Kenya surprised me in ways I never expected: A place full of color, warmth and culture that completely transformed the image I once had of Africa.
When I think about Kenya, I think about a colorful country, kind people, loads of different cultures. Many people may be thinking about poverty, when they think about a country located in Africa. But no, you can’t generalize one single story and transmit it to the whole continent. I’m saying this, because this is what I thought, before I decided to travel to Kenya. I thought that the people are poor and that they need help. But after being there, I realized, that there is so much more and just like that poverty has shifted into the back of my mind.
In this blog series about Kenya I want to tell you, how it came that I chose to travel to that country, what I did there and finally the preparations I went through, before stepping into that plane.
Before finishing highschool, I started worrying, what I want to do after. I didn’t have to think for a long time, to decide that I’m going to take a year off, before entering university. A gap year. I went to a study advisor and talked with him about my ideas about wanting to volunteer in an African country, meeting new cultures and seeing how people live in poverty. He sent me a link about a Swiss organization, located in Kenya, where his son has already been to. I browsed through their website and brochures and I became obsessed with the idea of going there. Of course, my parents were worried about me going to Kenya all alone, in a little village nobody has heard of and without electricity. I was still very young, only 18 years old at that time. Full of enthusiasm, I told my friend about this idea and she was right into it and just like this, we started planning our travel. We also decided to go on a safari, because we thought it is a must, once that we are in Kenya.
If you want to follow my journey from the first idea and planning to the culture shock, how Kenya broadened my horizons and much more, this Kenya blog series is for you.
(Upcoming) Blogs about Kenya:
- How to be Ready for Kenya: Health, Visa, Money, Packing Essentials
- Volunteer Program in Kenya – How to Volunteer Ethically
- kiptere.ch – Empowerment
- Living in a Small Village in Kenya – The Daily Life
- Poverty and Prostitution in Kenya – A Vicious Cycle
- Safari in Kenya – Where to Go and How to Plan it