Final Reflections 2011-2012

Interact:

My goal was to do service, from the beginning I knew that I wouldn’t be very interested in proceeding within Interacts board. I did all the service trips required for both semesters and it feels like I learned a lot through Interact about Kenya.

I went to multiple Runda feeding trips where we gave out food to children and elderly with the help of the Rottery Club.

Something that I thought was interesting and also a little sad is the reaction and the way the children behave. Coming from a country where doing service like this isn’t common you have an idea of the people you’re helping should be really thankful and friendly. It really wasn’t like this, the children often wanted more, never said thank you and when all the food was finished total chaos broke out…it was quite shocking at first. The first time I went on the service trip I was sad about it, but when thinking further who am I to expect these children to be thankful? I realized that service isn’t for me to feel better about myself, and I cant expect the children to make me feel good about myself, but that its about helping others who aren’t as fortunate because it’s the right thing to do. I’ve always respected people for there differences, but I feel that interact has really taught me to be thankful for what I have, and to do things for the greater good and not just myself.

Interact also gave me an opportunity to be more creative, I was with in the painting of the Interact mural at the beginning of the year. It was really fun, and I was really proud with the final result. At other times I made posters too, unfortunately the posters I made for the movie night weren’t put up because we ended up cancelling that event. I thought it was really fun being creative and combining it with service because that’s something I’ve never done before.

IC Trip, Masaai Mara:

I went on the Masaai Mara trip, it was a really fun trip and we combined service, action, and creativity. We carried water and built houses for locals, which was also very straining and it was super hot out so it was really action…

We also got to do a beading shop with a Masaai Mama. It was really fun and we all learned so much about Masaai culture.

The IC trip was great fun, I learned so much about Kenya, and the hardship so many people go through every day. Like walking for miles and miles just to get water for the day. I really appreciate my life more now than I did before.  Everyday since I came back from the trip I think about what we did and everything the facilitators taught me. I really admired the facilitators for dedicating their lives to doing service, and I think I’d like to do the same when I get older. They were the most positive and open people I have ever met, I think we all saw them as great role models. 

The best part of the trip was a the children at the school where we were building, we were so warmly welcomed, and they were so interested in us! I wish we could have stayed longer to learn more about them and the way they live. I was worried in the beginning, before I met them that they wouldn't like us, and they would think we were snobby, but instead they really appreciated us helping them, and our presence. I think we all had a really great time at the IC trip, and next year I will definitely recommend this trip to others. It was hard work, and at times I just wanted to cry and sleep in my own bed, but on the bus back we were all talking about the amazing week we had had together!

JV Football:

At first when I was on varsity football I really didn’t enjoy myself, I felt like I wasn’t up to the standards and that the coach didn’t like me very much, so after a couple of weeks on varsity football I talked to the JV coach, Coach Sags who said that I was welcome to come to JV instead. So I did and I couldn’t have made a better choice. I had so much fun playing football on the JV team, Coach Sags taught me so much about football and having a good attitude to things. I feel that I have improved so much in football, and endurance, and in cooperation and perseverance. I feel that I have learned so much about cooperation because in a team of many people you have to work together with people you don’t like, who you normally don’t talk too, and to people who have different opinions and ideals than you. It was really cool that some people who were fighting off the field became really good team players and cooperated really well in a game and on the field. Every practice I came too I had a great time, and since we were all at such different skill levels I learnt a lot about perseverance and acceptance. I learnt that its not all about winning, but that the most important thing is that you have fun and play fair. We lost all games except one but it was still one of the most fun things I’ve done this year at ISK. I think I’ve improved so much that next year I will try out for the ISSEA team. I made friends and had such a good time playing JV football!

Finally:

Moving to Kenya was hard, making new friends, and finding a new life, but I have learned so much since I came. I've become a completely new person, part of it thanks to the service, action, and creativity that I've done. In Sweden I would never have been given the opportunity to go out and make such a direct difference. I think the key factor to me realizing so much about myself and my surronding's have been thanks to Interact. Interact has taught me about the reality of life, that things are super duper unfair, but also that people appreciate you and that you want to help. The IC trip to Masaai Mara taught me how to build, bead, and be positive to all kinds of things even if they feel uncomfortable at first. Football has taught me to work together, and the key to becoming a good player is to have a positive attitude! Everything I'm saying sounds really corny, but this is really how I feel. In the end I need to thank ISK, Interact, and Kenya for giving me the chance to prove to myself and others that I can help others, that everything in the world isn't for free, and that little things make a really big difference, for yourself and for others. 2011 and 2012 was a really a life changing time in my life!

