Published by admin Sep 21, 2009
This summer, while I was in Nairobi to teach in Widener’s Summer Law Institute, I was delighted to have the opportunity to travel to western Kenya to meet Mama Sarah, President Obama’s Kenyan grandmother. President Obama’s father and grandfather are dead, but his grandmother, Mama Sarah, now well into her eighties, regularly receives visitors from around the world at her modest home in Kegalo, where the President’s father grew up. Kegalo is in the mountains of western Kenya, about an hour north of Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city. Kisumu, situated on Lake Victoria, is a day’s drive west of Nairobi.
Mama Sarah’s compound, at the edge of the village, is now fenced and is guarded by the Kenyan police. Although I had to show my passport to get in, things quickly became more relaxed. There was a small circle of chairs under two large shady mango trees. Mama Sarah’s daughter greeted me and my driver, Patrick. She had us sign the guestbook and explained that Mama Sarah was with the Japanese ambassador at the school (the Senator Obama school). There was a tree planting ceremony for trees donated by the Japanese government. We would have to wait. She would return in “maybe one hour.”
The handful of us waiting in the small circle of chairs under two large mango trees included two college women from California, two Irish women and a group of Kenyan and American evangelists. We chatted, took a few pictures and looked at the graves of the President’s father and grandfather. While we were waiting, a group of 50-60 Kenyan schoolboys from Kisumu arrived in a large bus. They, too, were there to meet Mama Sarah. After two hours, a red Toyota Rav pulled into the compound and sure enough, Mama Sarah emerged. She was beautifully dressed in traditional Kenyan dress, made of elegant yellow silk. Using her cane, she made her way to a chair just outside the circle and invited the first group of visitors to join her. She greets each group of visitors individually. When it was my turn, I asked her about her trip to Washington for the inauguration (“it was very cold”) and about some of the children in the compound. Most are her grandchildren; one is an orphan from the village. She has founded an orphanage for the approximately 80 orphans in the village. Her daughter proudly showed me the certificate from the Kenyan government authenticating her non-profit organization before Mama Sarah turned to her next group of visitors.
Mama Sarah is a serious and rightfully proud woman who is enjoying her celebrity in her humble, but comfortable and familiar surroundings. It was a pleasure and an honor to meet her.
Professor Ann Fruth,Legal Writing Professor and Director of the Academic Support Program for Widener’s Harrisburg campus
Ok more to come on the title later but first lets talk exams and petting a cheetah. First, exams for me and a few others ended on Monday with back to back environmental and family law exams. The exams went…well…they are final exams what can I say. We’re just glad they are over and they were not too bad. As for petting a cheetah, put that on the top of most exciting things we did list. At the Nairobi Safari walk you can tip the zoo keeper as couple of shillings to get inside the cage and pet a cheetah. This was an awesome experience especially when she started purring while being petting. She was just a big house cat (that needed a bath). The safari walk was also the first time many of us saw a rhino while in Kenya. It was larger then the ones we’ve seen in American zoo’s. After the walk we traveled over to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trusts’ Orphans’ Project to see about twenty baby elephants being feed by their handlers.
After the safari walk and exams were over we headed out on our last safari of the trip. This time it was to Maasai Mara to see the great wildebeest migration. Thousands of wildebeests, and zebra mixed in, were traveling in lines towards the river, amazing site. The second day of safari while we were out one group swore they saw a baby black rhino with its mom, so needless to say we sat there for twenty minutes waiting for the illusive rhinos to come out and play. They didn’t and hence the title to this blog (we were making fun of the other bus for a while). Even though we didn’t see them the first time, while watching some elephants, Jill noticed a black rhino walking among the wildebeests. So finally we got to see a wild black rhino. Other animals we saw included: two cheetahs, several lioness, one male lion with a little mane (sleeping under a tree), giraffes, mongoose and a lot of different birds.
