My experiences as a physics exchange student in Nairobi

Comments and/or questions on this report

The most important personal experience I have made during my stay, and which I also emphasized in my first report, is the fact that despite all cultural differences the average Kenyan is not so different to the average German ("Otto-Normal-Bürger"). However, some "little" cultural deviations cannot be denied.

Let me give a very rudimentary description of the Kenyans. Nairobian people are in general quite western in their habits, especially students and businessmen. Obviously, this is a relict of the strong English influence in the past, so it is usually hard to find a person in Nairobi who cannot speak at all English, whereas in Mombasa and the whole coastal area some Kisuaheli knowledge would be an advantage (unfortunately my Kisuaheli was restricted to a minimum of words). The university system in particular seemed to be quite English and it is sometimes ridiculously exaggerated. For example, during the annual election of different student "officials" like: Chairman for the Halls, Vice-Chairman, Vice-Chairlady, Officials for Health, Accommodation, Sports, etc.  (there are also similar elections at the different faculties and at the university itself). Felix and I were usually quite amused about the very enthusiastic way the elections were carried out. I still remember the countless election posters of candidates, which reminded me on the American way of carrying out elections. Some special posters of candidates (especially from the male candidates) looked more like the old RAF police investigation photographs.

Furthermore, Kenyans are in general quite religious. Many of them go to church every week. The people in Nairobi are usually Christian, whereas at the coast the majority is Islamic. The strong faith in the Bible (or Koran) which Felix and I experienced in endless discussions about the truth of the Genesis Story: Adam and Eva versus the theory of evolution. Surely, we were never able to convince completely even one person about our view of the world concerning this special case, but at least some of these discussion were rather delightful (at least for me).

A big effort was to obtain the Student-ID and the Pupils-Pass (the Student-ID is an ID issued by the University of Nairobi, which shows that you are a student and the Pupils-Pass is a visa, which is usually valid for one or two years). It took me more than 6 months to get the Pupils-Pass, so I was only 2 months legally in the country. I obtained the Student-ID 2 days before I left Kenya to return to Germany. Concerning the Student-ID I should perhaps add, that a regular student, who registers in the beginning of the academic year, gets his/her Student-ID on the same day when he/she registers (which is only possible during the first 5 days at the beginning of the academic year). Because of some "little" difficulties concerning the choice of post- and undergraduate courses we could not register within these 5 days, but one or two months later, so that it became a real odyssey, running from office to office, again and again with no real final result. I always considered my problems with the bureaucracy and the "sporty" activity of running from office to office as a good experience of dealing with a different culture, university and goverment bureaucracy and especially as a good opportunity to improve my English (in all university and government offices English is spoken). In this context, I would like to add that I read just a few weeks ago reports from two ERASMUS exchange students in Toulouse and Paris. To my surprise, they were also confronted with exactly the same problems, which I was confronted with in Kenya. Therefore, such difficulties do not only occur in developing countries but seem to be everywhere. Thus, gaining some experience mastering them is very helpful for one's future.

Has this exchange programme satisfied my expectations?

Perhaps I should first explain what my expectations were. I think, a student exchange programme should serve the participant first of all by allowing him/her to deal with a different culture, to become integrated in this different culture and to improve the language skills. It goes without saying, that academic progress and development should not slow down, but anyone who wants to study at the University of Nairobi should be aware that it is not a world renowed university as, for instance, Cambridge or Berkeley. Also, those students who need the pressure of weekly problem sets / homework "suffer" at the University of Nairobi a lot. Problem sets / homework are rarely given (in general two problem sets per semester with the exception of the lecture Electrodynamics II by Professor Genga in which more problem sets were given). The participant of the exchange programme should therefore be highly motivated to study various subjects without the pressure of  problem sets / homework.
 
In summary, I can say that especially my expectation of improving my language skills and dealing with the different culture are sufficiently satisfied. From the academic point of view I was a little bit disillusioned (especially from the first semester of studies). However, the second semester was very enjoyable and fruitful, especially my project on general relativity. I am optimistic that the Freie Universität Berlin will give me credits for my studies in Nairobi by rewarding me two theoretical Scheine and one Lehrseminarschein.

