Valentines Day in Kenya
I had a really good Valentine's Day. True, I spent it single and in a remote African village, and in Kenya the flower industry has not yet managed to infuse the real sense of Valentine spirit by tripling the price of flowers and forcing guys to buy them through marketing propaganda. However, days like yesterday really help me to remember why I'm here.
There are times when I sit alone in my house or in an endless and repetitive meeting and start to dwell in self pity. I'll miss friends and family, or start to regret how much it seems I gave up to be here (e.g. a valentine's date, a good job, and plenty of the material possessions that were dear to my heart).
Was it worth it, or am I crazy? I've concluded both. I'm happy to say that, at least as of Valentine's Day 2006, I would not go back and change my decision to be here. The experiences I'm gaining in Kenya are undoubtedly changing me for the better. Life here has really put into perspective what I consider some of my biggest flaws. Above all I'm learning patience. It's funny how restless I would get standing in a line in the states or how ridiculous it would seem for a scheduled event to start two hours late. Back home I was often the guy that would tailgate until people changed lanes, or as an alternative I would just weave in and out of traffic at dangerous speeds. For what? Just to get somewhere a few minutes earlier when it usually didn't matter? Americans live in such a time sensitive culture, and for me it often feels as though there are never enough hours in a day. It's refreshing (and at times frustrating) to be in a place where people take their time getting to where they need to be, all the while stopping to shake hands and chat with everyone they meet along the way. In fact, if people suffering from severe poverty, famine, and/or disease are not taken into account, which of course they are and that's the reason I'm here, I'd have to say that the average Kenyan seems more satisfied with life than the average American. Most Kenyans do not have much by way of material wealth, but so many have an aura of self satisfaction and contentment that is rare back home. This would have come as a complete surprise before I came here six months ago.
Another life lesson I'm learning is to stop taking small things so seriously. I don't have a Bible on me so forgive me if I misquote this, but there's a phrase in the Gospel where Jesus says something along the lines of "Why worry? Does worrying add even one extra minute to your life?" Even in a country surrounded by poverty, corruption, and disease, Kenyans seem to live by this mentality. Seeing a sincere smile on a women toiling in a field for less than a dollar a day makes me realize just how fortunate I am, and how often Americans, myself included, take things for granted and allow themselves to get worked up about the most insignificant things. Simply because I was born in the US I've been given a countless number of opportunities that most people in the world will never have. Sometimes I've made the right decisions and sometimes not, but at least I've had an option to follow the path I want to in life. I am so blessed and fortunate in this respect, as is nearly everyone I know back home. I would not have realized this to the extent I do now if I had not decided to come here and see first hand the standard of living available to the majority of the people on the planet.
So I'm straying off topic as I tend to do in these rambling blog posts. My intention was to write about my really good Valentine's Day and leave it at that. I'll focus better now. Yesterday was a "Farmer Field Day" for the Kakamega Farmer Field School Network. This is the second Field Day I have attended, and like I've written earlier it consists of presentations on farming tips, techniques, and products combined with lots of singing, dancing, speeches, presentations, and food. The farmers I'm working with, with a few exceptions, have to be some of the warmest, friendliest people anywhere. At this particular event there were several hundred farmers and I found out I was to be their "guest of honour". This meant I sat center stage while there was plenty of dancing, singing, and music, as well as speeches from several of the collaborators who attended the event, including some big names (here anyway) like Western Seed Company and representatives from KENFAP (Kenyan Farmer Agriculture something or other). I even managed to give a decent speech (although I did need assistance with a few words) completely in Swahili. In the speech I encouraged the farmers to grow orange fleshed sweet potatoes, as that is the focus crop the network has been able to find profitable markets for, and I told the farmers about the potential for a composite flour processing mill in the network. At the end of the ceremony the field school hosting the event brought me a sweet potato cake they had baked and I danced like an idiot with several mamas who were singing a "Cut the Cake Joseph" song in Swahili that they were making up as they went. After cutting the cake the farmers gave me a gift of about 50 fresh eggs. It was a really nice gesture but I didn't see how I would ever use them all so I gave most of them away, but I walked away from the event with a real feeling of satisfaction since I have an opportunity to really help people I really care about.
So tomorrow I'm off to Bungoma to work out some potential commodity trades. This weekend I'll be at an agricultural trade show in Kakamega before going to Eldoret to look into doing some HIV education work with a friend. Then, on Monday I'm off to Nairobi. It seems things are in full gear now and I'm really enjoying it, so expect to hear more soon.
