Final Report
One academic year as an exchange student at the University of Nairobi
(UoN) lies behind me. Still in Kenya but out of university I now have to
review.
First of all, the fact that I am still in Kenya reveals it, it was a
good year in many aspects. The chairman of physics, Prof.Aduda,
fulfilled all my wishes concerning the freedom to choose what ever
course I wanted and in general the staff of the UoN were very friendly
and helpful. So after some orientation I was able to attend to some very
good lectures, which perfectly fitted into my curriculum at the
Technical University of Berlin. Especially the master courses I listened
to (General Relativity Theory and Astrophysics) will hopefully be the
completion of my studies in Germany (if the TU Berlin will acknowledge
them). Even if some of the other courses have been a repetition for me,
the 4th year courses gave me the opportunity to deepen my knowledge in
mathematical fields as well as in the region of theoretical solid state
physics and laser physics.
During the lectures I became good friend to many of my fellow students,
which made life at the university easier and happier. But knowing them
was only the foundation of a broad spectrum of friends I found in all
social groups. The so called German round table for example offered me
the possibility to get known to many German speaking and learning
Kenyans, every first Wednesday of the month. My Kenyan friends were one
of the major reason for me to feel at home in Kenya.
But of course I didn't study all the time. During the semester holidays
I was able to discover the whole variety of landscapes, animals and
cultural traditions Kenya offers. We did some really challenging hikes
in the Mount Kenya region and the Kakamega rain forest, I did some
safaris with friends and family and I was also lucky enough to observe a
Massai circumcision ceremony. Another cultural highlight was the Maulidi
festival on the island Lamu, where the birth of the prophet Mohammed was
celebrated. Friends even invited us to pray with them the friday prayer
in the mosque, which was a high honor for us.
On the other hand the year has also had its shadow sides. First of all,
even with many friends, I still was the white outsider as soon as I left
the everyday routine. A walk through the outskirts of Nairobi was always
accompanied by lots of young children, shouting in Swahili: movie star,
movie star. The only whites they know are the stars from hollywood
movies. From older Kenyans I was often addressed as Mzungu (which means
European or White) and the question "How are you?" was more a test of
their school English than a question out of politeness. Those things
were quiet unnerving in the long term as they made it very hard to
cross the barrier between being stranger and friend to those people.
After some time I became affected by it and lost trust in the
trustworthiness of some of the Kenyans around me. I also consider it
quiet racist to be called "European", as I would never address a Kenyan
in Germany with "African".
Security was also an issue. For example it was never good to walk at the
University grounds after 10pm as the guards would have left their post
at that time. On one occasion we were mugged at 7.30pm on the way to
friends. The three robbers were small boys from 15 years maybe, armed
with one machete.
But being too afraid would have denied me many
interesting impressions as for example the River Road area or the big
second hand market of Gigomba. Both areas are considered very dangerous
by the ministry of foreign affairs of Germany. The same with the
question of going by Matatu, the overfilled minibuses, sure its
dangerous but its also fun. Non the less, with my white skin I always
was the target for hawkers, safari operators or street children. Even in
the middle of Nairobi with lots of rich Kenyans around me, I was the one
who was asked for money. Of course it is clear that this prejudice comes
from the white tourists who are throwing out their money on their
holidays, as well as from influences of colonial times. But still it was
kind of unfair, that there were always the normal price and the white
price and that no one ever believed me when I said, I can't give you
that money. To deal with that in long term was and is a problem, but
when I am in good mood it doesn't influence me much.
After this bad aspects of the year in Kenya I want to conclude my
impressions much more positive. I never had the feeling of being at the
wrong place, nor of a want to go back to Germany in the whole year.
Contrary I would even like to extend my stay if not for family back home
and the need to finish my studies in Germany. Looking back at this year
I can only say that it was one of the best experience I ever had, both
in scientific and social aspects. I profited a lot of the experiences
and would not like to have missed it for any reason.
Für weitere Berichte und Bilder aus Kenya, wähle aus dem Menü einen Monat aus.
For further reports and pictures from Kenya, choose a month from the menue. The reports are in German.
