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 Pennsylvania, 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.

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Ugali, samosas, and mokimu (also called irio) have replaced sandwiches, pizza, and hamburgers in my diet here in Kenya. 

 

As I’ve experienced it, Kenyan meals include starches, vegetables, and meats.  I eat my meals at my residence hall (which is a mile from the University) in the mornings and evenings, and at the Strathmore cafeteria during the day.  Breakfast at my residence hall includes bread with jam and tea, and every fourth day we get mandazis—which are pieces of fried bread that are sweet and puffy.  They are sort of like croissants, but darker in color. 

 

Most people at Strathmore go for tea in the mid-morning, and this has been very enjoyable for me.  Not

only is it nice to have a small bite to eat (usually a mandazi), but I’ve appreciated having the tea time to meet with many of the great personalities here on the faculty and staff at Strathmore.  Sometimes we discuss work, but often I am able to simply enjoy the short break with some of my co-workers.  Today in the cafeteria we got into a debate about Christianity and evolution.  

 

Lunches, as I’ve experienced them here, are much like the dinners in Kenya.  There are almost no sandwiches—a stark contrast to lunches in the U.S.  Keeping with the theme of starches, veggies and meat, I usually get rice and beef, and occasionally some vegetables (in place of rice, I sometimes get chips—which are the same as American French fries—which here in Kenya will fill an entire plate).  I try to eat only the cooked veggies.  In Kenya, beef is much more prevalent than chicken—I’m told that chicken is much more expensive here, which is another difference from the U.S.  I also occasionally eat a samosa for lunch, which is a triangle-shaped breaded-crust, with minced-meat inside. I enjoy seeing one restaurant’s marketing campaign to sell chicken; since the Swahili word for ‘chicken’ is ‘kuku,’ and Kenyans speak English and Swahili, the marketing slogan is “We’re kuku for chicken!”  Haha. 

 

Dinners repeat themselves every few days at my residence hall, and we usually get a big plate of rice with veggies poured on top, or occasionally rice with some goat meat (which is usually laden with fat).  If we don’t have rice, we get green mashed potatoes, called mokimu here, or a staple of the Kenyan diet: Ugali. 

Ugali is the definition of a starch: it is hardened flour with water, and that’s it.  Sometimes called “Kenyan cake,” ugali is no birthday cake, but it’s good enough and pretty filling. 

 

Though I’ve been hungry after many meals I’ve had in Kenya, the food is fine.  The food at Studyville (my residence hall) is rationed, in that you get one plate of food, which someone else serves you, and there are no seconds.  I’ve taken to buying a loaf of bread at the local supermarket and chowing down on some slices after dinner.

 

My stomach has been strong for most of my time here in Kenya, though I often feel like there are tiny razor blades moving around in my belly after meals.  I did have one nasty bout with some bacteria (which rendered me to the bathroom for two days), but fortunately I had several nice friends check on me during that time, and my stomach has been strong since.

 

All in all, the food in Kenya is okay, and I’m grateful to have enough to eat, especially when I know there are people nearby who are hungry.