Life and adventure in Kenya: Happy Thanksgiving!

Today the palace is doing it big. Our apartment volunteered to host Thanksgiving for all of our American Nairobi-dwelling friends. Each attendee is responsible for a different dish, so we have a full course planned (complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, green beans, apple crisp AND pumpkin pie.) My dish you ask? I was assigned the job of purchasing wine. My friends have so much faith in my cooking ability.

I must admit that this morning when I woke up I was somewhat homesick. It's a strange and unfamiliar feeling for me not to be with my family today. It's the first Thanksgiving in my entire life that I will celebrate away from the Hessler household. I will be sitting at a table with adults (if that's what you want to call ten 20 and 21 year old college juniors), rather than sitting at the "kids" table that Kristen, DJ, Daniel, Lauren and I share each year.

I realized though, a few hours later as I was sitting at Dormans, enjoying a cup of coffee and journaling about all the things in my life I am thankful for, that Thanksgiving means so much more to me here in Kenya than it has ever meant to me before, and because of this, I am extremely grateful. This semester, all things comfortable have been stripped away and I have been living in a "third-world" country, experiencing a foreign culture, away from all things familiar. Though difficult at times, being here has made extremely thankful for my life back home. A classic case of, "you don't know what you have until it's gone." Though my life is not really "gone" per say, and I'm coming back to the states in two weeks, back to the comfort and familiarity of home, I'm returning with a new perspective on my life and how blessed I really am.

As much as I wish I could be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family today, I'm grateful that I have this chance to reflect on all the things that I am truly thankful for. I thought I would share some of this list with y'all. There are so many things that I appreciate that I didn't even realize until they weren't here for me anymore this semester. Hope you enjoy :)

Things that I am thankful for:
-My amazing family who supports me in all that I do and loves me unconditionally
-My friends who encourage me to be the best person I can be
-The ability to attend UNC and receive an amazing college education
-The opportunity I was given this semester to experience a whole new way of life and culture
-"The palace" (our apartment during my month-long research) and the girls I live with
-My host mother, Mama Dorthy, who graciously opened up her home to me my first 2.5 months here
-Electricity, internet access and hot water
-Shower heads
-America
-Crosswalks and cars stopping for you
-Karol, my Kenyan friend who serves coffee at Dormans, who has always been kind and polite to me since day 1, despite Kenyan culture not encouraging waitresses to act this way
-Jesus
-Our gate guard, Gilbert, who keeps the bad guys out
-Buddy and Tessa, my puppies
-CLEAN AIR in America
-Effective trash collecting systems back home
-Southern hospitality
-Mom's cooking
-Fireplaces
-The changing of seasons
-ArtCaffe, my favorite coffee shop in Nairobi, that lets me post-up there and work all day
-Grace and Maragaret, the amazing women who worked as house helps for my host family

There are so many more things that I am thankful for that I have only just begun to realize this semester. The list could go on for pages, but I'll leave it be for now. (I need to start getting ready for our guests) I'm so grateful for each and every one of you reading this right now and I miss y'all SO much.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with family and friends and remember that we all have so much to be thankful for!

Until next time-

Megan

Edit--here are some pictures from Thanksgiving!