Hamjambo ni Kenya!

Hamjambo ni Kenya!

[hello to y’all from Kenya!]

whoa… am I really here? I arrived in Kenya over a week ago, though it feels like I’ve been here for months and yet it is still hard to believe that I have successfully transplanted myself to this new nyumbani (home). I have found no time to truly document my time here up until now and I apologize that much is probably lost as I look back, but the core of my experiences will hopefully be enjoyable. This post will be long, I’m sure, but don’t let that turn you away! I’m cramming a ton into this one and hopefully I will find some kind of routine and build time in to write more frequently.

The flight here was phenomenal, if you ever have an opportunity to fly Emirates Airlines – DO IT! I was definitely seated in an economy seat but truly felt like I was in business class. So many little things combined made the entire experience so enjoyable: free alcohol, gorgeous flight attendants (red lipstick is part of their uniform!), delicious food and twinkle lights that look like starts on the overhead compartments when they turn the lights out! Much more of course, but that is what sticks in my mind 9 days later. It was also so much fun to be on the group flight. You bond so quickly after you’ve experienced a two day long sweaty ordeal together and then you get to the customs line in Nairobi and wait in the same line without moving for an hour… The customs officer made a photocopy of each passport then handwrote every single detail of our main page in three different places. Carbon copy paper anyone?! Though, it was a good taste of the concept of “African Time” which I am already quite used to.

We have crammed so much into such a short amount of time but my energy is surprisingly still high! It has been a complete whirlwind of meeting new people, learning Swahili, trying to understand the complex subtleties of Kenyan culture and adjusting to an 8-hour time difference.

The people on my program are exceptional and impressively intelligent, we quickly skipped over some silly icebreakers and shifted right into interesting and involved conversations. We also really know how to have fun – many hilarious stories have been shared and everyone has a good sense of humor when trying to navigate Kenyan social norms. I’ve gone out two nights so far with people from the group, it’s been a good release from all we have to absorb during the day. There are 25 students from various American universities, 22 girls and 3 boys, 24 undergraduates and 1 graduate student (from Heller at Brandeis!).

The academic directors (AD) here are wonderful and so attentive to our needs, its clear they have done this for many, many years and are prepared to handle any issue. Odoch Pido (Oh-dóh-ch) is from Uganda, we call him Mzee (Mmm-zay) which is a term of respect for an older man. The other AD is named Jamal Omar and is from the coast of Kenya and of the Swahili tribe; he is Muslim, younger than Odoch and always has funny stories about past participants and the trouble they got into. Jamal is very open and honest with the religious and cultural beliefs and norms of his community, it’s a rare look into a community I wouldn’t be able to access on my own – I’m fascinated by the coastal Muslim and tribal cultures! 42 tribes in Kenya alone. Mamma Mary is the general director, she is very motherly and protective but honest with us too. Our 5 Swahili instructors are fantastic – they all teach Swahili elsewhere, a couple to Peace Corps volunteers throughout the year. We have other advisors that help us facilitate research, which we will meet later on. So far we know that two of them are Fulbright scholars and professors at other universities in Nairobi and abroad.

We just completed a week of Orientation where we were able to get over our jetlag, get to know each other, understand the way the program works and learn some Swahili before being plopped in the city with our host families. Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be meeting our host families.

After getting off the plane we arrived as a group to Karen (Kaa-ren), a gorgeous and lush wealthy neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi. The town is named after Karen Blixen from Out of Africa and we stayed at the house where the movie was filmed. It was a convent run by very nice nuns – my sheets were made out of tablecloths!

The highlight of our time in Karen was going to a giraffe reserve where we fed giraffes out of our hands, lots of people got giraffe kisses, I wasn’t into the gift of saliva and took pictures for other people of their kisses instead. We then went to a lecture to learn about giraffes and their efforts to grow the population in Kenya since many of them were killed during a military training as practice targets many years ago. A giraffe’s gestation period is 15 months!!

After a couple days in Karen we relocated to another guesthouse run by nuns much closer to the city and walking distance from our school. Here, we have started our Swahili classes and gotten to know the area around our school a bit more.

My Swahili teacher, Mamma Rose, took us to an orphanage for HIV positive abandoned children. We walked in thinking we would just get a tour of the facilities but it was dinnertime and they didn’t have enough hands to feed bottles. We each were given a bottle and an adorable baby to feed and play with! The infants were all between 3 and 6 months old and adorable! While I was playing with my cute baby Hayden, I looked up and recognized one of the volunteers from Brandeis! It turns out Judith is volunteering at the orphanage as well! She is abroad from Brandeis on a different development program in Nairobi – we will definitely be seeing more of each other this semester.

After dinner and burp time we put the babies to bed and promised all the nurses there that we would be back to volunteer. The orphanage is walking distance from our school so I will definitely be going back to play after school. There are also toddlers and an ICU unit for very ill infants.

