School and Internship

I have been criticized by a few people for not posting anything.  I knew I would be bad at this considering my attempt at keeping a journal while I was here was a complete fail.

I started my classes at USIU (United States International University). I’m not sure of the best way to describe them. Strange, different, infuriating, enlightening- they all seem to fit. USIU tries to be like a U.S. university but it isn’t. Classes are structured more like high school. There’s a lot of lecturing and not much class discussion. I have ‘reading checks’ to make sure I did the reading. They are true or false quizzes with 10 questions about the reading. I think the last time I had quizzes like that I was in Saint Mary’s. It usually takes about an hour to get to school. I have to take a matatu from the AU Abroad office into town and then from there I take the USIU bus. Each ride is bumpy (due to road construction and poor infrastructure) and it’s hard to breathe because the air is so dusty and polluted.  It normally takes  about two hours to get home. USIU days are long. One of my professors is from the U.S. and the other is Kenyan and does not hide is negative thoughts about the U.S.. It’s a learning experience.

I have Kiswahili three days a week. I finally know the basics like- ‘My name is….’ I am from…’ and ‘I am a student.” But I still speak English everywhere I go. Most people here speak it very well and automatically address me in English since I am white.

I started my internship at Kwani Trust (www.Kwani.org) two weeks ago. Kwani? Is a non-profit book publisher. They specialize in East-African authors. They publish a yearly journal which is a collection of short stories, essay, poems, etc. from various authors. They have a few short novels and short story collections as well as a mini-book series. I am working in their communications and marketing department. I’m helping them put together their annual report and monthly newsletters. I will also be trying to get them funds to create a mini-library for people in the area.  They’re all about encouraging creativity and getting people to read.

There was a book fair this past week. We set up a stand (which was awesome) and sold books and tee-shirts. It made me realize that Kwani? Is truly one of a kind. Most of the other stands were educational or religious books. Kwani? Publishes writings on hot topics in Kenya and East-Africa. They have a few things that focus on the post-election violence, writings on other major events and writings about the day to day life in Kenya and all their authors are from this area and know it well. There are a lot of books about Africa written by Westerners. Many of the customers were happy to see books about their home written by people who know it best.

I’ll start working on a post about my weekend trips now.