Trenton has also been writing a blog (I actually got the idea from him) for family and friends during our time in Kenya. Last week, he wrote a section on some of the struggles he’s had so far. I’m going to give it a try this week. Hopefully it can give you a better idea of exactly what life in Kenya has been like for us.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good: see past blog posts
The Ugly: witnessing the level of poverty millions of people in Kenya are forced to endure day after day
All that’s left for you to hear about is the Bad. Luckily, there’s not much to write about!
The Food
The food here is very delicious. So far I haven’t been served a dish that I didn’t like. The problem that I have been running into with the food is a lack of protein. I would estimate that about 90% of my diet here is carbs. Fruits, rice, corn, cabbage, and kale can be found in surplus at every lunch and supper. Breakfast is commonly bread, jam, and tea. Our main sources of protein are beans, lentils, and the occasional piece of beef or fish. This is much different than the diet that I was used to in America. Since moving to this new carb-heavy diet, I have noticed that it takes me longer to recover from lifting weights and I have less energy during the day. I also lost 13 pounds during my first 2 weeks here. No matter how much I eat, I’m hungry again within an hour of each meal.
This week Trenton and I added in 4 or 5 extra meals. My only requirement for these meals was that it had some meat in it. KFC is a short walk away and prices are good there. The extra meals helped me to claw back a pound over the week. I had less hunger and felt better during the day. I plan to continue on with a 4th meal most days. I might never eat at KFC again once my year is up!
Relationships
People in Kenya have been very friendly towards Trenton and I so far. They are always surprised to hear that we’re not just tourists, but instead will be living and working in Nairobi for almost a year. We get far more praise than we deserve for using a simple Swahili phrase here and there in a conversation. Supposedly, most mzungus don’t make the effort. While all of this is good, the reason relationships have been a challenge for me is due to the way many Kenyans view mzungus (especially Americans). What starts as a friendly conversation can quickly turn into a solicitation for money. Trenton and I are often not given the ‘standard’ rate when we ask for prices (luckily we know what most things are supposed to cost by now). It has become hard to trust that many of the people around me care about anything more than my wallet.
What makes this situation especially tricky for me to deal with is the fact that they’re right. At the end of the day it won’t make a noticeable difference to my life if I pay an extra 10 cents for bus fare today. My monthly volunteer stipend of $350 gives me more disposable income than almost everyone I’m interacting with. I don’t have a convincing argument for why the security guard working 80 hour weeks for a couple dollars a day shouldn’t have the coins in my pocket. It would pay for his supper. I get mine for free.
While I wish that more of my interactions in Nairobi were genuine connections, I can now understand a little bit about where the people I meet are coming from. I can see how taking advantage of an mzungu for a little extra cash doesn’t seem that wrong. Does this mean that I’ll start paying 50 shillings (regular price is 30 shillings) to get to work on Wednesdays? Absolutely not!
Staying Curious
The brain’s ability to adapt to a new way of living never ceases to amaze. There were a couple moments this week that I didn’t even think twice about in the moment. Having to run across a busy intersection knowing the cars coming at us aren’t going to stop. Realizing I need to do laundry again and starting the shower to wash my clothes by hand. Walking through the Mathare slum and seeing young children running and playing in the street during school hours on a Monday.
This ability can keep things here in Kenya from becoming overwhelming. Unfortunately, it can also keep me from getting the most out of my time here. Living the next 9 months on autopilot will prevent me from experiencing all that Nairobi has to offer. One way I’ve started fighting against this is by trying to pay attention to the plants around me. They’re everywhere in the city. Besides the grass, they are all plants that I would never see in Minnesota. The flowers, especially, catch my notice. You’ll be seeing more and more pictures of them in the photo gallery 🙂
Every time I see a plant it triggers a reminder for me…
I’m in Kenya!
Thanks for reading!