A Carefully Crafted Life

Just got in from an early Christmas Eve supper at my Cousins George and Carole's house. They're not really my cousins, but since their last name is Jones, we've been making that joke ever since we met early this year.

Even though I'm thrilled to be getting a break from Kenya, today's wonderful get-together reminded me to stay focused on the positive things about life in Nairobi. First, put together any group of expats in a social setting, and you're guaranteed stimulating conversation. Everybody has THE solution to poverty, corruption, and development challenges. Everybody has at least 5 tales of maddening frustration in trying to get anything done. Everybody has an opinion about why things back in their country of origin are vastly superior....or at least on the surface, anyway.

It also reminded me to keep my eye on the ball over here. Sure, I was at the end of my rope and ready to chuck it all before booking tonight's flight. But talking with the stimulating, energized, committed people around that table, I realized how lucky I am to be doing this work, especially with all the economic and employment challenges in America now. And especially at this point in my life, when I could be newly-laid off, or listing aimlessly in some boring gig trying to hold on until retirement.

Everybody at that table has lived abroad at least a year, and some for more than 30. And they all do it because they want to make a difference in the world. Some say you will never be able to fully adjust to all the reasons why no matter how much you plan ahead while living in a developing country, almost everything WILL go pear shaped and you will want to pull your hair out strand by strand. But they also believe that you will never, ever get this kind of intellectual and spiritual stimulation any other way.

It's giving me a lot to think about as I head to one of my favorite cities in the world, New York. I will enjoy every single second of being there, and I will explore and shop and see Broadway shows and freeze my ass off and deeply revel in how much I understand how things work there. I will breathe deeply and eat lots of crispy, hickory smoked bacon, because you simply can't get decent bacon anywhere in Kenya. But I will also remember that I have a deeply privileged, exhilarating life in Nairobi. And that like these amazing ebony wood napkin rings Carole had made in Tanzania back in 1976, there is enormous talent, beauty and strength here, if I will only just stop and take the time to really see it.