Monday, June 21st -- Asante Sana -- "Thank You"

I woke up at 6:15 am this morning, put in a load of laundry at 6:30 am, and then went to 7:15 am mass. I’m used to the early schedule now since I go to bed so early. I’m definitely more of a morning person. For breakfast I had oatmeal, a banana, and a cup of coffee. While waiting for my laundry to finish, I finished reading one of Julia’s books called “Female Nomad and Friends” by Rita Golden Gelman. It was a terrific collection of short stories about women traveling, learning, exploring, and taking risks. Each story is accompanied by a recipe that somehow relates to each cross-cultural experience.

I taught the 10th grade Business Studies class today in one of the outdoor huts. There are about 6 huts at the school that have straw roofs and no sides. Classes are held either in a classroom or in a hut. The lesson was about government interactions with businesses. Even though the governments in Kenya and the US are quite different, I focused on the commonalities that are most successful.
Julia and I created 2 posters for the new dishwashing system that specify which children will be washing and drying their dishes for each meal. This small implementation will hopefully foster responsibility, teamwork, and good hygiene. The Sisters invited Julia and me over for dinner at 6:30 pm. We hurried home after school to slice a pineapple to bring with us. I love that pineapples are very abundant here! We arrived early to help prepare dinner for the 6 of us. We had ice, wheat rolls, and a concoction of cooked squash, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, onions, and cabbage. We peeled everything and then cooked it together. It was very healthy and delicious! Any type of fruit or vegetable here that has skin needs to be peeled off or washed with boiling water since the water is contaminated. To be safe, I always peel it off. I was very thankful that they invited us over to eat. We work together all day so it was great to relax and enjoy each others company.

Before we sat down to dinner, the Dominican Sisters, similar to the Friars, have a set of prayers that they say. One of the prayers said to “love without limit” and to “let yourself be rooted in holiness.” After the prayers, we reflected on those two lines. I know that I am already very attached to the children at the school and that while I am here I should not hold back at all with what I can help with. The people here have been so kind to me and shown me such love that I hope it can be a chain reaction of continuing to spread. I hope that the roots that have been planted here can transcend Our Lady of Grace School and educate those at home about the good work that is done here. After dinner, two of the askari (guards from the school) walked Julia and me back to our house.