How to talk about Africa.

I have just finished reading Binyavanga Wainaina's article called "How to write about Africa'. Here; http://www.granta.com/Archive/92/How-to-Write-about-Africa/Page-1.  How true is that?! It is a wonderful article. I mean, these African Writers seem to have a grip on my reading appetite nowadays. I cannot have enough. I tend to relate more to their stories. It could be because I am now removed from the continent as most of them are and have a vantage view point.There is plenty of fodder for my reading too.

This article took me back to a day about 3 year ago when I had the privilege of attending a weekly women's Group meeting in Worcester called 'Women Together'. I had been invited to attend  when I worked as an outreach liaison for a federally funded program that supported minority pregnant women. My purpose of attending was to network with other women who may have an interest in our program. I was therefore surprised when the women started  to go round narrating  of the tragedies in their lives, getting personal so on and so forth. No networking took place on that day. That meeting was a pity party. A staging of whose story was the best tear jerker. It got quite emotional  to say the least.  Everyone had started by introducing themselves and there was no one else with a distinct accent but me.  So when the next person to speak was me, I heard one woman say, "Ooooh..I can't wait to hear her story.." and many more looked at me with anticipation and suspense in their eyes. I felt the pressure of being the one with the most horrific story in the room just because I had an accent of African origin.

I sat there and said that I had nothing to like that to say. Truth be told, I have thankfully not experienced the tragedies that occur in different parts of the African continent. That is why  of all the disappointments, I was the disappointest of all(word borrowed from King Julian, Kung Fu panda) in that room. Then there was an awkward silence and meanness in those eyes! I think they felt that I was either a liar or in denial of what most people who sound like me have gone through. I should have read Bin's article earlier and be prepared to narrate how I had fed on monkeys brain for days in the jungles of Kenya that are filled with lions and crocodiles. I should have talked of how the rebels and guerillas had raped women and killed the men in our mud village. Of the scorching sun and dead bodies all over and unending war.

Fortunately for me, I come from Kenya, in the Eastern part of Africa and I have had a fairly normal life just incase you did not know that. Oh well, there are monsters called Matatus there. And that is topic for another day.
Asante
Malken.

work life

So I have been working at a Charter School for the last 4 months. I had been out of work for about 8 months and had started to get used to laziness. I am happy with this job especially because a lot of people wanted it and I ended up with it. I love the work environment a lot. I have embraced working with parents who astonish you with questions that you would never imagine. Such as, 'what grade is my child?" is that a question a normal parent asks? or 'hello can you send my child outside to my car coz am not dressed appropriately?". Any how that does not bother me much. It is the once in a while impossible jobs that try to disturb the peace. Is work supposed to always try to mess your mood every so often?
Well, the good thing is that tomorrow is another day that I can come in and give it a fresh look and start all over again.

How is your work day going?

Happy New Year

Wishing you a good year ahead.May you have all that you desire and continue to do good yo all.

Are you a nurse too?

I just met a Nigerian computer engineer preparing to get into nursing school.Why, you would ask. It is because he is having a very difficult time getting a job in his field he says. He emphatically narrated of the many times he has found himself on second or third interviews with numerous companies in Boston.He said it always ends with him seated next to a young white man who gets this job and he doesn't. Always.

The man from Nigerian tells me that, nursing is the only color-blind career he believes in right now. I believe he is right. It is no wonder then that so many of people from the continent take this easy route. Many people do not have the mileage to fight their way up the corporate ladder, that is in terms of time and resources. These are the people who, forsaking their other hard earned degrees switch to this career that pay three times minimum wage with readily available jobs.

I guess this answers the questions many others ask.

Never judge a book by its cover

So am taking a summer class that is quite the hectic type. Day one i get in there with tons of confidence and my roving eye is out looking for students who have the 'lost' look. I mean I just completed the other school so this is no biggie for me.I zero in on this shabby, stressed looking woman and wonder if she will ever relax and enjoy the knowledge being imparted on us. Rude shock is when our first test papers are returned and she has a 99% and i have a 75%. Humble me, approaches her looking lost and asks for advise on how to study for the next test. Lesson learned never judge a book by its cover.

