I’ve been asked to write about my travels…how I’ve gotten to go to so many different places and what brought me there. I could give you the long version or the short version…but I think the long version tells a lot more of my story and who I am =)
I’ve played competitive volleyball since I was 10 years old. I was blessed to have an amazing coach when I was 14 who worked with me for hours and pushed me to be my absolute best. It was because of him that I became a great player and was able to go on my first adventure to Beijing my senior year of high school to compete against the Beijing national team. This was my first experience of ‘squatting’ in a hole in the ground…and living without a toilet. The one phrase I learned to say in Chinese was ‘can I please have some toilet paper’ since apparently you’re supposed to bring your own =)
I chose the University of Illinois to go to college and received a full scholarship to play volleyball. It’s a great school and a great program, but I ended up getting seriously injured spring of my freshman year. I tried to play through the pain, but only made it worse. By fall of my junior year I told my coach I couldn’t keep going on the way I was and I wanted to be medically released from the team. He agreed, and that fall would be my last season with the team.
In college my friend introduced me to Campus Crusade for Christ and it’s where I really developed a relationship with God. I really felt that God wanted me to go serve the poor, but since I was on the volleyball team I never had time to travel. I decided to major in Sociology and Political Science to learn more about developing countries. Summer of my sophomore year I had the privilege of volunteering in Guatemala with a group of students from my school. That experience really showed me a lot that I never knew…I never really saw poverty that close before.
After that trip I chose to take one of my all time favorite classes…International Health Policy to learn more about these issues that I saw there. I loved the class and learned a lot! During that semester my grandfather got very sick from cancer and passed away. It just so happened that his funeral was during my midterm for that class, so I (who was pretty shy at the time) had to meet with my professor to make up my exam. I doubt I ever would’ve talked to her if that hadn’t happened. She asked me what the heck I planned on doing with a Sociology degree…and I told her I wanted to join the Peace Corps when I finished school and go to Africa. She then went to work to get me an internship in Kenya. Since I was no longer a part of the volleyball team (but was still on scholarship, yay!), I was able to take 6 months of school and live in rural Kenya.
To say that this experience changed me forever would be an understatement. I lived in a village with 100,000 people, and only 6 white people living at the hospital (where I was working). The first time I tried to go by myself to the store I couldn’t even make it…all of the people staring at me and coming up to me scared the crap out of me! I turned around and went back to my room. I had to pray a LOT for God to give me the strength to make it there. It wasn’t easy, but boy was it worth it.
When I was in Kenya I had the opportunity to travel…a LOT! I have a very adventurous spirit so once I got over the initial shock and fear of being there, I packed up my bags every weekend and got on a matatu (public transport) to take me to every fun place there was in Kenya. I saw the WHOLE country…and experienced so much. I made friends and we took the bus to Uganda and Rwanda to explore….and I spent a week in Zanzibar with another good friend.
I also made a friend who took me to Morocco and Egypt…some of the most beautiful and exotic places I’ve ever been…and was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I loved Morocco so much I ended up getting married there =)
After my time in Kenya, I came back to the states to finish my degree. I planned on going to graduate school but took a semester off…so I could go back to Africa. It’s hard to explain the love affair with Africa with someone who has never been. It’s noisy and dirty and you get your stuff stolen…but it’s also beautiful and the people are amazing and life there is always an adventure.
I chose to go to Senegal after I graduated college because I wanted to work on my French, and I found a place to stay for free and an organization to work with.
I think that was the best decision I’ve ever made…a month after I moved there I ended up meeting my husband! We fell in love…he moved back to America with me and the rest is history =)
