Final Days

Well today is Monday. Which means that in three days I will be on a Megabus on my way to Chicago, then London on Saturday and Nairobi on Sunday. As I sit here writing, I still can't believe that it is happening. I don't think that it is ever going to hit me until I am on the United 767 airplane en route to London. So I can't even sit here and tell you guys what I'm feeling or thinking because I am not thinking or feeling anything really. I mean I am super excited but it still doesn't seem real. Being this close to departure you would think there would be all sorts of thoughts and feelings.

I guess the one thing that I do know is that I am going to miss my family and friends a whole lot. I mean this is by far the longest I will go without seeing my closest friends and family. The family part is a little different since going off to college obviously makes you see them less. But my friends, yikes. Good thing there is that awesome thing called Facebook and email these days, oh and Skype! Hopefully I will be able to stay somewhat in touch with everyone while I'm over there.

Today I finished up (well mostly anyways) packing my suitcase and backpack. I just have a few last minute things to throw in there. My only worry now is that my suitcase will be over the weight limit. I really don't want to pay some absurd fee for having too heavy a bag. I am quite proud though that I can fit 2 months of my life into 1 suitcase and 1 backpack. Sort of makes me wonder why I have so much stuff laying around in the first place. Alright well time to go be productive again. Sorry its been so long since I updated but I can assure you that it won't be like that now that the summer is upon me.


Wish me luck! Kwaherini!

-jamie

Ugali na Sukuma Wiki

I love Kenyan food already and I haven't even been there yet. How can this be you ask? Well last night Caitlyn, Deanna, Danielle, Meredith and I were able to enjoy a traditional Kenyan meal thanks to our Kenyan friend Simon. Simon is pretty much the nicest person around. He has been so willing and open-armed towards us and last night was another example.

What is Kenyan food you ask? Well the traditional daily meal (which Simon made for us) consists of a dish called ugali and sukuma wiki. Both these words are Swahili and the latter means roughly "to push the week". The two dishes are usually eaten together and eaten using your hands. So to be as authentic as possible we chose to do so. The ugali is basically a much thicker and heavier version of grits. It is very simple, made of just water and ground corn meal. Sukuma wiki is generally made with kale (as was the case last night) or other green, leafy vegetables like spinach and then mixed with other vegetables and some sort of meat.

To eat the food, you just tear off a piece of thee ugali in your hand and then scoop sukuma wiki with it and enjoy. I cant say enough how tasty the food was. Suprisingly so, in all honesty. I had heard that it wasn't much to the flavor but Simon's was very good. I am soooo excited to get to Kenya and eat more and more of the food.

Perhaps the best part of the night however was another tradition of Kenyan meals: conversation. The actual meal took all of about 20 minutes to make and then a little longer to eat but the night was much more than that. We sat and talked to hours afterwards, about all kinds of topics. Simon told us that this was very common and actually generally expected of people when they are taking a meal. It was such a great experience and really got us all amped up to get in country (and for Danielle she was longing to be back in Botswana).

One Month and Counting!
-jamie

More Tie Dye!

Thats right everybody, in case you haven't had enough of it yet we made more tie dye. But get it while it lasts because this is our last batch! This round includes some new additions: Powercat t-shirts courtesy of GTM Sportswear. We got a decent deal on these puppies and so now we have a super cool way to show your support for K-State and our trip all at the same time. These shirts, along with plain t tie-dye, and Nyimbo CDs will be available during Open House tomorrow in the Union. Come out and see us and show your support.

T-Shirts, CDs, and More
Saturday (Tomorrow) April 18th
KSU Student Union
9am-2pm

Pure and Simple.

So today Deanna, Caitlyn, and I got to meet with this wonderful fellow named George. George is a student here at K-State who is actually from Nyeri, Kenya (the town I am working in case you somehow forgot). He stumbled upon our Facebook group (funny world we live in) and let us know about his ties to the city. Meeting him was seriously an awesome opportunity and it is always so amazing to hear people's stories and listen to their outlooks on life, especially when that person is from a completely seperate culture. During our meeting with George, he told us something that completely blew me away and really resonated with me. When talking about the people in Kenya, George pointed out how community oriented they are. This does not surprise me as many cultures around the world are like this. But the part that was really incredible was what he said after that. George told us that when you are around people in Nyeri and other parts of Kenya they are happy. As simple as that, they are happy. You see, in Kenyan culture, as I learned in Swahili class, it is rude to greet somebody by saying that you are anything but "nzuri, salama, etc" which mean good/fine and peaceful. No matter how bad your day may be, it is fine. George furthered this point by saying that when one is around others in Kenya, you are always happy because whatever else may be going on in your life is left aside for that moment. For them, happiness is not about personal belongings and the collection of goods. It is about others and fellowship. As George pointed out to us, so long as they have food, clothes, and shelter they shall remain happy. You see, happiness to them is about the shared experience of life with those around you. Not having a wealth of goods or the latest crazed gadget is not reason to hide and seclude oneself to them, but rather a reason to seek out the company of others and truly be happy. I left the meeting tonight thinking, hoping, praying, that if there is one thing that I am able to take away from my experience this summer it is that mindset. It is that belief and faith in happiness.