Stalkers wanted

Hi friends,
Its been a while since I posted. Funny thing is that I think about posting everyday. I almost forgot how to send a new post. whoa!! took me a while to figure it out where "compose" is lol I know!! what kind of a blogger is that? Me!. If you are a blogger confess of the start up glitches .Hey, tell your friends that I am looking for stalkers for my blog. Yeah someone wants to be stalked. Thanks!

Childhood Traits

I am always amazed at how much our childhood experiences seep into our adulthood.  I don't know about you but I have been longing for some things that I had in my childhood much more lately. Its not that I had a great life them. I remember clearly how I felt growing up. I grew up in both central and Rift Valley provinces of Kenya. My family was not wealthy and my eye was always drawn to our well-to-do neighbours' cars, good smelling food, shoes, clothes and style. I coveted their stuff. I could not wait to grow up and buy all the cookies, cakes and pretty cloths and shoes that my family could not afford to get me.

Well, here I am today and trust me, I miss the githeri,(maize and beans) ngima and sukuma wiki (boiled corn meal and kale) more than the cookies and cakes. And to imagine that I was forced to eat these over and over again for dinner and lunch until Christmas day, when the menu would change?! Now that I am grown i know that these two staple dishes are apparently the healthiest diets I have come accross.

Just yesterday I went to the store in my neighborhood and bought dry maize and dry beans to make authentic childhood githeri. When it was ready I sat down on my couch, put my feet up and sincerely thanked the good Lord that I can access such a delicacy in this far flung land of milk and honey. Who knew that a Kenyan Living in Boston would be able to get the 'murram' so easily.

Is there something you took for granted in your childhood that you could now cross the oceans to get?

Of Wardrobes and Personal Style.

     I happen to care quite much about personal appearance. I believe in the fact that first impressions make a lasting impact.  Being aware of personal appearance is something that I have always carried in me but my style has not always portrayed the fact that I do pay a lot of attention to dressing up. I tend to have all the good ideas about personal style but come dressing myself up in the morning, I kind of rush into things and end up dressed awfully. I thereafter spend the rest of day regretting how my pants are hanging two inches away from my beat-up shoes that I slipped in just because they are the closest to the door on my way out. Then I realize that my shirt and pants are at loggerhead with each other like the Bosnian  Serbs and Croats in the early 90s.  I gaze up and find myself gawking and swooning at  the well-put-together street people and colleagues all day. I eventually retire to my humble closet dejected, another fabulous day wasted. And I wonder to myself what an awful day. I look forward to a new day. A new day that will give me the chance to improve and dress myself well enough to make myself comfortable and confident. I carry the hope of  the day and age that will come when I will be finally start to put together outfits that makes me happy. This cycle has been on going most of my life.
    About two years ago, I started working with a stylish young lady, see her blog here.  http://www.alamodewearhouse.com/ . I learned a lot from her about style. Learning was easy because I have always had a lot of interest. Through her I learned that it can be done on a daily basis. I also discovered a new world of bloggers. Who knew that there about15 million style bloggers in the web who are more than willing to show you how they shop, put together  wardrobes and even give away nice things.!!!!
well for the two years, I have been an apprentice, I can now see a glimmer of style in me! Its a terrific feeling. Dressing up well is important to me because it gives me solidity and strengthens my gait as I walk the walk and talk the talk. Mine has never been about  trends nor seeking attention and it will be never be. I just like to feel stylish in a very personal way and its total bliss and I tread in style.
Thanks to my stylish colleague and all the stylish bloggers out there!
What is your style and how do you approach it?

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..By Kanji Mbugua

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, jack frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir and folks dressed up like eskimos. Everybody knows, a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the season bright. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow will find it hard to sleep tonight. [ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-lyrics-new-kids-on-the-block.html ] They know that santa's on his way. He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh. And every mother's child is gonna spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly. And so I'm offering this simple phrase to kids from 1 to 92 Although it's been said many times, many ways: merry christmas to you.

The above are the Lyrics to the song.

