Making a local connection in a country far from home

by Carolle Simutengu (Zambia)

Making a local connection Kenya

I am a Zambian born and bred citizen, in May 2015 I was given a great opportunity to live and study in Kenya for four years. At first everything was easy because at the time I was not yet admitted to a learning institution. It was a bit challenging to get around because most places I visited the natives insisted on using their language Swahili in which they are very proud. Everything was very different from my own country, people where not as warm and welcoming at first and I came to realize that it was their way of staying safe due to the high levels of crime in the country especially in the capital Nairobi. In August of the same year I applied and was accepted at The Catholic University of Eastern Africa to Study a Bachelor of Commerce degree. My first day of Class was interesting because during introduction I came to realize that we had a diversity of Students from different countries, we had students from, Nigeria, Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Chad, Cort Devior, Eritrea, Sudan and south Sudan, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda, Angola and a few Exchange students from the States, the Kenyan students equally came from Various towns in the country, it was not only eye opening but also beautiful day to learn about different cultures, languages and foods of other students, I am mostly an outspoken person but I tried to live in the shadow of others just so I could learn about them and their lifestyle. I love traveling alot so during my stay in Kenya I tried to tour some of its towns just to see what they had to offer, the first place I ever visited was a town called Nakuru, its a Small town as compared to Nairobi, unlike Nairobi people from the town are approachable, they also enjoy alot of roast meat which I found a variety of , I stayed in the town for two days and I visited their famous lake Nakuru and Also lake Naivasha which happens to be a fresh water lake, I got to enjoy fresh fish from the lakes which was very cheap as compared to what was sold in Nairobi, coming from Zambia that has a variety of fish this is something I came to enjoy. I love wildlife and am very fond of nature so i found the the Scenary very breath taking. After we seeing the beauty that Nakuru had to offer I was even more intrigued to finding out what else the country had to offer before leaving Nakuru I visited the craters along the way and it made me appreciate open spaces. I planned my next trip soon after saving , a few friends and I traveled to another town on the coast side of Kenya called Mombasa which happens to be a tourist destination, we traveled by train and the journey there was exciting and pleasant, we got to see a variety of wildlife on our way. The first thing I felt when I disembarked from the train was that I found it a bit difficult to breath, the air was a little stiff and overwhelming and very different from what I was used to, it was my first time being in such an environment, my friends assured me it got better by the minute and it did, I soon adjusted to the environment and my small gateaway had began, i needed a place to escape to at the time because I was going through a difficult phase and Mombasa was just the place, we traveled first by road and then by sea via ferry to get to our hotel. They where beautiful bungalows overlooking the sea and we rushed to the water the minute we put our bags down... It was very beautiful and breath taking and to hear the waves and breath the air was unexplainable. We spent two nights and three days there and that's the best experience I ever had. Going back to Mainland was a bit depressing but I knew I had to go back the place had stolen my heart I started speaking Swahili in months that followed and I came to appreciate Kenya.