countdown: twelve days

hi everybody.

woo! first post of my study abroad blog; that means it's getting close!

first, a little about the program. i'm studying abroad through the university of minnesota's minnesota studies in international development. the university has a few of these programs to various countries (india, senegal, ecuador) but the kenya program is co-sponsored by uw-madison, so it's a win-win, because not only have i always wanted to go to africa, but i will retain my student status at uw-madison (which makes life easier when i have to register for spring semester classes.) the program is also different in that the classes will be only msid students; i won't be enrolling as an international student at another university, like many study abroad programs. also, the semester is split into two parts, classroom and internship. i'll have class for seven weeks, a six week internship, and then a final week in class.

for the first half of the semester, i'll be living in nairobi, the capital of kenya. i'll be living with a kenyan family and taking three classes-- swahili, a class about international development (and more healthcare related as that is the track i chose), and a class more about kenya specifically. i found out about my homestay family a few weeks ago-- my host mom is a nurse, father is a lecturer, and there are three kids.. a 15 year old daughter, 10 year old son, and a 4 month old baby. i'll be living in "sunview estates" in the ngumo area.

the second half will be my internship. i don't know where that will be at yet, but most likely a rural area outside of nairobi. i'll find out during the first week when we have orientation.

my flight leaves on august 28th around 4:00, and i'll be leaving kenya december 10th. it's coming so quickly and i know it will all be over before i know it. i'm hoping this is one of the best experiences of my life; i think i'll grow so much as a person and experience things i would not be able to experience here in the united states.

until next time. emma.
:)