Week 5 & 6: Adversity
Traveling anywhere brings a brand new set of challenges. For many, it might range from language barriers, cultural differences, or even the food, but for me, though, my biggest struggles here are not so common. This includes (but is not limited to) negotiating prices, listening carefully, and working in a lab.
In these past two weeks, we’ve have been in downtown Nairobi in which we not only saw the Lion King in theaters (which was awesome!) but visited a Masai Market. There it is custom to just go along with someone who works there and pick out everything you want. Then, in the end, you and the person you were walking with to negotiate a price on everything you’ve selected. In my experience, I had 5 people around me from different stands trying to get a good price on what they were selling, which was a little anxiety-inducing. Kevin (the person who took us downtown) also warned us about how they raise the price for foreigners. So I tried to decrease the price to the lowest I could (which was about a 1/8th of the price they tried to sell the items at). I felt so proud that I was able to communicate what I wanted efficiently in a foreign country and get a good deal. When I came back to Kevin, though, I told him what I paid and his eyes widened in shock. Apparently, I did not get a good deal on the stuff I got AT ALL. It was still a fun experience though and it definitely toughened me up a little. So even though I overpaid for some items, the lesson and experiences I had were invaluable (sorry that was extremely cheesy).
Another problem I’ve faced can be summed up in these phrases that I have said the most whenever talking to a Kenyan: “huh?” “I’m sorry I didn’t catch that” “I'm sorry, what did you say?” “Could you repeat that?”. I have a hard enough time listening and understanding other Americans, so listening to someone who has an accent has been a bit of a challenge for me. I have started focusing more on what people are saying and directing all of my attention on them. After some time, I’ve gotten better and better at understanding what everyone’s saying and I catch myself even using the same type of dry humor that is popular over here.
Lastly, some of my biggest challenges have been working in a lab. At this internship, I wanted to try out working in a lab just to see if its something I was interested in. Turns out, I'm not entirely cut out for working in a lab. Irene and Raena (my lab partners) are fantastic and make it a lot more fun, but I enjoy working with people and animals directly. I thought at first it would be vice-versa in which I would enjoy working indoors, but as it turns out I love the outdoors a lot more than I thought. Not to say I hate working in a lab, it just wouldn’t be a preferred career environment for myself. The tediousness of pipetting, the tight corners, and the waiting combine to, somewhat, drive me insane. I realized how much I missed Kapiti (the ranch we visited) and interacting with various livestock and discussing different concepts with the farmers there. Although, I’ve learned a lot about DNA analysis, what a lab on a global scale is like and was still overall a great experience! Plus it was fun to see the results of our hard work in the end as well.
Everything else is so exciting and thrilling to experience, though, from the food, people, and overall atmosphere. I don't really feel like I'm isolated or out of place anywhere I go. Even when I first arrived I felt so welcomed and as if I “fit in” here. Its been wonderful not having to go through big things like isolation or extreme homesickness (although I do miss home a bit), it’s made everything a lot less stressful and more fun overall!
