Day Two
The day started at 8:30am with a delicious breakfast where we encountered a new fruit called the “tree tomato.” Our first experience with the differences between the United States (US) and Kenyan culture was the perception of time. People in the U.S. are very time-conscious, while people in Kenya focus on what they are doing in the present moment. For example, we planned to meet at 10 am to visit the National Museums of Kenya, but did not leave our residence at Kenyatta University (KUCC) until 12:00 pm. Eager to delve into Kenya’s culture, we also immersed ourselves in the social, cultural and political history of Kenya. We learned about how Kenya was affected by colonization from the British and how immigration from different regions of the world to form the diverse population of Kenya, which includes Indians, Arab Muslims, and other African ethnic groups.
Our guided tours across the sections of the museum also emphasized Kenyan wildlife. We learned about different native mammals and birds, including the national bird of Kenya— the lilac-breasted roller. One of the great wonders of the world that we acknowledged was the Great Migration whereby millions of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and more trek from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Masai Mara, Kenya. We absorbed valuable knowledge about the divergence and convergence of different animal species' attributes.
After a planned quick lunch turned into a slow one (Kenyan time!), we visited the Nairobi Snake Park and Aquarium. There we encountered all the venomous snakes that populate Kenya and the neighboring countries. One thing that stood out to us was that the Mt Kenya Bush Viper is the only native snake that prefers colder temperatures. Therefore, it occupies the forest clearings and woodlands between 1500m and 1700m above sea level and restricts itself to the region of Mt. Kenya. Another fun fact was that the Black Mamba, one of the world’s most dangerous snakes, earned its name from the black color of its mouth, not its skin color. We all also got the opportunity to hold a non-venomous python and tortoise!
The exploration of the museum deepened our understanding of the importance of age and social hierarchy in Kenyan culture. Elders handled judicial, political and religious matters through councils of elders. Part of this section on social organization included information on traditional rites of passage for Kenyan youth. This, for instance, gave us insight into how young people have their own sets of dress and accessories to symbolize their status as children versus the adult men and women.
After leaving the museum, we took a quick trip to the mall where we exchanged our US currency for the Kenyan Shilling and got the essentials, like bottled water and toilet paper, from a Carrefour market. The toilet paper is a contingency when we are out in public, since not all public bathrooms have enough toilet paper readily available. Sometimes you have to ask a bathroom attendant for toilet paper or grab it from outside of the stall first. And then, we went to the Safari Park Hotel for a dinner where we encountered amazing cultural group dances and acrobatics. We filled our stomachs with an all-we-could-eat meat carnival with camel, lamb, beef, goat, and chicken carved at the table one at a time. At the end of the night, we surprised Dr. Jalloh with a celebratory birthday cake and song. We capped off the night with dancing to the live band playing “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).”
After coming back to KUCC, one of our peers experienced some local animals in her room. Said person comments on her face-off with the animals saying, “After a good 45 minutes of trials and tribulations, we were finally able to trap the little sucker, and he was set free into the hallway and decided to park himself on the wall beside my door. However, the kind receptionist went and retrieved him, and then I discovered a hornet in my light fixture…”!
By Riley and Sandipa
