Names and Goodbyes
Flash back to week one 9 o’clock at night, we arrive in at the Nairobi airport and we walk out to look for the sign with our names and icipe. After 10 minutes of looking we can’t seem to find the people to take us to campus, eventually I find a man with a sign “James Ketcham.” Close enough I said to myself and introduced myself to our driver for the night. Little did I know this would just become my Kenyan name.
For the whole first few days I introduced myself as “Colton Ketcham” until I realized that no one had ever heard of the name Colton and begun calling me, Gordon, Cotton, and other obscured names that was nowhere near Colton at all. So naturally my name just became James because It was an easy name that everyone knew.
During my time in Kenya I acquired more names as time went on with the most memorable of all of them being Mzungu. Mzungu is translated directly from Swahili meaning “someone who roams around aimlessly” but truly means “white man.” Mzungu became the name the children screamed as we drove by or how anyone got my attention. At one point of interviewing farmers we were walking down the road and approached a group of young children who sang to me in all the English that they knew, “Mzungu how are you? Mzungu how…” until I was completely out of sight! Anywhere we would travel in rural Kenya I was the focus of the children and at any time possible they would walk up to shake hands, so they could tell their mothers that they met a Mzungu today. Other interesting names I was called were Jimbo, Jimmy, Steven, (this one really confused me) and Mister.
To them I became James, which so happened to be my father’s name. Being called James kind of drove my work because I always feel like if I work my hardest and do my best, it would be something my dad would be proud of. The people here have made the biggest impact on my life and I hope that I have made a difference in their lives too through my research and time spent together. I think some people would be so annoyed to be called a name that wasn’t their own, but I am honestly so thankful because in some aspect it has connected me with my father somehow. During my time here in Kenya I have felt him watching over me and It’s weird to think that I traveled 10,000 miles from home to find my dad. It took me using my middle name to remind me that I truly am my father’s son. The people here will always remember me as James and I will never forget them. He lives in me and I’m proud to be able to carry on a part of him.
I’d like to thank my advisors, supervisors and everyone at icipe for giving me such a great experience. I want to thank my teachers, especially Gail Kunch for introducing me to The World Food Prize and being the best mentor in the world! Thank you to my mom for being the biggest role model in my life. She has taught me that the strength of a person is not measured by the impact that their hardships in life have had on them, but the strength of a person is measured by the extent of their refusal to allow those hardships to dictate them and who they become. Thank you for shaping me into the man I have become today. Thank you to my sister for always being there for me and showing me the life, I want to live one day and being an amazing role model. Finally, thank you to my friends, and community for always keeping up and supporting me through my whole internship.
The goodbyes have been the hardest part of leaving but hopefully I’ll be able to be back very soon! I will never forget the people from icipe or the farmers I visited or any of the experiences I’ve had here. My time in Kenya has changed my life drastically and has helped me to figure out what I want to do with my life. I am immensely thankful for my opportunity to be here and help research with push pull. I don’t think I could have been put in a better place. Thank you for everyone who has been there for me though everything and to everyone who has made this internship memorable and possible.
Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes them Meaningful.
- Colton “James” Ketcham
