cultural differences

now that i've been in kenya for almost three weeks (crazy!) i thought i'd share some of the cultural differences i've had to adjust to.

--take your tea. kenyans drink tea like it's water. i'm not sure what kind of tea it is (it's special kenyan tea) but i don't like it. at all. luckily, my family also has sugar, drinking chocolate, and hot milk available, so i just drink hot chocolate instead. i have to have this every morning with breakfast and later in the afternoon. we also get a tea break at school, but there they only have the kenyan tea so i don't drink it then.

--breakfast in kenya is not like breakfast in the united states. all i eat for breakfast is bread with blue band (kenyan version of i can't believe it's not butter). some days i'll have a fried egg, but that's not often. i'm usually starving by lunchtime, but i think that since most kenyans have a mid-morning tea break with bread again, they don't feel the need to eat quite as much for breakfast.

--my family has "house help". her name is metrin, and she lives in the house with us. she cooks, cleans, and takes care of the 4 month old baby when my parents are at work. most middle class kenyans have house helps. since the unemployment rate is so high (close to 30%) most see it as their duty to hire a house help. my house help lives in the house since there is so much work to do with the baby, but some only work 3 or 4 days a week. my family also has a different person come in on saturday to do laundry and more cleaning.

-- clothes are handwashed and hung outside to dry. there are 26 students in the msid program, and 1 guy lives with a family that owns a washer. since my family hires someone to wash their clothes, i do not have to do my own laundry, which i am thankful for.

--kenyans eat supper late. my family doesn't eat supper until around 7:30, but it can range anywhere from 7:00 to 10:00. this was a big adjustment for me-- i was so used to eating around 5 or 5:30. also, supper can sit on the table for a half hour to an hour before anyone even eats it.

--my family eats ugali like there's no tomorrow. we have it almost every night for supper. it's a tasteless cornmeal substance. they mix it in with the other food they're eating; it's just a filler food. i think it's disgusting, so my family makes rice, potatoes, or spaghetti for me instead. also, it is eaten with their hands.

--limited dairy products. the only time i have any dairy is when i drink the hot chocolate. the milk we get comes in little bags, probably 2 cups worth of milk per bag. i'd kill for a piece of cheese right now...

-- spanish soap operas dubbed over in english. my family just has basic television service, so spanish soap operas are pretty much the only thing on tv. i'll never complain about the "farmer five" ever again.

-- i sleep with a mosquito net. although officials say malaria has been eradicated in nairobi, i don't want to take my chances. it's a huge canopy that hangs from the ceiling and then i tuck it into my bed like a sheet.

--they are no traffic signs. or stoplights. or speed limits. the only sort of road infastructure i've seen is huge 2 or 3 lane roundabouts. there are stoplights at some of the larger intersections, but many drivers don't even obey them. which leads me to my next point...

-- kenyans are CRAZY drivers. they drive way too fast, way too close to the other cars, and take way too many chances. i believe their motto is "drive fast, take chances". ;) they are also not very respectful to pedestrians. one of our professors always says "when we see someone crossing the road, we speed up to try to hit them." that gives me a lot of confidence when i have to cross a crazy busy road to get to school every day.

-- they like their cell phones. i was also kind of annoyed with the "texting while walking" i always saw in the united states. although kenyans don't do that, they do find it perfectly acceptable to answer their phones in places most americans would probably consider inappropriate. they say that part of their culture is keeping in contact with people, so that is why they talk on the phone so much.

--a clean car is a good car. every morning when walking to school, i always see people washing their cars, even if they aren't that dirty. although i've never asked anyone about this, i'm assuming that owning a car is much more of a "status symbol" than it is in the united states, so they want to show off a clean car.

-- the "thicker" the better. in the united states, there is so much hype with being skinny. here, being skinny is seen as malnourished, so more meat on the bones is better. one of the girls on the program was told that if her pants still fit, she's not eating enough. it's carbs up the wazooo, so i'm trying to eat those in moderation since i'm not getting a ton of physical activity. (i'd like my pants to keep fitting.)

-- beware of the matatus. matatus are the main form of public transportation in kenyakenya) account for 50% of traffic accidents in the world. with the matatus, there is the driver, and then another guy that tries to get people to ride. at a stop, if you're not careful, they'll physically force you towards the matatu to get on it. the drivers are crazy, trying to pick up as many passengers and getting to the destination as fast as possible.

-- markets, markets, and more markets. everywhere you look, there are tin-roofed fruit and vegetable stands, or secondhand clothing being sold. a few days ago, i went to toy market on the outskirts of kibera. it was huge. much of the clothes is from the salvation army from other countries. so if you've ever donated clothes, it's possible that it might end up at a market in kenya one day.

-- there is plenty of western influence here. right across the road from kibera is prestige plaza, a huge shopping/supermarket/movie theater. it contains nakumatt, which is the equivalent of a walmart supercenter. farther down the road, the second kentucky fried chicken in kenya just opened. apparently there was a line out the building.


although there are a lot of culture differences, i'm really enjoying learning about these differences.