STOP.
If you haven’t read Part I, please scroll down and
do so. It will put all of the following observations and ruminations into much
better context for you. Please and thank you.
I
can say with complete confidence that I had the most interesting commute of my
entire life this week. The ride from my apartment to Chem Chemi Ya Uzima, the
AOSK learning center, was a truly fascinating experience. I got to see parts of
Nairobi that I never would have seen otherwise, and I had so much fun people
watching during the traffic-ridden commute from Westlands to Karen. Most of the
time I feel very confined to my immediate neighborhood, so I was especially
grateful for the chance to safely explore a bit of the city on my way to the
workshop.
CRS has a partnership with a private car service,
and my drivers’ names were Peter, Paul, Samuel, John, and Amialto. I was
worried that the company only hired Biblically named drivers until I met
Amialto. What a relief! I told him so, and he seemed confused. Oh well.
Along
the way to Karen, I saw the Nairobi International School, the Embassy of
Hungary, countless people selling furniture along the side of the road, and
three enormous shopping malls. I had plenty of time to look around and notice
every little thing, too, because traffic in Nairobi is notoriously atrocious.
The 12-mile ride took between 45 minutes and an hour each way, and every day
the drivers commented on how light traffic was that day. I was appalled! The
impatient, hurried hummingbird in me was sure there had to be a more efficient
way to get from one place to another. But then the relaxed, laid-back part of
me remembered that it’s not like I’d be late for anything – I never have plans
here. So I sat back and enjoyed the ride, taking everything in and committing
it to memory.
Though
the commute was an adventure all on its own, a whole different kind of
adventure began once I got to Chem Chemi. The seven AOSK Sisters who participated
in the CIRCA workshop were opinionated, determined, and very suspicious of me.
I respect their lives and their work very much, but there were many times when
I felt a bit awkward with them. We experienced cultural differences and
miscommunications almost every time we spoke.
Some of these miscommunications were comical, like
when Sister Ann asked me if she should consider the turn up when planning her
workshop agenda. I thought she was asking about turnips, which obviously wasn’t
relevant, so I said no. Then Sister Mary Joseph explained that if the turn up
was bad, it might be best to reschedule the workshop so more people could
attend. Only then did I realize that they were talking about the number of
people who would show up – the American idiom is turnout, not turn up.
Goodness.
Other differences were less easy to laugh off,
though. During a small group discussion, one Sister mentioned that she would
probably not invite too many women to her workshop because they were unlikely
to speak up, and some women would have to miss the workshop because they can’t
leave the house during their periods. The liberal feminist inside me started
doing jumping jacks and push-ups, getting ready for a fight. But the composed
Southern belle in me realized that I couldn’t discourage the Sister’s ideas.
The whole point of these discussions was to empower the Sisters to create their
own ideas and design their own projects. I don’t understand their
cultural contexts, but it’s not my place to object to them. It was a hard pill
to swallow, but I’m glad I simply listened instead of interjecting.
Below you’ll find some photos of Chem Chemi. The
Catholic learning center’s campus is absolutely breathtaking, and I feel so
blessed to have spent three days there. Despite my distinct lack of
Catholicism, the quiet solace was a welcome change of pace that I enjoyed very
much.
The Sisters were not at all what I expected them to
be, since my best knowledge of nuns comes from the Sound of Music and Sister
Act, but I am glad I met all of them and learned from them. I wish I could tell
my grandmother all about it – she’s the reason I know every word to the Sound
of Music, and I’m sure she’d love to hear that I met real-life Marias and
Mother Abbesses.
This week has been challenging and inspiring for me, and I know that I’ll
remember it for years to come.
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