Let me describe the Physics Department at the University of Nairobi. While the equipment in the Department of Physics unfortunately reflects the fact that Kenya is a developing country, I was quite surprised about the equipment in the Chiromo library, where in all important areas of physics a good collection of books can be found. Perhaps I should mention that these books are in general a little bit older, but for the sake of studying the fundamental pillars of physics, they are sufficient. I was also able to studying the works of the great physicists like Meaning of Relativity (Einstein), Theory of Relativity (Pauli), Relativitätstheorie (Von Laue) and others. Apart from that, the founder and co-ordinator of the exchange programme, Jürgen Theiss, used his personal funds to buy the physics books of the participants who were in Nairobi before me. This allowed the establishment of a small library which will be growing from year to year. It already includes standard works like Taschenbuch der Mathematik, Bronstein; Taschenbuch der Physik, Stoecker; Klassische Elektrodynamik, Jackson; Quantum Mechanics Vol. 1 and 2, Messiah. This collection is almost sufficient for studying theoretical physics. Perhaps, Goldstein (classical mechanics) and especially Reif (statistical mechanics) should still be added. In the second semester, I took the course "Project", as I already mentioned above, and chose to work on the topic "An aspect of stellar collapse" which is in the field of general relativity. I spent the majority of my time on it and it allowed me to learn much more about general relativity and its mathematical framework than if I had taken a course on the subject in Berlin. I hope that I will obtain a Lehrseminarschein for my project as the work on it was structured like a seminar in Berlin.

Besides the difficulties with the bureaucracy and studying physics much more can be experienced in Kenya. I lived a more hermitic life, so that I just spent 100 Euro of my scholarship for living expenses per month, whereas Felix obtained a much better knowledge of good restaurants and bars/cafés in Nairobi.

Everyone who comes to Kenya must not miss to go to one of the discotheques in Nairobi. I preferred the discotheque "Klub House", which very close to the student halls, because the majority of the people there were usually Kenyan and the surrounding was very comfortable for me. Furthermore, it was one of the discos one could walk to in about 10-15 minutes (perhaps I should just mention here that it is in general not recommended to walk at night or in the early morning in Nairobi).

The University of Nairobi has football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, running fields and even a swimming pool (which are all not in the best condition, especially the tennis field). They are directly at the border of the Chiromo Campus which thus allows doing some sport every day. In contrast to the Freie Universität Berlin there is no central sports office (Hochschulsportbüro). Instead, you just have to go straight to the field and join the respective sport groups. I only used the running field sometimes and during the last month of my stay more often the tennis court. For your information, the University of Nairobi is divided in different campuses for the different areas of study, e.g. Chiromo Campus houses the Faculty of Science which includes the Department of Mathematics, Physics, Geology, Chemistry as well as the Medical and Computer Sciences. On the Main Campus, which is very close to the Chiromo Campus, houses, for example, all language, history, etc.

In this context I should mention some practical information about the condition of the student halls. Every campus has student halls. The biggest among those are the student halls on Main Campus, which are very close to the city center (just a 5-10 minute walk), but which are also a little bit loud and crowded. Furthermore, the halls on Main Campus have notorious water problems (if there is water then it is always cold). In contrast, the student halls on the Chiromo Campus (which is just separated from the Main Campus by a 10 minute walk) have in general warm water and since they have their own bore hole, they usually have no water problems. The Chiromo Campus has a really nice environment including the park Aboretum which is a very good location for jogging. Furthermore, it is quite close to the city part Westlands, which is among the better parts of Nairobi and where Felix and I used to go to eat Fish n' Chips (or better sausage and chips).

Whoever wants to participate in the exchange programme should also take the opportunity to travel around Kenya, which for European standards is quite cheap. Unfortunately, I just visited some places in Kenya (Mombasa, Lamu, Kisumu, Kakamega and a few more) and I only went to a National Park where you can walk to rather than a bigger one, for which you need a car.

I think this should be enough for my final report. At the end, I just want to say some last words to all future participants of the programme. You should use this beneficial opportunity of living in Kenya as a student of the University of Nairobi with other Kenyan students to experience a little bit the real Kenya and not just the Kenya, which tourist and probably the majority of the people who work at the international organizations based in Nairobi experience. Just be a little bit Kenyan and keep cool and relaxed (even if it is sometimes a real effort).

I think, now I just say

Kwa heri.....