i can't believe i'm just now posting!

Hiii! I am so sorry it has taken me this long to post about the trip so far! i tried to write something on my first night in Kenya when i was at the hotel in Nairobi, but the internet kept cutting in and out. Luckily for me, the place where I'm working has wireless and I get to use my computer when we enter data!

First and formost, i am safe and sound in Nakuru with my wonderful host-mom Rosemary! The trip was sooo long but so worth it because this is literally one of the coolest places i've ever seen. Even the three hour drive from Nairobi to Nakuru was SWEET because there were zebras, antelope, and baboons on the land on the side of the highways. obviously i freaked out because i was so excited to see all these animals in real life (not in zoo-life) and my driver thought it was so funny that i was loving it so much! Rosemary's house is really beautiful and big, which is good because she is housing 5 other interns. It is a five minute walk from "town" where all the shops and activities are which is really convenient for me.

the kenyan people are SO friendly and say "hello, how are you mzungu (white person)" all the time because there are literally no white people here ha! it's crazy how smart this country is because almost everyone can speak swahili, english, and the language of their specific tribes. so talking and getting around has been super easy...the only thing is that they speak their english so fast!

i think one of my favorite parts about being here is my job. i'm working at a kenyan non-profit called FAIR (family AIDS initiative response) that supports families, orphaned/vulnerable children, and commercial sex workers in the Nakuru community. the employees are all angels...like they are SO passionate about working at FAIR and changing their community and the stigma of HIV. also, they are all young and fun, which i like too :) FAIR's number one donor is the US government...so they love me and treat me like i am the one that writes them the checks hahah!

I'm so happy to be here. it is so different than i imagined...for example:
-i ride to work on the back of a motor bike called a "boda boda"
-the billboards are square, not rectangular like ours
-it is SO much cheaper than i thought it would be (we went out for an "expensive" dinner and it was $3.50 in american money)
-i feel really safe here...despite the fact that i got my kenyan cell phone stolen directly out of my hand! hahah
-they drink chai tea like three times a day

longest post ever, but i had to make up for four days of being here! this weekend we're going to two lakes called bogoria and beringo to see animals and hike around. hopefully i'll get tan like the kenyans :)

LOVE YOU ALL!
p.s. thanks for sending me here mom and dad!