Goodbye, Hello, See You Soon... Kenya Week 15: January 10- 16, 2010

After having their jiggers removed at Otati Removal Day II, everyone lined up for a pair of brand new tennis shoes! This kills the proverbial two birds with one stone: protect their feet from infection after removing the fleas AND prevent new fleas from entering!

This week, besides spending four days in a row patiently removing jiggers from children and adults around Karungu, was filled with hellos and goodbyes to some of the most amazing women I’ve ever met. I said a sad goodbye to my beloved fellow American volunteers. Lauren and Christy faithfully finished their year and waved goodbye to St. Camillus, to Karungu, and to all the lives they’ve saved and people they’ve touched. I’m deeply saddened to see them go. In the three quick months we shared in Kenya, they were my neighbor, teacher, role model, trainer, cook, psychotherapist, and most importantly, dear friend.

Lauren and Christy: so close to being the exact same person we shortened their names to simply LandC. The tall, skinny, always running, non-coffee drinking, adventure loving, poverty fighting, X-ray taking/baby saving Americans. The happiest cynics you’ll ever meet. The first Americans to live in the St. Camillus Staff Compound. The first Americans to embrace, perfect, and teach me to cook Kenyan cuisine.

I’ll miss you dearly and I’ll do my best to keep your Kenyan legacy alive. When the children yell “Ciao!” while I’m out on my morning run, I’ll remind them we’re Americans and not Italians by consistently responding, “Obama!!” I’ll cook ugali and green grams and chapatti and sukuma wiki. I’ll always show up a few minutes late, but still way earlier than the Kenyans. I’ll play Spoons, drink the occasional Tusker, and dance like a mzungu every chance I get!! Thanks for being my trailblazers, my big sisters, and my heroes!
Lauren and Christy bequeathing their beloved propane stove to Amanda and I the night before they left Karungu.

Speaking of heroes, after saying goodbye to Lauren and Christy, I got to say hello to one of my hometown heroes, Brooks Zitzman! Despite being my boss for two years when I was a Resident Assistant at Tulane University, Brooks has become one of my biggest role models and dearest friends. She graduated from Tulane with her Masters of Social Work in December (p.s. that’s her second Masters degree...she’s a genius...and maybe an overachiever!). But instead of getting a job, she decided to spend 2 weeks travelling in Africa with her friend Michelle, a former Peace Corp Volunteer. Brooks and Michelle are staying near Kampala, Uganda, only a few hours from the Kenyan border. So we arranged to hang out in Kisumu, Kenya for the weekend!

Angela, the young Italian working at the hospital, and I travelled to Kisumu by “Public Means”. i.e. crammed into an over packed “mini-bus” trundling along the so-called Kenyan “roads”. We made it alive and spent a lovely weekend with Brooks visiting the Kakamega Forest (the only forest in Kenya last remaining section of the ancient jungle stretching from the Congo all the way to Kenya) and enjoying the pleasant but sparse town of Kisumu.
Brooks and Me with Angela, Coath, and the two Peace Corp volunteers we met on the way. We had a lovely afternoon exploring the beautiful Kakamega Forest

It was such a treat to visit with Brooks. We stayed up late discussing Africa, poverty, politics, faith, education, love, etc. We share similar world views and she helped me think about many of the questions and struggles I’ve had in a new light. Brooks is one of the most incredible women I’ve been blessed to know and love. If only Brooks and Lauren and Christy could have met. Maybe we’ll all have to rendezvous in New Orleans for Mardi Gras 2011!