Classes-- Because, Yes, that's what I'm here For

Classes

As hard as it is for me to believe, yes, we are here to take classes. And, although most of us here are itching to get to our internships, which is the main selling point of this program, having seven weeks of classes before hand will prepare us with background knowledge about the country, some basic Swahili (if all goes well), and some take away questions to evaluate as we go through our internships with our respective organizations.

We take classes at Nazarene University, on Ngong Road in Kilimani. Kilimani is right next to Jamhuri, where I live, although as mentioned before, it is a 45 minute walk each way. The buildings are modest, but equipped with classrooms, desks, and whiteboards, along with some of the best professors we will ever have the pleasure of learning from. There are other classes that take place at Nazarene, but they are sporadic and it is not a four-year university. Think of a few buildings in a gated compound with teachers and students scattered in an out throughout the day and you will have a good concept of what it is like. I will send pictures soon, I promise. (How many times will I type that this semester?)

We normally start our mornings with Kiswahili, much to my dismay. The first couple days were fun, but when I realized I was going to have to tap into my memorization skills and rely on repetition as the main form of learning, the novelty quickly wore off. We have four Swahili teachers that rotate from class to class. There are two beginning classes, one intermediate and one advanced. Our beginners class has eleven students (mwanafunzi) in it. The saving grace about Kiswahili is that it is absolutely phonetic and the way things are spelled is the way they are said. However, the letters they put together to make words, the words they consider multi-syllabic is quite the challenge. As Americans, we are thrown off by the Nyinyi, Ng, Mb, Kaa(two syllables), etc. I enjoy learning languages, but we are in total immersion mode and we go through material very fast. There are those students that have piles of flashcards and who are very diligent about going home and committing the days lesson to memory. I am no such student. The invitation to cyber cafes, soccer pitches, coffee houses, and basically anywhere else we wander often detracts from my studies. And when I say often, I mean always. Also, we were not required to buy the books, as they have a surplus at the MSID office, which I might add is out of the way of our extracurricular excursions and takes a devoted afternoon’s walk to go to. So guess who has yet to go get a book. I am the only one to blame for my stumbling fumbling Swahili phrases. They are finally slowing down the lessons and we are scheduled to have a test next week. God help me.

We stop Swahili at 1030, if not earlier, for tea break. Our teachers will lament about how many lessons we have to cover, but as the time slowly approaches 1015ish, they are itching for their chai fix. Kenyans and their tea. It’s wonderful. After a 15 (read 45) minute tea break, we either have Country Analysis or International Development class.

I must devote a new paragraph to speak about the wonder of our professors. Dr. Jama, the head of the International Development Studies Department at the University of Nairobi is our Development teacher and wow are we lucky to have him. Jama is a biiig deal around Nairobi. He is well traveled, very well studied, and one of the most eloquent men I’ve ever listened to. He has just the right amount of accent to keep us entertained and his demeanor is so inviting, we all wish we were his host students. What makes Jama so amazing is not only his very straightforward attitude, but also his integrity when speaking about international development in Kenya. He is very good about speaking to both sides, putting responsibility where it should be, and integrating personal anecdotes, statistics, and other accounts that could only be told by a person who has lived to see what has happened in Kenya over the last few decades. Jama has lived through Kenya’s struggle for independence and has witnessed the development of Kenya during pre and post colonization. He is in short the most qualified, entertaining, and captivating lecturer I have encountered thus far in my academic career.

Fred, the Country Analysis professor closely follows in amazement. Fred’s accent is slighter thicker than Jama’s which makes is that much more interesting to listen to. In addition to being well-versed and a PHD candidate (he just submitted his doctoral thesis), he integrates ridiculous drawings and animations into his lecture. Fred will often draw a blob on the whiteboard, call it a lion or an elephant, and then demonstrate how a massai would go about capturing it (with sounds and multiple roles included). It is the most amusing thing ever, which he then follows up with in his thick British/Kenyan accent “Now, look at that?” His class focuses on the history of the structure of Kenya pre and now post colonization and the way things have progressed to the point where they are now. He and Jama both have given us so much information and insight into the journey Kenya has had through independence and have provided insight into the road and struggles that lie ahead for the government and the people of Kenya. I can honestly say I have never been taught by more qualified and invested individuals. These two men are so committed to their country, even though they could be much more successful and wealthy if they had packed up and left Kenya for good. Both of them have lived in various places in the world and chose to return to their homeland and dedicate their careers to educating the next generation. They are in short absolutely amazing.

After the second session of class, we have a lunch break for 45 minutes (read hour or so) and finish the day with whatever class we didn’t have during the second session. It is weird for us to be in class from 8:30- 3:30 everyday, except that there are so many holes and free afternoons, the time flies by. We will randomly have an afternoon or two off to work on “assignments” aka wander around Nairobi. We have three 10-15 page papers due at the end of the semester that I absolutely must start working on. Once I leave for my internship, research and references will be hard to come by.

Weekdays here are fairly regimented, everyone is on the same schedule, but it works for most of us. It’s definitely an adjustment, but I think we appreciate getting into a routine that has helped us settle into our lives here. The coursework is rigid, but it is at least a semster’s worth of information and assignments compact into seven weeks, so that is to be expected. As I sit here now, my Swahili workbook is staring at me, with crosswords and translations waiting to be completed.

Back to work.