Tonight I’ve been packing for Kenya. I’ve found that packing up for a semester (maybe year) abroad is much more human than packing up my apartment earlier this month. I remember looking at a huge number of bizarrely shaped containers spread across the living room floor. Some held lots of small details—my small plastic animals, extension cords, oddly shaped books, mugs, and other stuff—others held big objects like the toaster-oven or my bedding. So many boxes filled with so many objects. I felt chained down by all the stuff I had accumulated, as if I was incredibly materialistic and selfish. Why did I have that small bust of Thomas Jefferson? Why was that atlas so big?
Packing for Kenya has been different. One suitcase, one manbag, and one relatively empty backpack (although admittedly the suitcase is rather large). It’s all so compact and uncluttered. Simplifying my life, as Thomas Mikelson, Abdul Said, and my parents (ask about these people because they’re amazing) advised, feels liberating.
I’m happy and excited to travel to and to live in Kenya. I look forward to meeting Kenyans, learning about the culture and history of Kenya, travelling to the coast, travelling to the interior, and seeing mad(awesome) animals. The prime motivation for travelling abroad in Kenya, however, was the opportunity to uproot my perspective on development, international relations, and Kenya.
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