Naenda Kenya! (I'm going to Kenya!)

...99% sure. Travel has yet to be booked...

Yes, that's right. I have revived my blog once again for my upcoming African wanderings.

Here's the story: Early last year, while in the midst of "I have no idea what I'm doing after I graduate" ruminations, I submitted a volunteer application to A Rocha Kenya to be a part of their marine conservation program. Then I promptly forgot about it. June came and so did my "I have nothing to do after I graduate" scramble. Then, the day after my graduation, I got an email inviting me to come to Kenya in September. It was completely out of the blue and thrilling and gave me something to smile and talk excitedly about over breakfast instead of wallowing in "all graduation means is that I have to leave Seattle" funk.

I knew immediately that it was something that I had to do. Working overseas in a developing country doing marine conservation projects coupled with community development/education projects with a group of scientific Christians? (I realized that I would have to clarify "Christian scientists") Talk about the exact definition of my dream for my future. The fact that it fell into my lap in the moment that I needed to regain some purpose after I had forgotten that it was even a possibility made it seem even more like a God-send.

Obviously I did not go in September. This was my summer for taking the GRE, the biology subject test, and writing countless emails and essays to apply for PhD programs. They were due in December. and I knew very well that I was not going to get them all in by September. So, making room for the possibility of school open houses, etc, the tentative plan became April. It was tentative for far too long and I was getting antsy living at home after being on my own in Seattle for two years, so at the beginning of February I declared it a definite plan. March came and I scoured the house for our various Swahili language materials. But now that I have put it on the internet, it is 99% real. That pesky 1%...

Anyways, the (tentative) plan is for me to leave in early April, Fly to Nairobi, take a tiny sketchy flight to Malindi, and then spend 3 months living on the coast at Watamu. I will be working in the marine program, conducting research in the Watamu Marine National Park, as well as working with community education programs and maybe helping out here and there with the bird/butterfly conservation projects.

I'm thrilled. I need to get out and do. And planning this trip is keeping me from driving myself crazy wondering if i'm going to get into grad school. If I don't, well, maybe I'll stay in Kenya a little while longer :)