Guenevieve Del Mundo: Kenya Fellow, UC Davis

Every once in a while I get a movie montage moment - a flood of flashbacks set to some sappy reflective song or hum.  Today’s trailer of memories was triggered by a ridiculously warm welcoming performance by the students of the Ilkerin Primary School.  Words cannot and will not capture the feeling and emotion that all the fellows felt. Hopefully this small glimmer can shine light on the warmth the community shared with us. 

Imagine a large empty concrete hall.  There are a few windows scattered across three of the walls and the last has a large counter used to deliver our food.  There are two long rectangle tables set side by side with green and blue tablecloths on top of it.   All sixteen of us are seated, eating another delicious dinner (the usual goat, cabbage, Ugali - a Kenyan favorite - and couscous) cooked by Mary.  We all eagerly finish our food, knowing the children are outside waiting to perform for us.   As the last plates are gathered the blue double doors burst open with dozens of students. Kids who were no taller than my knee were carrying large benches and tables from their classrooms into the hall.  For a good thirty minutes the hall was filling up with the every student that boarded with the school.  For the first time since we’ve arrived, all the students and fellows were united under one roof.  Once everybody calmed down the clamor of voices settled into whispers then finally into silence as Jeremiah, one of the teachers (and also the host for the boys of our fellowship), introduced the production. 

I was overwhelmed by what they had prepared for us.  I genuinely felt like Julius Caesar when Cleopatra visited, it was truly a performance fit for a king.  Gospel songs were sung, traditional dances were danced, and comedic dramas dramatized (I’m pretty sure it was something about a radio station; it was all in Kiswahili so we took our giggling cues from the rest of the audience).   Laughter was shared harmoniously among ourselves and the children. I was overcome with emotion during their songs.  This is when it hit me, I’m in Kenya.  The highlights of the past week played in my head to the song of the Ilkerin students:

The relief I felt when I saw another fellow, Hong, at the Amsterdam airport

The image of a mother cheetah caring for its two-day-old baby

The hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras we stalked during their migration

The walking safari that ended with a view of the entire Maasai Mara and a tour of a modest Maasai village

The bus ride through Kenyan mountains

The applause we received as our bus pulled into the school  (literally the entire student body, in their uniforms, stood at the gate and applauded at our entrance)

The Health Club singing their competition piece for me.

The endless games the fellows and I played with the children.

The moments where a child calls my name out to say “Hi” or “How are you”

The countless inside jokes and fits of laughter I have shared with my fellow fellows.

Beautiful voices powering beautiful memories.

The guests of honor (us fellows) had front row seats and were laughing and bouncing along with all of the performances.  Finally, as the show came to a close, Joseph - another one of the teachers, called upon us to share a little bit of our talents and culture with them.  We all stood up knowing whatever we came up with on the spot would be underwhelming in relation to theirs.  Facing the audience, you could see that there was a full house- students were standing on their tables to see over their classmates.  We decided on the national anthem, the so-cal roll out, and the fight song - all of which was a blast to perform (although I’m not quite sure what it was like to watch).   Regardless, the audience roared into applause as another one of our fellows walked across the stage with his hands.  Their excitement was heartwarming to say the least.   The evening ended with a prayer and rounds of applauses.  We left the building in a wondrous daze.  This is a night I will never forget.

The soil that the human race was born on.  The soul of the country.  The joy of the kids.  I’m in love. Kenya is a country full of culture, filled with people so welcoming and so willing to share.  I feel so at home, so honored, and so humbled to be here.  It has only been five days and already I have fallen in love with this country and its people.  “Asante sana.”