Eric Wainana, Kenyan Recording Artist, "Twende Twende"
Hello from Kenya!!
After what I have heard about Africa and Kenya, I can truly say that my first impressions are that it is a magical place. I had a belated first impression I arrived after dark but the trip so far has been extraordinary!! I only hope that this impression is a lasting one. The morning after arriving, we began our orientation into our semester Abroad in Kenya. Our director had the brilliant idea to do this in a smaller Kenyan town instead of breaking us into Nairobi right away (which would probably be Nairobi as our first encounter into Kenya).
Kenya does not disappoint my expectations. As we were driving the hour and a half towards the small town of Naivasha (which I heard is the world's largest exporter of roses, we made one bend on the highway and found ourselves looking and descending into the breathtaking Rift Valley. The Rift Valley looks like a gigantic crater surrounded by mountains. It was every bit as scenic as Kenya looks in pictures and it is absolutely captivating.
While in the town of Naivasha, we learned about Kenyan culture and had different briefings regarding life here, learned some Survival Swahili, and did some team-building activities and games to get to know everyone better. We have had these fantastic "cultural guides": three late-20s Kenyans who have helped out and been very informative and who I owe my growing level of comfort to. I will forever be thankful to them and all the time I have spent visiting with them and talking and learning. Kenyans are truly amazing, warm people. From what I have experienced so far they are very out-going fun loving people with so much spirit I have never witnessed anything like it before. In the words of Val, one of our Cultural Assistants "Kenyans like to sing and dance and move around alot and it helps us forget about our troubles or bad things". They will greet you on the streets and stop and talk with you if you greet them first. I was wondering around Naivasha and fell into step with a man in a Chelsea jersey carrying a sack heading for the market, and I struck up a conversation with this complete stranger about soccer. He seemed to be very happy to have the conversation and it appeared to be a mutually pleasant moment. Kenyans are very warm, open, engaging, spirited people; and I look forward to meeting more people like this. This culture is a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of city life on the East Coast, in which people are very private and eye contact does not exist in passing on the streets, but it is comparable to life in the small towns in which you say hi to people passing on the street.
Kenya does have its problems though that interest me greatly as an International Development student. This country possesses so much
natural beauty, and yet when walking down the streets of Naivasha amidst the views of mountains and the lake plastic bags, broken sandals, rags, and just pure waste lie in the cactus, the plants, the bushes. It is very sad to see and makes me want to learn more and create more with more effective and proper, if not newer waste removal and disposal programs and services.
One other striking thing that has leaped out at me from Kenya that reflects other developing nations is the amount of advertising seen everywhere by only a few giant corporations. On buildings and billboards and houses everywhere you see Coca-Cola or Tusker (Kenyan Beer) or 2 different telecommunications services signs. I have a great interest in this and makes me want to know the history of how this happens not just in Kenya but in other developing countries as well. I may find out more by being here more and this explore later. I leave this blogpost full of curiosity for the country I will be living in for the next few months, and extremely excited to explore and post more on these adventures (and I will upload pictures once I'm back on my computer and have Internet in my apartment. So far I can say that Kenya is a truly deep, magical place.
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