Longing

I've been back in America for almost 8 months now...nearly as long as I was in Kenya! In re-reading my entries, I realize how jaded I got by the end of my time there. Everybody needs a break from the unfamiliar sometimes, but us year-long students never got that break, so we all just built up an excess of resentment. I can honestly say that, for the past several months, all I have thought about has been Kenya and all of my actions and future planning have been in preparation to go back as soon as I can...but with a more clearly defined vision this time. Study abroad is all well and good, but it had some serious limitations.

I recently discovered that both Tulane and BU have programs where you can spend a year on the campus, studying for your MPH, and then finish your degree as a Peace Corps volunteer doing field work and actually applying the concepts you've learned for 2 whole years! It's like a dream come true to discover such a program, and I have started reading a blog by one such student from BU who is currently serving her Peace Corps time in Botswana. Maybe it's partially due to sleep deprivation because it's finals week here in Madison, but several entries have made me cry because they remind me of Kenya so much. I think back to all the wonderful things I got just a taste of last year, and I realize how much I still have left to see and do and live through. Hopefully, just a couple short years from this moment, I will find myself back in East Africa for the long haul.

I will return to my 2000 word essay about public opinion and foreign policy during the Vietnam War and 9/11 in a moment, but I just want to bask in this wonderful reminiscing for a little bit longer. I know it's important for me to understand American foreign policy...but I can't help thinking that reading Jess' blog about Botswana is teaching me more than this political science class has.

So, just a little shout out to Kenya. I know I took you for granted those last couple of months, but I do love you and truly miss you. And my longing grows stronger every day. XOXOXO, Nimadi