I am going to Kenya in a week....

Only a few months after arriving back to Seattle from an amazing travel through Europe and parts of the Middle East... I am more than ready to head out again. This time, to Africa. Now as an official alumni of UW, after passing my last CSE 143 class, it's kind of like a long vacation before it all starts up again... except not. Between wrapping up experiments in lab, applying for postbac programs and thinking about med school... I am trying to find myself. Four years of college has distracted me from myself and I think Kenya is as good a place as any to start looking.

I spent a long time researching for nonprofit volunteer programs and finally found something that wouldn't cost me a fortune. Once I've accepted that I must pay to volunteer, the search became easier. IVHQ is the non profit volunteer program that appears to suite my goals for this trip and the prices are much more reasonable than others. The organization is based in Australia and has partnerships all over the world with local non profit organizations. With its extensive networking online and on Facebook, I was able to find past volunteers that vouched for the legitimacy of the program. I chose Africa over Nepal, then narrowed it down to Kenya. IVHQ's partner organization in Kenya is Fadhili helpers. I signed up for 3 months of volunteering in the area of HIV/AIDS education, but what the work actually entails, I won't know until I arrive. I hear the placements are very flexible and there's room for volunteers to take initiative.

I will be leaving in a week, and vaccinations are the only things I've done to prepare for this trip. Polio, H1N1, typhoid, Malaria pills... thank god my Yellow Fever vaccination is still good from Ecuador in 2005. I usually don't pack until the night before and read the travel book for my destination on the plane. But this time, I'm actually a bit nervous, and want to start packing early. There are things that I normally don't have to worry about packing... like flashlights, permethrin treated mosquito net and gifts. What added to my nerves was the recent news I learned, from an outside source , that the program coordinator for Fadhili Helpers in Kenya, Mr. James Njuguna was shot dead outside of his own home. While the program did inform us of his passing, they did not give us any details of the tragedy behind his death, which made me a bit uncomfortable. But the plane tickets are bought, the program fees are paid, and I need to get out of the states.

I am going to pass on purchasing my first DSLR and rely in a small discrete point and shoot for this trip. Getting my first DSLR broken or stolen in Africa would be devastating to my nerves and my finances. Although I am looking to get a waterproof point and shoot instead. I usually don't do a very good job documenting my travels except when it's for a class (like previous Berlin posts) but I think I will try harder this time.

The current plan is that Russ, Fay and possibly even dad will be able to come visit me for a couple weeks in April and do some traveling around Africa with me. I have no idea what to expect, but I think it will be an exciting opportunity to experience and learn.