Leaving Today!

Well, after many months of planning, the day has finally arrived. I applied to this program back in October. In late December, violence broke out all over Kenya after the disputed election. When the dust settled in late January, over 1,000 people had been killed. For many months, there were talks that my program would be canceled. As I write this, I am finishing my last minute packing and will leave for the airport in 30 minutes.

I will be leaving O'Hare today at 5:30pm. Thankfully it's a nice, clear day so hopefully there won't be any delays. I have a 7 hour flight to London and then a 3 hour layover. I should arrive in Nairobi mid-afternoon Chicago time. Kenya is 8 hours ahead so it should be evening there. When I arrive I'll be taking a bus 3 hours to Lake Nakuru National Park for our week-long orientation. I will try to write as soon as I can but I am anticipating that it will be at least a week.

Thank you to everyone for your support. I know that I am bringing with me all of your thoughts and prayers.

P.S. If there are any topics/subjects that you would like to know about (ex. food, culture, music, etc), please feel free to send me an e-mail or comment on one of the blog entries.

Peace,
Dan

Kenya Video

Because many people have brought this video to my attention I figured that I better post it. I apologize for the addictive nature of this video. Also, since I'm sure someone is bound to point it out - no Kenya does not have tigers.
Only in Kenya Video

Where I'm Going

I will be studying abroad in Kenya in East Africa from September 1st - April 25 through the Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program through the University of Minnesota. I will be taking classes through the University of Nairobi for 7 weeks. I will be taking courses in International Development, Swahili language, Country Analysis and Applied Field Methods. The entire second semester I will be conducting research through my internship culminating in a research paper.

Following the classroom phase, I will be interning with a non-governmental organization (NGO) in a rural part of the country for 5 months. My internship will be focusing on Public Health, primarily health promotion and health education. I hope to be doing community outreach based out of rural health clinics.

To orient you: Kenya is located in East Central Africa . Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia (to the north), Somalia (east), the Sudan (northwest), Uganda (west), Tanzania (south), Lake Victoria (west) and the Indian Ocean (east). The Equator runs directly through the middle of the country.