The resort was different from all the others we stayed at. This one had tents instead of hard-walled rooms. Very neat experience sleeping in a large tent overlooking a river listening to birds and what ever little animals walked around outside. The last night at the reserve we enjoyed the Maasai warriors dancing their traditional dances for us and a few drank the rest of the night away by the fire.
A great ending to an amazing trip…
I’m sitting in my favorite coffee shop, the Java House, for probably one of the last times in Kenya. We do get internet access at the Bid Apartments…sometimes. It is usually incredibly slow, slower than dial-up ever was—yeah, do you remember that pain?
We finished our exams on Tuesday. It was kind of strange only having classes for four weeks and then taking an exam. We also had two professors for each class so that added to my normal test anxiety because I did not know what to expect for the exam—or if there was a curve? To compensate, we all studied for two to three days, pretty much nonstop. I have to admit…it was not that bad. I can say that now, but naturally grades will not be out for a while. Honestly, the reading for class each day was heavy but somehow I did it and I would not let that stop you from deciding to study abroad. To celebrate the end of classes we invited the Kenyan students over for a spaghetti dinner. I consider myself a decent cook and you can’t really mess up spaghetti, but the Kenyans aren’t used to spaghetti sauce so it was certainly a cultural experience for them. The garlic bread was a hit though.
Most of us really did study a lot during the reading period before exams; however, we did take some small breaks. Some of my classmates visited an animal orphanage, petted a cheetah and went on a safari walk. I went with a small group to Kibera. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa. Over one million people live there in small shanties, many without electricity and none with running water. Before getting there we picked up some maize meal, sugar and cooking fat from a nearby Nakumatt (similar to a Wal-mart) and gave it to some of the families who welcomed us into their homes. The locals use the maize meal to make a popular dish called ugali, which is used in place of rice and can be eaten at every meal. It doesn’t taste like much but it is heavy and sticks with you all day.
While in Kibera we also visited a school that teaches kindergarten through eighth grade students. The school is not supported by the government and depends entirely on donations from NGOs and others to fulfill their needs. Some of the children there have been orphaned because their parents died of HIV/AIDS. HIV is a big problem in most parts of Africa. Out of 2.2 million people in Kenya with HIV/AIDS one-fifth of them live in Kibera. The school has programs and social workers that offer counseling to infected parents and projects for making products to sell. Some of the mothers have been making small toys that they hope to sell at a local market to tourists. I spoke with one of the counselors and he said that the projects help to keep them busy taking their mind off of their disease. There are a few free clinics throughout the slum run by various NGOs and other organizations that offer free HIV testing and some medications but for the most part medicine is hard to come by. I am going back to Kibera next week to take some books and toys to the school. My sister just got to Nairobi yesterday bringing with her jump ropes, coloring books and even some bubbles to give to the children. Maybe we will get to teach a class.
Tomorrow we head to Masai Mara to watch the wildebeest migration!
One weekend scuba diving trip costing one hundred eighty dollars and two days of preparation plus rough seas and a small boat equals watching your friends lose their breakfasts over the side—priceless memories. Honestly, I am a certified scuba diver and a seasoned U.S. Navy Sailor but without the help of motion sickness pills, I would have been like all the others—hanging my head over the side. Maybe it was the combination of the anti-malaria medication and the open bar the night before at our all-inclusive resort that made the simple act of keeping food down the hardest part of our dive. We still had a great time!
After shedding our sea legs and grabbing lunch, Brandy and I thought it would be a good idea to have a tropical drink and sit in one of the many lawn chairs to relax and write postcards. The monkeys who stole our tropical drinks after we fell asleep in said lawn chairs also thought it was a great idea! Score one for the monkeys and zero for the humans.
