Kenya to Kentucky

Following is my second paper as required by my Cultural Diversity class. I chose to write about my Socioloy professor from last semester. I think a lot of this professor, and it was a delight to be able to interview and write about him.

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From Kenya to Kentucky

A.C. is a professor in the sociology department at Western Kentucky University. Because of his diverse background and easy-going personality, Mr. C brings a very positive element to Western's campus, and he is well-liked by his students.

The second-born son of a Kikuyuan mother and a Luyian father, Mr. C was born and raised in Kakamega, Kenya, a country on the equator in eastern Africa. In addition to having one sister, Mr. C is one of eight boys. His father supported their large family by working for the government, operating construction equipment. As a young girl, Mr. C's mother longed for a higher education but did not have the approval of her father to do so, for he feared she would turn into a prostitute. At a young age, she ran away from home with the intent of attending school. Upon her inevitable return home, however, she received a severe beating. Because of the restrictions on and lack of opportunity for females, Mr. C’s mother never got the education she so wanted.

Mr. C is proficient in three languages (English, Swahili, and Luyia) and can understand an additional two (Kikuyu and Kamba). Because Kenya was at one time a British colony, English is the official language of Kenya. Swahili is spoken nation wide, although Luyia–the language of his father's tribe–is the mother tongue of Mr. C's parents. Kikuyu is the language spoken by the tribe of his mother, and Kamba is spoken by relatives on his mother's side.

Ugali is a typical Kenyan food. Corn flour is mixed with hot water until it is a very stiff porridge. It is eaten with fried beef and kale, a green vegetable equivalent to America's cabbages or greens. One of Mr. C's favorite foods is maganda, a dish comprised of maize and beans. Maize is a white corn. Beans and corn are mixed together, then cooked or fried with garlic and then mixed with any kind of meat (cow, goat, etc.).

Mr. C’s parents were largely influenced by and are now part of the Christian church. Mr. C, however, does not consider himself to be religious.

With the influence of the Christian church, much of Kenyan folk music traditions have been lost. Kenyan music is typically characterized by drums and guitars. Attempts to revive Kenyan music are being made through music festivals and through schools.

Males in Kenya dress much as they do in America, although they do not wear jeans. Females typically wear loose-fitting dresses or skirts and blouses.

Kenyan people are very superstitious. Mr. C recalls one superstition of his mother’s. Her first-born child was a son. Therefore, when she went out, away from her home, if the first person she met was a male (because her first-born was male), this was a sign that she would have a successful day. If, on the other hand, the first person she met was a female, this was a bad sign, and she would, in fact, turn around and go back home.

Another superstition of the Kenyan people concerned an owl. A cooing owl sitting in your tree is considered a bad omen. So everything possible is done to make the owl leave. If salt is put into the fire, it is believed that the owl will leave. Additionally, Kenyans will take an axe outside during a storm and will chop the ground, then leave the axe there. This, they believe, will effectively tame the storm. If a person offers you money with his left hand, this is also a bad sign, and it will be declined. If it is offered with the right hand, however, it will be accepted.
Some superstitions are functional. For example, when you shave your head, you are to dispose of your hair properly by burying it. If you do not, a witch could get it, and you are likely to have bugs coming out of your head. This superstition is functional in the sense that things are disposed of properly, thereby keeping the environment clean. Mr. C attributes these superstitions simply to a lack of education and says that even while he was in Kenya, he did not ascribe to them–primarily because of his education.

Like many of his peers, Mr. C entered primary school at age six. Primary school children are required to wear uniforms and shave their heads—both boys and girls. His home was just a short distance from the school compound; he lived close enough, in fact, that he could wait to run to school until he heard the bell. If students are late, they can expect to be punished by either the striking of a cane or by being assigned to menial tasks such as picking up garbage. He would attend school from 8 a.m. until noon. Then it was time for the daily chores of tending to the animals on his father's farm. His school uniform was exchanged for regular clothes (pants and shirt), after which the animals were taken out to graze. There were cows, goats, and sheep to be taken care of on his farm. Goats are very popular in Kenya for their meat, and they were raised by Mr. C’s family to be sold.

Mr. C's home was comprised of several small buildings. His parents and sister lived in one two-room house, and all of the boys lived in another two-room house nearby. Water had to be carried from a spring on their heads in traditional water pots; their bathroom was an outhouse. The kitchen was located in yet another separate building.

According to Mr. C, as each boy reached an age of between 18 and 20–and the necessity of courting young girls intensified–his own separate little house was built. Each of the boys eventually had a small house of his own, made of hand-made earth bricks. "There is a time," says Mr. C, "when a boy needs his own space." All his brothers, although now married, are still in their original houses on his parents' land.

Schools in Kenya are slightly different than they are in America. A typical school campus would be able to accommodate all primary grades. However, the campus is broken into many different buildings, and those buildings are filled with individual grades. A school campus also has a central soccer field and an outhouse. The most popular sports for children are net ball for females and soccer for males. Soccer is especially popular; Mr. C can, in fact, not remember any other games he played as a child.

Mr. C loved school from day one and was the best student in his class. From primary school (grades one through seven), one had to pass an exam to be admitted into high school. Only the highest-scoring students are admitted into the best high schools, and Mr. C was one of those. Broken into six "forms" [grades], the high school itself has two more national exams to be passed in order to be admitted into "university." Only the best and the brightest students actually make it to college. The first national exam is to be taken at the completion of form 4, and the second is to be taken at the end of form 6.

Unlike America, where education is paid for with tax dollars, not everyone in Kenya has the opportunity for an education past standard 7. Most parents are able to pay the fees for the education of their children through primary school, but unfortunately, many are unable to go any further.

