Kenya Culture Part 3, The Staples

Kenya Culture Part 3, The Staples

After a serious discussion in the last blog, I’ve decided to lighten up a bit and talk about some of the things that make Kenya, Kenya. I think one of my favorite things about Kenya is that it seems to be relatively homogenous in some large categories. That’s a large generalization, but Kenya is a more homogenous country than America, and that fact lends itself to a greater amount of shared habits and practices.

Cultural Bedrocks

I’m sure this list will include a couple of things that you wouldn’t expect, and be missing a couple of things that you might consider “Kenyan”. For instance, running is nowhere near a staple in Kenya. I’d saying running is about as Kenyan as apple pie (which they don’t have). Of course, they know that their athletes are good at running, but it doesn’t touch the life of a normal Kenya. I would estimate that well over 99% of Kenyans don’t run regularly, and those that run competitively are tiny sliver of the population.

So if running isn’t Kenya, what is? Well…

Ugali (Ooo-Gah-Lee)

Kenya=Ugali. Ugali is the staple food of Kenya. By that I mean that most Kenyans eat Ugali once or twice a day, every day of the year. Some Kenyans say that if you haven’t eaten Ugali during the day, you simply haven’t eaten. So what is this uber-popular food that has ensnared the hearts and stomachs of Kenya? 

My cousin Jack, struggling to stir the thick Ugali

It’s flour. Corn (Maize) flour. Mixed with boiling water. The resulting texture is like a thickened mixture of cornbread and mashed potatoes. And best of all, it’s meant to be eaten with your hands. It’s a thick enough mixture to where you can mold it a bit like play-do, but it gets a bit messy. It’s a new experience to eat the same food as a main course 1 or 2 times every day, but I’m learning to enjoy it.  

Chai (Tea)

Looking for residues of colonial influence? Looks no further than chai, or what Kenyans call tea. Kenyan tea is almost always served with milk. You can’t visit a home in Kenya without being offered tea (and turning it down is impolite). Naturally I’ve come to love my morning tea. And my tea break at work. And and I guess sometimes we also take tea after eating dinner.

Mug, Bowl for Sugar, and Vacuum Packaged Flask. Classic Kenya. 

Kenyans love eating and drinking things at very hot temperatures, and chai is no exception. Kenyans have a strong distaste for cold food, and this applies to beverages. If it’s burning your mouth to take a sip, then the temperature is perfect (if not a bit cold).

Frying Things (Cooking Oil)

I never knew how much Kenya and KFC had in common before arriving in Kakamega. Lettuce? Fry it. Cabbage? Cook it in oil, of course! Rice? Have you put the oil in the bowl yet? It’s seems that frying vegetables, meat, and adding oil to just about everything is as Kenyan as Ugali .

Golden Fry Cooking Oil. 2 liters will last us maybe 2 weeks. Maybe. 

My high school students were repulsed to hear that in the US I ate a salad of raw Spinach, tomatoes, onions, cold beans, and cabbage as a meal. To be fair, a common dish here is tomatoes, cilantro, and onions, served cold. But 97% of the time, those troublesome veggies get what was coming to them.

Salt

I'm pretty sure we finished this bag in the month I've been with the family.

Think a 2 kilogram (4.4 pound) bag of salt is ridiculous? Well, you have never been to Kenya. It’s not the use of salt that secures its spot on this list, but the quantity to which it is applied to food. In Kenya, a pinch of salt means filling the palm of your hand with salt, and then tossing it into whatever dish you are cooking/frying.  I apologize if I’m not making Kenyan food sound healthy (but it isn’t).

Cell Phones & Safaricom

Think of Africa. Then think of cell phones. I’m sure the two don’t cross your mind in the same sentence during the normal course of a day. But cell phones are everywhere here! Poor, rich, desperately poor, it doesn’t seem to matter, everyone has a cell phone. Cell phones also stand out a bit more here because of the contrast between Kenya’s adoptance rate of other technology (computer, internet, a well mainained road network) is much, much slower.

Ninoka Safaricom

Can you here me now? Well, in fact yes, and probably better than I could if we were talking on iPhones in America. Safaricom, the dominant cell phone provider, provides crystal clear service, offers calls to the US for 3 cents a minute, and has a reliable internet modem through which I’m current accessing the internet to post this blog.

Blue Band

I didn’t realize how much unhealthy food makes this list, but I can’t write a post about Kenyan staples without mentioning this hydrogenated wonder. Who knew that a specific brand of margarine could have a household name, and that marketers could get away with claiming its numerous health benefits?

