从火博体育到肯尼亚再回来

I drove from 萨拉托加温泉市 to 纽约 City to catch a flight leaving JFK International 机场. 目的地:肯尼亚内罗毕.

Nearly two days later, I stepped into what will likely be one of the most remarkable 我的人生经历.

我在火博体育的生活

自从我 转到火博体育在美国，我经历了一次又一次奇妙的经历.

从 去危地马拉的服务旅行 to 与著名的非营利组织the Moth合作, there have been countless moments of valuable friendship and learning.

But, so far, the one that surprised me the most was a life-changing opportunity in Kenya that Skidmore's Career Development Center introduced me to. 

 我是怎么到那里的? 你可以在这里读到. 那是什么感觉?? 阅读下面的内容.

我在肯尼亚火博体育的生活 

After a whirlwind trip and a few days to settle in Nairobi, I began my journey to the Rapha Community Center, a children’s home in Nyahururu, a tiny village northwest 内罗毕. 接下来的一个月我会在这里度过. 

Stepping out of a safari vehicle, everything seemed to stop momentarily as I soaked 在45个孩子吃惊的眼神中.

They watched my every move, trying to figure out what this new “mzungu” (a Kiswahili 就是“外国人”的意思). 建立他们的信任需要时间.

We started with tutoring sessions in the evenings, though it was only a matter of time before the girls begged me for my hairbrush so they could braid my hair. 我只 obliged them after I knew their homework was finished.

In our time together, I became particularly close with a girl in class seven named 莫林.

Every night, 莫林 and I worked on math problems. 但我们也谈到了其他 的事情. As she grew to trust me, 我学会了 that listening to the challenges and triumphs 和数学一样重要.

莫林 told me how her father left the family with no money or support system. I learned about the sacrifices her mother made to give her children happy and healthy 生活. I came to know her two brothers, Wilson and Peter. 我来看看怎么做，谢谢 to the program for which I was volunteering, all three children are receiving an education, 安全的住房和营养的食物.

But the children weren’t the only people initially wary of my presence. 我也有 获得员工的信任. 

I spent hours with the women in the kitchen peeling and boiling butternut squash, washing and cooking rice and chatting about the challenges Kenyan women face. 我学会了 how to pick peas; weed carrots; and dry, beat, sift and sort beans. 我帮助种植 温室里的羽衣甘蓝和卷心菜. I spent hours typing, printing and stapling exams 为学期结束做准备. 我旁听课程，并花时间与 the teaching staff, sharing stories from America. 

对所有参与的人来说，每一刻都是强大的.

Before embarking on this journey, I had no idea what to expect. 我最担心的 the little 的事情: Will I be able to survive without constant internet access? 如何 greasy will my hair be after a week without washing? 如果我想家了怎么办? 

But soon enough, I stopped worrying about the small materialistic concerns that so often distract me from what truly matters in life. 

While I was 在肯尼亚, 我学会了 how to be a better friend, a better listener and a 更支持的人.

I made genuine connections with adults and children different from me because I was forced to put my phone down, look people in the eye and ask, “如何 was your day? 什么 你感觉怎么样?? 告诉我你的人生故事!” 

Without conveniences and distractions, I was able to finally focus on the substance 的生活. 

信任是爱的流露

On my last evening at the children’s home, all the girls received “new” shoes. 一些 had small scuffs or broken laces — they were all shoes that were deemed unusable by 家乡的人们. 

One of the students, Rachel, asked me to record a video of her after she received 她的新鞋. In the video, she said “Thank you for giving us shoes. 愿上帝保佑 你们所有人. 阿门.” She asked me to show it to my family and friends at home so they could 要知道她收到鞋子有多感激. 

These girls, who have next to nothing, were overflowing with gratitude for one small 礼物. 

Perhaps the more appreciative we are for the belongings we have, the more value we 将放在他们身上. 

Lessons abounded from my experience 在肯尼亚 and some may not come until much later 在我的生命中. But what I will remember most was the outpouring of love. 

Everyone at the children’s home cares for one another. 大人照顾孩子们 and each other and the children know how to support and love each other despite the 他们面临的挑战. They accepted me, a stranger and a foreigner, as one of their own and treated me equally despite my differences. 

I am eternally grateful to Skidmore for giving me the opportunity to travel and work 在肯尼亚. 我学会了 about myself and the world in a way I could not only in a classroom 或者通过一本书. 

一些day, I look forward to returning to the smiling faces of 45 beautiful children, 渴望张开双臂接受我.