Cop Out Post

Hey champs,

This post is a cop out. It requires no effort on my part because I'm merely posting the life update I sent to some of my friends and loved ones about a week ago. Don't feel left out if you didn't get it; you're still my friend and/or loved one.

Written Monday, September 1 2008:

Today is my first day of school here at USIU, the United States International University in Nairobi. For some reason, even though they claim to be all about the US (it's even in the school title!), they still dare to start school on a federal US holiday! I'm offended. Labour Day is not only my favorite holiday, but one I actually know the point of.

So USIU basically makes AU look like a piece of crap. It is GORGEOUS. That's right, caps are merited. There are AWESOME grounds and an EPIC library, awesomely funded in part by US-AID. This is cool because it's a private university that only wealthy people come to. Hooray! I get to take a US-East Africa Relations class and an International Human Rights Law one, so I'm pretty stoked about that.

Kenya is out of control. I know everyone ends up loving it, but so far I'm kind of not getting what's particularly likable about it. Things are very inconvenient, but I'm not seeing like the "this is awesome" part that justifies those inconveniences yet. Like everything's a really crappy dirt road that you need to walk forever on, the public transportation is very crowded and dirty, it's a real project to go anywhere, you need to be obsessive about security (we aren't allowed to walk outside after the sun sets), etc. I am aware that these are spoiled American complaints, but I gots to be real and my feet are not happy.

I figured Nairobi would be somewhat diverse since it's such a major city. Psyche! There are no white people! It's pretty intense if you go to a market or poorer area, because legit everyone will stare at you the entire time you're there and a lot of people yell "Mzungu!" 24/7. Mzungu means white person or foreigner...it's not really derogatory, but it's kind of awkward when you're walking aruond and then people are just like "YOU ARE THE OTHER! I POINT AT YOU LOUDLY!" all the time.

I guess I expected Kenya to be a lot like South Africa, but that doesn't really make sense because they have very different colonial histories. There are some things that didn't shock me since I saw them in ZA (the slums in the middle of the city, cows by the road, etc), but it's a lot less secure here, the cities are not as built up, private security is everywhere and wazungu are a real novelty.

Where we're staying is really nice and I get to bust out my Swahili a lot. Pikipiki for realz! And there are awesome little towns with little colorful shops and hand-painted signs in English and Swahili. I find this adorable. There is a lot of beautiful countryside and Obama fervor, so that's cool. I've had some pretty amusing interactions.

I know this sounds really whiny, but I'm glad I'm here and I'm glad that I'm having this experience. And there is a nearby baby animal orphanage, so I'm pretty stoked about that.


Peace,

Mzungu Fleits