It’s been a little over 3 months since we stepped off the airplane into this amazing country. From the first moments until now I am constantly noticing things that are so different between Kenya and America. Countless times I have told myself to make sure I write them down – some day they will seem ‘normal’ instead of different. My list is ever growing in my head. Random, fun, heartbreaking – everything that helps remind me that we really are in Africa! I decided to write a few to share, only my memory and time as constraints.
- Light switches. All of them here are like buttons in which up is off and down is on.
- Cooking. I’m slowing getting used to converting my recipes from Fahrenheit to Celsius. I was really happy yesterday when I read a recipe that actually had the Celsius on it… that’s when it dawned on me how often I’d been lost in translation. We have a gas stove. Not too unlike my mom’s growing up. It’s taken a bit to relearn how to cook using gas instead of electric, like I was used to. How is this strange, you may be asking!? I forgot to mention that every time we use it we have to lite it with a match. Each burner, new match. Inside the stove and the broiler, each a separate match. We go through a lot of matches. I do like it though – at least when it comes to my next point…
- Electricity. It costs about 3 times as much here as it does in the US and is a different current (220, not 110). It is also very random as to when it works. We can go days with no problems, and then have a few days with rolling outages – off for a few minutes, on for a hour, off again… throughout the day. Which is one of the reasons I have come to appreciate gas stoves – I can cook no matter what the power is deciding to do at that moment. It’s weird to think that what once bothered me in the States barely even gets noticed here anymore.
- Water. We live in one of the few places in the country that we can actually drink the water out of the tap and not get sick. God is amazing that way. That’s where the similarities between the countries end. We are constantly having to find ways to recycle our water – the more time it can be used the better. For example, our laundry water gets collected outside our house in a huge barrel drum to be used on our plants, garden, and everything else that would require water outdoors. Although we have backup water tanks, there is no elaborate water system here. When the water is gone, it’s gone. We’ve only run out of water, briefly, once this term. It was enough to make me really realize that although its around it truly is a precious resource.
-Our community. It’s unique and not wholly Kenyan. It truly is a blend of many nationalities. I am learning to see the world from a more global perspective – not just an American point of view. There is no such thing as normal anymore. I have heard our community compared to living in a fishbowl. (Reminds us a bit of our time at Teen Mania for the Internship!) Everyone knows everyone. There are few secrets that are kept long. So many people wear a variety of hats so that you are always running into people. It’s a bit of an adjustment. It’s also really nice. There is a true sense of community here as you know there is always help available if you need it. Neighbors really do help each other. There is always extra people helping watch over the kids.
-Cell Phones. Most people have one because the land lines are not reliable. Also, it only cost roughly $30-50 to buy a phone, there is no monthly payments and you’re not charged for incoming calls. To get minutes, you purchase a special type of calling card (which is also how you call long distance, just with a separate type of card!) with minutes. When those are gone (whether this month or 6 months from now) you just get more. You literally only pay for what you use. Oh,phone numbers are 10 digits, and most if not all start with zero, written in a 4-3-3 (ex. 0123-456-789) pattern instead of 3-3-4 (ex. 123-456-7890).
-Transportation. We walk everywhere. Almost- with the exception of going into Nairobi for major groceries. I haven’t driven in over 3 months. I’m okay with that. I am really enjoying being able to walk wherever we need to go – even if most of it is uphill of our precious mountain.
-Driving. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it still astonishes me that driving is backwards here. The driver sits on the right side of the car, drives on the left hand side of the road, and almost all vehicles are manual transmissions – which means your doing all those hand motions with different hands too!
Fruits and vegetables – I think I’ve mentioned that we get most of these from a local duka in town. It’s set up like a farmer’s market except that it’s best to buy a little from each lady there! We go with a list and usually leave with more than we want and not always with everything on our list. It truly is whatever is in season is available. Thankfully we are in the tropics and most is available all year! Though that doesn’t guarantee that it will be available when needed. It makes food planning a bit interesting!
I know that there are more – probably some that are more interesting, but its all that I remember.
I truly love it here. Despite of, or maybe because of all of the differences. I’m realizing that so many things are becoming normal. Things that make me smile and enjoy the fact that we are in Kenya.
-brooks
The Munson Family
