Malte Vogl

Final report on studying physics in Kenya

August 2006

From left to right: Jochen Ott, Prof. Aduda (Chairman, Physics Department), me, and Robert Bierkandt

One academic year as an exchange student at the University of Nairobi (UoN) lies behind me. Still in Kenya but out of university I now have to review.

First of all, the fact that I am still in Kenya reveals it, it was a good year in many aspects. The Chairman of Department of Physics, Prof. Aduda, fulfilled all my wishes concerning the freedom to choose whatever course I wanted to take and in general the staff of the UoN were very friendly and helpful. So after some orientation, I was able to attend some very good lectures, which perfectly fitted into my curriculum at the Technical University (TU) Berlin. Especially the master courses I listened to (General Relativity Theory and Astrophysics) will hopefully be the completion of my studies in Germany (if the TU Berlin will acknowledge them). Even if some of the other courses have been a repetition for me, the 4th year courses gave me the opportunity to deepen my knowledge in mathematical fields as well as in the region of theoretical solid state physics and laser physics.

Harold

During the lectures, I became good friends with many of my fellow students, which made life at the university easier and happier. But knowing them was only the foundation of a broad spectrum of friends I found in all social groups. The so called German round table for example offered me the possibility to become known to many German speaking and learning Kenyans, every first Wednesday of the month. My Kenyan friends were one of the major reason for me to feel at home in Kenya.

But of course I didn't study all the time. During the semester holidays I was able to discover the whole variety of landscapes, animals and cultural traditions Kenya offers. We did some really challenging hikes in the Mount Kenya region and the Kakamega rain forest, I did some safaris with friends and family and I was also lucky enough to observe a Massai circumcision ceremony. Another cultural highlight was the Maulidi festival on the island Lamu, where the birth of the prophet Mohammed was celebrated. Friends even invited us to pray with them the Friday prayer in the mosque, which was a high honor for us.

Uhuru Park, Nairobi

On the other hand the year has also had its shadow sides. First of all, even with many friends, I still was the white outsider as soon as I left the everyday routine. A walk through the outskirts of Nairobi was always accompanied by lots of young children, shouting in Swahili: movie star, movie star. The only whites they know are the stars from Hollywood movies. From older Kenyans I was often addressed as Mzungu (which means European or White) and the question "How are you?" was more a test of their school English than a question out of politeness. Those things were quiet unnerving in the long term as they made it very hard to cross the barrier between being a stranger and friend to those people. After some time, I became affected by it and lost trust in the trustworthiness of some of the Kenyans around me. I also consider it quiet racist to be called "European", as I would never address a Kenyan in Germany with "African".

Security was also an issue. For example it was never good to walk at the University grounds after 10pm as the guards would have left their post at that time. On one occasion we were mugged at 7.30pm on the way to friends. The three robbers were small boys from 15 years maybe, armed with one machete.

Crossing a river in the Kakamega Rainforest

But being too afraid would have denied me many interesting impressions as for example the River Road area or the big second hand market of Gigomba. Both areas are considered very dangerous by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany. The same with the question of going by Matatu, the overfilled minibuses. Sure its dangerous but its also fun. Nontheless, with my white skin I always was the target for hawkers, safari operators or street children. Even in the middle of Nairobi with lots of rich Kenyans around me, I was the one who was asked for money. Of course it is clear that this prejudice comes from the white tourists who are throwing out their money on their holidays, as well as from influences of colonial times. But still it was kind of unfair, that there was always the normal price and the white price and that no one ever believed me when I said, I can't give you that money. To deal with that in long term was and is a problem, but when I am in a good mood it doesn't influence me much.

After this bad aspects of the year in Kenya I want to conclude my impressions much more positively. I never had the feeling of being at the wrong place, nor wanting to go back to Germany in the whole year. In contrary, I would even like to extend my stay if not for family back home and the need to finish my studies in Germany. Looking back at this year, I can only say that it was one of the best experience I ever had, both in scientific and social aspects. I profited a lot of the experiences and would not like to have missed it for any reason.

For further reports and pictures from Kenya, please visit www.maltevogl.de. (Reports are in German.)
Für weitere Berichte und Bilder aus Kenya, besucht bitte www.maltevogl.de .