance matters a little, but not like I am used to. Life is just done different here, and it feels good.

I am remembering how much I like speaking the same language as everyone. I was eating with the youngest member of the orphanage- a little 2 year old who is the only one not in school- and he starting picking out his carrots and putting them in my bowl. I thought maybe he was sharing so I took one of my carrots and put it in his bowl- and then he threw it on the floor. So much for my sharing theory. But I didn't know how 'bad' that was on the behavior spectrum, nor did I know how to communicate a 'no' nor did I know who to ask. It leaves me feeling a little lost but thankfully a lot of the kids speak English and those who don't want to learn so some of the kids and I will be able to communicate.

Well, I think that is enough for now. It is no way captures all that is twirling in my head, but it is all that I can find words for right now.