Still With Me

Today my KBC banda mate uploaded a video on facebook compiling some memories of our time in Kenya and I was surprised by the nostalgia that hit me as I watched it. You know I don't like feeling lots of feelings, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to revisit memories that are still with me, despite being pushed aside as I begin this new adventure. I've been thinking a lot about Kenya, mainly in comparison to what we've been doing here in Manila. In Kenya I was roughing it, uncomfortable, stressed, and in awe of everything and everyone around me. I felt highs and lows that I never expected but overall, it forever affected how I look at the world and my ideas of how small actions can lead to great changes. As I sit here in my air conditioned apartment in Manila tired from a day of going to the gym, eating lunch at an adorable cafe, and window shopping at our mega mall, I can't help but feel a little guilty that this is how I'll finish my public health degree. But then I remember shoving my hand in a a water buffalo butt and I don't feel so bad anymore :) Here are a few pics I janked off facebook. 

I love this picture of Bill, my favorite IH professor. Clearly, there is nowhere else on earth he would rather be than on safari with a rowdy bunch of young ladies.

I love the contrast of the dry, dusty background with Maasai clothing and school uniforms. Seeing this never got old. 

Our whole crew, plus the son of one of the KBC staff members who randomly joined the picture. We're happy because we just finished the community presentation and were finally free of topics like hand hygiene and water storage. Note the tippy tap hanging proudly in the middle. 

I know I go on and on about cute Kenyan kiddos but this little girl I think about often and wonder where life will take her. She had her younger sister strapped to her back and was so gentle and loving towards her, I wondered how she learned to be so motherly at such a young age. She was shy and spoke quietly, asking me thoughtful questions and catching on quickly to the games we played. 

I had planned for this to be a post about our misadventures of last weekend, but today my mind is in Kenya. And I'm also about to judge a contest between Julie and Nora--who knows the most awkward person on Facebook? Julie just won Round 1 with the weirdest pregnancy pictures I've ever seen. As you can see, we're really changing lives here.