Uniquely Kenyan Traits

Everywhere you go in Nairobi you can find people who are fluent in English. It’s like a mini-western world. Compared to India, I felt completely at home. There were no hostile glances; I was not considered the intruding, white Christian foreigner. In fact, in many ways I felt like I belonged to this culture of friendly people who dressed in jeans and t-shirts, spoke English, and failed to adhere to eastern religious or cultural customs. However, in many ways, I was definitely the outsider. I couldn’t relate to the way they lived, the way they did business, the way they bartered, the way they cooked, the way they greeted.

In this post, I would like to share some of the uniquely Kenyan cultural traits I observed. Although I’m sure these traits are shared by other people groups and countries, they are not practiced in America and therefore were completely new to me.

For example, how people greet. In the States it’s with a handshake or hug, in India it’s with a slight bow, in Africa it’s different. Women greeting men usually shake hands. Women greeting women grab the hand as if about to shake, then are pulled in a pseudo embrace pressing their cheeks together on one side of the face, pulling away, and repeating on the other side of the face. It was so meaningful and loving. I felt more accepted by some of the people there I had barely met then I do with some people I’ve known for years. But, in the same way, I would probably be completely uncomfortable greeting people in the States that way.

When meeting people while they are eating, they may only offer you their wrist. The first time this happened I didn’t know what to do, so I tried to grab the man’s hand and shake it. Later on, Ruthie explained they offer the wrist when their hand is dirty. Usually you just grab the wrist and shake it as if it were the hand. I however had not been told this beforehand, so I just exhibited my Western ignorance. Hopefully, he was gracious enough to overlook it…

Like India, the left hand is offensive and unclean in Kenyan culture. If you have to use your left hand to shake someone else’s due to distance, positioning, etc., it is imperative that you apologize beforehand for using the left hand. You ask for forgiveness, letting them know the offense was unavoidable and not intentional. Feet didn’t seem to be as offensive to the Kenyans as they were in India, but I can’t be positive they actually weren’t.

Kenyans are fairly conservative in how they dress (minus their bright colors). Woman are usually in skirts/dresses and men will dress up daily. It’s not uncommon to see people in several layers of clothing. This surprised me in the heat – some people would be wearing three layers or sweaters, long-sleeve dresses, suit jackets. At first I thought it might be because that was all the clothing they owned so they wore it. But then I asked, and it appears that part of the reason could be due to the cool mornings and evenings and needing protection from the sun. It was humorous at times – when it got to be about 60 degrees in the evening, the night guards would be bundled up in coats and scarves. Julia even mentioned that in Sudan the kids come to class bundled up in parkas and snow suits when it’s cool (75 degrees).

Kenyans walk everywhere. You will always see people walking. Most Kenyans don’t have vehicles. And then there are some who have unique vehicles – donkeys and carts, motorbikes, matatus, suvs. I’m a fan of the walking part…pretty sure it keeps them all slender and healthy. There are road venders everywhere too. And they sell everything from newspapers and flowers to roasted corn and pirated dvds. They walk back and forth through the cars during the traffic jams that are so common or stand on the street corners selling their wares.

House helpers. Usually there is one man or woman in the home employed by the owners to help with household chores. These include washing dishes, grocery shopping, preparing meals, laundry, cleaning, sewing, and if there are children, nannying the kids. I was talking with one MK who has grown up in Africa her entire life and she was telling me about her sho-sho. I’m not sure what the proper definition of the term is, but it seems close to the house helper. Her sho-sho did the dishes, taught her Swahili, and taught her how to cook traditional African foods. These house helpers have a huge impact on the families they work for and, to an extent, become part of the family. Now, please don’t think of a house helper as a maid. Although that may be the closest equivalent we have to them in the States, they are not the same. House helpers are highly respected people. It is not considered demeaning to have them do your work for you, because in this culture it’s providing people with a much-needed income and purpose. Everyone has a house helper in Kenya.

When we were headed to Ruthie’s house for the first time after arriving at the airport, she asked if I knew about Victor. I didn’t, and she proceeded to tell me he was their house help. She mentioned that she doesn’t talk much about it in the States because people don’t understand. Since I had been to India where I was chastised for even rinsing my dishes there, I totally understood what a house help was. Just another Kenyan trait for those of you who didn’t know though…

There are so many other things I could mention, but this post is long enough already :) I still want to do a post on the few Swahili words I learned and one on transportation, but those will be separate. Haha! If you’ve made it to the end of these posts, I salute you. I know they are long, but I want to preserve the memories I have while I still have them! I don’t blame you if you chose to skim or not finish all of them. That’s your privilege…but you’re missing out if you do so ;)