I’ve officially finished my first week of core classes! I say core classes because on Friday’s I am taking a non-credit class on Kenyan culture and then interning. Classes so far have been great. I think I have learned more in this week than in a typical semester. I can write a paragraph about myself in Swahili and analyze the implications of hegemonic development discourse on global policies particularly regarding women. Even though it has just been a week, it has already been a lot of work. Since our class schedule this semester is squeezed into half of a normal semester, we have twice the class time and twice the work each week. My gender class is particularly difficult since I am one of two girls in the class. This means that we have to be super well prepared for every class ready to make connections between things we didn’t even know could be connected and to analyze complicated gender and development topics.
Despite all the work, we’ve also managed to find time to relax and have fun too! The other night most of the group came over to our apartment to drink some South African wine and enjoy some good laughs and conversation. I have also now been to the mall/grocery store/market several times and have managed to cook a meal that is not spaghetti! It is tricky to know what to buy in the stores because everything is different. Sometimes there are familiar products but the brands are entirely different. We are actually very lucky to be in Nairobi because there is such a large selection of “Western” foods, but that is not to say it is not a struggle to go shopping! One thing that is not hard is buying fruit. The fruit here is absolutely amazing! It is all so fresh and flavorful. If you think you’ve had good fruit in the US, you are probably wrong. The pineapple especially is unreal. I made stir-fry with rice, onions, carrots, broccoli, and lots of soy sauce the other night but I’d love to learn some more local recipes so I can make better use of the items at the stores (and not eat grains all the time).
Tomorrow, I am looking forward to being able to sleep in an extra hour (whoop whoop!) and to visit my internship site for the first time. Also, in other news, I have just figured out I have officially been accepted to study abroad at Manipal University in India next semester!!
Despite all the work, we’ve also managed to find time to relax and have fun too! The other night most of the group came over to our apartment to drink some South African wine and enjoy some good laughs and conversation. I have also now been to the mall/grocery store/market several times and have managed to cook a meal that is not spaghetti! It is tricky to know what to buy in the stores because everything is different. Sometimes there are familiar products but the brands are entirely different. We are actually very lucky to be in Nairobi because there is such a large selection of “Western” foods, but that is not to say it is not a struggle to go shopping! One thing that is not hard is buying fruit. The fruit here is absolutely amazing! It is all so fresh and flavorful. If you think you’ve had good fruit in the US, you are probably wrong. The pineapple especially is unreal. I made stir-fry with rice, onions, carrots, broccoli, and lots of soy sauce the other night but I’d love to learn some more local recipes so I can make better use of the items at the stores (and not eat grains all the time).
Tomorrow, I am looking forward to being able to sleep in an extra hour (whoop whoop!) and to visit my internship site for the first time. Also, in other news, I have just figured out I have officially been accepted to study abroad at Manipal University in India next semester!!