Like all things in life, traveling and living in a new culture has its pros and cons. While I’ve been warmly welcomed and could not ask for more hospitality and am blessed with this opportunity to really learn about other people, myself, and this world, I’ve also faced numerous challenges.
Coming here, I knew very little of what to expect. Were it not for a few friends familiar with this part of the world, I would have been even more ignorant upon my arrival. It can be difficult to establish a life in a place where you don’t know anyone. This is even truer, when the culture is unfamiliar. A lack of understanding and ability to speak the first and second languages of nearly everyone I interact with (Kalenjin and Swahili) has added yet another layer to the challenges of communicating, building relationships and being productive in a new community. Although I’m learning both languages, it’s a struggle at times and can be frustrating to not understand something that is going on that everyone else does understand. It may happen when there is danger. It may happen when something is funny. It may also happen that plans are changed and I never find out about it.
Being white has its advantages in that I’m easily recognizable as a visitor and therefore often warmly received. Yet; my appearance also creates problems. Being viewed as a visitor means I’m always an outsider. I’m usually perceived to have money…meaning prices are increased for me, or I may be followed or harassed. People assume that along with this perceived wealth, I also cannot work and tire easily. (That is insulting to me and hard to deal with). People can spot the muzungu from great distances and come to stare. I’m under constant surveillance and scrutiny. People often think I have a lot of power and are asking things (often unreasonable) of me.
I am more educated than the majority of the people around me, so they are often unable to understand certain things, reason some things out and see things from perspectives other than their own. It can be a struggle to learn to fit into new gender roles and also to have no one who can see and understand my perspectives, because they know nothing of my culture. This is particularly hard, when there are multiple ways of doing something, and ethnocentricity allows everyone else to believe that there is only one way to do something and that since I may do it differently, that my way is wrong.
Sometimes I want nothing more than to talk to someone at home, to know how things are with them, to just speak English as quickly as I wish without anyone struggling to understand me. Home is time-zones away and lives are busy, so it’s hard to make connections.
Another challenge is to go from being very independent to forced dependency. Food seems like such a trivial matter, but not being able to decide what to eat, how much food to put on the plate (because I’ve already been served) or how much sugar I want in my tea is tough. When I have little control over things, because I’ll be overcharged when I make purchases alone or because I don’t know how certain societal institutions function or for any other reason, it is a moment to practice patience and being pleasant, even when I want no more food, when I’m tired or feeling sick or annoyed. Patience is truly a virtue.
Despite these struggles, I am blessed to be here, to be surrounded by wonderful people, to have a support network, and to be learning.
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