Week 2

This week was primarily filled with work.  As exciting as the status of my fellowship applications, the word count on my journal articles in progress, or the state of my burgeoning field of field notes are, I suspect the moments that I was actually out and about are of the most interest to the general public:

Excursion 1: One day this week, I was able to join a group of students on a service trip to a forest near the city. Along with a large team of park rangers, we worked to clear a lake from an aggressive waterweed. It was nice to get outdoors and do something constructive!

Excursion 2: I met a friend of a friend for dinner and a drink this week. I love how connected the world can be when people share their networks and link their friends! I know pretty great people, who in turn know pretty great people.

Excursion 3: Today I spent some time at Nairobi’s Storymoja festival. Storymoja is any English teacher’s dream! The festival brings together regional authors, artists, and creative to celebrate their work. I had the privilege of hearing the famous Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka speak this afternoon. He delivered a memorial lecture for Wangari Maathai, the first female African to with the Nobel Peace Prize for her sustainable development efforts. Soyinka also honored Kofi Awooner, the Ghanaian poet that was killed in last year’s Westgate attack. Soyinka’s lecture, entitled “The Parables of Wangari’s Trees” was both inspirational and thought-provoking. Soyinka spoke on a variety of political and touchy subjects including both terrorism and women’s rights. My favorite line from his speech was the following: “Just as one tree does not make a forest, so does one gender not make humanity.”

All-in-all, a good week.

Settling into Kenya

My first week in Kenya has flown by! It has been seven days of settling in (to the Lavender’s home, to my first research site, to the new time zone). So much is new; I have met dozens of people and learned many new names, routines, directions, and local nuances. I’m still breaking in my research shoes and adapting to life as a full time researcher. Each day is filled with novelty.

At the same time, Kenya feels familiar. There is something oddly comforting about the red dirt that instantly tints my socks, the obnoxious cries of the ibis as they move from tree to tree, the boda drivers huddled in the shade, the fruit stands just off pothole-studded roads, guards reclining in the grass, dogs that look identical to my own…  Kenya is just similar enough to its neighbor, Uganda, to immediately feel like home. I am sure differences will abound. But for now, it feels really great to be back in East Africa.

Bed #1: Istanbul, Turkey

Well, the journey has begun. Just one week ago, I was strategizing ways to fit my wardrobe under my bed to vacate the closet for my subletter. I was chastising myself for failing my “packing extra light” goal. I was laughing at a bar on Hermosa Pier with a few of my favorite Los Angeles friends.

Now, as I relish a few minutes in front of a fan in the very warm but beautiful Istanbul, I am preparing to head to my second country in a week. I can’t believe how fast my four days in Turkey have flown! I have walked countless miles soaking in the Turkish sites. I have had some good windows of friend time, with my hostess Shannon. I have enjoyed the juxtaposition of old and new that this city offers, the milieu of cultures. I have had some delicious food and have enjoyed playing with my camera again.

About a week ago, I was talking to my brother about the uncertainty intrinsic in my next six months. I said something along the lines of “I have no idea where I’ll be sleeping for 90% of my trip.” David responded, “As in you don’t know what the bedrooms will look like?” To which I had to admit, “As in, I don’t even know which countries I’ll be in some weeks, much less who I’ll be staying with.” We both laughed and I felt that flutter of anxiety patter in my belly. But the truth is, when I think about it, I am confidant that things will work out. I have countless offers for segments already. I have a network of people who believe in my project. I just don’t know how all the pieces will fit together.   

This week, I have been sleeping on the couch of a good friend, Shannon, in a suburb of Istanbul. Shannon and I overlapped for one year of graduate study at UCLA and now she teaches at an international school here. She was generous enough to host me during her first week of school (which all educators know is an exhausting week without the added burden of house guests!). I am so grateful for her hospitality!

My beautiful hostess :)

Simple joys

One of my favorite things about my life in Hawthorne is my morning walks with my pets (yes, plural). For about two months now, the cat has decided that she should join the dog and I on our regular strolls around the neighborhood. Scout sticks quite close to us. If we happen to get more than a house ahead of her, she loudly scolds the dog and I for our inattentiveness.