The perfect golden devlish creation of marketing and health claims. 

On some of their many commercials Blue Band claims to help your children grow (fat provides energy), and it claims to be part of the main food group (fats and carbohydrates), but that you should also eat proteins as the second most important, and vitamins and minerals as the last food group (with pictures of vegetables in the background).  

Working Damn Hard

Africans in general have a reputation for not really caring about time, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to do tedious, physical labor. There is no shortage of labor intensive jobs in Kenya. Especially is rural Kenya, and lot of life is hard, hard work. Each day a cattle farmer comes to the school where I work cuts grass for his cattle. By hand, with a machete.

Here is me trying to cut crass by hand with a local tool.

Mind you, this grass is about two or three inches long, so he has to bend over for 2-3 hours to cut the grass, and then stuff it into a bag to bring home to feed the cattle. They also have a tool here called a jembe, which is basically a hoe/shovel combination for working in the fields. I’ve seen people tilling fields of us to half an acre, by hand. (Definitely more than 1 days work). It’s astounding. People in Kenya know how to work, and work damn hard.

A Family’s Best Friend

In Kenya, cattle are signs of wealth and prosperity. You wouldn’t believe the disbelieving faces I receive when I tell people that in America, very, very few people own cattle. Said one Kenyan, “but I though everyone was rich in America.” That’s a good example of the thinking in Kenya. If you don’t have cattle, you are a poor man.

Our cattle. The one on the right is a stubborn bull. Getting him in the shed at night is always a hassle. 

My family has about 6 head of cattle, which grazes around our family’s compound. Each morning we tie them outside, and provide them with either a fresh patch of grass, or a piles of freshly cut grass from the garden (again, labor intensive).

Feel like you know Kenya a bit better? Well, there are 42 tribal groups in Kenya, all varied in their practices and cultures. So although these things can be overall staples, it does change greatly by region. I’ll write next time about my typical day in Lusui, as well as fundraising that the school and I will be doing to get electricity installed.

Peace from Kenya,

Kurt

Hope For the Disillusioned World-Changer, Part 1

Finally we come to my long-promised discussion on international poverty, globalization, and international trade. I’ll start it with a bang:

“Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills- against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence…. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all of those acts will be written the history of our generation…. “  – Robert Kennedy

Pause for a moment. Isn’t that an amazing quote? Sometimes I have had long talks with friends about the problems of the world, only to end the conversation despairing about the multitude of difficulties facing our generation. This quote gives new hope to the disillusioned world-changer.  I’ve always felt like all of us doing a little bit to improve what we can will change the world, but this quote puts it elegantly and succinctly. Motivated? Ok, let’s discuss some heavy topics.

Over the past month I’ve read five books about international development, Africa, and possible solutions to lessen extreme poverty or fix the global system of aid. Today I’ll build a foundation of basic facts and orient you to my thinking on international poverty. Remember, I myself am only a student, and I’m stilling forming my battle plan against the problems of the world. It’s going to take three blog entries to really discuss these topics in-depth, and they will be spaced over the rest of my time here in Africa. The second blog will be case studies of specific issues (agricultural subsidies, lobbyists, effective aid, etc.), and the last will talk about practical solutions and the way forward for those who want to take action. And here… we… go.  

If this picture represents international poverty, the point of this blog is to make sure the clouds are moving to the  right. 

Why Trust My Information?

All of the statistical information is sourced from the books that I have been reading, as well as the quotes. The books are listed below. I won’t footnote this blog entry, but I’d be happy to back up any statistic or claim with evidence if that’s necessary. I’ve also rated the books, if you are interested. 

“Africa Doesn’t Matter” by Giles Bolton- (Grade: A: must read)

“Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracey Kidder (Grade: A-: Awesomely Inspiring)

 “The Blue Sweater” by Jaqueline Novogratz (Grade: B: Good book and life story, but not essential)

“The End of Poverty” by Jeffrey Sachs (Grade B-: Inspiring, but a bit-over the top)

“The White Man’s Burden” by William Easterly (Grade C+: Counterargument to The End of Poverty. Well researched, but not well organized in its arguments. But if you read one, read the other to get a proper balance. )

Let’s Start With the Problem

“It is the curse of humanity that it learns to tolerate even the most horrible situations by habituation.”   -Rudolf Virchow

I think that we’ve all heard the statistics before, but they are worth hearing again. More than 1 billion people living in extreme poverty (less than $1) per day, and more than 15,000 people die every day in developing countries of preventable diseases like malaria, diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid. But numbers are so impersonal, so I’ll add a reference. Think of September 11^th : 3,000 people dead, national tragedy,  future of American foreign policy shaped for some time(And we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan).  Well, the death toll from povery is like that, five times a day, every single day of the year.  And it’s preventable.   Motivated to care? Well you’ve read this far, so I hope that question is rhetorical.

