If I could sum up the past few weeks in Kenya. Love is all I feel. Love for the land. Love for the sun. And love for the newness that surrounds me. Even after a tumultuous 20+ hour flight, I arrived in Nairobi around 1AM. Meeting our program coordinator and attempting to sleep in a haze about how grateful I was to arrive in Kenya after 8 months of waiting.
Day 2:
A tour of the Embassy and networking with our future colleagues was incredibly humbling. And to know all the opportunites we have available as fulbrighters was also encouraging. Additionally, seeing the sheer extent of America’s influence abroad was tenuous. As an American, to know part of my professional relationship will be to “spread American values” it gets uncomfortable knowing my own thoughts on America is also opposite of the mainstream views. But, I’m relieved to know my students and colleagues will know the experience that African Americans have in the United States as opposed to equating whiteness with the America the world sees.
We wined down and bought our necessary electronic devices & had dinner at the Village Market in Nairobi.
Day 3: Mombasa
While, only in Mombasa briefly, it sent me major deja vu of visiting Zanzibar. Although a bit more industrial than Zanzibar, it was still incredible. Built on a series of houses essentially carved in the rocks on the coast, Mombasa will be on my list of places to visit fully and explore in its entirety.
Day 4: Malindi
Portuguese, Arabic, Arab, and Omani influences melt together and you get Malindi. Our work here was working with a local Islamic school to meet students with their English access program which prepares students to become more confident in speaking English and also to spend time with peers. Our amazing hosts at the school fed us until I nearly exploded from happiness. One of our colleagues took us to explore some museums in Malindi and the pillar from where Vasco de Gama was exploring East Africa. Before all of that however, I was (and am always) taken aback by the beauty of the Indian Ocean. From living in Dar, to visiting Zanzibar, Bagamoyo, and Tanga- all the points are equally incredibly amazing. The ocean waves to my side, incredible sundowning effects, and a cold Tusker, the first night in Malindi was overwhelmingly beautiful and calm. When we got to explore the quaintness of Malindi including its antique museums and a snapshot of the marine park, I felt so comfortable and welcomed especially by our colleague Mr. Malau.
Day 5 : Machakos – Wamunyu
A brief 45 minute flight back to Nairobi and a 2 and a half hour drive later. I arrived in Machakos. The farm (shamba) I am living at is nothing short of pictureseque. The innumerable mango trees, mulberry branches, and roaming chickens immediately placed me at ease. Meeting my landlord Caesar and his wife Tina really highlighted the true epitome of the African spirit. Typically, in the United States folks don’t have dinner with their tenants and extend invitations to visit them at their residence in other towns. But, again, T.I.A. So, it was refreshing to feel so welcomed and to know that many people genuinely have your best interest at heart. So far, I’ve met nothing but genuine people who have been so kind to me. I am daily grateful, blessed, and still in shock to be in this place every single day.
I embrace the newness and opportunities awaiting me in Kenya and beyond and am reminded of this quotation that has sustained me as of late- “Yesterday is gone and its tale told. Today new seeds are growing.” – Rumi
Embrace newness, today.
Fully yours,
M
mariahgoesabroad 