Ok! as beautiful as this song sounds why would I pay a handsome amount of money to go listen to a Kenyan musician performing this all American song at a Christmas Eve concert somewhere in Nairobi?? I mean its alright to hear it on radio and TV but a live performance?. Well my medula oblangata won't get it.  I was looking for some nice Christmas songs by Kenyan musicians and happened to stumble upon  Kanji performing the above song in youtube. Truth be told he has a great voice but I did not find it brilliant of him to chose this kind of music for some Kenyan tots because they would not be dressed as eskimos nor do they  know a turkey and some mistletoe..and the reindeer??

Someone tell our talented artists to refrain from aping Americans and produce their own homemade art work. I get so repulsed by wanna-bes. American music and culture is alright but its sad to see wananchi aping it even when it does not make any sense . oh by the way, are there any chestnuts in Kenya? ( they taste exactly like roasted sweet potatoes.  Kanji  should probably  be singing of "sweet potatoes roasting on a jiko!!(insert 'brilliant" here) and how everybody knows of a mbuzi and a chapati..

Whats your opinion about Kanji singing of chestnuts and eskimos to kids who not likely to encounter these?

TO BE OR NOT TO BE.

When I meet people for the first time such as new workmates, friends of friends etc, I believe I do not give a good impression at all. I am usually in a dilemma of 'should I be extra nice', 'be myself' or weigh them in' Most of the time I end up with 'weigh them in' to gather the kind of people they are. This allows me a chance to know their character. After I know their character I put them in a specific category in my head and then deal with them like that from then on. The categories include, brilliant, very nice, very kind, generous, confident, funny, impatient, not too smart, judgemental, arrogant and so on. I then from there deal with them according to their category. I think it is serves me well. Eventually I start to see peoples attitude towards me changing according to who they are and how they view me. This has always been consistent. I am who I am I do not change my character to suit a situation. I do believe it works for many people but not for me. I hate pretending to be what I am not. Isn't that cheating?

There are times I switch to 'Exta nice' automatically. This is when the person I am meeting is at a disadvantaged situation such as sickness, is being being treated unfairly or is need of something I can offer.

And so I ask do you think it is nice to change your character according to the situation you are in, is it a smart move to do so?why

LOVE THE ONE YOU ARE WITH..

Hello Rafiki! I hope you had a nice Christmas!!

I have made it a tradition that I do no cooking on Christmas day. That  is my way of celebrating. If we do not get an invitation from family or friends, we will usually go to a nice restaurant and eat there. So this Christmas 2011, we went to my mother-in-laws house. Its always nice to spend time with family during the holidays.

She had her former classmates, a couple from Nyeri, over for Christmas lunch. That is people she went to school with over 40 years ago. I have come to respect experience more as i grow older. I believe we can learn something from a couple that has been together for 40 yrs or more.I could not appreciate their company more especially for what i learned from them. They talked about raising kids and marriage in a lengthy way. They said that the one you are with right now is your best bet.The others out there are the 'unknown'. They are unpredictable and unreliable. When hardship strikes, the one you have been with will be there for you more the one you are trying to be with.

In 2011, I have seen many couples split.I asked this couple why there is so much divorce in America and they corrected me by saying, that it has nothing to do with America but individual couples. The biggest issue is communication. If the two people do not work on their comunication, their marriage will end up dead. They said if you do not know how to communicate with your partner, seek help because that is the olny way to save a marriage today.

Sounds very basic but it is profound.The lack of communication is what is ending many marriages. This is the kind of communication is started early in the relationship not in the thick of things.

Therefore no matter the problems you are facing, the attraction to another or the differences, Love the one you are with and work on your communication. Learn to tell them things like,   "I do not like the way you chew your food, instead of pouting and sitting at the corner, far as away from them when they are chomping down their steak loudly.." etc. You might be surprised when they say  ' oh i am sorry. I did not realize that.

Stick with them and help make them better, unless, ( of course) if they are trying to murder you.

AMERICA THE GENEROUS.

