Author Archives: yj0128

It has been 41 days since I came to join the rest of the United States in the national stay at home order. I have experienced every emotion known to man over this past month. During my travels from Kenya back to the US, I definitely had not processed fully what was happening. Half ofContinue reading “Week 11-16: Peaks and Valleys”

The week of March 8th was an array of emotions. I felt joy and excitement the first two days, comfort on the third, devastation on the fourth, and bliss the following three. The week started with my new internship (check Week 9’s post). That Wednesday, the director of study abroad programs at AU was inContinue reading “Week 10: Impromptu Trips and Final Goodbyes”

Now rural week was an excellent “Spring Break,” transition period of sorts before moving to the internship portion of the program. After a quick change in placement, I was super excited to begin working at RHYCO: Real Hope Youth Community Organization. I had gone to check RHYCO out and speak with one of the foundersContinue reading “Week 9: Starting My Internship…and Ending It.”

Again, I fell off the wagon. This time, COVID-19 is the culprit. I’ll talk a little more about that pesky pathogen in one or two blog posts. For now, I wanted to document my “rural week” experience in Kirinyaga County. Considering that 90% of my study abroad experience occurs in an urban, metropolitan city, myContinue reading “Week 8: Kicking it in Kirinyaga.”

If I have learned anything from the few bits of travel I have been able to do in the past 3 years, it’s that travel is overrated. We love to post our blue passports at the airport, the amazing food we’re indulging in, our unforgettable nights out, etc. In short, only the highlights of ourContinue reading “Week 7: Matatus”

So, I seem to have fallen off the posting groove that I had created for myself. The culprit: finals, of course. The past two weeks I was doing my very best to study and succeed on my finals (that’s TBD), but ya know, senioritis. I thought I’d dedicate this blog post to sharing some photosContinue reading “Week 6: A Day in Kiambu County”

This blog post comes a day or two late as I was struggling with what to tackle in this week’s post. I’ve created a list of topics that I would like to touch on, but none of them stood out to me this week. I’m not sure whether to be grateful for or frightened byContinue reading “Week 5: Kenyan? Gambian? American? Mzungu?”

So after four weeks of 25 hours of class weekly, I’m finally getting a chance to rest. The whole “your classes are front loaded the first half a semester” really is an appealing concept until you actually experience the 9-5 pm life. Last week, three of my classes ended: Environmental Health, Kenyan History, and ImmersionContinue reading “Week 4: It’s About Time.”

Gridlock: A traffic jam in which a grid of intersecting streets is so completely congested that no vehicular movement is possible. or To be in a state or situation in which movement or progress is stopped completely. The term gridlock describes what a morning or evening looks like in Nairobi. Think DC, New York, orContinue reading “Week 3: Gridlock”

Nairobi is incredible. Kenya is incredible. For goodness sake, Africa is incredible. After having the opportunity to visit Senegal in 2018, I was determined to travel to as many African countries as possible. A year and a half later, I am back on the continent. I chose to come to Kenya for many reasons. AsContinue reading “Week 2: Yearning To Pop This Bubble”