TELL ME ABOUT AFRICA

Brook, I’m going to Kenya! Why? It’s sort of a long story.

Last night, my friend Jess reintroduced me to the term “PBT.” It stands for people being themselves. And me getting myself invited on a trip to Africa to meet seventeen kids I have in a scholarship program that I started on a whim by selling a Chanel bag is a perfect example of me PBTing.

I first heard about the Kenya Education fund through my friend Allison, who told me that it only costs five thousand dollars to send a child through four years of high school and their first year of college. This includes room, board, food, and books. And over the past nine months, I’ve been able to raise enough money for not just one child, but an entire classroom.

Allison, along with six women I don't know and some random guy who isn't affiliated with the charity but just really loves Kenya, will be accompanying me on this journey. Together, we are determined to make a tangible difference in the lives of these young kids. And maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but a couple of pics of me making out with a baby elephant wouldn't be terrible either.

I’m vaccinated for everything from typhoid to rabies. And I already started packing my mosquito net, malaria pills, and random snacks in case Allison forgets to feed me.

Flying to Africa feels a bit like how I felt before I went with your co-parent and Chelsea Handler to do Ayahuasca in Peru. I’m scared, if I’m being honest, not because I fear any form of danger. But more because I know that this trip, like Peru, will change me. I’m going to come home changed. And I don’t yet know who I will be once it’s done. It's a daunting thought, really, to walk willingly into a situation that could make me hate the current me. Or at least judge her for buying so much jewelry. But I don’t want to stay the same in this life. I mean, spiritually anyway.

When something moves me, I tend to immerse myself in it. I can't help myself. It’s the only way I know how to be. I go full force.

Me PBTing might also involve me returning home with seventeen additional students. It could also easily entail me and the random dude who likes to go to Kenya planning a second trip. I really don’t know what to expect or where this adventure ultimately will lead. The only thing I know for sure is that I won’t be getting rabies.