Gym?

I don't know if we're supposed do this but I thought I might as well cause yeah...why not... So I go to the gym like 4 or 5 times a week, there I do some cardio and muscular strength and its really fun. It so great going because I feel so much less stressed after I have been, all worries kind of pass for a while. And its also really nice because there is a sauna there and thats a really nice reward if you have worked hard at the gym. The showers also have more pressure than the ones I have at home...if there is question of my liability than the "management" at ISK can ask me for contacts from our "school community" that can verify that I am there...yeah.

Runda Feeding Program

For the last three months I have been on the Runda Feeding Program with Interact. What we do is we meet by the Java House near the U.N. and from there we go together to Rottery's old age home somewhere in Runda. We give the old men and woman plates of food and we stack of bread and other kinds of food for the children in this little house/veranda. Then lots of little children come for food, they all get a plastic bag and they walk in a line to the different stations where we all stand give out different kinds of food. Its really sad, and sometimes you'll boys and girls carrying dolls or teddybears wrapped in blankets on their back, to make it look like they have a little baby who also needs food.
Runda Feeding Program has really showed me the true nature of people, or one of the natures ;) Me and my friends are always so suprised how ungrateful the children are after they've gotten food, no one ever says thank you, everyone always wants more, and when all the food is handed out and finished total chaos breaks out at the old age home. Guards have to scare the children away with sticks and things get really scary, people are screaming and running towards us in search for food. Me and my friends always thought that when you're doing charity you'll feel good about yourself, that the people that you're helping will be grateful, but what we see here is the complete opposite, we often leave feeling sad and spoiled. Even though we feel this way we come back though. But when I think about it I realize that it's fully understandable that they want more, they're just hungry...but a thank you now and then wouldn't hurt.
I wish I knew how this blogger thing works so I could put some pictures up but  I am kind of computer retarded so....

Girls JV Football

So its all kind of a weird story. So first I'm thinking that I wont try out for football, but for some reason, I make the girls varsity team and its all good. Except that I feel that I really really really really suck, oh god it was so terrible. I dont know what the others thought, and I had no idea why I was on the team, so I just stopped going to varsity kind of, and went to JV instead. It was really fun in JV and Coach Sags is soooo supporting and great that everyone had a great time. In our season we lost every game, except one, which we won. I think we made a total number of 2 goals during the season, one of which was a penalty kick haha. We had a great time and we learned a lot and I think Coach Sags was proud of us even though we totally failed.
We had practice 3 times a week.

Masaai Mara IC Trip

For my IC trip I went to Masaai Mara. We lived in a camp next to a local school, where we started building two schools as part of the project. We never finished completely but we laid a good foundation and the rest of the building probably we wouldn't take long. We also took part in a Masai beading workshop, it was really hard but we learned a lot and we were super duper CREATIVE. Another day we also visited the local market, a girls high school, and a clinic. It was really interesting to to see and I think we all thought it was really fun. If the Masai Mara trip is an option for next year I would definitely recommend it because it includes everything in CAS and it was super fun and all the facilitators took care of us really well....the food was really nice, the tents were nice (even though it was freezing at night) and it was overall an awesome week, we had so much fuuuun! And also I think we deserve extra credit, or at least I do becaue we barley got to shower...and showering is really important I think, we all smelled kind of bad, it was ok though becaue everyone who was on the trip totally bonded and I became close friends with people I normally wouldn't talk to. It was also fun since there were facilitators who made us play games ALL THE TIME, games that were meant to be great fun but most of us thought were kind of like humanities joke...if that makes any sense. Yeah anyway. super fun trip:)

OVC Christmas Party

On Saturday 5 November I participated in the Interact OVC Christmas party. We started at 9.30 by picking the children up and taking them to ISK, we seperated up into groups with different children. There were three stations around the school, the first one at the elementary playground, than in the MPR where the children got to draw, the pool where they got to swim and at the staff canteen where they were given breakfast. The day was very successful, all the children were given clothes that we all had donated and there was clothes left over that we gave to the OVC coordinator to hand out later. All the children also got candy, I think all the children enjoyed the day lots. I hope we can do an OVC Easter party or something like that because the everyone who participated had a good time...