Symposium Dinner

Susan Ross arrived today to join our group for the symposium which begins on Saturday. The seminar with Sister Anne is wrapping up tomorrow and we went out to dinner as a group tonight to welcome Susan and to thank Anne. We went to an Ethiopian Restaurant and enjoyed a feast, complete with a coffee ceremony after the meal. Even though Anne is also joining us for the symposium we wanted to show our appreciation to Anne for a wonderful three weeks of leading our immersion group and guiding us through the fieldwork in Nairobi, so Melissa presented her with a bag from Amani (see picture).

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of the third week. I can't say that I'm really getting used to Nairobi since I still find some things jarring: bumpy roads, traffic, pollution, water shortages, random blackouts, insecurity, walled communities, street children, the feeling of being in a minority group no matter where I go... I think the symposium will be a great time for us to begin to process our experiences in more depth and to talk about the similar themes that surfaced in the fieldwork of different participants. We'll also do the collaborative service project next week. Since we can't go to Garissa we have been exploring other options and have decided to go back to the IDP camp near Naivasha. We'll be going up there for the day on Tuesday, bringing first aid supplies, sanitary pads, clothing, school supplies, chickens, and goats. We're still trying to find a good deal on the chickens and goats. I'll keep you posted!