The End

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My time in Kenya was such a wonderful experience, even if I didn’t take full advantage of it in the end. I hope and pray I get to return because I am now friends with so many great people and have only just started learning about the country. I have had to think more reflectively in Kenya than I have in a long time both personally and about the world. The questions people in Kenya ask me are deep, they get to the core of the issue and make me really examine what my knowledge and what I believe.

One man I was talking to explained Kenya as “communicratic” saying that family in Kenya are very community driven however individuals on their own can be very self-interested. He also said he believes the government exacerbates the differences between tribes to prevent collaboration in changing the political party in power. This was a really interesting point I hadn’t thought about and am excited to think critically about. I know tribal identity is very important in Kenya but how much is that individually driven and how much politically?

At this moment I would say I am unsure about the political influence because I am unsure of the influence of the political leaders and their capacity to reach people (in a completely infrastructure sense). However Nairobi is the only really urban city in Kenya, meaning most people live in the area they are born and that is with their Tribe. Even in Nairobi people know their mother tongue, are really tied to family (I have met all of Carol and Willis’ siblings that live in Kenya) and know where they are from. This tribal based community is the way of survival and although these differences may be exaggerated by the government, the structure of Kenya wouldn’t be the same without them.

And this was only one of the questions or comments I’ve heard that makes me think critically. Another person asked me what I thought about inflation and if in the next few years it would rise or decline based on the movement of the recession. I am not asked that type of question in the US. If we’re a country with free education through 12th grade and “the world super power” why can’t we think critically on a daily basis? And you might be thinking, well you are an outsider, they might just want your opinions. I am sure this is true to an extent but I’ve actually witnessed such conversations between native Kenyans as well because politics and the issues in Kenya are widely talked about. I haven’t heard much talk about religion however but that is a completely different discussion.

Anyways, to wrap up this meandering “critical thinking” train, people in Kenya know the issues. They know many things that aren’t working, they know people are corrupt. One of the last days I was there a news station reported on corruption in the police force with actual footage of money being handed from driver to police officer, showing the faces of both the driver and the police officer and the most common discrete ways of slipping the officer money. The question was then, who is to blame? Their conclusion was both parties- the officer for not upholding the laws and the citizens for not wanting to follow the laws. The perfect example of they know the issues, but when and how are such things going to change? And of course I have my opinions on that, but I’ll save it for another time 😊

My last week in Kenya was very good. I had a lot of fun with Ed and Ian, we even went to a movie one day which was a little stressful but fun. I met Carol other sister Brenda and was invited into her home. I also went to a birthday party for a relative’s child which was fun. Although my days were slow at the end, the farewell was bittersweet. Ian, Ed, Kevin and Willis took me to the airport because Carol had company to entertain that day. Ed wouldn’t even get out of the car to say goodbye to me (he was pretending to be asleep) and saying goodbye to Ian made my heart hurt because it’s hard sometimes to be the oldest in the family and I was proud to be his ally for awhile.

I have a feeling Kenya will be in my future and my goodbyes might just be “see you soon”.

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