Kenya

I remember the excitement of watching Born Free in my elementary school gym as a child, making Kenya the first place I traveled while staying at home. The story of Elsa the lion cub, who might have been born free but was saved from life in a zoo by the ideas of Joy and George Adamson, inspired wildlife conservation around the world. I rewatched it with great nostalgia here this week: https://www.crackle.com/watch/8256/2518373

Another beautiful story of a lion’s rehabilitation into the wild in Kenya is told in A Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall. Again, George Adamson and his work in Kora National Park in northern Kenya made this possible. I listened to the book on CD from the Los Angeles County Library and then found a documentary version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jgYKp5nQLk

If you haven’t seen enough lions and other African animals from my first two recommendations, Tales by Light, season 2, episodes 1 and 2 on Netflix were filmed in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya. The animators of The Lion King, available on DisneyPlus, visited Kenya’s Hell’s Gate National Park for inspiration. For a family trip to find elephants in Amboseli National Park, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIwlsS71NKA. After watching all these, I’m missing the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and thinking I need to renew my membership.

It’s not hard to find works related to Kenya at the library or for payment online. Out of Africa and The Air Up There were movies I saw while growing up. I listened to Barack Obama read Dreams from My Father several years back and really enjoyed it. But I don’t want to limit myself to Kenya from a western perspective, so I started with this list of Kenyan authors https://www.tuko.co.ke/396087-10-kenyan-writers-reading-now.html and chose to read Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o because it’s highly rated, it’s funny, and it was easy to pick up at the San Bernardino County Library. I admire Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o for writing his books in his native language Gĩkũyũ first and encouraging other African writers to use their native languages as well.

The Khan Academy pointed me to Kenyan artists by explaining this ceramic work by Magdalene Odundo https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa/east-africa2/x1f9f8bff:kenya/v/a-body-in-clay-a-work-by-magdalene-anyango-n-odundo That led me to a recent online conversation with Magdalene Ondundo where she discusses more of her art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZPfvtFCKNA This further led me to an online lecture by film artist Wangechi Mutu who made me think deeply about the purpose of art and the perspective of someone from Kenya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD9G9uo8KDM

I have had three experiences with Kenyan food and I am looking forward to more! The first was when a Kenyan colleague of Allan's brought him Ketepa Pride tea bags, a Kenyan tea, and also Chevda, a delicious spicy Kenyan sweet potato chip with lentils and peanuts. I enjoyed both. I ate some of the chips plain and mixed some into split pea soup as the perfect seasoning.

My second experience with Kenyan food was last Christmas Eve. I drove to San Diego to take presents to my nephew who had been exposed to COVID and couldn’t come up to visit his parents on Christmas Day. On the way home, I stopped by Flavors of East Africa, 2322 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego. I tried the vegan mboga plate with ugali (white corn meal - finer ground than grits, sort of like cornmeal mush), lentils, and nyoyo (hominy, kidney beans, carrots, and potatoes). I enjoyed it. Their meat dishes also look interesting and I am inviting any of my omnivorous friends to try them with me.

My third experience with Kenyan food was more virtual. Allan and I watched episode 3 of Bugs: The Series on Kanopy yesterday. It shows some traditional foods from Kenya and how they might be reintroduced to people today. Although interesting and apparently nutritious, I’m not ready to try crickets or termites yet. I could eat anything on the following webpage however and I like that half of the recipes are desserts! https://allkenyanrecipes.com/

Besides the animals, authors, artists, and food discussed above, I found a variety of other Kenyan resources:

· I thought Disconnect on Netflix would be like the Kenyan version of Clueless, but there is a twist. Mom, there is a bachelorette party scene that you won’t like.

· The documentary Mully, about a Kenyan businessman who rescues, rehabilitates, and develops orphans, can be found either on Amazon Prime or here: https://tubitv.com/movies/521999/mully

· Scroll down in this webpage for a video about Kenya’s first solar plant to transform ocean water to drinking water. We need more of these! https://www.goodshomedesign.com/kenya-installs-the-first-solar-plant-that-transforms-ocean-water-into-drinking-water/

· Giraffe Manor in Kenya is profiled in Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby: https://ihavenotv.com/giraffe-manor-kenya-amazing-hotels-life-beyond-the-lobby

If I visit Kenya in person after the pandemic, I have a long list of places to go as recommended here: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-kenya/

I will be calling my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands to help me plan a great trip! May the travel industry survive and thrive. May we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Kenya and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Damian Patkowski https://unsplash.com/photos/T-LfvX-7IVg