Coastal Vacation, 9-21 November

Apologies to all who have been waiting for postings. The month of November was unusual--broken by a 10-day lecturers' strike that allowed us to go to the coast for a vacation. The cost, of course, was that as soon as the strike was over and we returned, we had an overload of work to do in order to catch up, and now, on the first day of exams, I finally have time to post some pictures and comments about our trip.

It was strange suddenly becoming a tourist for close to two weeks. Until this break, our primary occupation has been research, school visits, meetings, lectures, and university-related events. Suddenly, with a strike declared and campus shut down, we could slip into a new role. We decided to seek the warm weather, beaches, and Islamic-Swahili culture of the African east coast. Our plan was to fly from Nairobi to Zanzibar and then move up the coast to Mombasa, Malindi, and finally Lamu. If, at any point, the strike ended, we could cut short the trip, get back to Nairobi, and then be just a few hours from Egerton. As it turned out, our timing was very good. We spent five days in Zanzibar, enjoying a different country (and thus fulfilling one of our visa requirements, that we leave Kenya at least once during our first 90 days here) and culture. Then we flew to Mombasa for a day, took a matatu to Malindi the next, and then endured a very bumpy and slow bus ride up to Lamu for the final days of the strike. We were thrilled to end in Lamu, for the U.S. State Department, along with a number of European governments, are doing their best trying to scare away tourists from this beautiful, friendly island, thus killing the economy and doing far more to hurt our strategic relations than anything Somali pirates or Al Shabaab could ever do. Lamu is one of the safest parts of Kenya we've been in so far, and we'd spend weeks there if we could.

Here are some pictures of our trip, broken up into key stages:

Nairobi

 Before we departed for the coast, we spent the night in Nairobi (at our favorite place, the United Kenya Club) and then went sightseeing in the morning. We went to the Jomo Kenyatta International Conference Center, up to the top of the tower to get a spectacular view of Kenya's largest city (approximately 4 million people).

 

Zanzibar 

 Moving from Nairobi to Zanzibar was a study in contrasts. Zanzibar, formally a part of Tanzania, maintains a strong sense of independence (including in customs and visas) and a distinct way of life that welcomed us to a calm, warm, coastal culture. Suddenly shorts, sandals, and t-shirts became the standard uniform, and the winding streets of a deep past led us to fascinating markets and historical monuments, as well as some of the largest spiders we've ever seen, just hanging out near the docks!

Zanzibar has been famous for hundreds of years for its spice trade, so a spice tour was essential. We were guided through a farm filled with olfactory pleasures--pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, jack fruits, pineapples, cloves, and, of particular importance to our Connecticut identity, nutmeg--sampling as we went along. Raw pepper is indeed strong, but it's delightful!

Next . . . Mombasa

Mombasa is a major city and port with all the lively people, places, and events that come in such a setting. A main tourist attraction is Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in 1593 to secure the port, which ironically signaled the end of their dominance in the area. Over the next three centuries the fort shifted hands several times among Portuguese, Omanis, locals, and the British. Inside the fort, you can see storehouses, cannon, defenses, and fascinating graffiti by Portuguese occupants from long ago. Today, it is the anchor of old town, and a site well worth exploring.

Notice the difference between the ships: the one above is a Swahili Dhow, while the big ones below with the square sails are Portuguese.

After the fort, we wandered through old town, visited Vasco da Gama's well, which still provides plenty of fresh water, ate yummy pastries and fruits from the market, and took advantage of the ever-present Tuk-tuks to ferry us about town that night and the next day.

Vasco da Gama's cave and well

The famous Tusks of the city

Tuk-tuks provide an easy way to tour.

Nairobi Safari

As promised, here are a few of the pictures of animals (and one cloud view) we took last weekend when we went on our mini-safari in Nairobi National Park. It was a splendid day, filled with wonder and admiration. Along with the turtle below, we couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces!

Seminar Presentations

 On two consecutive Wednesdays, 12 and 19 October, Andrew and Jeanne gave public seminars at Egerton University: "The Future of Literature in 21st Century Education" and "The Rise of Interdisciplinary Studies and Their Impact on Literary Studies in the US," respectively.

First, the obvious, we use our hands a lot when giving public presentations. We both were actively pointing out features on our Prezi projections, so we have an excuse. If you want to see Andrew's Prezi, it's available at http://prezi.com/jkloldt1jvlv/edit/#0. You may have to sign up to see it, but it should be free.

More important, the talks went well and had excellent audiences of fellow faculty members and students. We followed the format of giving an hour-long talk and then taking questions for 45 minutes to an hour. It seems like a long time, but the presentations sped by, especially because the questions were so engaging.

Andrew talked a lot about the digital humanities and how they are changing our understanding of literature, which translates into new practices for teacher training in the language arts. Jeanne's topic was more expansive. She first introduced the history of disciplinarity (which, going back to Aristotle, was already infused with interdisciplinarity) and then showed how the inter-/multi-/cross-discipline movement in the U.S. is offering new challenges and opportunities for literary studies. Her work in Global Studies over the past two years provided a distinct perspective for seeing this change.

 Now that our presentations are done, we are going to Nairobi this weekend to visit friends and the Nairobi National Park, where we'll do a mini-safari (cameras only). Stay tuned for animal postings!

Weekend Walks

A guard at the gates to the apartment complex, Christine, encouraged us to go for walks in the fields and villages surrounding the university, so this weekend we started to do so.

Christine









On Saturday, we left our flat, crossed the stream and the dam behind our building, and walked through a small village, exchanging how-are-you? greetings with the many children who came running out to see the strangers and test out their English on us.

 Our Complex

 The dam behind our complex provides a nice background sound of running water day and night.

 Here's the stream that leads to the dam.

Our path through the village.

Then, on Sunday morning, we went for an early walk through the fields to the west of our complex. The land is owned by Egerton University and is put to good use, with many acres of wheat, maize, cattle grazing, and lively bird activity--all framed by Acacia trees, which present a vernal skyline plateau.

 Acacia trees frame the fields of wheat.

 Happy cows!

 Wildflowers.

Grazing donkeys.

We have views of some of these areas from our home, but the walking brings us up close to all the wonders of our surroundings. Our flat is very comfortable (see below), a ten-minute walk to our office and about twenty minutes from the main gate, where we can catch a matatu to the city of Nakuru. The combination of rural fields, local villages, university life, and a nearby major city make our location ideal for seeing much of Kenya and the Rift Valley.

 Andrew at his desk in the living room.

 Dining area.

 Living room.

 Jeanne's office.

 Bedroom.

 Saturday is laundry day for us!

 And on Saturdays, Andrew usually goes to the market in Nakuru to pick up yummy fruits and vegetables.