Why not have School at the Beach

I have gotten to a point in the semester where nothing surprises me about the trip anymore. Things that are wildly out there and never in a million years think I would be doing I am experience. Take this last week for example. We spent it in Mombasa a major coastal town in Kenya. This time instead of our classroom looking at Kili our classroom was on the sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean. Let me make one thing clear though, while our trip may seem to an outsider like one giant vacation based on the places we go and things we do. I cannot even begin to express how much I have learned in these last two months.

Our trip to Mombasa was focused on understanding the dynamics of an 80% Muslim city in a country that is majority Christian. Since Mombasa is on the coast it has been a major port for years, allowing not only for the trade of goods but also cultures. It is knowns as a melting pot due to its diversity which is not seen in the rest of the county. Our first day there we visited Fort Jesus which was a military fort built by the Portuguese. On our second day, we visited HAKI Africa. HAKI Africa is an organization fighting for human rights. HAKI stands for Humanity, Activism, Knowledge, and Integrity. It was amazing to meet the men and women who literally put their life on the line every day to stand up against their government to ensure that others are treated the way they should. Later in the day we got to visit a Mosque and even watch a prayer service. Too be exposed to a religion, being able to ask question and observe was such a great experience. The third day we had the opportunity to meet with sex workers which is a big industry within the coast. For me this was eye opening because this was a world I had never been exposed to. What stood out to me was the stories of these women. I think as a society or at least me personality we tend to ask why do these women put themselves in these situations. What I learned was for many of these women it was about survival. One became a sex worker at the age of 14 when both her parents died and she had to take care of her siblings, having no other jobs available to her she turned to the only thing she knew would put food on the table. It’s amazing what you learn when you take the time to learn someone’s story instead of just judging them on what you can see. We ended the day talking with three highly educated Muslim women on what life was like for them as kids and what it is like now. The more and more moms I met the more and more I really that they are really all the same. They want their children to get a good education, to be safe, happy, and healthy.

Don't worry we did find time to relax in addition to school :) We swam in the Indian Ocean (warmest ocean I have ever been in). We had sunrise runs on the beach and volleyball games at night. Oh, and on the last night we took a dinner cruise on an old wooden boat. Yesterday we took the train back to reality of Nairobi for our last two weeks of classes before we head our separate ways to our month-long internships.

our daily lunch spot with the best coffee milkshakes in the world

Mosque visit

The boat we had dinner on