Revelations

The following are short, completely unrelated revelations that I've had during my first week in Kenya. These revelations vary in length and level of profundity. Enjoy!


I have a white girl name. More specifically, I have an American white girl name. People who don't have American accents have a hard time saying "Meredith." Several people at work have just decided to call me Mary, which I suppose is a compliment, since I work for Catholic Relief Services.


Speaking of CRS, I am continually impressed with the level of professionalism this organization demonstrates, particularly in this office. Having quite a bit of experience with grassroots non-profits under my belt, I especially enjoy coming to work every day and knowing that the project mandate, the key methods, and the long-term goals will all remain the same. I've also benefitted from the increased capacity of a well-established, extremely respected organization. In short, I can't remember the last time I was this happy about my work environment and assignments. Everyone in the East Africa Regional Office of CRS has my utmost gratitude!


You can learn a lot about yourself from brushing your teeth with bottled water every day. Try it some time.


On Monday afternoon, I moved from a rented room that I found independently into a furnished apartment building with which CRS has a working relationship. I have a lot of feelings about this move. The primary motivator was a concern for my own safety, and I stand by my decision to take care of myself as best I know how. But the whole process was not without its challenges. First of all, as a classic type-A overachiever, I had a difficult time accepting the fact that I was unable to find safe housing for myself. I'm supposed to be able to do everything perfectly, right?! Secondly, I have a hard time with the fact that, at least based on my experience, housing options in Nairobi are on one end of the spectrum or the other. As an ex-pat worker, I could either live in a run-down, unsafe house, or I could live in an apartment that is nicer, larger, and more well-guarded than my apartment in DC. It's an interesting comment on income inequality both within Kenya and between countries. I expect to ruminate on those issues for the rest of my time here.

This contraption allows me to keep in touch with all of you!

I am much more deeply committed to finding sources of electricity than I ever would have imagined. Yesterday, I spent nearly half an hour at work finagling with an outlet, a power cord, my adapter, my surge protector, and my charger just so I could keep my computer running. I slightly rearranged the furniture in my living room so that the outlets are more accessible. This determination came out of nowhere, and it's very odd. There's probably a comment to be made here about American dependence on electronics, Millennials' attachments to social media, or my personal issues giving up Facebook. My rebuttal to those comments would be that I am alone in a new city all summer, so let me have the internet. Please and thank you.

The pop radio station here is 107.5, which is the same as the pop station in my hometown of Franklin, Tennessee! Who would've thought that Nairobi and Franklin would have anything in common except for me?