Alex Haynie, nicknamed “Aliki” by some of his new Strathmore friends, is an associate at Strathmore University Foundation now in Kenya until December on a three-month exchange assignment to further the collaboration of SUF with Strathmore University.  A 2008 graduate of Princeton University from North Wales, PA, Alex is interning with three of Strathmore’s departments: athletics, community outreach, and alumni development. He is keeping a journal of his experiences and impressions.

The American influence on Kenyan culture is astounding.  Though many African tribes retain much of their cultural heritage in towns that are miles from Nairobi, I am struck by how Westernized Nairobi is. The far-reaching effects of globalization have undoubtedly impacted Nairobi, and it’s clear from here that most of the world is connected technologically.

I sat at a cyber café yesterday and the girl next to me was using Gmail and Facebook.

As my plane touched down in Nairobi, John Mayer’s pop hit “Waiting on the World to Change” came through the speakers and welcomed me to Kenya (granted, we were on a Dutch airline, but I was expecting to hear different music).

On my second day here I was purchasing “shower slippers” in the local supermarket called Nakumatt Mega (Kenya’s version of Wal-Mart), and the famous song called “Africa” by the American rock band Toto played over the loudspeakers.

Matatus (Nairobi’s buses) pump American rap and hip hop music all the time, and are decorated by stickers of American artists and products.

The TV room on the first floor of my residence hall has American shows on 75% of the time, and MTV’s music videos are very popular.

On walks through Nairobi, I often see locals wearing NY Yankees hats, Philadelphia Eagles shirts, Lake

Tahoe sweatshirts, and lots of other clothing with American sponsored names.  I’ve also seen a lot of clothes that look like they’ve been donated (St. Francis Bowling League, for example).

While many Kenyans tell me that they want to visit America, almost all say that they want to live in Kenya when they get older.