Lessons learned!

I have been thinking about my days in Kenya, how I started and where I am now not only physically but emotionally as well. It was a journey, not an easy one for me, there were more than few bumps on the way, but I made it:)

Place like Africa teaches a lot, as long as you can see with an open mind and embrace it with an open heart...It is not always easy to see as it is, there are always emotions and perceptions we carry on our back. And of course there is also the denial part, which makes it even more complicated! We sometimes do not see the truth, deep down we simply do not want it! Why am I writing all these, right? Because I have seen enough where many people were in that situation, I must also admit, time to time I was one of them...

Not long ago, I was a very impatient person, somebody who wants to get things done right away! When I think about few years back it even makes me laugh, I wonder how I looked from outside! Shopping at Nakumatt (grocery store chain) was such a misery for me, the lanes just would not move, I mean literally the cashier was in a slow motion, every transaction was taking ages at a time!!! It felt like somebody pushed "stop" button in the remote control!  There I was waiting endlessly and impatiently! On the other hand, some days I was home on waiting for never ending repairs to be done in the house, waiting for technical team to come in to fix the internet, waiting for team to repair the leaking roof, waiting for technicians to fix the inverter! Or just waiting for traffic to move even though there was nothing going on to make it stop! So, patience!, that was my first lesson! and funny enough "Pole pole" (slowly slowly) was the first word I learned in Swahili:)

Growing up in homogeneous society makes you very uncomfortable in a place like Africa...You simply feel like an outsider. Ok, I lived half of life in Turkey and half in US, and I must admit there is no other country in the world that can get more diversed than US! But when the conversation is about Africa it is different, it is not something can be told easily, you have to live to see. So to adopt and accept was my second lesson!

Before moving here, I thought I appreciate the things I have. But last few years appreciation came with a meaning much deeper than I thought....Nothing said would be enough what I have seen here, the poverty, simple human nature, smile of children who play outside barefoot in the dirt, generosity and warmth of every day people. So, appreciation is something I learned over and over again...

Personal wise, I always knew I was a reserved person. But it is does not work well if you are in Africa and an expat wife! Being reserved made me more isolated than I wanted and honestly I did like it all! Even though I like to do certain things by myself, we all have limits, and being all alone is no fun!!! So I pushed myself to be social, and it worked. Last year it made a big difference in my everyday life:) Being social is a key, keep that in mind:)