It's fun loving, cute kids like these from poor, rural areas that are affected most. 

Fact Facts

I’m going to set the stage for this discussion with a quick overview of things that I’ve recently learned and I think it’s very, very important to know. This list is simply a basic overview of importance things to spark interest in a number of subjects. Let’s create a foundation of understanding, and from there build a tool that can change yours (And others) worldviews.  

• - Clutter of Aid- By 2003, 39,729 branches of international charities existed in Africa. Does these groups work together in an efficient, coordinated manner? Hardly. And the average African government writes 10,000 reports to donors per year. Could time be better spent? Surely.
• - A Nation Unaware- America is the 2^nd to last rich country in terms of national aid per person. Most Americans are unaware of our nation’s lack of generosity. A 2005 Poll said that >50% of people though we spent more on global aid than on social security and medicare. It’s like 1/40th of those programs.
• - Making an Impact?- When we do spend money on national aid, only $4 of every $10 of Global aid goes to developing poor countries. And only 25% of that aid reaches the ground in the form of projects and improvements. So $1 of out $10 of global aid helps poor people. No wonder aid has not worked well in the past.
• - Half Empty Stomachs- 40% of cash for US food aid that US taxpayers pay goes to US shipping firms. To make matters worse, 50 cent of every dollar of food aid spent on transportation, warehousing, and administration. It’s slowly changing to where we buy local food to help the desperate country, but change is coming slowly.
• - We Did What?- The Western world spends 300-750 billion on agricultural subsidies a year. This is ten times the total balance of aid given during the same year. I’ll discuss this further in part 2.

A Mountain of Misconceptions

A day before leaving for Africa I was told by an American to beware of all of the “rape and violence” that happens in Africa. At the time, I was a bit angered and confused at the ignorance. After living in Kenya for a month, I’m even more disturbed by that kind of misinformation. It’s obvious that in talking about poverty anywhere, we must first tame a series of severe misconceptions. I’ll just list what I consider as the “big three”.

The Poor Are Lazy? In fact, they are some of the hardest working people that I know, born into situations that allow for few opportunities and ways to escape poverty. When asked in 2000 if it was especially important for children to be encouraged at home to learn “hard work”, 61% of Americans said yes, compared to 80% of Nigerians, 75% of South Africans, and 83% of Tanzanians. We are slacking.

This cook and security guard at Friends Secondary School Lusui makes $30 a month working 10 hour days. If's he's lazy, I don't even want to know what that makes me. 

Feeding Starving Children will just Create Starving Adults:  Actually, that is very wrong. Poverty is highly linked with high birth rates, and families have many kids because of low education and a high child mortality rate.  Poverty causes high fertility, and only ending that will end the problem. Letting children die will actually only exacerbate the problem.   

Africa is Poor Because it’s Corrupt and Immoral: Statistics shows that the average African country is actually well-governed compared to countries of similar incomes, and more democratic that other poor countries with similar income levels. Africa’s real hurdles seem to be fighting geographic challenges (isolation, lack of ports), disease, and vulnerability to climate change.

A World Apart

“It is heartbreaking that global society has evolved a highly efficient way to get entertainment to rich adults and children, while it can’t get twelve-cent medicine to dying poor children.” – William Easterly

In his book, “The White Man’s Burden”, Easterly talks about how private companies could organize to distribute over 9 million copies of Harry Potter 6 to fans in one day, but like he says, we can’t get 12 cent medicines to dying children. Until reading this, those weren’t exactly two events that I connected in my mind. I think that is a theme of my experience in Kenya to this point. For the rest of my life, I won’t be able to not care. I won’t be able to forget about the poverty that I have seen, and I won’t be able to avoid associating my actions in the Western rich world with consequences in the developing world. I call on you to do the same. You do not have to be in Kenya to learn about the plight of people living in extreme poverty around the world, and you don’t have to be working in a rural, poor village to help people living in poverty.

Another worker at the school labors to earn his $30 a month wage.  

In a book about Dr. Paul Farmer (a new hero of mine) was the following- Of all the world’s errors, he seemed to feel, the most fundamental was the “Erasing” of people, the “hiding away” of suffering.  

