On Being a Kenyan Runner…

The other day as I was heading back to the compound after my jog I bumped into my program director/professor on the driveway, and she proceeded to declare out her car window “you should really write about your running escapades in the blog!” And since I am such a dedicated, thoughtful, eager student of the St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program I am going to do just that!

I hope your expectations for this post aren’t very high because I haven’t actually had that many “escapades”, per se, but I suppose sometimes weird stuff happens on my daily runs around the neighborhood. For example:

• The other day I saw a man wearing a “Washington Huskies” t-shirt walking on the side of the road, and I proceeded to point at him and scream “GREAT SHIRT!!!” (my headphones were in). A few minutes later I noticed that the UW fan had changed direction and was jogging behind me. He only lasted for a few moments though – I think his flip flops held him back.
• Sometimes there are men on horses riding bareback through the neighborhood. Maybe they are policemen? I’m not really sure.
• Huge trucks spewing disgusting black fumes zoom past me all the time and I feel like I am inhaling tar.
• Also cars tend to get dangerously close to me and one time a side view mirror nicked my shoulder. Pretty sure that was intentional. Probably someone trying to sabotage my world-famous blog. 

And because my mother has recently taken up being worried about me (if you know her you know this is pretty unusual) I would like to assure you all that I never run alone. Below is an image of my beautiful, inspirational, one and only running partner!

The Tallest Building in the World!*

Today in between classes Jack and I walked across the city to the Kenyatta International Conference Center and took the elevator to the 28th floor. Then we walked up 3 flights of stairs. Then we stood on a helipad on top of the tallest building in the world! 

*The Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) is not actually the tallest building in the world. The KICC is not even the tallest building in Nairobi. That would be the Times Tower, which is located next door to the KICC. The tallest building in the world is Burj Khalifa, colloquially known as  برج خليفة‎,, in Dubai. It is so tall.

Things On My Mind Lately…

1. How I’m Married Now

On Friday night we had a wedding themed party on the compound in which every student on my program was assigned a character to play. Guess who was cast as the bride?!

(Me)

And from the bachelorette party…

To the ceremony…

To the reception…

It was the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever had.

2. The Impacts of Colonialism on the Economies of Kenyan Societies

If you are wondering whether I ever go to class here, I will have you know that this week I gave a 45 minute presentation AND wrote a paper expressing my views on the impacts of colonialism on the economies of Kenyan societies. And so, it is my opinion that while European governance in East Africa was no doubt responsible for initiating any and all Kenyan contributions to the international market, it is also true that British policy effectively undermined the economies of indigenous societies. The age-old subsistence strategies of Kenyans ultimately could not coexist nor compete with capitalistic settler production; hence the eventual shift toward an export-oriented economy in Kenya came at an enormous cost to Africans. Essentially, colonialism proved to be a divisive force among Kenyan populations, by which European settlers and authorities systematically destroyed traditional economies via manipulation of land and labor within the colony.

3. The Ngong Hills

Yesterday a group of us went hiking in the Ngong Hills, located about an hour outside of Nairobi and peaking at 8,000 feet above sea level. The trek was very hilly. It was also very beautiful, and was certainly a cultural experience given that we were led by a group of local guides carrying spears. I think this was because sometimes buffalo come out of the bushes. Don’t quote me on that. 

4. Goats

Before writing this post my friend Megan and I spent approximately 2 hours researching interesting facts about goats due to Megan’s current fixation on anything and everything goat-related. And really, there is so much more to goats than just the (COMPLETELY UNTRUE!) rumor that goats eat tin cans.

There are countless goats in Kenya, always roaming freely around the streets and in the countryside. Some goats are white, some are brown, and some are black. Some have dreadlocks and some don’t. Some have oddly swollen body parts that look like serious pregnancies or tumors and some just look mildly famished.

Did you know that more people drink goat’s milk than cow’s milk worldwide? Did you know that female goats hit puberty at only 7 to 10 months? Did you know that goats are the oldest domesticated species? Have you ever seen this video of goats yelling like humans for 2 full minutes?

http://gawker.com/5984348/two-minutes-of-nothing-but-goats-yelling-like-humans

Enjoy!

My School is Cool!

My School is Cool!

My favorite presidential candidate didn’t end up winning, but at least St. Lawrence fared pretty well in the Kenyan election.

14 Days in Tanzania

I am home in Kenya safe and sound, and grappling with the depressing nosedive in my blog readership that abandoning the country seems to have triggered. Kenya has a new president, by way of an election that was mostly fair and peaceful. I expect a few more bumpy developments to unfold across Kenya’s political landscape within the next few months, but for the most part the election has been non-violent. And if you want to learn more about the current state of Kenyan politics you can look up a newspaper article or something. Like this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/opinion/a-dictators-last-laugh.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print.

My trip to Tanzania was hands down one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It is up there with summer camp and the time our local lumber supply store put “Ally Friedman Rocks!” on their reader board. We camped, hiked, and explored in the Tanzanian wilderness for 2 full weeks and also got a glimpse of the animals and peoples who reside in the area. From watching a herd of elephants walk into the sunset to hunting with one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes on the planet, each moment of my time in Tanzania was spectacular and surreal. I will now attempt to give an abbreviated but thorough account of everything that happened in Tanzania by writing about the trip day-by-day.

