Student shares reflection on her journey to Kenya

Connie Johnson

Entry #1

May 26, 2012 8:37am Amsterdam Airport

As I sit at  gate F6 awaiting to board the second and final flight to Nairobi I am reminded of a question. While in line to check in at Chicago O’Hare I became engaged with a tall, cultured woman wearing a pink silk blouse. She asked the normal questions a fellow traveler would ask, What is your destination?, What is the reason for your trip?, How long will you be visiting? Our conversation was pretty standard for two complete strangers when it suddenly took a turn that took me by surprise. The information the woman gathered from her friendly but brief interrogation reminded her of her own journeys to Northern Africa. She shared a little about her experiences and then it happened. She asked a question so profound that I couldn’t give her an honest answer. She looked me square in the eyes and said “Are you ready for the poverty?” I tried my best to process the question and give her a scholarly answer,since I am a graduate student. But I could only come with “I don’t know.” Over the past few days several people have inquired about my feelings towards this trip. The standard questions were Are you ready?, Are you excited?, Do you have everything you need? But no one asked neither did I consider the question, Are you ready for the poverty? It never dawned on me that Kenyan poverty will probably look much different from American poverty, of which I am quite familiar with. I never considered that I could possibly, for once be considered a “have” in a land of extreme “have nots”. I walk into this experience as a blank canvas waiting for an inspired artists to skillfully cover me with brilliant, vibrant strokes of self discovery.