“My big struggle is how people can not care, erase, not remember.” Paul Farmer

So that leads to my first insight to close part one. Once your eyes are opened, keep them that way, and find ways to shine light on those still in the darkness. I think that ignorance and indifference are two of the biggest challenges that the developing world faces in pulling itself out of poverty. Ignorance from the West in terms of unnecessary or ineffective aid, or from taking a top-down approach and dictating how poor countries can achieve wealth. So this African experience is about trying to lessen my own ignorance, and helping you to do the same. Through even these small actions we can set our lives on a path of increased empathy and learn practical ways to improve the world.

And so ends part one. Stay tuned for upcoming light-hearted blog entries about Kenyan culture and working at Lusui school, and keep an eye out for part 2 of international poverty in the next month.

Lots of love from Kenya,

Kurt

Teaching High School in Kenya

Good news. The long-promised blog post about international poverty is currently being written. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit difficult to succinctly discuss the problem of extreme poverty in the world, and I think it’s going to take an entire blog post to itself. In the meantime, I wanted to write an update on my time at Friends Secondary School Lusui.

The Basics

Founded in 2007 by a local Quaker church group as a free secondary school for orphans, the school has quickly grown. It open with only one class, freshman, but has since grown by one class per year. This year will mark the graduation of the school’s first senior class. Each year, with the addition of a new class, a new wing has been built to house the necessary students.

Care package to the above address. Anyone? ;-)

Now the school is government run, has 12 teachers (9 full-time, 3 student teachers), a Principal and Deputy Principal, an Accountant, and a Secretary. It also houses about 220 students. 76 in form 1 (freshman), 42 in form 2, 43 in form 3, and 65 in form 4. The school has also outgrown its ability to offer free education to its students. The total cost per year for each student is about $70-$90. Although this is a relatively small fee in the US, many students are unable to attend the school because of lack of money, and current students are often behind of their fee payments. But more about this later.  About $10 of the fees paid is for uniforms, $50 is for the school lunch that is provided every day, and around $25 is for a district development fund.

Student's in my Form 1 (freshman) class working on math problems. 

The students put in long days. Students must arrive at the school before 6:45am, and then spend 15 minutes cleaning the school grounds and readying it for the day. At 7:00am, they spend an hour reviewing for class, which starts at 8am. Spared the early wake-up call, teachers usually arrive around 8am and start their classes. The day consists of 11 40-minute class periods, a ten and 20 minute morning break (the second for tea), and a 50 minute lunch break. Classes end at 4pm, and students have an activity hour until 5pm and then head home. All told, it’s usually a 10 or 11 hour day for the students, and more if their walk to and from school is lengthy (some students walk more than half an hour each way).

Opportunities and Growing Pains

As a young school, Friends Secondary School Lusui faces a number of challenges, but also has a high opportunity for growth.  Here a quick rundown of both.

Challenges

• - Around 70-80% of the students have an outstanding fee balance. In the past two weeks, about 40-50% of the students have missed class-time because they were sent home to find money to pay their school fees. (Statistics come from surveys and discussions with the school accountant)
• - The tight budget means that teacher salaries are not always regular, which contributes to teacher frustration and absenteeism.  As does the fact that students are often at a variety of levels of understanding, and are in an out of class in search of money to pay for their education.
• - The school is without electricity, a science lab, a library, or even enough classrooms to house the elective subjects (where one grade level splits into two subjects for a 40 min period).

Put simply it's a young, poor school with a lot of unrealized potential.

But it’s not all bad.

Opportunities

• - The students are motivated to learn and dedicated to the school. They may not always have money to pay for fees, but they are determined to get an education and better their lives, and show it through the hours they put in attending classes.
• - A dedicated Principal and Deputy Principal shape the day’s activities and provide a strong future vision for the school. Principal Newton has been with the school for about 4 years, and is dedicated to seeing the school grow and improve.
• - Room for growth is tremendous. The school has a wide expanse of property, and many areas that could benefit from small improvements.  For example, providing electricity for the school would cost about $800, with the benefit being that the school could offer better quality education over the long term.   

I’m a High School Teacher?

I’m a Finance and Operations Management major (business things), and have always had an affinity for math. Somehow, a week before I arrived at Lusui, the Math and Business Studies teacher suffered a leg injury, and was rendered unable to teach for the next 3 months. Pause for a bit. Isn’t that timing completely ridiculous? The teacher who teaches my subjects becomes injured for almost the exact duration of my stay in Kenya. Luckily I met her today, so I’m sure she is real, but it’s still hard to grasp.  Madame Ester’s misfortune (the previous teacher) has made my role at the school quite straightforward, and given me a regular schedule of classes with which to occupy my time.