There are times when I sit alone in my house or in an endless and repetitive meeting and start to dwell in self pity. I'll miss friends and family, or start to regret how much it seems I gave up to be here (e.g. a valentine's date, a good job, and plenty of the material possessions that were dear to my heart).
Was it worth it, or am I crazy? I've concluded both. I'm happy to say that, at least as of Valentine's Day 2006, I would not go back and change my decision to be here. The experiences I'm gaining in Kenya are undoubtedly changing me for the better. Life here has really put into perspective what I consider some of my biggest flaws. Above all I'm learning patience. It's funny how restless I would get standing in a line in the states or how ridiculous it would seem for a scheduled event to start two hours late. Back home I was often the guy that would tailgate until people changed lanes, or as an alternative I would just weave in and out of traffic at dangerous speeds. For what? Just to get somewhere a few minutes earlier when it usually didn't matter? Americans live in such a time sensitive culture, and for me it often feels as though there are never enough hours in a day. It's refreshing (and at times frustrating) to be in a place where people take their time getting to where they need to be, all the while stopping to shake hands and chat with everyone they meet along the way. In fact, if people suffering from severe poverty, famine, and/or disease are not taken into account, which of course they are and that's the reason I'm here, I'd have to say that the average Kenyan seems more satisfied with life than the average American. Most Kenyans do not have much by way of material wealth, but so many have an aura of self satisfaction and contentment that is rare back home. This would have come as a complete surprise before I came here six months ago.
Another life lesson I'm learning is to stop taking small things so seriously. I don't have a Bible on me so forgive me if I misquote this, but there's a phrase in the Gospel where Jesus says something along the lines of "Why worry? Does worrying add even one extra minute to your life?" Even in a country surrounded by poverty, corruption, and disease, Kenyans seem to live by this mentality. Seeing a sincere smile on a women toiling in a field for less than a dollar a day makes me realize just how fortunate I am, and how often Americans, myself included, take things for granted and allow themselves to get worked up about the most insignificant things. Simply because I was born in the US I've been given a countless number of opportunities that most people in the world will never have. Sometimes I've made the right decisions and sometimes not, but at least I've had an option to follow the path I want to in life. I am so blessed and fortunate in this respect, as is nearly everyone I know back home. I would not have realized this to the extent I do now if I had not decided to come here and see first hand the standard of living available to the majority of the people on the planet.
So I'm straying off topic as I tend to do in these rambling blog posts. My intention was to write about my really good Valentine's Day and leave it at that. I'll focus better now. Yesterday was a "Farmer Field Day" for the Kakamega Farmer Field School Network. This is the second Field Day I have attended, and like I've written earlier it consists of presentations on farming tips, techniques, and products combined with lots of singing, dancing, speeches, presentations, and food. The farmers I'm working with, with a few exceptions, have to be some of the warmest, friendliest people anywhere. At this particular event there were several hundred farmers and I found out I was to be their "guest of honour". This meant I sat center stage while there was plenty of dancing, singing, and music, as well as speeches from several of the collaborators who attended the event, including some big names (here anyway) like Western Seed Company and representatives from KENFAP (Kenyan Farmer Agriculture something or other). I even managed to give a decent speech (although I did need assistance with a few words) completely in Swahili. In the speech I encouraged the farmers to grow orange fleshed sweet potatoes, as that is the focus crop the network has been able to find profitable markets for, and I told the farmers about the potential for a composite flour processing mill in the network. At the end of the ceremony the field school hosting the event brought me a sweet potato cake they had baked and I danced like an idiot with several mamas who were singing a "Cut the Cake Joseph" song in Swahili that they were making up as they went. After cutting the cake the farmers gave me a gift of about 50 fresh eggs. It was a really nice gesture but I didn't see how I would ever use them all so I gave most of them away, but I walked away from the event with a real feeling of satisfaction since I have an opportunity to really help people I really care about.
So tomorrow I'm off to Bungoma to work out some potential commodity trades. This weekend I'll be at an agricultural trade show in Kakamega before going to Eldoret to look into doing some HIV education work with a friend. Then, on Monday I'm off to Nairobi. It seems things are in full gear now and I'm really enjoying it, so expect to hear more soon.
posted by KenyaJoe at 4:53 AM
<< Home