always seeking,
-j.

Radina's. (*my apologies for it being so long)

Holy cow Manhattan! Oh how I love thee. But seriously, everytime we do an event like the Radina's show I am shocked at how much this town and university comes out and supports good people with good causes. Just like our Fake Patty's Day T-Shirts, the CD release/t-shirt sale was a huge success. We had a super great turnout and received a lot of support and encouragment from soo many people and I, along with the rest of my team, are greatly thankful for that. It is just so nice and soo invigorating to receive such genuine support and backing from your peers. I actually wanna make a specific shout-out to a few people..

Much thanks to:

• Dana, Josh, Russell, Colby, Aubrey, Michael, and Chalupa---thanks so much guys for coming out and supporting not only me but my entire team. It means a lot and you guys all rock. I love my friends.
• Danielle and Meredith---you two both have been incredibly supportive of our team and all of us involved in the program this year and it so greatly appreciated. not only do you two turn out to help out our fundraisers but you girls are always more than willing to help out and answer question and just lend a hend whenever you can. i don't know what the previous student coordinators have been like but i can assure you it's be hard to imagine anyone being any more supportive than you two (i'm sure tricia was a super coordinator too haha!)
• Trisha---again, just like Meredith and Danielle you have been more than supportive of all of us and helped out whenever possible. I'm sure they both have taken a lot from you. (i'm not even saying this to suck up either ;-).....even if i am your least favorite, supposedly). This whole experience has been super great and smooth thanks in large part to Trish, Meredith and Danielle.
• Dan, Liz, Cara, and Tiffany---for those of you who may not know, these four awesome people are members of the other Service Teams for this summer. Dan and Tiffany are going to Puebla, Mexico. Liz and Cara are going to Botswana. Yet all four of these people were soo cool and made it out to Radina's to support our trip and that is so great. It's so nice to have that kind of support from members of the other groups so that it is not 4 seperate teams doing 4 seperate programs but rather 1 Intl. Service program that happens to have several sites and teams. I urge everyone to support their teams every bit as much as ours and we (Kenya Team) are eager to lend a hand to them however we can.
• All the Musicians on the CD: without all you of you and your awesome gifts we wouldn't be able to put on this event. Extra special thanks to those who performed tonight (Matt Patton, Nick Timmons and Dan Hornsby. **Super special thanks to Nick for stepping in at the last minute)
• Last but not least....my fellow team members! Nick, Deanna and Caitlyn you guys rock! I am super pumped to be spending 10 weeks with you guys (alright i know what your thinking, great Jamie is already annoying the crap outta me....too bad!). Seriously though this has been awesome. Without Caitlyn's super special skill at tie-dye we ain't got no shirts. And Nick, well as you can tell Nick is like a music extraordinaire. Not only can he play like 200 instruments (something close) but he was the man responsible for recording, mixing, etc this WHOLE CD!! and then there's Deanna....yeah anyways next topic. HAHA just kidding Deanna (had to get you back for taking shots at me)....pretty much Deanna and I are the ones who just the gopher work for Nick and Caitlyn's ideas...cuz all we came up with is bake sales and tubberware (lets us know if you wants some though haha). In all honesty, joking aside, I wouldn't trade my group for anything. We all bring something to the table and all together we pretty much dominate. Watch out Kenya, HERE WE COME!

Once again thanks to anyone and everyone who came out tonight. If I forgot to mention you or didn't mention you by name its not cuz i dont like you are you aren't important. The truth is, I am completely exhausted and its late but I really wanted to get this blog post out there while I was still riding this excitement.

Oh by the way....it came to my attention today that we are somewhere around 1 MONTH AND A HALF away from leaving. That means in a little over a month I will be in freaking AFRICA, a whole ocean away. Talk about a dream come true (as most of you know).

paradoxically exhausted and invigorated,

-j.