Becoming Competent

Like I’ve said before, it started badly.

Day 2: Taught my first class by myself. 

Day 4: Left early because I had the flu and felt horrible.

Day 5: Returned with the help of medicine, but probably should have stayed home and rested.

Day 6 (week 2): Graded 40 student’s national business exam.

My chalkboard writing has also gotten much better, as evidenced by the picture. (It was worse, believe me)

But my experience and performance has gotten much better as I’ve adapted to the Kenyan education system. I’ve slowly refined my teaching style to a point where I think I’m actually getting information to my students. I’ve also tried to spice up the monotony of me talking with certain “segments” that are applicable to whatever I’m teaching. I got the idea from Coach Bob (a UP professor), who breaks from his science lectures for “creature features”, a.k.a. a cool video about random animals around the world. My math segment is called “Math Matters”, and I simply discuss a real-life application of math (like E=mc2 and the atomic bomb) and try to illustrate the importance of math to today’s world. For business, it’s the “Business Bulletin”, with the same idea as the math segment. Today I talked about Enron, and corporate ethics.

This week I also started learning five students’ names from each class, each day. After three days, I think I know about a fifth of the school, so I’m moving in the right directions. But it is tough. The standard hair style at Lusui (I’m not sure if it’s mandated for students, or just what is easiest), is a buzz-cut. Girl and boy. So 220 students with matching blue and white uniforms, and about 180 of which all have the same buzz-cut. So it’s a bit challenging, but definitely worth my time.

Ann and Josephine are closest to the camera, with Lebah, Zenah and Slyia to right of the picture. So I'm learning, but slowly. 

Projects Outside of the Classroom

Besides teaching I’m working with the administration and students to make a couple of small improvements to the school. They include the following:

• - Trying to start a learning resource center in an unused small room. This entails getting the school registered with the Kakamega District Library, and then being able to check out 50-100 books at one time to stock the small resource area. This also means getting buying educational materials and other supplementary education supplies that can assist students.
• - Getting the school basic requirements for future development, specifically electricity. Like I said, it would cost about $800, and could provide exponential future benefit to the students. I think I will be doing some online fundraising to fund this project, so keep an eye out.
• - Working with students to start a small leadership/business group. This idea is still in its infancy, but I think (and a recent survey backs-up) that a student store at the school that sold snacks during tea breaks or lunch would generate profits. And then the students could re-invest the money in improvements at the school.
• - Hosting a couple of workshops, one focused on student leadership, and the other on sexuality and adolescence. The first is my idea, and the second was suggested by the Principal

How to get students to take ownership = big challenge

Overall, my biggest challenge has been getting student buy-in. Even the best students aren’t used to public speaking or organized leadership, but I’m doing my best to make the above projects that are working directly with students their projects, not mine. Overall my philosophy follows the below quote

“Go to the people, live with them, love them, learn from them. Start with what they know, build on what they have, and work with leaders so when the work is done, people can say “we did this ourselves”. – Lao Tzu

And that ends this blog entry. Stay tuned for international poverty, which I assure you will be arriving sometime this weekend.

Lots of love from Kenya,

Kurt

Personal Reflections, and Kenyan Public Transport

It’s the beginning of week 5 of my time in Africa, which means that I’m approaching the end of my first month on the continent. It seems fitting that I include a bit of personal reflection in this blog, as well as a breakdown of transportation options in Kakamega.

Some Things Change, and Some Things Change Even More

On Saturdays I travel about half an hour via matatu (See below) into Kakamega Town from my rural home to a FSD workshop with the other student interns. We reflect on our time with our host families, our host organizations, and talk about the way forward our time in Kakamega. After a week in isolation in rural Kenya, spending a full day with nine other American’s (and one Canadian) is a bit culturally jarring. That led me to think about the person I am in Lusui, versus the person I am in a normal environment around other Americans. So how does Lusui Kurt differ from Portland/USA Kurt? Well, here you go:

My Kenyan accent

I spend most of my days in Lusui talking. But not in a normal way. At Friends Secondary School Lusui I teach students with a wide variety of English skills. This means talking slowly and emulating a Kenyan accent is vital to being understood. How is this different? First, I have to articulate every syllable. So my don’ts isn’t, and vegetables have become do nots, is nots, and veg-e-ta-bles. I also have to eliminate complex phrases and “American” sayings from my vocabulary. For instance, I can never say “You passed with flying colors!” What does that even mean anyway? Lastly, I must pronounce my T’s. I’ve never really realized it before, but when we say “matter”, we really are sounding like “madder.” But to be understood here you must say “mat-ter” and pronounce my “t”’s. These habits have spilled over into my communication with my fellow interns, and usually spark a smile or laugh.

