kenya been

I’m home. I think I’ll start counting my days when I get back to school for the second half.. for now im on holiday baby!

New York - Being from New York is really cool…plain and simple.  Living in New York is everything it’s cracked up to be… and a lot more.  I’m sure all of my Kenyan friends are thinking… “here goes Andrew being cocky again.”  It’s ok to think that way, and it’s ok to not agree with me.  You’re not supposed to agree with every thing I say.  Let’s not digress… New York;  I walk through Nairobi, and not many people will look at me, but in general people look at each other and there a lot of exchanges of glances.  In New York…people don’t even want to look at you.. haha  You might think.. oh boy.. those people are rude!  Well…New Yorkers do have a reputation of being rude, and tough.  School of hardknocks baby!  It is just so great that I can hop in my car, go grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks, shop at the mall, go to the gym, or just relax at my house.  Driving is probably one of the best things about being back to be honest with you.  I am someone that drives everywhere, and I haven’t been with my car for 6 months!!  I enjoy just driving around listening to my favorite CDs and radio stations, and thinking I’m really cool driving in my car.  I’ll write a bit more about NY next post when I remember what I wanted to say.

So Starbucks is a really funny place.  In Kenya they have a place like it.. called Java House.  Java House is like heaven in Kenya, but Starbucks is such a TRENDY place.  It looks so nice there, the smell is amazing, the drinks are great, and EVERYONE is there with their macbook bros and iPads.  (boy, after proofreading this paragraph I realized how badly written it is… o well!)

I have been so excited everyday I have been home.  Just driving around, knowing that I teach and live in Africa is like a natural high all the time.  If for a second I’m not feeling great, I think of the crazy things I have been through in 6 months, and the task of running a string program, and I feel great again.  I go from place to place, people ask me what I have been doing, the first thing that comes out of their mouth is, “WOW!  That must be an incredible experience.”  Well… that’s an understatement. 

Now if I was teaching in Albany and didn’t take the job in Kenya, and I tell people I was in Albany teaching, they would just say oh, ok thats good.  Just another rat in the race.  I didn’t do this experience to get good reactions from people, but in the world of getting a job and interviews, this experience has a ton of weight.

I miss my students A LOT in Kenya!  I didn’t think I would miss them as much as I do.. but when you see these kids every single day, and you tell them stuff going on in your life and such, it is only human to miss them.  If any of you read this… miss you guys!  In some cases, they are the closest people to me at the school.

I saw some African women in the mall the other day.  Now that I think of it Roosevelt Field Mall, must be like 4 Westgates.. HA!  They were all dressed up like they were manikans in a Express magazine, but they had their hair wrapped like people in Kenya.  I also heard them speaking Swah.. but what I thought was how COOL they looked!  They looked like tourists because two things!  They were lost.. and they had their head wrapped.  Now…I thought it looked awesome how they dressed very trendy, but also tied in a traditional fashion twist.  It’s like they wanted to tell everyone, “Look…I’m not from here, but I look really good!”  I don’t know why people in Kenya don’t do that as much.  Wear your fashionable clothes, but then toss in a little traditional Kenya, it would make you stand out so much more =)

I’ll try to write a lot more during this month, especially when I found out people actually read my blog!!!   Thank you so much for checking in, and not finding any updates for so long!  The end of the year was just a rollercoaster, but now that I have time, I’ll be filling you in with posts, pictures, and videos when I get my new camera!

Andrew