Challenges

Sunday: the day of rest. The day when we’re not running all over Kisumu and at school all day. The day that is the hardest. Don’t get me wrong, being here has been amazing. I know what a great opportunity it is, and I know how lucky I am to be here. But on Sundays, somehow, all of that slips away… and I get homesick.

I have read five books so far in Kenya and am a quarter of the way through my fifth, I blog frequently, and have made new playlists in my iTunes. I clean and reorganize my room, and when I have internet, I incessantly check my email. I pray and reflect, and do anything and everything I can to not be bored.

Boredom means I start thinking about home… and about how close it is to my birthday, and about how my friends at home are hanging out and going down the shore. And I think about American food. It's not as much boredom (how can I be bored here?!) but letting my mind wander... And then, I get sad.

As my mom says, these hard days are important too: I’m learning about myself and about what I can do. It’s good to take the time to reflect… what kind of PSP major would I be if I didn’t like reflecting?

I like the days when we’re busy all day- I feel like I’m making a concrete difference, I help a lot of kids, and I exhaust myself so that I fall right to sleep and do it all over again. I try to view Sundays as a challenge; I like challenging myself, so I think it helps. Can I get through the day without being overly homesick? How can I relate the morning mass to what I’m doing here? What can I plan for the coming week? What can I plan for when I get home? It’s getting easier, but as each Sunday night passes and Monday morning arrives, I’m much happier and ready to take on the challenges that will meet me that day at Our Lady of Grace.

Another type of hard day is when you get sick when you’re here. Don’t worry, I don’t have anything serious, but my stomach disagreed with something I ate that put me on the couch for the day. I responded to letters and emails, finished a book, and started working on a Grass to Grace Powerpoint… all before lunch. The combination of a day at home and an upset stomach (plus little sleep the night before thanks to the upset stomach) was quite difficult- but a phone call from my parents and a little Gatorade and medicine fixed everything. I’m very ready to start my new day at OLG tomorrow, and see what challenges are in store for me.