Marie Feldmann - Mathare, Kenya

Kenya 2011/2012

I chose an internship in Kenya. On December 14th 2011 I arrived in Nairobi. The first thing I noticed was the smell of the air - there was a blast of warm wind off miles of savannah. When I got to the arrival hall I saw some AISECers waiting for me. They welcomed me with open arms and I felt comfortable from the first second. Afterwards I was brought to the house of my host family, which I had chosen to stay with. At the beginning I was wondering why there are so many people in this house, but I got to know that this is really normal for Kenyan families. All family members were really merciful and kind.

On the next day my buddy and I went to town in order to get an overview about the place I would stay in for the next two month. I tried to keep in mind everything she said, but it was a little bit overwhelming - all these new impressions: 40 degrees in the shadow, dust everywhere you looked, many people who touched me because of my white skin colour and loud music from the radios of matatus.

It was December and I was used to have snow; that’s why I couldn’t get into Christmas spirit although they celebrate Christmas like Europeans. We had a really nice BBQ called “Nyama choma“ on Christmas eve with all the family members. It was great to see how they celebrate it.

After Christmas time there were still Christmas holidays in Kenya, so I couldn`t start my work at school. Thus we booked a trip to the coast of the country with all the other AIESECers. It was a great experience to see another part of the country which is totally different from the part I got to know some days before – geography, as well as Kenyan people.

We spent New Years Eve there, and after coming back I began to work at the school. I got an internship at MUMO School in Mathare. The first day going to the slum was totally new for me. I was shocked about the way people have to live there. When I arrived at school I looked furtively into the classroom. At the first moment I was so stunned and my eyes were filled with tears. But then I braced myself and went in. All these small brown eyes just starred at me. The children silenced and waited for me to tell them who I am. Of course I introduced myself but nothing changed, they looked shocked. So I started playing games and singing songs together with them in order to put them into a good mood. And of course they began to scratch off the “white colour“ from my skin and opened my braid to get to know me, the stranger from Norway looking so different.

Everyday when I went to school I had to teach most of them. They were 40 pupils so I started just to separate them into age classes and then I gave tastes to every group. At the beginning it was very challenging to teach so many children at the same time in only one room but I got used to it and it became more fun from day to day.

To put it in a nutshell I can say that I really enjoyed this trip. I learnt a lot from getting to know many new different people, to speaking Kiswahili and traveling around the Kenya. I also had to realize that all these assumed problems we have, are not real problems. This stay in Kenya definitely shaped my view on things. Therefore I can just advise everybody to use this opportunity and go abroad for an internship!