November, where’d you go?

December 1^st marked the end of the independent study period—my research paper is printed, bound, and delivered! It ended up being 45 pages long. By far the longest paper I’ve ever written. The writing process actually went really quickly though, and it was relatively painless. I think it was because of all the alone time I had in the village. After I had finished my interviews each day, I had nothing to do but think about the sections of my paper and write in my work journal. 

I won’t bore you with the details of my project…if anyone is interested, I will explain it in person! I’ll just say that I learned a lot about the research process and about the culture of Kenya. I also learned how to write a huge paper with limited internet and no air conditioning. I also learned how to remain calm when every printer in Mombasa is either out of ink or jammed.

Two bound research papers and 3 fieldwork journals, ready to turn in

But I’m done! Sunday morning, the rest of the group will travel from Nairobi and meet us here in Mombasa. We’re lucky enough to be on the way to our next site—Malindi! It’s another city on the coast, located about 2 hours north of here. It’s a major tourist destination for the Italian crowd. Maybe I’ll be able to remember my Italian? It’s more likely that I’ll speak some sort of Kiswahili-Italian nonsense.

We’ll be in Malindi until Thursday morning presenting the results of our independent projects. (And relaxing on the beach. We can’t work all the time.) On Thursday we will return to Nairobi. Friday we tie up loose ends, and Saturday, the program is officially over! My mom and Haley will arrive at 9 PM Saturday night. I can’t believe how quickly this semester has gone.

I should go and start packing and cleaning…tonight our landlord is making us a farewell dinner. I hope to check in from Malindi, but I have no idea about what the internet situation will be.