Lessons From My Travels

Needless to say, from today's travels, I guess I've come to realize four things:

1. Kindness is a universal language. We may not speak the same languages, practice the same religions, believe the same things, or pledge allegiance to the same countries; however, it is not too difficult to extend kindness and empathy to others. With the recent events of Orlando, that have plagued the newspaper covers here in London, it's easy to see that one thing lacking in our society is the ability to feel for one another and to allow others to live in peace as they choose. There's been many people that I've met today who speak little to no English; however, they extend a warm smile, a hand gesture, or some other act that shows kindness and that's what more people need to do in the world.
2. I am one lucky human being. For many, many, many reasons that I will not name on here...but for two very important ones that I've realized so far from this trip. (1) We live in AMERICA! In spite of everything going on, the United States will always be my home and is still the source of dreams, getaways, and livlihoods for so many global citizens. I guess, living in America and not having any global experience before, you forget to appreciate where you come from and talking to people about how much they love to visi America, enjoy our country, etc. made me have that much more of an appreciation and love for who we are and what we stand for as a country. (2) This internship!
3. Knowing that the value of my internship is at $6,000 made me realize the sheer reality of what I'm about to do. This is a job, not a vacation, not a summer program, not a little two week thing and then I'm headed home. This is serious business! While I'm scared that I'll mess up or not be equipped for the job, I think that's the whole point of life. You have to take chances, you can't let your fears get in the way..you just have to do it. I'm really excited to be working (ahh!!!) in Kenya all summer and to have this real-world experience to add to my professional resume and collegiate experiences. I am confident that this will change my perspective on food insecurity and I couldn't be more excited. But, ultimately it's not about me and it never will be. This is about what I can do for others and I'm perhaps most exited to get to share my talents and abilities with icipe and the people that they serve. The fact that I get to conduct research that could help one person to potentially thousands is mind blowing to me! I'm just a high school graduate!
4. Homesickness is real. Taken the first step into the Guest Centre at icipe's Nairobi headquarters, I knew this wasn't home. Or anything like home. Everything feels and is so different to me and I know I'm in for lifestyle shockers and craziness these next two months adjusting to life in Kenya. However, just because their life is different than mine doesn't make it any less special or worthwhile. It'll be nice to experience how they do things, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't already miss home and Joey and my family. Here's to 59 more days, folks, and getting comfortable with life in Africa.