Doxa in Kenya: First day in Kenya

Saturday, July 8, 2006. Nairobi

Today is my second day in Kenya. I was way too tired to write anything yesterday, but now I feel quite rested (although I'm not used to the bed, so my back and neck hurts).

So back to where I left off. I walked around the terminal in London to look for something to eat. I was carrying a huge backpack and a guitar (with a case that's 5 times as heavy as the guitar itself), so I had to walk slowly. Finally, I decided to eat at Garunkel's Restaurant. I had some eggs, sausage, bacon, mushroom, beans, fries, and tomato... They were quite terrible. The eggs (sort of sunny-side up) felt like plastic, the fries were cold, and they cost $14!! I was hungry, so I decided not to care so much... They brought some kind of condiment that looked like brownish vinegar with some gunk floating inside and smelled like urine, and since I touched it, my hands smelled like it for a while. Quite disgusting.

I began wondering around at the airport again, and I realized I could use one of those carts to push my backpack and guitar... Why didn't I think of that earlier? I was about to collapse from the weight. Then a girl walked by as she said to me, "You go to my sister's college!" And I saw a familiar face next to her. It was Karen from Crusade (I don't know her last name since I don't have access to internet right now and that means no facebook...). I don't think I've talked to her before, but it was really nice to see someone I could recognize. She was on her way to Uganda on a mission trip with a group from Davis Christian Fellowship, and I decided to hangout with her group for a while. Their flight was an hour before mine, so after they left, I began to wonder around again.

I wanted to check my e-mail, so I put my last 50 pence coin (about $1) in the internet kiosk... But it just ate my coin and didn't do anything but spit out three 1 pence coins... If only I had 2 more pence, I would have had another 50 pence to get 5 minutes of internet... But I didn't, so no internet for me in London.

Frustrated, I went back to the Quiet Room to recharge my laptop. I was super sleepy, but since I only had 1.5 hours till my flight and I didn't want to sleep through it, I decided to stay awake. I was even more frustrated when I found out later that my flight was delayed 1.5 hours...

I slept through most of the flight to Nairobi, and the plane arrived an hour behind schedule. Getting the visa was interesting. I filled out a brief application on the plane, and when I got to the customs booth, the guy hardly looked at my application before he stamped a visa on my passport. It was the most painless visa process ever.

Thankfully, both of my luggage came through in one piece. I was stopped for baggage check right before the exit, and was asked if I was carrying any gifts and such. The lady asked how much the guitar was, how long it was used, etc, but I didn't know because the guitar belonged to the church. She told me I'm supposed to pay a fee for bringing in expensive gifts, then I told her that I'm a missionary, and she just let me go. Apparently people give special favors to missionaries, such as discounts on plane tickets.

Pastor Kim was waiting right outside the gate with a sign that had my name in Korean. I felt bad because he had to wait for so long because of the delay. But I felt even worse when Pastor Kim told me that Pastor Moon had told him I was arriving on the 6th, not 7th, so he came to the airport the night before only to find out that I was coming the next morning. I did send him a carbon copy of a e-mail I sent to the missions headquarter, but I guess he missed the part that had my flight information. Pastor Kim was also 15min late to his lecture because of me...

Ok, I don't have enough time to write all the details now. But I'll go ahead an post this one.

To be continued...

Doxa in Kenya: Hello London

Thursday, July 6. London.

After a 12-hour flight, now I'm in Heathrow Airport in London. One thing I was glad to find out was that I don't have to claim my baggage until I'm in Nairobi. I wouldn't want to lug around two ~60lb bags for the next 8 hours while I wait for my next flight. I had to take a bus from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4... It kind of reminded me of Narita Airport in Japan.

I found a room called Multi-faith prayer room, so I went in and prayed there for a while. I've never been to anything like it before. There were lots of blankets or prayer mats in one corner, and there was a set of drawers labeled with different religions: Islam, Hindu, Christianity, and Shiite. I didn't look into them, but I could guess what's in them. Interestingly, there was a compus on the ceiling which pointed to north, west, south, east and "MAKKAH" in the southeast direction. Everyone I saw in the room were Muslims. They seem so disciplined when it comes to praying. That's something I'm lacking: discipline in prayer. While I'm in Kenya, I want to discipline myself to pray more everyday.

