Egypt: A Kenyan Perspective

I realize I’m skipping ahead a whole week in my entries, but this Sunday has become more than just a regular Sunday. And have no worries, last week’s entries will be up soon. There’s no place I’d rather be to witness what’s happening in Egypt than in Kenya. In the United States, an issue in Egypt can seem so distant, but here in Kenya, the issue really hits home. While Cairo is very far away from Nairobi, about 2200 miles, the strong passion for democracy and freedom and the price it costs, rings in the heart and near memory of every Kenyan. Following the 2007 elections, Kenya broke out into deadly violence. The Kenyan government estimated that a little over a thousand people died but many believe the actual number is much higher. The outbreak of violence started when incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner over Opposition Leader Raila Odinga. Odinga’s people said that the election was rigged and violent clashes began on ethnic lines. Before I go any further, a brief history of Kenya is needed to fully understand what happened. Kenya is made up of over 42 tribes. When it was colonized by the British, they operated under the policy of “divide and rule”. Under “divide and rule” the British would keep all of the tribes separate so that they could not unite and coordinate a possible counterattack against the Brits. From the late 1800’s up until independence in 1963, this was the policy. This policy created heavy alignment along ethnic lines. Today, hardly anything has changed. Ask anyone on the street in Kenya over the age of 18 what they define themselves as first, their answer will almost always be their ethnic tribe first and then Kenyan second. Some of the main ethnic tribes in Kenya are the Kikuyu, the Luo, the Luhya and the Massai. Kibaki is Kikuyu and Odinga is Luo. Luo’s started killing Kikuyu and then the Kikuyu’s had numerous counter attacks. Over a thousand people were killed including two MP’s. If you think that US politics are bad when congress is always split on partisan lines, image an entire political system based on ethnic lines. It is this exact problem that is believed to have caused Obama’s dad to become an alcoholic. He was a doctoral student who could have possibly been chosen to run the Kenyan finance system but a Form 4 failure man was chosen instead because he was the same ethnic tribe as the then President. The recent post election violence was a result of the people being fed up with the system. A new constitution has since been past and reforms are on their way, but corruption still dominates the Kenyan political scene today. I spent a good part of the night talking to host Mum and Dad about the post election violence and how they understand what Egyptians are feeling right now. They are fed up with what has become the African system of government. Once someone gains power, they will do whatever they can to keep it. As Mum says, “There is something wrong with African people and power. They consider power an invitation to oppress and steal from the people for as long as they can.” One thing to keep in mind is that most African nations are new. I believe that many are quick to judge and dismiss Africa as one big problem that can’t be fixed. It has taken centuries for Western Nations, and in particular the United States, to get their countries running just ok. In 1826, then 49 years old like Kenya today, the United States was still an infant that had quite a bit of work to do. Yes Kenya and other African countries have had more tools at their disposal for developing quicker than the US did in 1776, but freedom has no time table and its costs can be limitless. Freedom is not free and many times, blood must be shed to underscore that point. What is happening in Egypt, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and other countries in the region is awesome. These people are finally fed up. Let’s hope they are finally released from their shackles and we can see what these people can really do.

Everyone Loves a Lazy Sunday

Kenya is more like the US than you would ever think. Sunday was spent just like any other Sunday at home. Although I was not allowed to go to church, because Mum said I needed to sleep, I sat around the whole day watching crappy movies (Step Up 3 and some other movie) and playing video games with Carrey as we decided that every Sunday was going to be spent this way. I also met Keith and Laura throughout the day. I cannot express how nice everyone is and how everyone will go out of their way to make sure that I am having a good time and am comfortable. Dinner in Kenya is always served very late; usually around 8 or 9. I spent most of dinner talking about life in the US, my first thoughts about Kenya and about what I wanted to do while I was here. After dinner, we watched the news, talked high politics and then I was off to watch the Bears Packers game at a local bar with a few of my classmates. The bar ended up not having the game so we all had to gather around a computer in a nearby cyber to watch the game. TIA. We got our first taste of Tuskers and despite the outcome, it was a great time. A great Sunday indeed.

