A long, overdue update...

Hello Everyone!
I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted on here. It's hard to keep up with explaining everything that is going on since each day brings so many challenges, joys, questions, and interesting adventures. I'll do my best to catch up on some of the recent highlights.
I have been in Kenya for a month and a half now. Time is going really fast. A long time ago, I went with some friends to the Giraffe Center in Langata, which is about an hour outside of Nairobi. It's a giraffe conservatory where they house 6 giraffes to help protect them, encourage breeding and care for the young, etc. The giraffes are so friendly. We got to hug them, pet them, and even get kisses from them! I felt like such a little kid but I loved it.
A few weeks ago, I went to Kibera Slum with a few other students for an informal tour. It was really important for me to get to see Kibera from the inside and try to dispel a lot of my own mysticism about life in a slum. We got to see a small workshop where young men were making jewelry from animal bone to make a living. They showed us the whole process and gave us each a beautiful, handmade bracelet. Their workshop consists of small logs holding up some sacks as a roof to block some of the sun. It was so simple and yet they were so productive. The man, Frederic, who showed us around and gave us the bracelets, was insistent that we never forget him and what we saw that day. He always wanted us to remember that people were working hard to make a living for themselves in Kibera. He was such an ice man and I got him ti tell me a great story about a necklace with an African mask on it, which I later bought. Later, we went to a woman's house and she invided us in to her home to sit down because it was hot out. We crammed into to her one room house and sat on her only furniture while she taught us about Ramadhan, her family, and land ownership in Kibera. She explained that Ramadhan was not just about fasting but was about reconnecting spiritually and recognizing your responsibility to take care of and give to the poor in your community. I've been wondering ever since...who is "the poor" when a woman, living a one room hut in a slum with 1.9 million people is taking it upon herself to share what little she has with those around her. It was a humbling experience and I can't say I didn't feel shame for times in my life when I have been selfish. She tried to keep us there for dinner but we had to get going. People are so welcoming and trusting here. The culture of fear that is fostered in America has taught me to fear strangers. I would never think to welcome 4 random people into my home and share with them everything I have and tell them details about my family and my struggles to survive. And yet, this woman took us in and extended such warmth to us...just 4 random students. I wish I didn't have to be afraid of people anymore. I want to un-do that damage of being raised in America. I want to stop being afraid to look at someone in the ye, to talk to them, to share with them. I want to offer what I have to those around me and meet amazing people along the way. I want my community to grow throughout my life, to extend beyond people who are just like me,...beyond some sort of safety net which I have created for myself. The social justice work needed in Africa is very different that what is needed in America.
The last thing I want to talk about concerning Kibera is what the locals kept calling "Kibera's Big Dream." Overlooking the miles and miles of brown, tattered rooftops and muddy streets sits an entire cluster of concrete, high-rise buildings. These were built 2 years ago under the government's plan of slum upgrading. People pay about 500/= (Kenyan Shillings) a month to live in their houses now and those apartments are about 5000/= a month. Where are these people supposed to get money to move into this upgraded housing? Since no one can afford it, these building continue to overlook Kibera...empty. In nice words...what a waste of money. On paper, it looks like the government pumped a ton of money into slum upgrading, but in reality, they didn't do anything that improved the quality of life for Kibera's inhabitants. A big dream I guess...
I could write so much more but I will move on for now. Two weekends ago, I left with 7 friends to head to the coast for the weekend. We took an overnight bus to Mombasa (which was about 9 hours) and we got there at 6am. We wandered around the city for a bit, bought our return tickets, grabbed some breakfast and caught a bus to Malindi...a small coastal town 2 hours north of Mombasa. The first day/night we stayed at a beautiful, deserted resort because they gave us such a cheap deal. We went swimming in the Indian Ocean for most of the day! That night a few of us went into the market and got vegetables, rice, fish, and spices and a friend and I cooked a big, stir fry dinner for everyone. It was so much fun, although we made it a little too spicy and we were all sweating through our clothes! The next day we went snorkeling in the Indian Ocean! We were out on the water for about 3 hours and saw awesome fish and coral reefs. We spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach and then got Indian food for dinner. That night we stayed at a campsite which we also had all to ourselves. The next day we toured Gede, the ruins of an old, Swahili town. They were beautiful! We caught another overnight bus and got back to Nairobi at about 6am. Somehow, I made it to class by 8:30am! It was an awesome adventure.
Since then, I 've done so many more things. I will try to write about them soon but I am at an internet cafe right now which is charging my by the minute so I will leave it at this for now. Thanks for keeping up and I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written. I'm going white water rafting on the Nile in Uganda this weekend so I will probably update about that once I return. Sending my love to all...