No waste, no worries

My house does not have running water, a mirror, a trash can, a refrigerator, a traditional ceiling, or any of a number of other comforts that we get used to in America. And you know what, I don’t mind. Back in Portland I love recycling, reducing waste, and all of the traditional activities that come with an environmentally conscious Portlander. So living in a rural home that makes/grow the majority of its food, produces almost zero waste, and uses a fraction of the energy of a home in the US is quite appealing. Returning to Kakamega town means a return to more commercial, consumer area that is removed from these values.

Frying up some homemade Chapati (a lot like Pita bread, or Naan)

He who laughs the loudest:

This is probably my favorite change, and something that I certainly hope to carry over to the US. I’ve always loved humor and try to be a smily, happy person. But I’ve never been much of a laugher. I’m not sure why. But in Lusui, that has changed. My laugh has certainly gotten louder, jollier, and more frequent. I’ve just picked this up from those around me. Kenyans as a culture are very free in the giving of their loud and boisterous laughs (which means even my bad jokes are guaranteed winners), and I’m come to respect and emulate this habit. 

8 hours a night, consistently? Can it be!?

Living in Lusui I go to bed around 10:30 nightly, get at least 8 hours of sleep, exercise 3-4 times a week, spend quality time with my Kenyan family, and have time to read, contact friends and family back in the US, blog, and keep a personal journal. All of these factors combine to create an intensely healthy and restorative personal environment. I don’t mean to say that my personal well-being is usually low in Portland, but I frequently had to sacrifice self-maintenance for spending time on schoolwork, hanging out with friends, doing RA things, or many other commitments. Of course, those sacrifices were worth it, and I definitely miss all of those things (ok, maybe not schoolwork). But for now I’m enjoying living the slow life, and the time for reflection and growth. 

Like this scenery, my lifestyle in Kenya is calm, simple, and beautiful. 

The Teirs and Tribulations of Transport in Kakamega

Wow, I love titling things. Anyways, it seems to me that the culture and personality of Kenya can be viewed through its different types of public and private transport in Kakamega, Kenya, including Boda bodas, piki pikis, and matatu’s. Even the names have character!

Using your legs

I’ll start with an old favorite, walking. Yes, in Kenya people walk to and fro if the distance doesn’t prohibit such activity. And no, they don’t power walk. Although I’m sure explaining the concept of walking fast just for exercise would elicit a loud chorus of laughter in rural Kenya. Here, walking is always to serve a purpose. It is common to see a woman walking and balancing a load of firewood or maize on her head, or a man walking and pushing a bicycle piled high with stacks of maize or other goods. Walking is a time tested reliable mode of transport, and at a price of zero shillings, it’s the most cost-effective form of travel.

Boda Boda (sounds like border-border)

Named for their involvement in illicit border-border trafficking of illegal goods, Boda-bodas are simply bicycles with a seat on the back for carrying people. They only exist in the city limits of Kakamega town and are operated by individual entrepreneurs  (always male) who will laboriously pedal you to your destination for 20 shillings (about 22 cents). Beware, if you have white skin (mzungu), they might try to charge you 30 shillings. Tip: Just laugh, say you will only pay twenty, begin to walk away, and they will drop the price.

My boda boda driver, Emmanuel, posing for a picture after brining me to visit Adrienne and Jenny.

Piki Pikis

Piki Pikis are the older, more mature cousin of Boda Bodas. Simply, they are motorcycles with a seat that has room for a passenger or two. Like Boda Bodas, they are operated by an individual entrepreneur (always a man) who will offer rides to any location within about 20km. Fare prices escalating with distance, and are open for negotiation. The average price is around 50 shillings for a ride around town. But don’t let their strong engines fool you, these motorbikes also have a wild side. Piki Pikis become very dangerous after rain showers (especially on dirt roads, which make up 95% of Kenyan roads), and are well known in the area for experiencing accidents. So they are almost always reliable, but sometimes extremely perilous.

This enterprising Piki Piki driver carries to passengers. Luckily the roads are dry and safe. 