Welcome to Nairobi

“Do something that scares you every day.” I believe this is a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. Mom can verify. This quote has been hanging on my refrigerator at home for some time now and I had dismissed it of having any real value until today. If you want to truly meet yourself, move in with a Kenyan family. Throughout orientation, I had put the host family experience in the back of my mind. Whether it was to be in the moment at orientation or because I was subconsciously nervous, anxious and scared as all get out, I don't know. I think I’ll go with the latter though. We left around 7:30 to head back to Nairobi and we all started to become nervous/anxious/excited/and scared out of our minds the closer we got. To top off my anxiety, I found out on the way that my host Mom was going to be late because she was picking someone up at the airport and the airplane was delayed. But of course, we were about an hour and a half late so almost as soon as I got my stuff off the bus, Abdul grabbed me and told me that my Mum and Dad we waiting for me. It is now time for introductions. My family consists of:
Mabel – Works for a German engineering firm named Gauff
Daniel – Owns a real estate company
Laura – 23 and works for a cell phone company named Orange while waiting to graduate in July
Keith – 17 and is finishing Form 4 (senior year) in October
Carrey – 15 and will be going off to boarding school in a few weeks to start Form 1 (freshman year)
I met Daniel first who helped me load my stuff into their Subaru Outback and then I met Mabel when I got into the car. We exchanged quick hellos in the car but then we were off to the house. Between the honking of the horns, making colorful gestures at other cars and diving in and out of pot holes, there were a lot of questions being thrown at me about my family, school and everything in between. The house. We live in a townhouse complex at the south west end of the Dennis Pritt Road and Rose Ave intersection. For those of you fluent with google earth or google maps, I invite you to look it up. We live in a ward called Kilimani which is known for being one of the safest areas in all of Nairobi. This is because it is heavily inhabited by embassies and because of its close proximity to the State House (3 blocks away). The Royal Thai embassy is about 200 feet away and the Iranian embassy is just down the street along with the Somali High Commission. There are many more embassies around as well as headquarters for other organizations such as the Red Cross. Our compound is fully walled in with a large metal gate that is staffed by a security guard round the clock. Charles is my favorite guard although he always wears a Minnesota Twins hat. I’m going to change that soon. There are about 10 townhouses in our compound and ours is the second on the left: House #4. The house has a very traditional Kenyan layout. The first thing you notice is the very large living room/family room off to the left that has couches and chairs to fit about 15 people or so. There is a large dining room table as soon as you walk in and the kitchen is at the back end of the dining room. Everything is very colorful and alive with energy. There are traditional Kenyan paintings on the walls and an endless amount of greenery in the family room makes you feel like you have arrived in Kenya. The focal point of the room is of course, the big screen TV. Kenyans love their Spanish telenovelas and music channels. After taking in the sights of the house for a few minutes, I took my suitcase and bags up to my room. I had found out a few days ago that I would be sharing a room with Keith. I thought I might not like that at first, but I actually have loved it. There are four bedrooms upstairs and our room is about the size of my dorm room freshman year. Nothing to complain about at all. Mama Mabel came up to my room as I started unpacking and laid down the rules right away. She told me right away that I was her son and that I should tell her about anything that makes me feel uncomfortable or offends me right away. We are a family now so we should start acting like it right away. I met Carrey (who Keith and I later nicknamed Tinker Bell) and we spoke briefly but he disappeared shortly after. Once I finished unpacking and put away all of my stuff, Mum, Dad and I went out to the Grandparents house to meet a bunch of family. This was quite the experience. This house, which is fairly large, is home to the Grandma, a couple of Mum’s sisters and their kids. Before I sat down, I was offered food and drink of which I was forced to accept. After a quick bite to eat and a coke out of the bottle, I met Cousin Syd. He’s my age and is studying aerospace engineering at a college in Nairobi. As we talked for a while about music and stuff, I notice Mum and Dad slowly falling asleep on the couch. Then they were totally asleep. Syd told me that there was a huge party there the night before as a goodbye for one of the aunts who was going back to Atlanta in a few hours. As Mum and Dad took cat naps on the couch, Syd and I continued our conversation about music and other random stuff. Syd, actually DJ Syd, also moonlights as a DJ on the side. He is planning to throw us MSID kids a party in the future. Should be a good time. After a few hours of napping, Dad woke up and we decided to head across the street to watch the Man U and Arsenal game. Football is huge here. This bar across the street was a tin roofed hole in the wall that was lively as ever. It was a lot of fun to watch as the fans downed Tusker after Tusker and rooted on their team. After the game we went back to the house, ate dinner and then went home. It had been a long day so going to bed felt so good.

