Day Five

Our day began with breakfast at the Kenyatta University Business Center Cafeteria where we had the options of hard boiled eggs, scones, samosas, mandazi (sweet bread), and our choice of coffee or tea. After breakfast we got right into the itinerary for the day, a Kenyan culture lesson!

Our lesson was facilitated by Prof. Josephine Mwangi. She educated us on 42 different ethnic groups in Kenya, and their different cultures that help make Kenya a melting pot. Some examples are Luhya, Luo, and Nandi, each having their own foods, languages, and ceremonies. We also discussed differences between life in cities like Nairobi and life in the villages. In the villages there are often differences in economic activity amongst different ethnic groups, for example the Maasai are pastoralists, and the Luo are fishermen. We learned that most Kenyans speak 3 languages: their ethnic language, Swahili, and British English. 

We were also able to compare the experiences of women in both Kenyan and American culture. In America, there is an array of experiences that women can have that Kenyan women cannot, such as abortion, but birth control is available in both. This is a very religious country, and there are differences in how women are treated depending on culture, religion, and region. For example, women within Muslim families and predominantly Muslim communities (such as those on the coast and in Mombasa) are more likely to live at home until marriage, while others have the freedom to live alone at any point.

We then learned how to tie the Kanga or Leso in many different ways for a wide variety of purposes, such as carrying a baby, dancing, headscarf, and for wedding ceremonies. Prof. Mwangi was joined in her efforts by a few Kenyatta students who answered our questions, shared vocabulary from their ethnic group’s language, and helped us choose our Kenyan names. For example Sylvia chose Subira meaning patience.

At the end of the lesson Dr. Irene gave us additional Kenyan names that she thought would fit us. Yuzuki was given Kanini meaning the small one, Ny’Ree was given the name Neema meaning grace, and lastly Angel was given Malaika Nanjala meaning an angel during a time of hunger or famine, in other words a gift! The others are below:

• President Mary Dana Naliaka

• Prof Lindsey Mwende

• Dr.  Jalloh Odongo Ojwang

• Isabella Nekesa

• Faith Nasiche

• Hazel Waruguru

• Bagby Nandwa

• Kyra Muthoni

• Melanie Amani

• Ameena Tabasamu

• Madison Jasiri

During the session we were briefly interrupted for another learning opportunity on the fly. There was a political youth rally for future leaders of Kenya. There was also music, and a comedian who joked he was related to Obama. This gave us a good view of our first stop on our campus tour, the amphitheater, which can hold up to 6,000 students at a time. 

Once we were done with our lecture at the Business Conference Center, we then proceeded to our campus tour, led by the illustrious Dr. Mildred Nawiri. We took the bus because Kenyatta University covers 1000 acres of land, and would take 4 hours to walk across. We were shown a number of buildings on campus, including faculty housing, housing for both male and female students called hostels (there are no coed dorms), graduate school buildings, lecture halls, sports fields, a chapel, and an on campus shopping center. We luckily had the chance to go into the largest lecture hall that can hold up to 1,000 students at a time. We were shocked to learn that the average class size is 350 people, especially as our largest class size is 30! 

We were also pleasantly surprised to find that Kenyatta University students are much more fashionable than we are in the US! Dr. Irene also informed us that the sports field was nicknamed Obama field because his helicopter landed there when he came to visit in 2015. Kenyatta University has a beautiful campus, and we had a wonderful tour. The tour concluded with Dr. Mildred asking for our feedback on what we had noticed about Kenyan culture so far. Bagby mentioned that personal space is more of a consideration in the US. In Kenya we are greeted with hugs; people are less likely to say excuse me if they bump into you; and they are more animated with facial expressions.

After the tour we had lunch again at the Business School Cafeteria where we had the option of rice, chicken, beef, local vegetables, and chapati. There were also some soda flavors that are not available in the US like blackcurrant Fanta. After we finished lunch, we returned to our accommodation for a short break before heading off to Dr. Irene's house for a visit and dinner. 

At Dr. Irene’s house we were greeted with hugs at the door, followed by finding a place to sit in the living room. In African culture you must sit and wait to be offered something like a drink first before making yourself at home. At her house we had the opportunity to learn how to make a traditional Kenyan dinner with pilau, wet fry whole tilapia, beef stew, cow peas, vegetable rice, chapati, nandiri, pumpkin soup, and cabbage stir fry.  Everyone had the chance to try their hand at cooking all the different dishes and were given aprons as gifts and to wear while cooking. The kitchen got a bit crowded but it was a fun and engaging learning opportunity. It took about 3 hours to make all the food! 

While we took turns learning to cook, the others took the time to try some ice cream and explore the garden before dinner. Dr. Irene's garden has papaya, mango, passion fruit vine, and banana trees. She used to keep chickens, and we heard a baby goat in a neighbor’s yard. One thing about cooking in Kenya (or at least with our KU team!) is that the cooks estimate how much of each ingredient should go into the dish, but making the meal with everyone was just like cooking for a party at home.

For dessert we had cut fruit. Bagby especially got excited from the chance to try a tropical mix with mango, papaya, watermelon, and passionfruit. It was a veritable feast and everyone agrees it was the best meal we have had during our stay so far. Everything was delicious and fresh. Some favorites were the pilau and the fish. After dinner we helped to clean the table and the dishes and said our goodbyes to Dr.Irene for the night!

Many thanks to Dr. Irene for opening her home to us.