Day 1: Drove from Kenya to Tanzania. Accumulated many cool passport stamps. Arrived at Dorobo Safari Company’s base camp. Discovered that our two male guides are exceptionally good-looking. Rejoiced.

Day 2: Remained at Dorobo camp. Listened to a Tanzanian scout and a lawyer for a local NGO talk about the Hadzabe hunter-gatherer people and their land rights. Went bird watching. Decided that I hate bird watching. Walked up a hill to see a beautiful view of Mt. Meru. On the way back noticed that a Tanzanian guard was wearing a Seattle Seahawks pullover. Go hawks! 12^th man! Russell Wilson!

Day 3: Visited a nearby village and attended a lecture about Tanzanian land rights at the local NGO’s office (and you can attend the same lecture if you want… http://www.dorobofund.org/ucrt) Listened to a Maasai woman tell the story of how she refused to be married at 16, insisted on continuing her education, and went on to start a non-profit focused on educating girls from pastoralist communities. Felt inspired. Walked to a nearby secondary school to play soccer. Defected from the St. Lawrence team but quickly realized I am not cut out for playing with actual high school soccer players. Took to yelling “Team Tanzania!” on the sidelines and pointing out my American opponents’ weak spots to nearby schoolchildren.

Day 4: Drove to Tarangire National Park. Went for a game drive in the afternoon. Saw many animals including (but not limited to) elephants, lions, zebras, gazelles, baboons, impalas, buffalo, ostriches, and other birds I don’t care about. Heard a pride of lions communicating with each other across our camp at night. Still slept well because I just thought the noises were my fellow students being obnoxious.

Day 5: All day game drive. Saw a similar assortment of animals, but more of them, and more up close. Was attacked by tsetse flies. Discovered a strange rash on my right shoulder in the evening. Panicked. Decided I am allergic to tsetse flies. Decided I had sleeping sickness. One of our guides shocked me with a cow taser. Felt like I was going to pass out. Full recovery by morning.

Day 6: Drove to the Nou Forest. Set up camp. Walked to a nearby meadow. Played Ultimate Frisbee. Left my heart on the field. “Team Kill” lost. Miserably.

Day 7: Woke up to pouring rain and a flooded tent. Put my hair in pigtails to bolster my mood. Hiked to a waterfall. Was the first shower in a week for many of us. Back at camp we discussed life in the forest with men from the agro-pastoralist Iraqw tribe. Lounged in the sun for less than one hour. Acquired the worst sunburn of my life.

Day 8: Walked to an Iraqw settlement. Observed the agro-pastoralist homestead and lifestyle. Went to the village church and asked a council of elders questions about their life. Played another game of soccer at a local secondary school. Felt disheartened because I am a terrible soccer player. Got over it.

Day 9: Drove into the bush. Was smacked in the face by many trees. Explored our new camp. Met with Hadzabe people.

Day 10: Hiked down to a nearby Hadzabe village. Made two friends named Helen and Katharina. Was taken to their hut. Got separated from the group for a while. Foraged for tubers. Still don’t know what tubers are. Watched men make fire without matches or lighter. Realized I am not cut out for the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Walked back to our camp. Spent the afternoon making arrows. Helen and Katharina came to visit me. Felt popular and successful in matters of cross-cultural exchange.

Day 11: Walked 10 miles across the Yaeda valley and up a ridge. Lost many comrades along the way to bee stings river crossings. Arrived at the most beautiful camp in the world.

Day 12: Target Practice. Accidentally shot a Hadza man with my bow and arrow.

Day 13: Hunting in small groups with the Hadzabe. Collected honey from baobab trees. Pulled a bird out of another tree. Killed real animals. Got lost by myself twice. Gambled with the Hadzabe via some game that involved throwing a rock at a tree. Realized once again I am not cut out for the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Still think the communal, pacifist culture of the Hadzabe people is beautiful and inspiring.

Day 14: Journeyed home.

Cross Your Fingers I Come Back from Tanzania!

It is not my fault that Conant never completed his guest blog post. Some people just don’t have any respect for deadlines… Now I am going to have to explain Kenyan politics and I just don’t know if I am qualified to do that (Conant is a government major and reads the Kenyan newspaper way more than I do therefore he is qualified).

Here is a quick summary: In Kenya’s last election year (2007-08) thousands of people were killed and displaced because of disputes over whether the voting was rigged, an issue that really speaks to the multitude of historical injustices over land ownership and political corruption that exist in Kenya. This year there is a new constitution along with a reformed justice system that should ensure that any election conflicts are resolved in the courts rather than in the streets. However no one can be sure whether all the recent changes in Kenya’s political system will be effective in terms of eliminating election violence completely. In my opinion the real issue here is that neither of the two leading candidates are going to be real reformers (and one of them is currently being charged by the ICC for crimes against humanity) but it doesn’t even matter because most Kenyans are just going to vote along tribal lines anyway. Which is another problem altogether.

All in all this is Kenya’s most important election since independence because it is a huge test of the nation’s democracy and new constitution. There is also a definite possibility of a run-off election between the two leading candidates that is slated for April. No matter what happens, Kenya is about to get really exciting! Which is why tomorrow morning we leave for 2 weeks in Tanzania. Since we will be mostly camping and safari-ing and living with one of the last functioning hunter-gatherer communities on this planet I will not have internet.

…And if Kenya erupts into a civil war I may never come back. So here’s to hoping for a free, fair, and peaceful election!