First Week in Nairobi!

JAMBO! (If you caught this Mean Girls reference, then you're definitely on the right track)

I cannot believe that I moved to Nairobi and in with my host family one week ago today, and tomorrow, it will have been 2 weeks since I left the States! Part of me feels like I just got here, but there's another part that makes me feel like I've lived here forever...

This week we started classes and got better acquainted with the city, learning how to take matatus, buses, and cabs to get around from place to place. I'm still feeling totally overwhelmed about public transportation and definitely fear I'll get lost, but that's no different than me in Minneapolis… (I'm directionally challenged.) Our group also experienced some sickness at the beginning of the week (from what we're not sure), but that put a damper on the beginning of our host stays… Hopefully that's the end of that and now we can just experience all that Kenya has to offer!

This is what class in Africa looks like. (The left picture is just tea break, but the breaks with bursts of sunshine make class so enjoyable!)

So far our classes have been super interesting on the development of Kenya, and I can't wait to see where they take us. I'm loving learning about the colonization of Kenya and how it became the country it is today. I'm also basically an expert at speaking Kiswahili after only 3 classes, so LOOK OUT! "Jambo! Jina langu Jenni. Mimi ni mwanafunzi. Ninapenda maembe!" (Hello! My name is Jenni. I am a student. I like mangos.) That's all I've got so far, but trust me, I'm ALMOST an expert…..

This morning some of the other students and I went downtown to do yoga through a program called "Africa Yoga Project" where more than 100 people came together to exercise the mind, body, and soul together. It's free on Saturdays, so as long as you can afford transportation, you are welcome! People of all different backgrounds were there: rich, poor, white, black. And let me tell you, I'VE NEVER SWEAT SO MUCH IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. Seriously, I looked like I had just jumped into a pool.  I'll definitely be feeling that one in the morning! We even got to do dancer's pose, which if you were a Mary-Kate and Ashley fan, you'd know that was from one of their movies, so I got super excited when I got to release my inner Olson twin during that yoga pose.

I'm starting to feel more and more at home, especially since my host brother and I watched The Mighty Ducks this week on TV in Kenya, so it definitely brought a little MN love into my life.  I know as this experience continues, Kenya is only going become more and more like my home. I've already been here for 2 out of my 15 weeks, and my time is flying by already!! I hope everyone at home is trying to stay warm- I keep sending some heat waves your way, but I don't think it's working ;)

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Jenni <3