Contrast Tours

Today our group went on a “contrast tour” of Nairobi. Starting in the city centre, we then headed to the “leafy neighborhoods” and the Eastlands area. The “leafy neighborhoods” are titled as such because there are so many trees and greens in this part of Nairobi. This contrasts with the poorer sections of town, were trees cannot be sustained due to population density and the inability of the environment to withstand such stress. This affluent part of Nairobi includes many embassies, many extremely modern shopping malls (where one could easy imagine they are in any major metropolitan city in the US), government offices, some NGO offices, expat communities, international schools, etc. Moving on the Eastlands, this is an area that includes a representation of lower middle class and middle, middle class. The contrast between these two sections of town was stark and overwhelming.
I feel that taking this contrast tour at the beginning of our stay here in Nairobi, by providing this context, further proves the sheer brilliance of this program. I really appreciate this perspective, and believe it will be immensely valuable as we approach our internships and coursework this summer. So yes, the program design continues to be brilliant, continues to astound each day. The other students and I are literally in awe that we have this learning opportunity. It will take a while to process what we are observing and learning while here, and to find ways to integrate it into our lives.
Yesterday, we also went on a contrast tour of sorts. We visited two different markets, which were very different. In the morning, we visited a fruit and vegetable market which is definitely not for tourists, and mostly patronized by local people. The first thing anyone said to me was from one Kenyan guy who said to me, “It was a mistake that I was born in Africa.” The comment was jarring and deeply emotional for me. I didn’t know what to say. The comment immediately reminded me of the following quote in Dambisa Moyo’s book Dead Aid, where she cites a plea found on the bodies of Guinean stowaways who died fleeing Africa:
“We suffer enormously in Africa. Help us. We have problems in Arica. We lack rights as children. We have war and illness, we lack food…We want to study, and we ask you to help us to study so we can be like you, in Africa.”

It is definitely challenging to know the right words in the face of such difficult comments. A much different experience, and the second leg of our “contrast tour” yesterday was a visit to the “Maasai Market” which was pretty much different from the local fruit and vegetable market in every way. There were so many tourists there. It was clean, organized, regimented and calm. Where the fruit and vegetable market was pure chaos, the Maasai Market was relatively calm, very organized and fairly standard in terms of other markets I have visited.

These experiences have provided deep learning and insights. As I said, I am grateful to place my internship and coursework in the context of this experience.

Today is the 4th of July – happy holidays to my friends and family and home. As a friend mentioned to me this morning, today was like no other 4th I have ever spent, and likely different than any I will experience in the future.

I want to say thank you – to you for reading about my experiences in Kenya, to Jen’s friends and to Jen’s wonderful Aunt Linda , for sponsoring me with the Caldwell scholarship – you give me much strength and fortitude, and thank you to my wonderful family and friends back home. Love you all very much.