The neighbors are intrigued by the spectacle. My pet duo make people smile and laugh. Let's be honest-- they make me smile and laugh, too!

Pacific NW, Sarah Style

Spent a week in Seattle, San Juan Island, and Vancouver with my two best friends (Sarah cubed unite again). Ocean, orcas, bald eagles, ziplines, kayaks, tandem bicycles, good food, good wine, good conversation. Life is happy :)

LA can be okay: presenting Exhibit A

my favorite place to bike

Cultural excursion with the roommie

Disneyland play dates

friends and drinks 

So-cal weddings (Carlsbad)

reunions at said So-cal wedding (Oceanside)

run then relax (at least until the parking meter runs out)

LACMA artsy time

Kubrick special exhibit 

A few miles/laps closer to happy...

Perhaps my biggest adventure this month was signing up for a triathlon in August. This has forced me to spend a lot of time swimming, biking, and running in order to be prepared. Through these activities, I have spent hours exercising along the beach, in my neighborhood, and at the community pool. I can’t help but admit that I’ve seen a more appealing side of LA through these endeavors.  

In February I moved to Hawthorne. I now live about 3 miles from the ocean and I have definitely taken advantage of that the last few weeks. There are both biking and running paths that stretch from Playa Del Rey to Redondo Beach and I frequent both. The ocean offers escape from the cement people-packed chaos of LA. It also has some pretty great views (of both the coast and of shirtless volleyball players) as I log my biking/running miles. I’ve even managed to coerce some of my friends who rarely frequent the South Bay to join me on training runs. The beach makes a pretty compelling carrot. A new friend from church joined me on a bike ride this week. All-in-all, beachside workouts are an amazing part of my LA life.

I also have used my current athletic obsession as an excuse to cross train. I played in a meetup group soccer match last week and was thrilled to discover not all my skills were completely gone. Plus I met some new people and hopefully will continue to get to know them as I become more of a regular. I also went paddle boarding for the first time in Newport Beach with a good friend and her brothers (I cannot boast of ANY skills in that arena; I may or may not have run into a dock). A few weeks ago I also hiked in the Malibu hills with my roommate and a friend in our program—a nice reminder that there are still unpopulated areas just a bit outside the city.

Finally, on the note of athletics, I am grateful for the running community that I am slowly finding here. My roommate is an avid runner, so she and I can periodically train together. I have another running buddy in the neighborhood that joins us for midweek runs.

Magazines always proclaim that physical fitness promotes happiness. I can definitely say that my athletic endeavors the past few weeks have helped make my attitude towards life and towards this city a little bit brighter.

Learning to Like LA

I think my post 6 months ago was a plea with myself to clamber out of my pit of culture shock and start living. However, in reality the six months since that last post have been just as challenging as the first six months in this country. It was hard to find the time or energy to write.

It has been a year since I moved back to the US. In many ways, this year has flown by. When I think back upon my departure from Uganda, it feels like yesterday. And yet, this year has been one obstacle after the next in an often-lonely journey to understand academia, Los Angeles, and the US. While this year has been tough, I have learned a lot about each realm: I’ve networked to find jobs in a totally broke  and overstretched (financially) UC system, I’ve learned the back-routes to escape the 405 when there’s an accident (or 4) on my way to school, I’ve watched enough television to understand 1/30 pop references (though still don’t ask me who the celebrity is sitting at the table next to me), I’ve found a roommate who helps keep me balanced and has patience with my wild African critters and all their strange issues, I know my neighbors to the degree that I inform them when I am travelling. Basically, learning new cultures is hard work and life in LA has felt very foreign at many points in time. However, bit by bit I am understanding things better.

After surviving a completely chaotic spring quarter, I made a promise to myself: this summer, while I have a more flexible schedule (I am doing independent research), I am going to be intentional about learning to like LA. So, with that, I also hope to re-start my blogging for fun. I can’t promise it will stick, but here’s to trying.