Update and Kenyan Culture

So I was finally able to upload a photo, sadly it took 20 minutes to do just one but I'll keep testing it and see what happens. This past Saturday was my first Saturday Program experience. The children really seemed to enjoy themselves and loved the fact that Paul and I are whiteys. They played games, raced, celebrated birthdays and were laughing, running, and flipping around the whole time.

That night, all the workers in the office and Peter went out for dinner and clubbing. It was a good time but Paul and I were wiped at around 2:00 A.M. and when Paul went over to ask Peter if we were heading out soon, he replied "4:30." That night, we didn't get back to Peter's place until 5:30 (that's Kenya for you). Then on Sunday, we met a board member, her children and her sisters and we hung out at an outdoor restaurant for about 5 or 6 hours. The music was so loud that Paul and I had to step out for a break every once in a while.

Now for a few things I have noticed of the Kenyan people and culture. Just so you all know, when I say Kenyans, I don't mean all Kenyans because I don't like to speak in generalities but I am saying the majority. The first thing I found interesting was their view on religion. 95% of Kenyans are Christian and most of the ones I've talked to follow the Bible in a very strict, blind manner. Peter is not one of them and he and I agree on a lot of things when it comes to religion but his wife for example, is one of the general populace. Many Kenyans believe that if anything good happens, it's God, and if anything bad happens, it's Satan. I was talking to Veronica, a case worker, and she told me that God helped the pilot get me here safely. I told her that it was simply the pilot's training and experience that got me here, she then asked me where he got that and I said from a teacher, she asked me where that teacher got the knowledge and I said research, and so on. Another example was that Peter's wife told me if a man rapes and murders a small child, that means that he has a demon. I told her no, he has a sexual psychiological disorder (among other issues) that can be fixed through extreme therepy, not exorcism. I believe that this thought process takes responsibility away from them and takes away the whole point to choice and logic, Peter agrees. Peter said that one reason many Kenyans believe this is because most of them havn't even traveled outside of Nairobi, let alone Kenya. Along with these beliefs comes the disdain for birth control which is one of the major facilitators to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Another cultural thing I've seen is a little different but if someone is working or eating with their hands, when you go to greet them they hold out their hand and you grab their wrist (unlike American culture where you just say "oh, my hands are messy." This really threw me off guard the first time and I just sort of lightly punched the guys hand. A third thing that Paul and I have both seen is the noise of this culture. Kenyans love loud sounds almost all the time, be it music, TV, talking, etc. Everytime Paul or I are watching TV at Peter's, if one of his sons comes by to watch with us, he sits down, grabs the remote, and turns it up a couple notches to the point where it hurts to listen too (and even in our bedroom we can hear the TV clearly). It's the same way with music no matter what time of day (I mentioned Paul and I having to take breaks from the music because we couldn't talk to each other, we could only yell). One final cultural difference is the way Kenyans are socially. In America, we spend maybe a couple hours with a friend to grab lunch or something but here, you spend the entire day with one friend. Sorry this one was so long but I just wanted to let you guys know about the Kenyan beliefs and culture.