Celebrities.

Long time no update. Sheesh I am slackin. Well there is actually quite a bit to catch up on. First and foremost there was finally some direct contact with our site in Kenya! Earlier this week Meredith and Danielle (our Student Program Coordinators, they are awesome fyi) got to chat with Paul (our main contact in Nyeri). It was actually really the first time anybody had gotten a hold of him so thats awesome. And actually they set it up so that the whole group (Nick, Caitlin, Deanna, and I) will Skype with him soon and get to meet him and ask questions and what not.

What Meredith and Danielle found out: There are about 150 students at the center right now and they are split into two age groups, Primary Age and Professional Training. Our main focus as far as helping out while we are there seems to be with agriculture/horticulture education and training for the children. Looks like we are gonna roll up our sleeves and get down and dirty. BUT.......the coolest thing (in my opinion) that they found out was that Paul really wants us to play/teach the children there Softball, as he feels they would really enjoy it. I was like HOLD the PHONE!! I freakin love softball and baseball such things, so I am freaking pumped. Its gonna be sweet. Maybe one of the kids I teach softball too will end up a stud KC Royal haha. (*)

Ok back to business:
Nick (the musical guru) has finished out benefit CD! The compilation is called Nyimbo, which means Songs in Swahili. In case you weren't listening yesterday, our whole group was on 91.9 KSU radio for an hour yesterday promoting the CD and our Service Trip. It was sooo much fun and just so awesome. We decided that we are pretty much celebrities now. But the CD is seriously incredible! Yesterday was the first time I had heard any of the tracks so I hadn't been able to fully promote this thing to my friends. That is no longer. THE CD IS AWESOME AND I MORE THAN HIGHLY RECOMMEND (in fact, I will say you MUST) getting yourself a hold of one of them. The CD consists entirely of local (Manhattan area/KSU tied) artists doing original stuff. (PS track 9 is Nick himself)

WHERE?!?! (you're asking this right now---I can tell)
This Wednesday, starting at 8pm, the Kenya Service Team 2009 (yes thats us) will be having a CD Release Event/Party at Radina's in Aggieville. I really encourage anyone and everyone (bring a friend) to come out and support us. The event is free for everyone and is a great opportunity to hear a few of the artists from the CD live and just talk with us. We are always more than willing to answer any questions and just tell you all about our project and ourselves. The CD will be available for people to pick up, all we ask is that you make some sort of donation. (*just an interesting side note: the CD covers are actually going to be hand-made by us, we are legit). So yeah, this is just the first in a series of events that we will be having to benefit our trip and hopefully raise funds for ourselves. Hope to see everyone there on Wendesday!!

(*) Seeing as Paul is hoping that we can teach the children Softball, he has also mentioned that if we can to bring as much equipment for it as we can. So if anyone has extra gloves (baseball or softball. used is great!) or balls laying around, we would love to take those off your hands for a great cause. Let me know if interested.


Asante sana (thanks much) na Kwaherini (Goodbye to all),
Jamie

Sign, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours Kenya)....Almost!

So after much waiting and countless searches we have finally booked our plane tickets to Kenya! There's no turning back now. And I couldn't be happier. Not only were they cheaper than I was planning on but we have a total of 25 hours to kill during our two layovers in LONDON. How freaking sweet is that. Its like I get to have a mini trip at the start and end of my wonderful summer. I have already made plans for our first stop in London haha. I am so going to have me a nice lunch in some rustic, authentic London bar. Oh and as if we wont have enough adventure over the summer in Kenya we also will be taking a megabus from KC to Chi-Town. Now that sounds fun doesnt it. I'm so excited. I'm turning into quite the world traveller I'd say. Ok well enough of me dreaming out my trip, for those of you who just care about the details here they are:

Leaving KC via megabus (see above): Thursday May 21
Leaving Chicago via BIG BIG plane: Saturday May 23
------Layover in lovely London
Arriving in Nairobi, Kenya: Monday May 25

***all sorts of adventure, service, playing with kids, learning, growth, searching, getting lost (ya never know), sun, fun, travel, animals, etc***

Leaving Nairobi, Kenya: Tuesday August 4
-------Back to London for a night (possible staying in the airport; I'm gonna be tom hanks in The Terminal)
Arriving in Chicago: Wednesday August 5
Back to KC: Sometime thereafter

HOLY CRAP THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!!!!