I’m Supposed to Make Nyama Choma on Saturday

I’ve been to Kenya twice. The first time was as a study abroad experience in undergrad (and I cannot recommend The School for Field Studies enough) and the second time was helping out with a research project and seeking my own for graduate studies.

As you can probably imagine, this means I’m a bit more aware of goings-on in Kenya than I am some other countries in the world. Not exactly that I know more, but that a news report about Kenya is more likely to catch and/or keep my attention than some other country I haven’t visited. Human nature.

Human nature also says I pay a attention to the city I live in, and place I truly love.

You all know where this is going. By now, we’ve all heard about the three day standoff in a Nairobi shopping mall. Over 60 people dead and 175 injured last I checked.

I’m not sure if most of my readers have heard about the mass shooting in Chicago just before that. Thankfully, no one died in that one, but 13 people were injured.

This violence has been on my mind most of the weekend. I’ve been waking up in the mornings and immediately checking CNN for some updates and Twitter for more info on the Nairobi attacks. I’ve been reading the updates in the Chicago Tribune.

It’s a bit quiet over here in my world. I’m spending a lot of time thinking. I’m feeling a bit helpless. I’m feeling quiet. I’m feeling like I should be reading more. I’m realizing a lot of things about my former and current life trajectories and how they relate to the things I’m thinking about. I’m wondering about people I befriended in Kenya and then lost track of…

I’m supposed to make beef nyama choma for a dinner party this weekend. I’m bringing wine the hostess hand carried back for me from Kenya (made in South Africa). I figured I’d be bringing a lot of stories. I didn’t expect they’d include stories of this weekend. But, given how much it’s on my mind, I can’t see how it won’t. I hope my new friends are prepared for it.

I’m headed back to CNN.