I tend to think that most people in other parts of the world adore the American way of life. This is seen more in the pop culture and media. There are so many out there trying to live the American way of life.Even people in first world nations. Some Kenyans will ape anything American. Nowadays, I see traces of America every where in the streets of Nairobi. I am told that they now sell turkeys on the streets of Nairobi in November for thanks giving as well as celebrate 4th of July!American's independence day. Isn't that going too far in aping? Here is more..youths in Mombasa dorning heavy bubble jackets, wool lined boots and mittens because these are now trending in America despite the sweltering heat of this tropical city. I guess they have no idea that this style is influenced by the cold, or maybe it does not matter to them. A while back, I listened to Jay Z talking about how the over sized bubble jackets, jeans and warm boots became hip hop's fashion statements and he explained that they needed to be warm to walk the street doing gang activies during icy nights. That's when he was launching his book, Decoded, (nice read).While I want Nairobi to remain unique to itself, I will not be caught on Uhuru High Way holding a placard to protest the Americanization of Nairobi. That's not my cup of chai.

Its just 3 days to Christmas 2011 and the biggest activity in all American cities is sharing the joy of Christmas. I think 99% of Ameircans will receive a gift or a meal from another American this Christmas. Americans are a very generous people. There is a lot of donations going on. Most charitable organization depend of the money raised during Christmas. And donations do they get!!.Hundreds of millions of dollars are raised during this season.

This is the kind of character i say my people should ape. Kenyans should share with their needy country men during this Christmas season more than ever. I propose that some rich folks from the burbs hold Christmas dinners in Kibera. The Sonkos (rich dudes) needs to have  toy drives for Kids in Korogocho and so on and so forth. This is the kind of aping that makes sense. Their motivation? to simply experience the joy of giving, well, most wananchi are used to having it all and having their neighbors share as well,  so thats a tough call but seriously speaking,  please share the joy of Christmas with someone in need.

Which other American culture do you think is worth copying?

Leadership in Kenyan Community in Boston

Jambo! How is the weather treating you today?
Is it dusty and hot , wet and muddy or is it slitting and freezing in your area?

First let me point out that most people who live in Massachusetts always identify with the Capital City, Boston. I guess the city is more famous than the state. Most Kenyans who live here do not live in Boston but in other cities such as Lowell, Lynn, Worcester, Salem, Quincy, Malden and so forth. Some of these cities have a lot more Kenyans than others. In Worcester for instance, I gather that about 7,000(that's not an official number, you can only imagine how hard it would be to count) Kenyans live Worcester and about the same number in Lowell. Other cities have a good number of Kenyans too.

With such large numbers of community members,  there is need for representation, consultation, celebration and consolation for occasions that call for that. So where do Kenyans living in Boston go? aha! I hear one of you say church and am not surprised.

As a community, Kenyans rarely gather together for Community Building events. In other words to they do not participate in local city or state affairs. This is a case of lack of leadership. Of course there are  many individuals who do take part in these affairs as individuals due to either job or school related interests. To clarify let me give an example; If there is a cultural event at the City hall or at one of the local Universities, the planners have nowhere to call if they want to have a Kenyan stand or information table. For the most part, most city officials are aware that there is a large Kenyan community in the cities, and that they do well in supporting each other in times of need.

The good part is that there have been ongoing efforts to start a Kenyans organization in this area. It is quite unfortunate that any efforts to start an organization are thwarted by selfishness, superiority complexes and power or money greed. Whenever one is started its immediately faced with bickering and heated arguments and soon it is buried in an unmarked grave.

The leadership of the Kenyan Community has now been left in the hands of local Kenyan church leaders who have the front in gathering people especially during times of  trouble such ailments, immigration problems and death. This has remained the only one sure way that Kenyans come together to solve the pending matters. Well, the local Kenyans church leaders have their own  shenanigans too that I do not wish to get into.

It is a shame that this has not happened and does not seem to be progressing anywhere. I believe that is is possible to start one if the right people are picked by all the people. Nobody should be left out if one united  front is to be formed.

