I have been here in Kenya for about 1,5 months now and I’ve seen lots of differences compared to Finland so far. I’ve been doing my internships in social and healthcare area in different locations; orphanage, youth center/drug preventing program in slums, local village and local hospital. The first thing I noticed that is different here compared to Finland, is that people dont hurry. The thing called ‘african time’ has become familiar during these past weeks. Even when we are told to start our day at 7.30, most of the african students come at 8 or after 8. And we usually have to wait for everyone else, because we are ‘too early’. Of course, Kenya is a developing country which shows in hospital hygiene and equipments. For example, there is no pain management when giving birth. And some patients have to share beds because there is not enough beds for everyone. It has been very eye-opening to be here, and all that I have seen makes me appreciate finnish health care system much more.
I’m staying in the same house with 7 other exchange students. In our free time, we have been exploring Africa. One weekend we went for a safari in Masai Mara, and it was an exciting experience. We got to see many different wild animals. We also went to Zanzibar for a vacation week, it was truly like a paradise island. We are also planning a trip to Mombasa before we head back to Finland. Our daily routine here includes workouts at the local gym, walking around in our home town, and cooking together. The weather has been warm and sunny, but now when the rain season is starting, there is more heavy rain and floods. Because of that, the electricity goes off many times per week.
Being here in Kenya has been a great experience, although there has been some challenges; but I think they also make me grow more as a person. Living in a different country, learning about new culture, and seeing how local people live their lives, is truly an eye-opening experience. Which I recommend to anyone who is interested in going for an exchange period abroad.
(All photos in this post taken by me.)
Comments