Hi friends, as always I hope this blog finds you well, safe, healthy, and much more.
I am still in Kenya, and WOW what an experience it has been. This is my last week which is kinda sad and emotional, and I can’t believe it’s been two weeks already. I’m not sure if it’s just me but sometimes I feel as though time is moving quickly and simultaneously slowly, I don’t know how to feel about that or should I feel anything about it.
This weekend I traveled outside of Nairobi with my family to see my grandparents. It was about a three- four hour drive to where my grandparents lived. I haven’t seen my grandparents since 2010, and they are the primary reason I came.
At about 9:30 AM my brother and I went on a morning walk with my grandpa where he showed us more of the land he owns, where the garden is and it was just peaceful. It was also a bit humid and warm, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It was really amazing to see where my mom grew up for most of her teenage years to beginning 20s, and just to see my grandparents in general. My family got a bit emotional and teared up a bit, and somehow it just seemed unimaginable- being there in the moment, exchanging greetings and stories. For me it felt unreal being in the same physical space as my grandparents and being able to exchange hugs (with masks ofc). Because my brother and I are now older, we can recognize, understand and remember things. At this moment in life, when I’m not concerned about school or stressing about work, I feel more than content- I feel present more than I ever have. With my family- aunts, cousins, uncles, and even my grandparents I feel more connected to my heritage, languages, culture, background, and I feel at home more than I ever have.
Something I’ve been constantly thinking about and analyzing is language. When living in the states, because English is the most commonly spoken language I’m rarely around my native language- which is Swahili. Coming back home has opened my eyes to structures, history, complexities and more of my language. Some background info: Kenya recognizes Swahili & English as their official languages (we all know where that comes from- colonialism). So in Kenya it’s usually the older folks- grandparents, and parents who speak straight Swahili (I’ve also heard children speak the language without using English words). As for teenagers and students, as far as I’ve experienced, when speaking in a nontraditional or non- academic setting there’s usually a mix of Swahili and English words. And add to the mix, parents usually always speak their tribal language, Swahili, and English. Sometimes parents speak two tribal languages- that of their partner if they originate from a different tribe. Their children are able to understand their parents’ tribal languages and so on, speaking Swahili and English. So that is two spoken languages, and three or more verbally understood, written and/or read languages.
This concept of language got me thinking about colonialism, life post colonialism, culture all from an anthropological perspective.
Here's the end, I wanna share some photos of my home:
one thing I’d like to note is that the photos shown are a part of my home. Sometimes or most times people have different views of Africa and/or Kenya because of miseducation and lack of education. So I invite folks who’ve made it this far and have interests or plans to travel to countries in Africa or Kenya to do some research.
this is Africa's largest ferris wheel :)
beautiful sunset photo from apartment rooftop
(in my opinion) gorgeous green view from my cousin's home