This is a very interesting thread, while reading Msesh, Pippy & acq ‘s accounts, I felt as if I’m the one who made that journey. I think ya’ll should try and not be so politically sensitive, because sometimes when one is trying to make a point here, they are not intentionally trying to be offensive, they just neglect the fact that on some issues one has to be politically correct. To enjoy the gist of the thread here one has to at least understand that people are contrasting two different sides of a cultural phenomenon.
Most of the replies are from jamaas who have come from abroad it would be nice to hear from females who have come from abroad, do men throw themselves at you?
Nerimae is right, the frequency of HIV infections in Kenya grossly out do those in some western countries but by no means should we even assume that Kenyan jamaas living abroad are by any means best at being responsible. A lot of infected people get it through promiscuous husbands or other means not just careless sex. Back at home it’s not just a behavioral problem but socio-economic.
Anyway I am very wary of Jamaas abroad, and don’t favor any man according to where he lives. Here in Finland the entire country has like 2000 estimated cases of people with HIV only with the country population being 5.62 million. You find African men having unprotected sex on the premise that hakuna ukimwi. Even when the stats clearly show that many cases were from people who came from countries with a high HIV infection rate. A jamaa or chic will have a merry go round of sexual encounters without worry; you can imagine the domino effect if only one of them was infected. Infections aside.
My biggest worry about moving back home is the reverse culture shock, how people conduct business etc. A few weeks ago I was on the phone calling different places in Kenya and the reception was so bad I almost broke down in tears. I almost cancelled the whole trip, because I was over whelmed at the astounding possibility of not being able to cope with a different kind of stress. I’d try to get some service and I’d get a silly statement like “we only do this for Kenyans,” and I’d say I’m Kenyan and we’d go back and fourth with the person saying I don’t sound Kenyan wtf! And after they establish you are Kenyan, another air descends on the conversation; you almost find your self being apologetic for having lived abroad.
There was a secretary in a very big company (who may even be a mashadite) who replied my email and started with a greeting “Hallow! (like hallow be thy name) signed off with her nickname, several high ranking ones even addressed me in official emails by giving me a nick name in the first email. I don’t expect special treatment, but common courtesy and professionalism is hard to come by.
You need sensibility, and very thick skin to adjust to the Kenyan way of life.
Pippy your thread was very funny, esp about the girls who come to play with your nephews. I wish people would continue giving their experiences.
Stay abroad. -
04-25-2008, 09:02 AM
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