Gobble! Gobble!

Well like my birthday, this Thanksgiving was certainly one I will remember for a long time!

We all took the day off from our internships, after having quite a long conversation about what Thanksgiving was and what it stood for. Eventually, our friends accepted that this was a big deal in America and were happy to give us a break to celebrate our holiday.

The morning was spent relaxing, and running a few errands, then the early afternoon is when the real fun started! We all trekked over to Mwangi and Frances’ place for our good ole American Thanksgiving. Frances had been working on the food for a few days and we had a huge feast! There were two great turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn bread, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, and gravy! In addition to this we had a few Kenyan additions such as chapatti. We enjoyed an afternoon and evening filled with great company, catching up about our colleagues internships, and most of all a fantastic dinner which was also Sammy (our great taxi driver and friend) and Sabina’s (our wonderful orientation assistant and friend) first Thanksgiving!

We even continued the tradition of going around the table and saying what we were thankful for, to make this blog post more than the bare bones it is I want to say what I am thankful for:

Opportunities and Memories.

I am thankful for the opportunity of spending this semester in Kenya, thankful for the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people here, thankful for everybody back home (and across the US) supporting me, thankful for every opportunity I have had.

On the other side of these opportunities are memories.

The memories of my University of Nairobi classes, my internship in Kibera, the time spent exploring Nairobi, the excursions we’ve taken to Kitengela Glass, Nyumbani Village, Mt. Longonot, Paradise Lost, Hell’s Gate, The African Heritage House, Kisumu (Rural Week in Seme), and now Maasai Mara for Safari. These memories are incredibly special. Even if I end up working or living here for a bit of time, these memories stand apart. They are special and will always have a special place in my heart.

I am thankful for so many things, but this semester has put all that in perspective for me.