The Spring 2015 group completed a four-part orientation 

1. Overview of the KSP:  Part one the KSP orientation took place on a Sunday afternoon on campus as part of the orientation schedule for all Spring 2015 program. Students began the day thinking about  two major themes and discussing the below questions in groups

Dealing With Misconceptions About Kenya

• What are the top five stereotypical representations of Kenya you have encountered? Where do these come from, and how do they reflect the historical connection of the “West” with the African continent?
• Have friends and family shared examples of these stereotypical representations or other concerns with you during your application process? How have you dealt with this?
• How do you think these stereotypical narratives of Kenya will impact your experience as a student on the program? How will it impact your relationship with Kenyans you meet in various contexts?

Why the KSP

• Why did you apply?
• What are you most nervous about? What part of the semester do you think will be your biggest challenge?
• What are you most excited about? What are you looking forward to learning more about?
• How might you integrate the KSP into your academic/career goals upon return?
• How do you think it will benefit you personally?

Students agreed that Kenya is often painted through the same stereotypical portrayal of the larger African continent. With an emphasis on the wild nature of the flora and fauna, and through a historic focus on negative issues such as disease, violence and poverty, we discussed how this is part of what some have called the peril of the “single story of Africa.” Represented through popular films like Out of Africa and the Lion King and through calls for donations portraying Kenyan children through the single story of poverty and famine, students argued that these representations were rarely challenged by news media and that their friends and family have been concerned with the the Kenyan links to African issues across the continent even if they are far removed from Kenya itself. For instance in discussing Ebola, we noted how even though Kenya is more than 3,000 miles away from the regions in West Africa impacted by the outbreak, the media coverage of the disease often painted it as an “African problem” and not one with a specific geographical impact within the world’s second largest continent.

In thinking back on why students applied, many recalled personal, academic and even professional goals. For some, the chance to push themselves outside their comfort zone and adapt to a new cultural environment was a central personal factor in applying. For others, the KSP offers a chance to engage with their academic interests outside the classroom and gain field experience which they might use in a future research project on campus. And for others the independent study portion of the program, provides an opportunity to gain valuable pre-professional experience in fields such as public health, environmental conservation and economic development. Overall the Spring 2015 group represented a range of interests and motivations, certainly setting up great interdisciplinary discussions and debate in Kenya next semester.

Finally the discussion about “nerves” and “excitement” often overlapped with the motivations to apply. For some, the individualized, immersive nature of rural home-stay provoked both anxiety and excitement in the challenge of adapting to rural Kenyan life. For others, navigating the cosmopolitan capital of Nairobi, with its 3 million+ diverse residents proved to be the most vivid thought of nervous excitement.

After these initial conversations we then went through the outline for the spring semester, paying close attention to the rules and safety regulations for the program and the KSP’s emphasis on orienting students how to navigate Kenya’s diverse landscape in a safe and engaging way. Here we payed close attention to the geography of Kenya noting that the program for the spring will adhere to the specific geography of international travel advisories which caution travel to a few select areas of the country

(Map of SLU program activities and restricted areas outlined by the U.K. Travel Advisory)

The final section of the first orientation program emphasized strategies for keeping in touch with friends and family from home. Here we discussed the dangers of living your off-campus experience through facebook, skype and constant texting with friends back home. While Kenyans are becoming increasingly connected through mobile devices and social media, the group agreed that limiting the communications with home might be the best way to immerse yourself in life in East Africa. Thus we hope regular posts to this blog might be away for the group to share their collective experiences with friends and families back home without having to constantly send out emails, texts and have lengthy discussions with the many people who one might want to stay connected with.

2. Cultural Discussions over a Kenyan Themed Dinner

Keeping with a longstanding orientation tradition, students enjoyed a Kenyan themed dinner at the home of on-campus KSP coordinator, Matt Carotenuto. Alumni helped prepare the meal which featured a common Kenyan stew served over rice. Side dishes included the ubiquitous sukuma wiki, a dish of fried/steamed greens which in Swahili means literally to “push the week”—a nod to the affordable meal served across the region as one waits to be paid on Friday….The other signature dish was chapati, a Kenyan adaptation of the Indian fried bread served for special occasions—due to the labor intensive nature of the cooking. Of course students also enjoyed some Chai and were warned to prepare to drink 4+ cups a day when visiting Kenyan homes during the rural homestay—tea-time is a legacy of British colonial rule which Kenyan have very much embraced.

