Interesting Wedding-ness

I have to admit, planning a wedding is quite interesting. Not what I imagined it would be, per all the Hollywood buzz and hoopla, but eye-opening, patience testing, and sometimes fun. I also have to admit that I thought most people viewed weddings much like I did, where these people have been an important part of your life so you want to be there to witness this momentous day...I was wrong.

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand that everyone has lives that cannot be put on hold for me and my wedding, but it is interesting to see who can shuffle life around to make it to NC, and who can't. I know some of it is unavoidable...like having a baby two weeks after the wedding, but it kind of makes me sad the lack of effort put in to making it to my big day. Maybe that's just me bitching after attending 13 weddings in 12 months all across the country, but I guess I could have said no to some of them. But I wanted to be there to witness my friends special moments. I guess it simply illuminates the importance of friendships and who's there for you and who isn't. Maybe not entirely, but it is a telling glimpse I think.

Part of it also makes me wonder if I was that guest that people invited thinking I would decline...you know that B list guest that you invited because they were friends with a group of other people. I wonder....but not too much because that's not a very fun thought.

Anyway, all that aside, I am excited to celebrate my big day with my fiance in 46 short days. It doesn't matter what dress I wear, or how many people are there, just that friends and family celebrate with us on this beginning day of the next chapter of our lives together. Gibbs Out.

In Kenya

Today was my first full day in Kenya, and what an experience! I will definitely say that I was prepared for much worse than what I saw and experienced. Not to underplay anything that happened in Kibera (the largest slum in Kenya) but people living there seemed quite entrepreneurial. There were many many many shops along all the streets we walked on that sold everything from underwear to vegetables to cellphone SIM cards. It was amazing! I mean, people always talk about the slum like people are disenfranchised and unable to help themselves, but on some level what I saw in Kibera defied that stereotype. Don’t get me wrong there was plenty of stinky “sewer” muck because no infrastructure exists for the sewage to be drained off, and there were people who seemed worse off than others, but overall it seemed like a functioning community. There was even electric wires and poles throughout the whole community! That amazed me the most! I was expecting abject poverty, and what I got was a glimpse of people who are making the best of the circumstances they’re in. Perhaps they don’t see a way out, or the way out seems unattainable, but they are making it day to day, if only that.

Carolina for Kibera is trying to perpetuate this theme. They seek to empower those who feel like they don’t have the means to advance. They seek out people (or rather, people seek them out) to work on community programs, often as volunteers, to strengthen the youth and give them an opportunity to advance and be the bext leaders in the community of Kibera or elsewhere. It was cool! I was pleasantly surprised.

Enjoy some of our first day photos below:

Annie and the rainwater recapture system at our hotel

The stoves we're analyzing for Carolina for Kibera's "green charcoal" initiative

One of the main streets in Kibera

All the tall people stuffed in our tiny matatu

Our matatu (aka VW van with 4 rows)

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Fabric for my table runners

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Pot pie engagement style!