Hyperphagia

In the summer, black bears begin hyperphagia, a period of excessive eating and drinking to fatten for hibernation later in the fall. Their bellies will literally drag the ground from over-eating. This is how I feel in the weeks before I leave for Kenya. I am gorging on cheese, burritos, pad kee mao, bagels, Chinese food, ice cream, pretending that if I eat enough of my favorite foods now, I won’t miss them in the next 6 months. As my food baby grows I feel guilty; I am going to Kuria, where there is a hunger season. Families habitually run out of money and go hungry in the months before the harvest, and I am shoveling 3,000 calories-worth of smoked gouda into my mouth.

I’m both excited and terrified to go to Kenya. When I first read about Nuru’s work and applied, I didn’t actually think I would get the job. There are people that belong in development. They are smart, they discuss history and international politics, they know a lot of world capitals. I, on the other hand, am easily distracted by shiny things. But I know what changes I’d like to see happen, and I want to do my part. I feel Nuru is in a special position to mobilize a lot of people to make their individual contributions where they can, and I have a lot of faith in that.

In Nairobi, the acrid smell of burning plastic reminds me of Bolivia, and it’s strangely comforting. The back of the bus in front of us has ‘Gangsta for Life’ painted in giant letters. The scenery between the capital and Nyanza province is a sweeping landscape dotted by acacia trees before it opens dramatically into the Great Rift Valley. Sadly I miss much of this, sleeping/blacked out in the back of the bus, my arms and legs pinned down by boxes and bags. But whenever the bus hits a rough patch of road and slams my head into the window (about every 15 minutes), I wake up long enough to admire the view. Our long trip, timed by David at 51 hours, finally ends and Foundation Team 3 stumbles off the dusty bus in Isibania. I am sticky and have dirt in my teeth from the dust that billowed in the bus windows. Feels like home.

It is week 1, and now it’s like mental hyperphagia. I am on information overload. Nuru’s model is built on collaboration between program areas, basic sanitation affects health affects income generation, and so on. So our transition begins by shadowing all other programs before we dive into our respective areas next week.

“At least you don’t THINK you’re cool…” - Chelsea, to David