Snapshots and Culture Shock

We have now packed up our life in Kenya and started unpacking it in Oregon. The last two weeks have been jammed packed with packing. The week before we left I started packing, was I a little excited? As my husband tells me I am a bit anal. I admit I am, I think it is in my nature. We were allowed two bags each (that makes twelve bags total) that weigh 20 kilos or less. For those of you like me one kilo is equal to 2.2 pounds. I packed suitcases and danced on and off a scale to try to make each bag perfect. We were packing up six months of life and research among gifts and clothes. The six of us each experienced our own version of excitement and sorrow. We were all excited about coming home to different things and also sad about leaving certain things behind. I was more emotional about leaving Kenya than I was when we left the states. God had worked in me so closely and so much during our time there. I was afraid I would slip right back in to the way I was before and an attitude I wanted to leave behind.

All the kids were very excited when the taxi arrived to take us to the airport. It was hard to contain them and keep them out while we waited for a second taxi. I did say we had twelve suitcases right? After making our way to the airport we started having meltdowns as it got farther and farther from bedtime. After boarding the plane and settling in to our seats the kids slept for most of the eight hour flight. We off-loaded in Amsterdam and had breakfast and a little leg stretching time at the playground. After a short 3ish hour layover we made our way to our next gate. The agent looking over our passports wondered if we had left anything in Nairobi after hearing how many bags we had checked in. The closer we got to home the more eager and excited the kids became. The second leg of the trip lasted a little over 9 hours. Zoe and Alaina both took brief naps and the boys spent their time watching movies, coloring and playing games. I was pleasantly surprised by how all the kids did on such a long trip.

After arriving in Oregon the excitement was almost uncontainable. The oldest kids were busy expressing what they wanted to do first. Fatigue was offset by pure joy of being back on familiar territory. After gathering our bags we made the journey home. The wind and the cool weather was a shock to our systems after being in such a wonderful climate for so long. Once we arrived in town we unloaded some bags and headed out to get our puppy. The reunion was joyous for Alaina who had been talking about her dog for months. Moyo was excited to see Brian in particular and eventually decided to greet me. The following day we were able to move back in to our house. Which really meant we moved all our boxes and suitcases in. I started the slow process of unpacking, arranging and purging. As usual some of the things I unpacked were things that probably should not have been packed in the first place.

Jasper was excited to get back to school and started the first Monday, Milo started on Tuesday. It was a bit of an adjustment for Milo to get back in the swing of things.

At this point it is a bit difficult to try and articulate the things that I notice now that I am here. It is amazing to me that even after a short time my perception of life and normal society can be affected the way they have been. I grew up here and now it feels like a strange new world. I am afraid that I will become complacent in my life again and that all the change in my attitude and way of life will disappear. I am afraid of becoming the person I left behind. Being back I know how hard it will be to live a different style of life here but I am looking forward to the challenge.

I want to thank you all for the love and support you provided us with. I am so blessed to have you all in my life! Thank you for following our story. I do hope to keep up this blog.