Day Three and Four

Day Three and Four were much like Day Two of Orientation. We did mix up the morning sunset though each morning. On Day Three we did Yoga as the sun rose up over the giant Lake Nakuru National Park Hill. We did three sessions of orientation stuff with tea and snacks intertwined. Our second game drive ended up being awesome. We found three lions (simbas) on a fallen tree just off the path. Our bus got within ten feet of them which provided for some awesome pictures. We also got to go down to a “water fall” as Jane told us it would be. Unfortunately it is not the rainy season so there was no water flowing but because of that we were able to go under where the falls would be and explore the cave behind it. Day Fours sunrise was on top of a hill like mountain of which we could see the entire lake and all of the surrounding area. Again, I have great pictures and videos. Later on in Day Four, we were taught a real lesson. There are three different times in Kenya, all of which have specific characteristics. Before I list them there is a word and acronym of which you must become familiar with. The first is Mzungu. This is what Kenyans call white people. Everyone seems to have their own definition but from what I’ve gathered it means white explorer. This is traced back to early colonial times. It’s not derogatory and we are called this name all the time. The acronym T.I.A. is also very important. T.I.A. means “This Is Africa”. We say this all the time when something that would only happen in Africa happens. When you have to make sure that your doors are locked at all times, that the bus windows are closed and locked and that you leave no possessions out in the open for more than ten seconds for fears of baboons barging in your room, stealing your stuff or terrorizing the bus, it is appropriate to say T.I.A. Special Note: There are no baboons in Nairobi but staying five days inside an African national park provides special considerations. So, the three times are as follows:
Mzungu time: This is what all of us Americans view time as. It is appropriate to be a little early or on time but do not be too late or you will offend someone/lose your job.
Kenya time: If a dinner party starts at 6pm, expect people to be arriving from the hours of 8pm all the way to 11pm. No one is offended by this. It’s Kenya.
T.I.A. time: Who knows. There is no way to calculate how late this person will be. If you expect a bus to be there in less than 10 minutes (true story), expect it in 1 to 5 business days.

Now is a good time to talk about our bus. Kenyan buses are not driven like our run of the mill bluebird buses. They are driven like a combination of an ATV and an M1 tank. There is no pot hole, steep climb, tight passage, or dirt road that it will not take on. The ride is not like a roller coaster, it is a roller coaster. Hold on to your stuff because it will go flying in the next five minutes. Three people have also suffered minor cuts and bumps. This poses certain problems though with durability. As we were climbing the hill to see the sunset in the morning, the bus died four times. Luckily we were able to get all the way up but it was an adventure on the way down because there was no stopping, just free flying. We knew that this day we were going to go visit the Ogyeck (sp?) tribe in very rural Kenya. They are a tribe of hunters and gatherers who live in the forest that have survived despite the government’s efforts to force them out. Anyways, the bus was found to have a problem with the fuel pump. We were told that we weren’t going to be able to go but then a few minutes later we found out that we were going to try to make it into town on the bus so that we could shop around while the bus got fixed. About an hour later we were told the bus would not be fixed in time so we were trying to get another bus from our hostel to come pick us up. It was supposed to be on its way. Fast forward three hours. The bus finally gets there. Fast forward a half hour. We are on the side of the road about ten minutes away from where we are picked up. Another breakdown? No. The new bus driver didn’t know where we were going, a very rural place that no car should even attempt to travel, and he said the new bus would not make it there. But we also found out that the old bus would be done soon. We only waited for the old bus for about ten minutes which was nice but we did finally make it out to see the Ogyeck many many hours late. Jane even said that was not Kenya time, it was T.I.A. time. Ten minutes turned into hours. It was really interesting to see the Ogyeck. The government is on a mission to assimilate them into modern Kenya society so that the forest can be logged or so that the land can be used for farming or other development. They have resisted and are standing strong despite being forced to live by means outside their comfort zone. Recently they have had to start learning to farm. Being hunters and gatherers, nothing was ever needed to be grown. They are slowly learning and are managing to get by. It was our last night at Lake Nakuru so we had a camp fire, sang songs (we do that a lot) and had some bro pillow talk at night. Lake Nakuru was such a great experience but it was sad knowing that I wasn’t going to be seeing the people in my group every day. Tomorrow we meet our families.