We also had the unfortunate experience of getting robbed by the Beach Boys during our stay on Diani Beach. When I say robbed I mean they took every last shilling I had and gave me hand carved wooden bowls and spoons topped with African animal figurines in return. Okay so maybe robbed was a tough word but I sure felt accosted. See, Brandy and I decided to knock off one of the items on my bucket list and ride camels on the beach. For a small fee, we had a thirty-minute peaceful ride down the beach…which just happened to end at the local village shops. As soon as we stepped off the camels (well they sort of threw us off and if you have ever been on a camel you know what I speak of) the Beach Boys descended upon us. They begin with smiles and hellos and where are you from and then they make you promise to visit their shop. Just like an elephant, they won’t forget you said you would go see their shop the next time you were near. This is how Brandy and I came to be surrounded by nearly fifteen men on the beach. These men are called Beach Boys because they hang out all day on the beach waiting for unsuspecting tourists to leave their resorts to go for a swim or a walk. The hotels are on a cliff or small dune above the beach and from the sanctuary they provide you can see the Boys waiting. They wait there all day and wave and smile and wait for you to come down…then they race over to you with tales of all the wonderful things they have and how you can get them “for a good price.” Well, I’m a sucker because I fell for it more than once. In my defense I will say that my friends and family will be getting some authentic African gifts for Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Secretary’s Day, Leap year, etc., for the next year at least!
Negotiating the prices, or should I say haggling, for these items is a whole other story. I don’t think any of us has perfected this classic, necessary skill yet, but I will give you one tip…think of what that item is worth to you. How much are you really willing to spend on that bowl or figurine or bracelet? I use that as my maximum price and when asked how much I will pay I usually divide that number by two and use that price as the jumping off point to start negotiations. These Boys are tricky and will divide each person from the group so you won’t know how much your friends are spending on the same items. I got lucky in the village by finding out what Brandy paid for a bowl so when I began my negotiations I already knew how much I could get a similar item for. They will also try to confuse you by saying they will give you a good price when you buy more. I found myself sitting in the sand with about eight items and two Boys working out prices. I made them write down how much they wanted to start with for each item and them I wrote next to that my offer. Well let’s just say that I was quoted prices about three times what Brandy paid so I shocked them all when I offered about one-tenth of their asking price. All in all I think I did a good job negotiating but I still spent all the Kenyan shillings I brought with me. Just as I thought I was leaving, one more Boy came up to me to remind me I had promised to visit his shop! What’s a girl to do…so I spent the last thirty US dollars I had on a big wooden monkey! “Say hello to my little friend.”
Well this past week was full of adventure and fun. First the oral arguments went great; both sides did an excellent job dealing with the topic. For those following, the topic dealt with one country imposing an import ban on wood of another country because the wood was being harvested from an area where endangered animals were living. Both sides, as well as judges, did a great job using the material we learned in class and applying it to the problem.
The weekend was another memorable one, this time at a beach resort in Mombasa. Talk about vacation! After a 45min plane ride, 30min car trip, 10min ferry ride then another 20 min car ride everyone was ready to relax and wouldn’t you know it we were at the perfect place. Palm trees, monkeys stealing your food, 5 swimming pools, spa, and of course beautiful Indian Ocean beachfront. Several students took advantage of the spa, camel rides along the beach and water polo in the pool while others went swimming and snorkeling in the ocean. Jenn, Patrick and I went scuba diving in the coral reefs, amazing! We saw everything from dolphins, stingrays and moray eels, to the whole cast of Finding Nemo (minus the sharks). Also while in Mombasa the whole group went out to Ali Barbour’s cave restaurant. When we arrived at Ali Barbour’s we walked down a spiral case to the inside of a cave where it was decked out to be a beautiful restaurant with great wine and food. After four days in paradise the group was sad to leave.
Back in Nairobi the group went back to school, some reluctantly. On Tuesday we welcomed Dean Linda Ammons from Widener University School of Law (both campuses) and had a wonderful dinner with her at the Phoenician restaurant. On Wednesday we took a tour of the United Nations Environment Programme here in Nairobi. There we learned about the role UNEP has and also about the other programs at the UN.
Well our trip is almost over. We have one week of classes left, several exams and a trip to Maasi Mara still to come but this weekend its all about being an American with a good old cookout by the pool (hotdogs, hamburgers, French fries, baked beans and anything else American we could find). Happy 4th of July!