I have now arrived at my home stay, which is absolutely lovely. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family and I know this is going to be a rewarding experience. The home stay aspect of this program was definitely the largest challenge for me and I was so, so nervous to meet my family but all has turned out well so far and I’m thrilled to continue our cultural exchange. Let me introduce my new family:

Mamma Evie: My mom is such a sweet and open woman. She works as a “business woman” – I’m still trying to figure out what that means. I think she works in a market selling clothes, I’ll get back to you on that. I know she was laid off from her other job and explained her new job as a way to make ends meet so I’m unclear on what that means exactly. I’m trying to pry gradually since it is against Kenyan culture to ask personal questions – even questions like “how many children do you have?” it is thought that personal information can be used against you in some way so Kenyans 1. Don’t ask and 2. Lie all the time…

Mamma Evie has hosted at least 4 other students before and loves it. She’s very understanding of my needs and my lack of knowledge of basic Kenyan concepts; she’s always willing to explain. She is Luo as is her husband, they are “from Obama’s tribe!”. She’s been very open with me and loves to compare African men with American men. We’ve watched many soap operas together so far, we’ve also watched a riveting episode of Oprah.

Mamma Evie loves Israel or “the Israelites” as she says. She loves funny things about them like “how nice their skin is even though its so hot there!” She thinks they are such strong, special people and her interest in the country goes beyond a religious connection. She is really interested in the country and longs to visit, she asks so many questions and loves to hear about how similar I think Israel is to Kenya. I’m going to try and find her a gift from Israel or something that could pass as one here…I wish I’d known ahead of time. I’m going to teach her how to make falafel or something, she’ll love it.

Baba: Baba in Kiswahili is father. I was introduced to my father as Baba and when I asked his name, I was told “Baba”. So for now, that’s his name! He is also Luo and works as a draftsman for an architect. He goes to work in a full suit and is quiet but very welcoming. He has a huge, warm smile and loves his news and his soccer. He’s been quiet so far but today he joined in our conversation and was very interested in the upcoming Israeli elections and what I think Obama will do for Israel – all totally unprompted!

I tried to stay away from any religious or political conversation with my family until I knew where they stood but they happily dove right in and I feel that our thoughts are similarly aligned, I sense some good conversations about the corruption in Kenya coming up.

Charlotte: My sister Charlotte is a junior in high school and goes to boarding school. I know nothing about her except that she likes to dance but I will meet her when she has a break from school.

Cliff: Cliff is my 22 year old brother. He goes to a Christian college in Karen, where I first stayed. He’s majoring in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology; he wants to continue on to get his Masters in Public Health… Did they match me up well or what?! He is lovely and so thoughtful. We’ve already had a full on conversation on the role circumcision plays in Kenyan tribal culture and I look forward to having him help me with my research on informal sex education in the slums of Kibera. Cliff plays soccer for his college and loves the sport, I hope to watch some of his games in March when the season starts up.

So that’s my family, now my house: I live in the Ayany neighborhood of Nairobi, walking distance from school. My home is small and modest but sweet and will very quickly feel like home. The walls are cement and the roof is corrugated tin. Even though there is a massive drought, rain on a tin roof all night sounds miserable and I hope to not have that experience. The kitchen is tiny, the size of a narrow bathroom but actually has running water in the kitchen sink and the space is used well. A shower room with an actual showerhead is next door. I’m one of the few people on my program with a working shower but my shower only spits out scalding hot water and there is no cold to mix it with. So my friends with bucket showers at least wont burn their skin! I have yet to master the burning shower but I will try again tomorrow… Another tiny room with a toilet that occasionally flushes is next to the shower and the sink is outside in the hallway. A larger dining/living room is off the hallway with plush orange couches, a coffee table and the TV. The TV is always on and there is usually some kind of soap opera or dramatic forensic show on or a soccer game. Over the weekend we watched four soccer games, three of them ended in 0-0 – very exciting! We also eat dinner in this room, though not on a table. We hold our plates on our laps and serve ourselves buffet style off the coffee table.

I have not seen my parent’s room and I doubt I will. To get to my room you have to go through Cliff’s room but that hasn’t been a problem yet. My room is perfect. I have a double bed with a huge mosquito net to protect me at night. Windows that look out into the backyard (laundry lines) and a small table that I use as my closet. I also have a plastic chair and a laundry basket. A wall poster of Manchester United keeps me company at night and a very noisy ticking clock is waaay high up on the wall. Its very cozy and all mine, most of the other people on my program are sharing rooms with siblings or maids. I’m so happy to have my own room, I’ve barely had 5 minutes to myself before now, its lovely.

So I think that’s it for now. My cell phone can receive texts for free and I can send them for .12¢ each. Here is my number: +254-734-259-783. Remember the 11 or 8 hour time difference (depending on west/east coast)!

Internet is limited and expensive but do send me emails, I’ve been trying to be good and reply! I love hearing from the outside world, it helps me feel connected somehow. Let me know how you’re doing and I’ll try to post again soon!

Lala salaama (good night),

Elisette