Day Two

All of us guys (seven of us) decided that we wanted to wake up early enough to see our first African sunrise. We got outside at about 6:15 A.M. and watched the sun come up for almost an hour. The sunrise lived up to and passed all of the hype about African sunrises as you will see by my pictures. When we first got out there, there was a layer of mist/haze over the fields and all you could see was the silhouettes of the water buffalo. It was an amazing scene. It took over a half an hour until the sun was visible but with every minute that passed, new colors, or shall I say colours, appeared in the sky. We even saw a rhino while we were out there. One of the guys, Dan, apparently pissed off the rhino because he started making a fuss. Rhinos have a very interesting and distinct noise. Videos will show. The rest of the day was spent doing orientation activities, playing more soccer and Frisbee and of course, drinking tea.

Day One

We had to wake up pretty early on the first day because we had to go the Immigration office to register for a bunch of stuff. Before we left, myself and a few other people went out to watch the baboons play in the trees and to walk some of the trails on this hostel compound. It was pretty neat but not worth its costs. When I came back to my room, my iPod and headphones (not my good ones) were gone. I assumed that I had already packed them away somewhere else but that wasn’t the case. I went back to check again but again, it was nowhere to be found. I found out later that one of our program staffers went to check through everyone’s bed for lost belongings. She didn’t find it either so the iPod was either stolen or for some reason I can’t find it in my bags. Jane called the hostel after I told her about it and of course, they said they hadn’t found anything. Yeah it definitely sucks to lose my iPod but it was my fault entirely for not locking it away and I can also use my phone as an mp3 player. Mostly it was just a rude awakening to where I was. After we finished up at the Kenyan Immigration office, which took many hours, we got some lunch and made our way to Nakuru National park. It was a three hour journey with a pit stop at a good viewing point of rift valley. Rift valley is a very large area of Kenya where the land literally dropped off. We stopped off the highway for about fifteen minutes to take pictures and to get swarmed by vendors. It was a fantastic view. It reminded me a lot of being in the mountains in Ecuador. I took some really good pictures/videos. By the way, I’m taking a lot more videos than pictures. So be prepared for a lot of videos during story time. We arrived at Nakuru National Park at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. We had to wait at the front gate for about 45 minutes while everything was getting settled but we were highly entertained. Once we pulled into the parking lot there were baboons everywhere. And I mean everywhere. We got off the bus to watch them play and fight which made for some great video material. After about 20 minutes or so someone started screaming “Baboon!!!”. I looked over and I saw that a baboon had taken someones water bottle and ran up a tree. It was yellow Nalgeen bottle. We watched for about five minutes while the baboon tried to take the top off. Baboons are very good with push this or pull that but twisting is not their forte. He/she baboon was able to rip off the piece of plastic that connects the top to the bottle but gave up after a while. The water bottle was sterilized, filled and reused within the hour. After all was settled with the park office, we made our way into the park where our hostel was. During the early 1900’s Nakuru National park was owned by a british farmer. He built a big house for himself and his family which is currently called the Guest House and a house/barn for the workers. This house was turned into the hostel for the Kenya Wildlife Club. There is a big room with 8 bunkbeds for the guys and two other rooms for the girls. It is completely fenced in, although the baboons don’t care, with an area of about three or four acres. This is a small fenced in area in the middle of a national park. Very rare and very awesome. Just outside the fences are countless water buffalo, zebras, impalas (small antelope looking animals of which the Chevy Impala was named after) the occasional rhino, and of course more baboons than you can count. The baboons are a part of the compound and you have to be very careful with locking doors and windows. When we are in our group activities they are usually less than fifteen feet away fighting and yelling. We had some tea when we got there, played some soccer and Frisbee and then ate dinner. After dinner we had our first orientation activity where the compound director talked to use about Nakuru National Park and about the Kenya Wildlife Clubs. A group of us stayed up for a few more hours talking and eventually broke out the cards to play spoons and turrets. It got pretty rowdy. After a long day it was time for bed

