My experience in
Kenya was nothing short of inspiring. During my time there I learned so much
about culture, music, animals, and new foods! I have said to many of my friends
that I do not know what I enjoyed more – the animals or the people. I will
begin by talking about the music and the people, because that is the sole
reason we traveled so far. Everyone in Kenya was so welcoming and kind, and
they all wanted to know what America is like and about our every-day lives. The
most beautiful experience I had in Kenya was through music. Every choir we sang
with, watched, and performed with was incredibly gifted. They had a way of
moving and singing that was like nothing I had ever seen or heard before. There
was not a single member of any choir that looked out of place or unhappy to be
there. In fact, while performing, every member seemed to look as if they were
the luckiest person in the world to be on stage singing as a group.
Kenyans have a way of moving that is
incredibly enviable. They move their bodies so naturally, as if their hips and
limbs are water flowing from a river. Most performances were accompanied with
dancing, instruments, and sometimes chants. Even the simpler dance moves were
hard for us to copy and follow along with, but it was always so much fun to
experience it and meet so many new faces to help us (in particular I had
trouble moving my feet and arms AND sing at the same time)! One of my favorite
moments of the whole trip was at our first concert, singing Ukuthula with the
other choirs for our last piece. It was the same song I had sang with my last
choir (the last piece too!), so it was an emotional song for me for many
reasons. It was so beautiful to be singing with my friends (old and new) a song
about peace, in another language but also words I knew very well. I remember looking
up at the lights and the audience with so much love and hope in my heart, tears
streaming down my face at how beautiful it was to be together. We met many more
amazing people at other concerts and events, and shared many songs with one and
other, but that was by far the most magical moment of the trip. I am not a
spiritual person, but that was the most of God I have ever felt in one room.
Unlike a lot of my peers on the trip, I am not
a music major, I simply joined choir because I love to sing in choirs! I am
actually an Environmental Science major exploring a concentration in Wildlife.
For this reason, I was particularly ecstatic to be going on a safari and even
to a giraffe sanctuary. I found that I also learned a lot that applied to my
major while I was on the trip, both about animals and about conservation
(plastic is actually banned in Kenya! Plastic bags, etc. are not allowed). One
of my favorite things that I saw on the Safari was a family of lions; two
females and three cubs playing in the grasslands! I really loved seeing so many
animals I have never seen before and learning about endangered species too. My
trip to Kenya was just such an incredible learning experience and I would not
have been able to have that anywhere else. This trip would not have been
possible without OSCAR and George Mason University, and it was truly an
experience of a lifetime.