Right now I'm in a place called Quiet Sitting Room. It's more like a place to sleep. There are a few recliners, but mostly there are small cushioned chairs. Pretty much everyone is using two chairs: one for sitting, the other to put the legs up (which is what I'm doing). Whoever designed this place should have put recliners all around so people can just sleep...

So I brought a voltage converter, so I could plug in my computer and recharge it. But for some reason the outlet only fits loosely, and the converter is making a buzzing noise... I've never used the converter before, so I don't know if it's supposed to make that noise or if it's just because of the plug. I just hope the noise doesn't annoy anyone.

While I was in the plane, I realized that I'm seriously going to be in Kenya for a while... Yeah, maybe it's kind of late to realize that, but I had some time to really think about it in the plane. It's a pretty crazy thing, what I'm doing. The song "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley comes to my mine... "Maybe I'm crazy... Probably..."

Sweet. I just found another outlet that was more compatible with the plug that I had. I don't even have to use the converter, so there's no more buzzing noise. On top of that, now I'm sitting on a recliner that's next to the outlet. I could just fall asleep when I'm done typing. Double sweet. I almost freaked out when my laptop started to buzz with the converter, like physically vibrate... Not a good sign at all. Anyway...

So this trip will be the furthest and the longest I'll be away from my parents in my life... That's such a strange thought. I want to boarding school during 4th and 5th grade, so I was away from my parents for a few months at a time, but we were all in Japan. This time I'll be almost halfway around the globe from my parents (10-hour time zone difference between LA and Nairobi), and I'll be gone for 4.5 months. Then I'll be gone again for another 6 months from January... Seriously, what is happening to my life? God, where are You taking me, and what are You going to do with me? I can only trust him.

I was going to finish my med school apps before I left, but obviously that didn't happen. I have some ideas on what to write for my personal statement, but I wasn't sure what to say about my trip to Kenya. I figured once I'm there, I would have a little better idea what I'll be doing, and I could write a stronger personal statement... I hope. In any case, I need to submit my application ASAP to increase the chance of my admission.

I'm still not sure where I really want to go to med school. UCLA would be nice, since I could probably live at my fraternity house again and save some money. But I would be glad to go to any California schools... Well they are all pretty competitive to get into though. I'm applying to several schools in NYC because it seems like a really cool place to live and there are a several "safety" schools. I'm hoping to get all my interviews done while I'm back in the the States from end of November to January. It's going to be crazy just flying all over the place for interviews... I don't even know how I'm going to pay for all the airfares.

Hmm... I'm hungry. They never give you enough food on the plane. I usually don't ask for more food because it's not that good, but maybe I should have. Oh well. As soon as my laptop is fully charged, I'll go get some food... Or I'll just go get some food now and finish charging my laptop while I sleep. The latter sounds better. Oh, I also need to exchange the currency. Ugh. Alright. Peace out.

Goodbye USA

Here I am, gate 121 at LAX one hour before departure.

On my way here, I realized I forgot to print out the e-ticket receipt, so I was a little concerned. But thankfully, I checked in online on my way there (yes, on the road, thanks to my Bluetooth enabled Verizon phone). So I didn't need my e-ticket receipt. I didn't even have to stand in line for check-in. But I did, because I didn't know. I had to shuffle some stuff between my two check-in-luggage, because one of them was 17 lb overweight. But that's all taken care of. I said good-bye to my family and some church people that came to see me. I have to carry on a guitar with my backpack... The guitar is pretty heavy, but I hope they don't make me check it in.

It's amazing how God has provided everything I needed for this trip. Although, I don't really know what I'll be doing there, so I don't even know what I really need to bring. But I trust God that He will provide whatever I need over there. To be honest, I'm a bit scared. Mainly because I have no idea what to expect. But again, I need to rely on God.

If you're reading this, I would love to hear from you! I'm pretty sure I'll have internet access while in Kenya, though I have no idea how often. So shoot me some e-mail!

Africa Once Again

I'm leaving for Kenya tomorrow... or today, in less than 17 hours. I still don't know what I'll be doing, but rumor has it that I might be going to some sort of conference and an opening of a school in Tanzania. But that's just a few of many things I might be doing in Africa. I guess I'll find out more in about 50 hours.

I'm pretty much all packed. Apparently I have to take care of my own food, so I'm taking a small rice cooker and a water heater. I'll have to buy the rice there.

I'll update again at LAX for the last time in the US for a while.

Keep me in your prayers!