The challenge to the Kenyans in Boston is;-

1. Agree to pick their own leaders to avoid imposters and imposers who rise out of nowhere and declare that they are the who is who.
2. Participate in picking their own leaders by taking the iniative to know who can make good leaders and vote vote vote. Do not sit in limbo and cry bloody murder when you are left behind.
3. For the leaders who are elected, learn to work with everybody and learn how to keep your word.
4.Forget about selfishness and serve the Community. Being named a leader does not equal hitting the jackpot. Get rid of the KANU Ugali-eating-disorder that still ails many who grew up in the nyayo era.

I wish to close by sending you a link that i hope will awaken  you to rise up and do something positive about building our community living in Boston.

http://www.ajabuafrica.com/Charity-Differences%20of%20opinion%20cause%20delay%20of%20donated%20hunger%20funds%20remittance.html

Ahsante!

"I am sorry sir, I am having a hard time understanding you because of your heavy accent".

    This is what one American student said to our History proffessor on the first day of class.I was appalled!! I thought that it was cold, mean and ignorant of a grown middle aged woman to say to a very experienced and elderly Proffessor.The proffessor is from Syria. The proffessor was tongue-tied for a moment but carried on with his lecture.

I sat there fuming over that remark for the rest of the lecture thinking I should have spoken out. Well turns out I also have an accent which may be as thick..She would probably have said to me, 'Sorry, say that again?" ha! ha! ha! I tend to wonder, whether this woman expected the Proffessor to change his accent for her to understand him. well, I wish I could switch back and forth from the Kenyan Accent to the American or Bostonian one as conveniently as possible but it hard.

Who doesn't have an accent anyway; it all depends on which part of the world you are visiting/living away from your home! "Accents' in America are quite an unfortunate thing to have in my opinion.  Most North American are intolerant of accents. Some of them shut off as soon you open your mouth. I think they simply disconnect and assume that are speaking your mother tongue, or you cannot speak English. For instance I was in a restaurant once and  had asked for 'hot water', the waiter could not get my order until I rolled my tongue to say 'haat worra". Honestly,  I hate to sound like that but, sometimes situations force you to say things like "haat worra".etc

So my question is, do you think its a goood idea to clean off your accent if your are a Non American living in America? btw there is an opp for that (http://www.google.com/)

What are the benefits of doing that? Have you been to another country that is tolerant/Intolerant of foreign accents that you know of?

Support Neurodiversity.

I saw a bumper sticker that read SUPPORT NEURODIVERISY. what is that? you would ask,Wikipedia say this ;
Neurodiversity is an idea which asserts that atypical (neurodivergent) neurological development is a normal difference that is to be recognized and respected as any other biological variation.^[1] Differences may arise in ways of processing information, including language, sound, images, light, texture, taste, or movement. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurodiversity

That got me thinking how important it is to accept different personalities, temperaments and cognition. I believe that once a person is able to deal with all types and especially challenging characteristics, without losing their cool, then life becomes easier whereever you go. I  tend to get impatient with people who ask silly questions that don't take much to figure out. I am learning to accomodate such slowly but surely. There are those other people who are so puffed up and think they know it all and are quick to open their mouths only to let nonsence out. I am also learning to accomodate those.
So how do i accomplish this? Simple, by remembering that there is diversity in Neuro sense!  Please join in in this cause!

Maiden Post

Jambo!
That means hello in Swahili. I gather you are reading my blog either because you are one of many awesome friends, family, a Kenyan, know a Kenyan or have a some knowledge of something Kenyan. Living in a foreign coutry for 7 years ( as of  2011) has taught me that most of the links we have with different Nationalities only start  from a link between you and that Nation. No matter how small. For instance I have been asked, "are you Kenyan?" me, "yes" "do you know John? he is from Nigeria?" well thats quite a weak link, but you get my point, right? So! Welcome to my blog! I love writing about everyday musings and incidents which happen to be very influenced by my many years of living in Kenya. I think being away makes my thoughts and incidents out there, or different. I guess its because i have two view points; one Kenyan and one American. I think Blogging is much better than emailing some of my cousins who hardly respond. That said, I crave your comments, musings and quips. Just make them sweet that's all I need to help me as I remember the dusty streets of Nakuru and try to keep warm in Boston,