Saturday 25 February 2012

How I Look



Note for the folks at home: Many native Kenyans have a skewed view of what all white people ("wazungu") are like, and it's no surprise. For a great deal of people living in rural Kenya, the only white people available for study are those on television and any tourists that might pass through. TV Wazungu, and you can check to see this for yourself, are by and large rich music/movie stars, politicians, or contestants on Extreme Couponing (is that a real show?! ... I've been in Kenya a while). Similarly, Tourist Wazungu are rich enough to holiday in Kenya, and entirely unaccustomed to the heat, stress, amount of walking, etc. of African life --- hence the "baby" stereotype.
And no, I wasn't pulling off the mustache.
Note for the folks in Kenya: drawing the "rich man" version of myself reminds me of a Monopoly Man story...

Saturday 18 February 2012

Hi!


Note for the folks at home: Greetings in Kenya are an important social mechanism. Copious "how are you?" questions are necessary: "How is your day?" "How are your children?" "What type of day are you having?" "How is work?" "Which news do you have?" "Are you well?" Fortunately, all of these questions can and must be answered with some version of: "Fine." What might be considered Small Talk in America is a large portion of all communication in Kenya. Additionally, handshakes are required. Because hugs are almost completely absent, handshakes, as the only form of person-to-person physical contact available to Kenyans, have the potential to be long, drawn-out affairs, more akin to prolonged hand-holding in the eyes of a foreigner.

Saturday 11 February 2012

Guest True Story


Note for the folks at home: While beef, pork, and chicken exist all over Kenya, the most popular meat among Kenyans is goat. Goat is consumed boiled, fried, or, most commonly, roasted over an open fire ("choma"). Every part of the goat that isn't unavoidably poisonous is consumed joyously: the meat is pulled out of every conceivable nook (including hidden within the hooves), the kidneys, liver, "stomachs" (intestines), and testicles aren't safe from hungry humans, and even the severed head is steeped in boiling water to form "soup". Admittedly, goat meat is rather tasty --- a softer, slightly more pungent meat than beef, with a distinct aftertaste. Maybe a little like what a cow/pig hybrid would taste like.

Saturday 4 February 2012

"Whistle"


Note for the folks at home: Football (also known as "soccer" or "that kicking game") is, without doubt, the most popular sport in Kenya. Other sports exist; like rugby, volleyball, badminton, handball, netball, and basketball; but they are generally considered warm-up acts to The Game Of Games. Kenya boasts its own national football league, the Kenyan Premier League, which currently hosts sixteen teams from all over the nation (although, admittedly, most are based in the capital city, Nairobi). Despite this, few Kenyans follow the Kenyan Premier League, opting instead for English Premier League games. Many English clubs have a strong following in Kenya, including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. To a Kenyan, American football seems like an outrageous and comical sport, if they have heard of it at all.