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I can’t believe I have left Kenya…it feels like I had just arrived. But, it is rather interesting how accostumed I got to a few things there. Here are some things I noticed/thought upon returning:

(by the way…I’m just putting in random pictures from the trip to break up the text…)

1. “Oh, wait, I’m not in Kenya, I can’t have a lengthy conversation with the customs agent at the Atlanta airport…”
2. I walked into a public bathroom and thought, “there’s toilet paper in a public restroom?…And there’s soap…And there’s a hook for bags!…And the toilet’s flush soooo well!”
3. “What are seatbelts?” and “I am going to actually wear a seatbelt!”
4.  “We use a lot of paper towels and napkins…”
5. “Oh wait…can I drink the water from the tap…”
6. “Wow…everything costs so much here…”
7. Saying, “Asante sana,” then realizing I’m speaking Swahili…
8. We have a lot of things we could really live without…like smartphones…

Haha…anyways, I guess I have to get readjusted to our overly complicated lifestyle in the US.

This is my LONG list of some of the differences I found in Kenya, so I commend anyone who actually reads the entire list. Please note: these are simply my observations and are based soley on my limited experiences…

1. Lots of bugs in the cottage
2. Chameleons around the cottage
3. Monkeys make noise in the morning sometimes and its really loud!!! (but they are cute, and it’s pretty cool to say that the monkeys woke me up in the morning…)
4. Lots of holes in buildings (contribute to the bugs)
5. No fire alarms (which is good for when I cook)
6. Shower head fell off twice…while I was showering
7. Can’t drink the water. One time I was SO thirsty and didn’t bring enough water
8. Donkeys on the street
9. Flock of sheep on the street
10. Crazy driving
11. Typically no drinks with meals
12. Not many napkins
13. No plastic bags at stores
14. Milk is in bags…I always spill it: every single time.
15. Getting asked on dates… A LOT
16. Saying, “How are you?” How did you sleep? As a greeting, to which they always say, “fine.” Greetings are very important
17. All paper at the hospital (not electronic files)
18. All the family member’s information is in 1 file, which makes it a little complicated
19. No stapler at the hospital; we use pins instead
20. Food is cheap, but not at the place I stay
21. Everything is cheaper
22. A big/friendly community of people
23. We don’t use seatbelts
24. Kids don’t have car seats and sit in the front
25. Plastic shields inside of car from dust
26. Less overall sterility at the hospital
27. OVER prescription of antibiotics
28. There’s a varying level of affluence… some people have plenty money for food and other necessities, some people are starving
29. Christianity is very important in the culture
30. The Baptist church I attended was very charismatic
31. Mugs are plastic
32. They cool their drinks by pouring between two cups over and over again
33. I get called Muzungu (white person) or Chinese…no one really knows what I am and it depends on the area. In town, I’ll get called both, but at the tea village, it’s always Muzungu
34. Very dusty roads
35. Kids are excited over simple things, such as bananas
36. A milkshake at the café here cost the same as the waiter’s salary for the day ($5)
37. African Chi tea is the favorite, its primarily sweet milk
38. At the school, some kids have plenty of food, other kids have none
39. People are very hospitable here and feed me A LOT of food
40. Chapati is very important; the kids have even made a song about it
41. People walk on the streets
42. After people greet and introduce themselves, they usually ask me, “do you have a boyfriend?”
43. Another common question is “How many kids do you want?” (I got asked this SO MANY times)
44. Another question, “you will come back and live in Kenya?”
45. Or, “Get married in Kenya!”
46. Or, “do you like Kenya?”
47. The largest bill is the equivalent of 10 USD, and you could buy 50 mangos with that
48. There was a warning about cholera in a mall in Nairobi
49. They tie their babies on the back, and it looks like the baby will fall when they do this
50. Doctors sometimes prescribe to the amount of money that people have at the expense that the medication may actually be harming the person
51. Kids are so affectionate and friendly
52. They don’t always use a cleaner before giving injections
53. The IV bags are plastic bottles and don’t have a way for to replace the fluid that leaves. So we have to puncture the top several times with a needle
54. In the OR, we wear Crocs and sandals…
55. The gowns in the OR are frequently missing straps to tie onto the surgeon
56. The power goes out during surgeries…No lights
57. It is not uncommon for women to trade sex for food
58. It is not uncommon for men to have multiple wives at the same time. One guy tried to convince us that being the 2nd wife was the best and got the most attention.
59. Sustainability is a necessity
60. No internet in the cottage
61. Data is super cheap!!! $1 USD for 1 Gb
62. Bargaining is still common
63. The village market is stressful because of the bargaining and sale tactics
64. THERE IS A LOT OF CLOTHES HERE!!!
65. The nurses can do whatever they want to the mothers giving birth- whether its slapping them on their back or pushing them around. No malpractice laws…
66. The anesthesiologist drinks hot chocolate and eats lunch during the operations…in the operating room.
67. In the village, there are no such thing as bathrooms or any designated areas. When a kid needs to go, they just go right then and there… Same in other areas along the roads
68. Education is a privilege
69. People know a lot of language
70. A general positive view of Americans
71. No toilet paper in public places
72. Stooping toilets in the lesser westernized places
73. People really like pizza and hotdogs here…its kind of like a special treat for them
74. When kids are at school, parents only want them to focus on school…so less or no opportunities to dance or other arts
75. When parents do have enough money to give kids vaccines, they get more types of vaccines, but less booster vaccines
76. It is very green here. Lots of tea plants.
77. Most houses are metal or concrete
78. The government set up a shelter for people to set up stores, but people prefer to make stores out of the small logs because it’s closer to the road
79. The ramps are SO STEEP
80. They use either latex gloves or plastic gloves

If you made it the entire way…wow!!! I’m impressed… anyways, it has been quite an adventure, but greater adventures await. For example, I am now quarantined by the health department of my school for 14 days… A lot can be done in 14 days or 336 hours. As an example, since I can swim 50yrds in about 30 sec, I could swim from the ports in Germany to Finland and still have 49.28 hrs to rest afterwards…

Anyways…

Happy Adventuring!

Gabrianne