First Night in Nairobi

The journey begins. After getting off the airplane we headed off to clear customs. Once we cleared customs, we got our baggage and went to go board our bus that would take us to the hostel that we were going to be staying at for the night. We met three of our program directors on the bus, Abdul, Simon and Jane. They were very nice and told us what to expect in the next few days. On the way out of the parking lot, we were stalled because there was a car blocking the entrance. After about ten minutes or so of trying to find the driver, the gate attendant gave up and decided to use brute force. He enlisted the help of about six other guys and they picked up the car with their bare hands and moved it so the bus could get through. No joke. I couldn’t get to my camera in time so you’re just going to have to imagine seven Kenyan men picking up a car, about the size of a Honda Civic, and moving it about three feet. Once we cleared the parking lot we made the 30 minute journey to our hostel. All the dudes are in one room and all the girls are in another room. It kind of feels like being at summer camp at Blue Lake. Cold showers and a bunch of guys sleeping in one room. Lights are off in the room now so its bed time. 6:30 wake up. Yay

N America, Europe and Africa. All in a days travels

4:27 P.M. - We took off about ten minutes ago and are over Lake Michigan right now. Having been a slave to American Airlines for the better part of my life, I have not experienced the wonders of other airlines. I am on a KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) 747. It’s completely empty. I can’t remember the last time I was on an American flight that I didn’t have some sweaty beef cake on every side of me. There are two brothers in front of me who are about 12 and 8ish. The older one has been telling the younger one all about the airplane and how Boeing is a lot better than Airbus. He is correct. But this reminded me of my brother preaching to me as a kid all about airplanes. I used to quiz him on which airplane was which in American Way Magazine. There are personal entertainment systems on every seat which is nice. Gotta get caught up on my movies because this will probably be the last time I see American cinema for 4 months. In other news, right after my Mom dropped me off at the airport, I saw a friend from high school at the check in counter for KLM. He is studying abroad just outside of Venice, Italy and is on the same flight as me. Crazy. We are going to throw back a few in a little bit and reminisce of the days at St. Charles East. All is well for now, I will report back soon.
P.S. While writing this I was served my first drink. Ginger ale of course. It is about the size of a Dixie cup. Europeans really need to learn about American portions.

5:28 P.M. - Dinner has been served. I was offered chicken or beef. Awesome. I got the chicken. It was some sort of chicken soy sauce mix with a chicken Caesar salad. Not all bad but I’ll report back later. Right now we are traveling 658 MPH and we are a little ways north of Albany, NY. I did finally meet someone from my program. My friend from high school, Matt, is sitting next to a girl so I got to meet her. Just finished an episode of Two and a Half Men and now I’m watching Friends. Everything’s good for now.

6:53 P.M. - The lights have finally been turned off in the airplane so I am going to try to get some sleep thanks to an American Airlines First Class amenities kit. It appears we are just leaving Canadian airspace over St. Johns Island and will soon begin our trek over the Atlantic. 4 Hours 21 Minutes remain. Food sitting well.

10:10 P.M. - Fast forward many hours. 1 hour and 11 minutes to go. Just crossing into Ireland right now. I’m not sure if I ever slept but the last few hours have been spent dealing with a raging headache. It has been delightful. I was just starting to get to sleep when the Indian family in front of me decided that it was time for everyone on the airplane to get up. They were playing a 4 player game of Tetris through the entertainment system. Lots of yelling.

10:55 P.M. - Food is not sitting well. We are just north of Norwich and about 25 minutes from landing in Amsterdam and have just started our decent. All in all it was not a bad flight at all with the exception of the bad headache and the questionable chicken. Definitely and upgrade from my flight over the summer from NYC to Vienna. It looks like we are going to be getting in about a half hour early as well. It will be about a three hour layover in Amsterdam. KL 612 over and out.

9:38 A.M. - 4 pitchers of Heineken and 11 hours later I have found myself just under an hour out from Nairobi. Once we got in to Amsterdam, our whole group met up and we decided to do what college students do best and go find a bar open at 7 A.M. local time to have a drink. About 15 of us found a bar in the airport, downed some pitchers and chatted about our upcoming African adventures. The time flew and the next thing we knew it was time to board KL 565 to Nairobi. I fell asleep on the airplane as soon as I sat down. I don’t remember the takeoff or anything until just a few minutes ago. I am very proud of myself. We are just to the northwest of Juba, South Sudan (voting on the referendum ended two days ago and all signs point to the creation of a sovereign South Sudan) and will be crossing the border with Kenya in a few minutes. Even though this flight is packed in typical American Airlines fashion, it was delightfully uneventful. Snack time.

Leaving Today!!

At the gate right now getting ready to board. 16 hours of travel ahead. 8 hours to amsterdamn then 8 hours to nairobi. First full post to come.