The Borlaug Blog

This internship has been nothing short of amazing so far, I can only look forward to how the next 3 weeks will play out for me. So far it has been nothing but new perspectives everywhere I look, and that may be one of my favorite aspects of my time. Studying abroad has always been spoken of as an experience every student should work towards for themselves as the newfound insight you gain from immersing yourself in a culture that differs from yours is a lifetime ordeal.

During my endeavors in Kenya, I have encountered things that are in significant contrast to what I have sensed back home. As I moved through my day it was hard to not notice certain changes in what i am used to having around me. One of the major changes I felt was the weather, with Kenya being in the South Eastern hemisphere the seasons are opposite to what we experience in the States. While it is the middle of summer for us, for them it is currently winter time, while their winter season is not as cold as I am used to being from Michigan and all the temperatures it reaches and the reactions to it had me surprised. In the morning the temperature was only at a low of 52 degrees, to me this was not unbearable but for those that live in close proximity to the equator it felt like it was freezing to them. Seeing a large quantity of people wearing puffer jackets in 65-70 degree weather was something I did not expect and when asked how I felt about the temperature as I wore less than others I had to tell them it wasn’t cold in the slightest. I can only imagine what I would experience if my internship took place during their summer season.

Being from a densely populated city, I am used to hearing sounds all through the night, whether it is people conversing outside my window, loud cars zooming past, and just the general ambience of the city hustle. Even at school which is in a rural setting I can still hear those sounds at a more miniscule scale, but since being in the wilderness of the country of another continent I have not heard any of that at all. As I am housed on a farm setting I will hear the calls of different birds, see monkeys climbing around my balcony, and the irritating buzz of a fly in my ear every second. It has been a complete 180 to what I have grown accustomed to hearing. When the animals sleep the farm is so quiet it's as if I could hear a water droplet from the other side of the house. A change that I look forward to since being here is waking up to the rooster crowing like in the movies.

I wouldn’t say that my personal convictions have significantly affected my experience here so far. I have distinguished some differences between my culture and the culture of Kenya but nothing that has outright affected my life. I can say that being here is teaching me the importance of certain words, and how I can employ them in my life. A glaring example is how in-my-face consistency has been to me. It is something I have always struggled with during my developing years, and it has led to unnecessary hardships that could set me back. As I build routines during this time, I built up my consistency and I learned through my mother that planning ahead is something I need to utilize on a daily basis and I am still currently learning to stop trying to operate off the top of my head. I think that that is one of the missing factors to my success as I grow in life and the sooner I master it completely the more content I will feel with myself. While I am perfecting it, I spoke with my dad and what he said really stuck with me, “Stay consistent, don’t fall off” he started, “You are more than enough when it comes to anything you are doing,” he explained that I shouldn’t stop what I am doing because I think I am lacking something, whether it is working out or reading. His words will stick with me to not only stay consistent in my endeavors but also help improve how I see myself, as I will remember his words about being enough for anything, and that was needed especially while I complete this abroad experience.