During and after dinner, we also discussed the culture around food and how Kenyan families will lightly pressure students to eat and eat and eat! Its a game the guest can never win and we chatted about strategies to respectfully decline when one is stuffed. Key Swahili phrases such as chakula kiko kitamu lakini nimeshiba sana (the food is delicious but I am stuffed), should be committed to memory early on…..

Other conversations revolved around gender roles. We noted that in rural Kenya, gender lines are more fixed than students might be used to. Crossing these might be difficult and one needs to both adapt and respect the local context. However we encouraged students to try and experience activities reserved for the other “gender” by communicating to their host families that they are their to learn and thus men for instance should be allowed/encouraged to cook too.

Connected to the discussion of gender roles, we also talked about appropriate dress for men and women in a Kenyan context. Our Kenyan students helped us understand that in general East Africans tend to dress in a more formal and perhaps conservative way than the average American. For instance, adult men almost never where shorts in public, regardless of the temperature, as “short pants” are associated with the school uniforms of primary school boys and thus men wear trousers. Women were encouraged to dress in long skirts and dresses as adult Kenyan women tend not to wear slacks often and usually prefer skirts that below knee and tops that are not too “low cut.” We noted that these cultural norms are most pronounced in rural areas and that styles in Nairobi were often more diverse and less confined to gendered “tradition.”

3. Medical Orientation

The following week, students went to a medical orientation run by the nursing staff of the St. Lawrence University Health Center. This portion of the orientation program, was designed to introduce students to the immunizations they would need to get to travel to East Africa. Based on the CDC travel guidelines for Kenya, the orientation re-emphasized that Kenya is 1000s of miles removed from the Ebola regions of West Africa, and the focus was mainly on the types of immunizations and medication needed to prevent malaria. Although Nairobi is technically outside the malaria zone in Kenya due to its high elevation, all students are encouraged to take anti-malaria medication since the program travels in and out of malaria zones often. We also noted how for instance Malaria is quite common in East Africa and physicians associated with the KSP in Nairobi treat the illness with a familiarity a U.S. doctor might treat the common cold. The main message was that as long as you follow the medical advice from the health center and the KSP staff in Nairobi, there is nothing to worry about.

4. Wrap-up Discussion Over Chai

Our final orientation session for the semester consisted of an informal chat over Chai (tea) on campus. We started off by first discussing Kenyan current events. Throughout the week before students browsed the main Kenyan daily newspapers (The Daily Nation and The Standard). We talked about how Kenyans are very “news conscious” with the average citizen reading the main national newspapers on a much more regular basis that their American counterparts. Thus to prepare for a semester in Kenya and to get the most out of the experience, it is important to start learning about contemporary Kenyan issues from a local perspective. We noted that the Kenyan press often tells a more nuanced and less stereotypical story of African issues and comparing the local perspective  vs the ways for instance international media portrays a particular story often reveals quite a different perspective.

Our final discussion involved the packing list for students traveling to Kenya. Alumni and staff shared our three themes of advice gathered from countless students who returned from Kenya in previous semesters.

1. “Business Casual” is the norm: We reminded students that Kenyans tend to dress in a more formal way on a daily basis. This might mean a dress shirt and suit pants for men, and a long skirt for women. The notion of going to class in your pajamas in Kenya is certainly not the norm and most students regret not bringing enough nice clothes. We also reminded students that you will certainly be asked to attend church with your host families and thus 1-2 more formal outfits is very useful. Others shared that independent study placements could be in a formal office setting where the dress code could even include a tie for men and a business suit for women.
2. Less is More: Many alumni also remember bringing way too many clothes. With laundry available on campus and in your homestays, it is quite easy to wash and reuse. This is common practice in Kenya where society does not look down upon someone who might often wear the same outfit as long as it is clean. A final piece of advice was that the less you bring, the more room their will be in your bag for souvenirs/gifts to bring home.
   

   

   A picture of Nairobi's central business district
   

   

   The Maasai Market in downtown Nairobi. A great open air market where one can barter for gifts and clothing.
   

   
   
3.  You can get anything you need: Based in a cosmopolitan capital city, it is important to remember that you can pick up virtually anything you need in Kenya. Thus there is no need to bring a semester long supply of toothpaste and shampoo when you can simply walk down the street to Kenya’s version of Walmart—Nakumatt. While many of Kenya’s urban resident shop in shopping malls, we also discussed how practicing one’s Swahili while bartering in an open-air market is a great way to hone your language skills and perhaps get a great deal on a gift for a friend.

For more on the orientation program check out the Spring 2015 Orientation Handbook.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the Spring semester.