And So We Begin...

Every story has a beginning.

Technically, my story begins on a Friday in 1991 with my mother insisting that she’ll come back to the hospital after her work meeting, despite the fact that she is already in labor. However, we can fast forward past that and the next 23 years. We want to get to the good part.

The scene opens on our protagonist applying for internships in her apartment, growing increasingly terrified as she realizes that she has no idea what she is doing with her life, nor what she wants to do with her life. Cut to a montage of our protagonist losing sleep, struggling to eat, and watching a lot of Netflix as her anxiety continues to grow. There is also a lot of Youtube videos.

We’ll pause here for a moment for a brief spoiler: Our protagonist is going to be totally fine. Promise. Unfortunately, these bad moments are part of life.

Continuing on. The montage fades away to show the protagonist at her computer. Zoom in on the screen. There we see the familiar Facebook header, and below it a profile picture, somewhat odd due to the fact that a sister – a wearing-the-habit type of sister – is the subject. Our protagonist moves her mouse over the message button, clicking softly, and…

The rest is history.

Oh, other stuff happened in between now and then. There were applications to be filled out, reference letters to ask for, a funeral to attend (more on that at a later date), but what it all ultimately led up to was this moment. Me, packing a suitcase with (hopefully) six months worth of necessary supplies before I leave for Kenya.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve traveled abroad, nor is it the first time I’ve been to Africa. However, this will be the longest time I have been away from my family and the first time I have had a real job to do while abroad. Studying is work, but it doesn’t necessarily constitute a job. (Though I’m still not certain exactly what this job will entail – clues suggest education and possibly assisting with other development projects that the sisters run.)

Oh yes! I will be living with five Salesian Sisters in Nairobi! This has given me the priceless opportunity to tell random people that I will be living with nuns, which usually results in them pulling a confused face and me internally chuckling as they slowly ask what exactly that means. What it means is that I will be living in a convent (dormitory style!) with five Catholic sisters during my time in Kenya. VIDES (Volunteers in International Development, Education, and Solidarity) is a non-profit organization partnered with the Salesian order to allow people ages 21 to 35 the chance to volunteer wherever Salesian sisters may be.

Now, the Salesians’ charism (or in simpler terms, their vocation) is to educate and accompany youth, especially the poor, throughout life. This means that the Salesian sisters largely focus on education and other development work to help young people grow and develop into the amazing people God has called them to be. Throughout this blog, I’ll give small insights into how the sisters do this, but suffice to say that the phrase ‘preventive system’ will become very familiar.

Tomorrow I will hop on a plane and begin my journey to Kenya. Though I don’t know exactly when I will have internet again, I will update as often as is feasible and try to include some pictures of what’s going on. Also! I will usually have the last section of the blog for interesting things that happened that day. So here is the first.

Interesting Story of the Day:

• I CHOPPED OFF MY HAIR. I HAD SO MUCH HAIR AND NOW I DO NOT. THIS IS SUPER WEIRD.

See you in Kenya!