Culture-ness

Karibu, which means ‘welcome’ in Swahili

I. Am. Sunburned. Yes, I brought aloe (thanks for the suggestion, Liesl). Yes, I brought sunscreen (thanks, mom). And YES, I wear a long skirt to my ankles everyday along with either a long-sleeved shirt or a short-sleeved shirt. But somehow…YES…I am sunburned!!!

Well, this is a nice segway into my one-way discussion with my faithful blog readers on the culture here in Takaungu. On my second day in Takaungu, Mohamed (a local to Takaungu and a former employee of the EAC) took me on a culture tour. We walked to the local school and I literally took notes while he talked and while he wrote on the chalkboard about the history of Takaungu.

There are two groups within the small community of Takaungu, Kenya: the Mijikenda (miji means villages and kenda means 9) and the Swahili people. The village I’m living in, Takaungu, is a coastal community. So, long ago (I forgot to write down the exact date hahah) the Portuguese, Indian, and Arabic people traveled down the coast. Primarily the Arabs took the strong men and sold them as slaves (some of these men were even brought to American during out time of slavery). That’s the main gist about their history.

Mohamed also taught me about the roles of men and women in Takaungu. And, since my second day here, I can definitely say that I now see first-hand what he is talking about. First off, men do not retrieve water nor do they cook. Women are seen as the more responsible adult in the family (guess things aren’t THAT different from the states…lol hahahhah). A woman’s destiny and their role in the community is seen as being a good mother, so pursuing an education is not a priority for many. Men decide the number of children their wife will have. However, due to an increasing effort by the government and organizations like the EAC, education and exposure have sparked a very very veryyyy slow amount of change. Interesting fact: ‘Slowly slowly’ translates to pokey pokey in Swahili. So, when people ask me how my Swahili is going I reply with pokey pokey haha!

Aisha and her family are Muslim, which is something that I have had very little exposure to prior to coming to Takaungu. Due to the conservative environment, I wear skirts almost to my ankle and a proper t-shirt every day. Even when I go to shower, I must emerge from the bathroom wearing appropriate attire because adult men should not see me wearing, like, my athletic shorts. Luckily, I have my own room so I do not have to sleep in a long skirt…because I’d probably die of heat exhaustion haha! One sound, which I am already getting used to, is the chanting at certain times of the day that call for prayer. The one that wakes me up every morning is at 5:30am (when the sun rises). I will have to record the sound of the chanting one morning—I feel like my room is INSIDE the mosque! Haha! At 5:30am, the men must go to the mosque to pray and the women must pray inside their house. If they do not pray before 6am, then they have sinned. I seriously have the BEST homestay family because they are very open with me and do not ignore my questions! They ask me many questions, too…like they were SHOCKED I wore glasses IN my eyes. I even took one of my contact lenses out so everyone could touch it haha! Oh, so the holiday of Ramadan begins the end of June and lasts for a month…and the family I’m living with will fast from sun up until sun down. This will be interesting…I’ll keep y’all posted on my fasting-ness! I’m definitely gonna try it but I told them that I might get HANGRY (angry because I’m hungry) and not succeed lol! They said that they start fasting at age 9 and semi-fasting before the age of 9 so they are all used to it.

Asante, which is Swahili for ‘thank you’, for reading my blog! Side note: for my fellow Disney lovers, you’ve heard asante before. In the Lion King movie, Rafiki says “asante sari, squashed banana” which means ‘thank you very much, squashed banana’. Hahha! Disney is thoroughly helping me with my Swahili. Also, I walked into a classroom that was saying NO SMOKING, and the first word is Hakuna, which means ‘no’. bahahahha! Hankuna Matata came in handy, as well! LOVE IT!!!

My homestay has been great with me trying new foods. Aisha, the mother, said that she would ease me into Kenyan food for the first 2 weeks and then after that she will introduce other foods for me to try! I have loved everything that I’ve eaten so far…except the prawns (but I still ate my helping haha). Also, everyone here eats SOOOO quickly! Liesl would never survive due to her slowwww eating…although, she has been quickening her pace lately haha!

I eat every meal with the three young ladies who live at the house that are about my age—one is 23, one is 15, and the other is 14. We eat every meal on the floor in a separate room from the adult women, a separate room from the uncle, a separate room from the little kids, and a separate room from where the grandmother eats. It is very divided at all eating times, but I’ve enjoyed my dining experiences with the three young ladies! They only eat with their right hand, so I have been asked why I sometimes eat with my left hand. Sooo…I have now made a conscious effort to only eat with my right hand!

I can’t believe that I have been here for only a week because I have already learned SO much! I am a pro on the Boda Bodas (motorcycles) while wearing a skirt now, I can say the proper greetings to people based on their age group, and I’m no longer bothered by the flies everywhere haha!

Explaining the pictures:

1. Here is some super yummy food: farufaru!

2. Here is the view from the houseI am staying at! This is the beginning of the walk on ym way to the internship!

3. Here is the beach! ON the Indian Ocean!!! Only a 15 minutes walk away. So so awesome!

Hi to everyone!