Farewell Kuria

Last day in the district of Kuria. Tomorrow before dawn I will get back on the infamous bus and head out to Nairobi for the weekend. As such, I feel compelled to reflect on what I will and won't miss about this lovely place and our life here this month.

What I'll miss:

• Sunrises, sunsets, and the bright stars
• 6am yoga on the porch -- being zen.
  
• Falling asleep to (or being kept awake by) crazy thunderstorms
• Greeting everyone you pass
• Openness. Easy trust. Warm people. The kind of welcoming attitudes that no longer exist in at least the northeast US and its constant bustle.
  
• Mangoes, pineapples, avocados, chapatis. Mmmm.
• Sunny morning Boda rides out to the field.
  
• Little guys (aka lizards. Even the one in my bedroom and the one in Crystal's shoe.)
  
• Baby chicks
• Monkeys
• The frog in the shower
  
• Cute/funny little kid greetings. ("mzungu, I'm fine." "mzungu, welcome to Kenya." "chicamo")
• Crystal, Gaby, Stephanie, Jake, the Nuru team -- of course.
• Nightly "family dinners" with the above.
  
• Boda Peter and Boda Abraham (whose mother I am named after :) )
• "My kids" - our wonderful team of surveyors. I will remember them all and hope they are able to lead successful lives in which they exercise good judgment in family planning, respect the women in their lives, respect and have confidence in themselves, and strive to make a difference in their community.
• My kids' random comments and questions about me and my life, which never cease to entertain me.
  
• MJ dance parties
• Seeing where Nuru has made a huge and noticeable difference in someone's life, and feeling swept up in the excitement and emotion of the family.
• Long walks through the villages. Scaling hills and jumping rivers.
• Not caring what I look like :) Not looking in a mirror for a week straight.
• Prayers before meetings. The feeling that many things in this world may still be left up to fate and/or a higher power.
  

What I won't miss:

• My bed. Think of the hardest piece of foam rubber you can imagine, then fold it up and put a big dent just to the right of center.
• Dirt. Being dirty.
• Smelliness. Garbage. Cows. Me. Others. My Nalgene bottle. (i have tried EVERYTHING. any suggestions??)
• Roosters
• Whatever the heck runs around on the roof directly above my bed at 4am. it is SO loud.
• Dodging cow poo. Everywhere.
• Afternoon rains when you're just plain tired and don't feel like getting wet and muddy.
• "muuuzzzzzzzuuuunnggguuuuuu! aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! how are yoooooooou? aaaaaahhhh!" (and repeat. and repeat.)
  
• The pile of 600 completed 20-page surveys that need to be entered into the database.
• Sad diseases. Sad sick people. Little kids with big bellies who don't have enough to eat. Little kids with sad diseases. Their images will all stay in my heart and I will pray for the betterment of their lives.
• Sad cases of the substance abuse that plagues families and "gives their money legs to walk out the door".
• Bugs that live your stomach for a week.
• My STUPID Kenya phone. It's such a ridiculously poor design. Nokia, WTF?
• Talking to people at home via Skype. Happy they invented it; not thrilled, always, with the execution.
  
• Doing dishes and sweeping. Yeah, I'm spoiled. I like dishwashers and vacuums.

Finally, I would like to encourage my readers to check out Gaby's tales of our Kuria adventures as well. It's a fun, informative, and well written blog... and PS - I am the girl who swung the broom that broke the monitor AND I am also the girl who went for the scary medical examination (all is OK). But read and find out more!
http://www.nuruinternational.org/about/research.html