Mario Konschake

My experiences as a physics exchange student in Nairobi 

November 2004
(revised November 2005)


 
Department of Physics at the University of Nairobi.  Lunch outside - everyday
Being back in Berlin I am asked quite often how it is like to study physics in Africa: It is far too ambivalent to fit into two sentences and even two pages will not be enough.

If you have read my report on my first impressions you will know about the lecturers' strike which was finally called off in the middle of February. Returning to lectures we had six more weeks until the start of the examinations. Altogether there were three examinations for me to sit. A single examination consists of a short test and the actual exam making up the largest contribution to the final mark. Since both tests are quite similar it is not too difficult to pass. There are no essential differences between exams in Nairobi and Berlin. However, learning by heart is higher rated there than it is here in Berlin and the marking system is different. Furthermore for me it was unusual not to get my results before the end of the academic year.

Unfortunately before the second term started I was faced with a difficult decision. Since the whole second term was postponed I would not have been able to finish it and to go back to Germany in the middle of June, which is the normally the end of Kenya's academic year. Finally, still not being sure if it is the right decision, I decided not to sit the second terms examinations and to go back to Germany instead as originally planned. I chose to leave many interesting things undone and nice things unseen, which was not an easy step at all.
 
Faith serving sheep sausage for us at her rural home
Within the eight months in Nairobi my horizons were broaden. I understood a tiny bit of a foreign mentality and I obtained an insight in Africa's heritage as well as in its current problems and struggles. Probably because Africa now has a face for me my curiosity for this continent is still very high and even rose. In particular, I became very much interested in opportunities and problems of development politics. Now I can imagine working in this field eventually and maybe I will go back to Nairobi one day.

Considering its position Nairobi definitely is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. By being located relatively high above sea level it is spared from the high temperatures usually found in Africa. The smog is also tolerable and it is very green and crossed by rivers. As I used to get up in the mornings in Germany I was sometimes rather sleepy and lazy. By contrast, when I woke up in Nairobi I usually got hit by a ray of sunlight giving every day a good start. Although you will never forget being in an African capital city you can find Nairobi very western if you like it to be - and if you can afford it, of course. Unfortunately crime rates are among the highest in the world making it inadvisable to wander around at night. This is a pity especially because at the equator the night is twelve hours long and because there is an active nightlife as well. 

 
Experiencing public transport in Nairobi: a bike taxi and a colourful bus

Being a mzungu (white man) in Kenya is a very special issue, I do not want to neglect. Of course, you are very noticeable, so noticeable that in remote areas you hardly can walk a minute without having a crowd of cheering kids walking with you. When we were in a friends rural home (see picture of our friend Faith above) there was an old woman waiting for hours just to see us. Besides those harmless experiences we were seen often as somehow untouchable. Usually we were treated with more respect, more cautious even if we did not behave differently. Although this sometimes turns out to be helpful most of the time it feels strange because it is so antithetic to your very own perception. Sometimes it is even rather intimidating. For example we were usually considered to be very wealthy, for understandable reasons. So after a while even the most reserved person asked for "something small". In the first few months these experiences made me angry every time but at the end of my stay I became more relaxed and started to understand more and more the people's motivation.

 
Making friends: a chameleon, kids in a rural area
In Nairobi and also since I am back in Germany I thought a lot about the privileged role I had there and I still have here. This probably was the most salutary experience I was allowed to make.

Although I would like to return to Kenya or Africa in general for a longer period in the future I think it is quite hard to integrate yourself. Many western people I met seemed to be rather isolated. Coming from such a different background it was hard for me to overcome those barriers. For most of the students I probably still was the weird stranger as I left.

Concluding, being in Berlin during a dark and rainy November, I look back and sometimes I wish to be in Nairobi. I learned much about East-Africa and also about myself. I understood many things even though they had nothing to do with physics. I am asked quite often how it was. I always reply that I cannot tell it in a few sentences, not even two pages are enough. But I also always answer that I would always do it again without hesitating. So far, I consider it as the greatest experience I ever made in life.

I am very grateful to the people of the Berlin-Nairobi-Exchange and to DAAD for making my study visit to Kenya possible.
Sunrise 5000 m above the sea: ascent on Mt. Kenya
  
Mario Konschake, November 2004 (and November 2005)
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