After successfully passing his national exam, Mr. C was admitted into the University of Nairobi. During the course of his study of sociology and economics, he met a professor who recommended he pursue additional opportunities in America. With much encouragement from his professor friend, Mr. C applied for admission to and was accepted by Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He arrived in the States in 1994, studied for an additional six years, then made his way to Western Kentucky University in 2000, where he has since been teaching.

Perhaps the best way to better understand Mr. C’s culture is to look at the things in American culture that gave him cause for culture shock after first arriving in the United States. First of all, the sheer prosperity of America struck Mr. C. It began with his application for admission to Indiana University. There was a section on the application that spoke of parking permits on campus. To Mr. C, this was a totally foreign idea. In Kenya, there is no need for parking permits. There are far more parking spaces available than there are cars. Only the very rich in Kenya own cars. In America, on the other hand, even the very poor can own their own cars, something that would never happen in Kenya. The poor of America would not be considered so in Kenya–indeed, if they were to go to Kenya, they would find themselves "middle class." Needless to say, the day he owned his own vehicle was indeed a big event for Mr. C.

Secondly, there are so few pedestrians in America. In Kenya, the streets are covered with pedestrians. Kenyans walk many miles per day and are found on every street imaginable, walking in every direction. In America, only large cities have pedestrians of any significance.
Additionally, Mr. C was amazed with the amount of going out to eat that is done in America. In Kenya, families always go home to eat. Another thing he found different was the lack of warmth in people. In America, if one person is sitting in a two-seat bus row, the second seat is left empty until sheer necessity demands that it be filled. Strangers prefer to remain strangers in America, and there is no sense of community. That same seat in Kenya, on the other hand, would be filled up in an instant, and the people would identify it as a welcome opportunity to make the other’s acquaintance. Also, an overweight person in Kenya, unlike in America, is looked on as having success, wealth, and prestige. A small person is considered to be poor. If you are successful, people expect you to become larger, an expectation of Mr. C that has been a little disappointing to his mother.

In Kenya, even college life is different from what it is in America. Because only the best students are actually admitted to college, education is taken very seriously. Attendance policies are quite unnecessary; in fact, it is the teachers—not the students—who are more likely to not show up for class.

If able to take one element out of Kenyan culture and mix it with American culture, Mr. C says it would be the warmth and friendliness of his native people. In Kenya, relationships are stressed. There is no such thing as a stranger—at least not for long. If, for example, you go visit someone in Kenya, they are glad to have you and do not see you as an inconvenience. Instead, they engulf you with friendliness and hospitality. America, on the other hand, stresses individuality and personal achievement. Unlike Kenya, it is not considered socially correct in America to just drop in on someone without calling first. And it is hard for Mr. C to understand why, when running into a former student off campus, for example, they do not smile–they do not talk–they do not have time to even say hello. In America, too often it seems that once you have served your purpose in another person’s life, they are finished with you. This is not true in Kenya; in Kenya, each relationship is looked at as if it were a very precious jewel–one to be treasured for life.

There are several things, however, that Mr. C has picked up from American culture that give him reason for irritation when he returns to his native culture. If he is standing in a service line to pay a bill, for example, it now really irritates him when people do not wait their turn and just cut into line. Equally as irritating to him is their disregard for time. If he is meeting someone at a certain time, Mr. C will wait five minutes past the appointed time and then leave if the other person does not show up. They inevitably will show up about an hour late and say, "Where were you? I was there." Prior to coming to America, neither one of these things would have given him cause for concern. It was just the way it was done. When he goes back to Kenya to visit, his family and friends often tell him, "Calm down. This is not America. This is Kenya." They think he has lost his capacity for patience. They often ask about his life in America and cannot believe that there are actually poor people there. All they see in the media is the prosperity of the American people. When asked if he feels he has ever been discriminated against in America, Mr. C replied, "I probably have, but not that I’m aware of. I came from a country where I was a majority; therefore, I have nothing that tells me when I am being discriminated against." He said further that there have been occasions, for example, when he is with an American friend, and they will meet up with someone else. Afterward, his friend might take issue with the other person and will say, "I can’t believe he talked to you like that." Mr. C is totally unaware that something out of line has taken place. He had, in fact, taken what had been said as a joke. For example, if someone says, "Take Mr. C’s class; it’s so easy," some people would take that to be a discriminatory remark based on his race (referencing his class to be one that has standards that are less than a similar [white] professor’s class). Mr. C, however, would take that same statement as a joke instead of feeling discriminated against. Overall, he thinks that that is a very positive thing for him.

I have really enjoyed learning and writing about Mr. C’s culture. It is easy to see that he values and appreciates the culture into which he was born and raised. Anyone who is lucky enough to take one of his classes (or meets him elsewhere) will get a taste of the best of Kenya. In the spirit of his native Kenyan people, it was Mr. C who [unlike several others] made the time for me to conduct this interview. Instead of making me feel like I was a nuisance, he welcomed the interaction, and I attribute that largely to his culture. In discussing Mr. C’s culture with him, I have probably learned just as much about my own culture as I have Kenyan culture. We would all be well advised to look at and analyze our own culture with the critical eye of an outsider. We should learn about other cultures, take out the best, combine it with our own, and make our own new unique culture to pass down to our children. Americans could learn many lessons from Kenyans, the most valuable of which is this: the things in which you invest your money are not nearly so important as the people in whom you invest your time. I hope someday to be able to visit Kenya, for I think a culture that delights in relationships would indeed be a wonderful thing to experience.