Matatus

These 14 seat, 20 passenger mini-busses are the most common form of transport in Kenya. If boda bodas are the young brother and piki pikis are the old cousin, Matatus are the eccentric, crazy grandmothers who can’t say no to helping any of their grandchildren but are always unpredictable . Often adorned with large sticker signs (I’ve seen “Kanye West”, “Respect”, and “Yes I Can”, among many others) these mini-busses form the background of the Kenya public transport system. They are manned by two-man teams of entrepreneurs (also all-male), one driver, and one person who collects the fare from the passengers and watches for potential customers standing along the road. They say that Matatus are never really full, which is a truth that is often felt physically. Once every seat is full, there are usually about four or five spots to fill by using the aisle and various laps. Even with the cramped conditions, riding Matatus is an inexpensive and efficient (sometimes) experience authentic to Kenya. Prices range from 20 schillings to 200, depending on distance travelled.

For a Matatu this is less than half full. 

Private taxis

Yes, Kakamega even has a private car Taxi service. This is a lot like a taxi in the United States except for the fact that fare is negotiated before the ride, and not calculated by a machine in the vehicle. This is an expensive mode of transport though, often at least 300 schillings for a ride around town. Of course, expensive is relative. 300 schillings is about $3.75. Lower than the base fare for most taxis in the US.

I know that I keep promising a discussion of international poverty, but it keeps being supplanted by other topics. Trust me, it will be coming soon to my blog, and when it does, it will be worth the wait. So in the future, look forward to that, insights into Kenya’s “cultural staples” such as types of food, and more reflection about my time at Friends Lusui Secondary School.


Also, since you've already read this far, why no go a bit further? What I mean is, you are currently reading my blog, so if you feel like sharing what you think I would really appreciate it! If you have any good or bad comments just want to know something specific about Kenya, write on my Facebook wall, or send me an email!

Cheers,

Kurt

Kenyan Culture Chapter Two, plus Teaching Adventures

It’s week 4 of my time in Kenya. I don’t know about you, but that fact sends my head spinning. After this week I will be 1/3 done with my time in Africa. Craziness. Today I’m going to talk a bit more about Kenyan culture, and about my first week at Friends Secondary School Lusui.

Kenyan Culture Chapter 2

Now that I’m in my 4^th week I think I have a little better grasp of the important pieces of Kenyan culture, or at least Kenyan rural culture. In this installment I’ll talk about TV in Kenya, religion and conservatism, dancing, and greetings/interpersonal communication habits. Please note that although these might apply to some or most Kenyans, I can’t just generalize and say that all Kenyans are a certain way. There are many exceptions, and many progressive Kenyans living in urban areas who would not fit in the religion and conservatism section.

The Deliverer of News, Soap Operas, and WWE

To start off, Kenyan television contains credible and insightful news organizations, as well as a few programs unique to Africa that have their own personality and flavor (Big Brother Africa, a Dance Contest based in South Africa, etc.). But to be honest, most TV is Kenya is a little bit like watching American television at 2:00 am. The commercials are sometimes a bit wacky (I’ve seen ones touting the health benefits of margarine and cod liver oil, as well as advertising Kenyan Top Ramen, (who knew Top Ramen was worthy of a commercial?)) and the programs are sometimes reruns or dubbed in another language  (Spanish soap opera, WWE wrestling, random US movies I’ve never seen). So it’s a bit of a mixed bag. But I’ll admit, one of my favorite parts of the day is sitting down with the family and eating dinner while watching Soy Tu Duena, a popular Spanish soap opera that’s drama is only rivaled by its unique choice of music and colorful English dubbing.

Soy Tu Duena- I know you are asking the same thing, will Valentina and Jose Miguel ever sort out their differences?  We will all have to watch and see. 

Progessive … To  a Point

Like many rural developing areas of the world, rural Kenya holds to older world traditional values. Kenya recently approved a new constitution that outlawed all types of discrimination based on gender and many other factors, but it still persists in rural areas. A family’s land is often split up only among the sons when the father dies, giving women no property inheritance. Around the house, women are expected to do a huge portion of the chores and housework. This attitude is changing across the country as women become empowered, educated wage earners for their family. But change does not come overnight, and it especially slow to reach disconnected rural areas such as Lusui. My family is a bit different as it is led by Mama Emmah, the family matriarch, and most of the housework is done by my host brother, Frankline.  

