Hello, hello! My past couple of weeks have been full of the normal routine, long days seeing patients at the clinic and restful evenings in the house or exploring the city. Since I don’t have too much to update you all on, I thought I would use this post to reflect on my experience as a whole thus far. With that, I have compiled a list of my top and bottom aspects of my time here, my “thorns” and “roses,” if you will.

Positives

1. Feeling like a part of the community and team: In my months here, I have become fairly recognized in the community around the clinic. Whether it’s the fact that the patients we see often know my name before I’ve introduced myself or before I know theirs or random instances of an Uber driver knowing me from a past ride or from the clinic, these small interactions have added up to make me feel so deeply welcomed into the community.
2. Cultural immersion and exchange (in more ways than one): Not only am I obviously immersed in Kenyan culture every day, I also have the privilege of working alongside long- and short-term volunteers from every corner of the world. I have literally worked with volunteers from every continent (except Antiartica, of course lol) in my time here. Not only has this afforded me a dense connection of international friends, it has also been interesting to see out work through the lens of multiple cultural backgrounds. Things are also never boring in the volunteer house when I might be living with someone from France one day and someone from Brazil the next!
3. Learning: Obviously, I have learned so much in my time here. Not only have I gained an immense amount of applicable medical knowledge, I have also gotten a firsthand look at how different medical systems function and how primary care, diagnosis and treatment differs from what I am accustomed to in the US. While I know that the skills I use here may not be the same skills I gain as I further my medical education, I will always carry the deep understanding of medical access and culturally sensitive care that I have gained here.
4. Access to nature: As I have spoken about before, Nairobi is a city built in a forest. It has been so refreshing and encouraging to know that, even when the city feels cramped and busy, I can easily escape into nature for a recharge. My favorite places to do so have been the Karura Forest, the Nairobi Arboretum, and simply sitting on my balcony overlooking a lake.

Negatives

1. Perception: Before coming here, I did not understand the full implications of moving somewhere where I am obviously a foreigner, an outsider. From being yelled at on the street or being singled out in social situations, there is a certain weariness that comes with being constantly perceived. While I must note that the perception is never malicious (actually quite the opposite) and this is something I accepted pretty quickly, it has been a big part of my experience here.
2. Always saying goodbye (and hello): As I stated earlier, I am always with people from many different countries and, with this, comes the drawback of feeling like I am always saying goodbye to people. Most of the other volunteers I work with stay from 2-6 weeks so, the volunteer house is a constant revolving door. It has often felt like I form great relationships with people just as they are preparing to leave, which speaks to the larger ethical concerns with short-term volunteering in general, but that’s a topic for another day.
3. Nairobi traffic and other small inconveniences: I can’t wrap up a conversation on the positives and negatives of my experience without mentioning the seemingly one-million small inconveniences that add up throughout my day. From spending two hours each day sitting in traffic to relying on unreliable ride shares and public transit to how difficult it is to do laundry here, there are always these small things at affect you when you’re living outside your convenient, normal lifestyle. With that being said, I am grateful for the ways that these inconsequential issues force me to live outside my comfort zone and acknowledge that this is something that everyone living internationally experiences.

It feels unnatural to end this on a negative note, but I know my descriptions of my time here would not be complete without mentioning that not everything is always positive all the time. And that’s okay, it’s expected, it’s part of the experience and doesn’t take away from how overwhelmingly positive and enriching my time here has been. I am excited for these next two months and am becoming more and more appreciative of this opportunity as my time remaining here grows shorter. Sending love from Nairobi!