Even though we’ve already left Kenya, and even Africa all
together, I wanted to write a blog about the culture we experienced in Africa,
particularly in Kenya.
HANDSHAKES– In
Kenya, people love to shake your hand. There’s even a whole science behind it
with different meanings for different types of handshakes. It’s not uncommon
for someone to want to shake your hand 10-15 times in one day. Refusal is rude.
Random people will even approach you on the street just to shake your hand as
you walk by. They utter not a work as they extend their hands.
SCHOOL– School in
Kenya runs from 6:30am to 6pm, Monday through Saturday. Children are taught
English, and after a certain age all classes are conducted in English. Fun
fact: The government asked every public school student to have a bible for the
sole purpose of learning English better. Children are taught to memorize, not
to think.
CHILDREN– The
children think white people are celebrities. They yell “Mzungu!” which is the
word for a white person, at the top of their lungs, for as long as it takes to
you leave their line of sight. They also run to the side of the road and try to
walk/run with you, without fail, every single day.
CIRCUMCISION PARADES–
August was the month of circumcision festivals in Kenya. Following the old
tradition, the 10-12 year old boys can decide to undergo circumcision. After
the decision has been made, they cover their bodies in something that’s white.
Not entire sure what it is, was told mud, but I thought mud was brown? Anyway,
they look really strange, and they wear the native dress which is a piece of
fabric made into a skirt and parade around town with all their friends and
relatives, ringing bells, beating drums, and chanting. They take an animal to
slaughter and serve as an offering and then get circumcised. We were told that
the Christians are trying to downplay this tradition as it’s not biblical and
it’s really unsanitary and dangerous. The procedure is not done by a medical
professional, tools are shared among patients, spreading AIDS and other
diseases, and sometimes the doctors “miss”.
FOOD– They eat an
abundance of avocado. Also eat a lot of bananas, mangos, and corn as all three
are grown in literally everyone’s back yard. However, the corn is of the maize
variety, which is used for feed in the US and as such is rock solid and a jaw
workout to eat. They also eat mountains of ugali. Ugali is ground cornmeal and
water, cooked in the same fashion as cream of wheat, if you’ve heard of that.
Chipati is also popular, think a thick version of a fried tortilla. Mandazi is
also eaten often. This is a fried dough ball, similar to a doughnut with no
topping. Lots of tea with milk and sodas. Other than that, we had a lot of
chicken and cabbage, rice and beans.