In the same way, Kenyan rural culture is very fundamental when it comes to certain moral positions. In Kenya, homosexuality is literally a crime. People can be locked up and jailed for being found to be homosexual. The students at my secondary school were amazed to hear that gay marriage has happened in the US. In an unrelated subject, strongly held religious beliefs are common in rural Kenya. Almost every person in the area attends church, and not doing so (not to mention not believing in God) in almost unthinkable. I laugh now thinking about the people I have heard saying Africa is corrupt and morally deficient. I’m not saying that religion guarantees morals or anything like that, but from what I’ve seen the moral  code of ethics in Kenya is very strong, and is often broken because of the desperation of poverty.

And We Danced…

Kenyan’s are dancers. It’s that simple. Although this does not apply to everyone, for the most part the Kenyan society is one that has a great deal of groove. One of my best experiences so far was the night before moving into my host family, where I and the other interns went to a Kenyan disco, or dance club. I don’t think they quite expected 11 mzungus (Kiswahili for white people) to show up on a Friday night and overtake the dance floor, but that’s exactly what happened. As the Kenyan band sang traditional songs with the aid of a drum set, bass, and electric guitar, our party managed to swell the dancing crowd from a couple of Kenyans to a simmering group of 30 to 40 Kenyans and Americans, plus one Canadian. The cultural differences were lost in the rhythm and music, and we did our best to adopt the African style of dancing (more arm moving with the music) and enjoy the warm environment.

In fact, the dancing was nothing like this picture. Imagine a fun wedding dance floor, in a bar-like building, and pretty close to what it was like. 

Yes I Want to Shake Your Hand… And your hand… and your hand…

This is an especially fun section to write for myself, because I’m slowing picking up on all of these habits, and you’ll probably be able to notice them if we talk in person soon after I get back. I think the best way to do this in list form.

• -          There is a range of unspeakable mmm’s and guttural noises used to communicate understanding. In the US we have our, hmmms, huhs, and ya, oks. In Kenya, most filler one word communication/assertion of understanding takes the form of positive humming-like assertions. It’s hard to explain, but it’s crucial to small-talk in Kenya.
• -          You should always shake the hand of everyone in a room if you are entering for the first time (at least if there are less than 20 people)
• -          Be careful with how much you load onto your plate the first time. Kenyans find it odd if you don’t go for seconds or third, and might be concerned that you are under-eating.
• -          Direct eye contact isn’t always common, unless people have spent a lot of time around Westerners. They mean no disrespect, it’s just a cultural thing.

That’s just a quick run-down of basic things. I haven’t covered everything, but it enough to get some of the differences that I’ve been adjusting to during my time in Kenya.

Learning To Teach – On the job training

By far, the most challenging part of the internship so far has been adjusting to my work placement at the Friends Secondary School in Lusui. Just adjusting to being a high school teacher has been a lot of work. I can speak well in public, but communicating a lesson to people of a different cultural with varying degree of mastery of English that is interesting for students and effective in communicating the information is a HUGE challenge. Freshman year, I became basketball referee for a semester and instantly gained heaps of respect for the tough job that referees have. It’s taken me all of one week to more greatly appreciate the sacrifice and hard work of all of the great teachers/professors I have had over the years. I’m just glad I’m trying to live a life of learning, because teaching is hard.

The school is only four years old, so things are still growing and evolving. 

Granted, part of the challenge is adjusting to the Kenyan education, which is much more formal than the American system. Another part is just the short amount of time I’ve had to prepare before diving in head-first. Because of unforeseen medical circumstances with another teacher,  I begin solo teaching on my second day at the school. Craziness.

It's a four classroom school, once for each grade (Freshman through Senior). So far I've taught in every classroom, at least briefly. 

Luckily, the classes are temporarily mesmerized by the fact that some random white person is their teacher, so I’ve been able to slowly transition towards being halfway competent.  My current responsibilities are Math and Business Studies for Form 1 (Freshman), and Business for Form 4 (Seniors). Along with the teaching responsibilities I will be working with a group of students and faculty to make small improvements to the school, such as starting a small library/resource center, teaching a sexual education class for the boys, and a couple of other random responsibilities. But things are still in the very early stages, I’m still learning the environment and trying to find out more about opportunities for making the school a better place.

My desk in the teacher's lounge! If you look closely you can see my bottle of filtered water, and computer satchel that I use to carry textbooks for the classes that I teach. 

Ok, so I know I promised to talk about poverty and macroeconomics in Africa in this blog, but I think you have had enough for now. So in my next update I’ll include an interesting and engaging (I promise) summary of some interesting things you should know about poverty in Africa, and I’ll talk more about the food that I’ve been eating in Lusui. For now, I love you all, and I wish you peace and Happiness.

Cheers,

Kurt