1 Fellow Report: 3-Month

Fellow Report: 3-Month

This report focuses on the specifics of your fellowship experience thus far. The following questions are meant to help you evaluate your first three months at your fellowship post.

Deadlines for this report are as follows:

If you began your fellowship in Your report is due June September 30 July October 31 August November 30 September December 31

Your Work

1. What is your job title? Monitoring and Evaluation Fellow

2. What are your primary responsibilities? Please list your job duties as you would on a résumé. Extensively employ Stata and TaroWorks to measure the economic impact the BOMA Project has on marginalized women in Northern Kenya. While the majority of my time is spent performing quantitative analysis on business outcomes and saving associations for our monthly reports, I am also pioneering a five-year longevity study that will gauge how the program has improved the livelihoods of participants.

3. Did you receive any sort of orientation, handover or “onboarding” when you started your fellowship? By whom? Not exactly. I went to the Vermont office, where I was met with paperwork and friendly faces eager to onboard me. While this orientation was helpful, I think it was more to get a sense of the company culture and meet the US team. Once in Nanyuki, there was an introduction day that was mainly a formality. This involved a meeting with our HR person, my manager, and the CEO of BOMA. One coworker in particular, the data analyst, provided me with a few dozen do files to study. Mainly my “on-boarding” was reading the work of the past M&E Fellow to get a solid understanding of my role.

4. Describe a representative day at work. 8:30-9:00: Arrive, check-in with supervisor, respond to emails, read the Daily Nation (Kenya’s newspaper). 9:00-1:00: Write code for Stata and derive numbers. I spend a lot of time cleaning up data. 1:00-2:00: office lunch provided. 2:00-4:00: finish up code for that day and prep for M&E meeting (every Monday). 4:00-5:30/6:00: Monitoring and Evaluation team meets with the US team to discuss grants and reports (on Wednesdays).

5. Please describe in greater detail 1-2 specific projects you have undertaken or accomplishments you have made so far. My first project was our May 2016 Exit Report. I independently conducted the analysis, wrote the code, and drafted the 35-page report. This was then turned over to the Development Department for review and is now used for donor relations. My work on the Longevity Study is moving slowly but will culminate in me going into the field in early December. The preemptive work involved creating a qualitative questionnaire for a few different focus groups, and a quantitative questionnaire to later be executed. Once this data has been collected, I will be working to submit a report.

6. On average, how many hours per week do you work? Of course, my work week depends on the status of my assignments, but it can range from 45 to 60 hours/week. Working with the US office has the potential to complicate matters, as is the nature of time zones, but for the most part I feel that I always have more to do, so it’s easy to justify staying late. That said, despite the heavy workload, my supervisor is extremely considerate of my time. For instance, if I have a Swahili lesson, I can leave right at 5:30, and if I’m expected to stay late, my boss lets me know that morning at the latest. While I have had work experiences in which I felt I was staying late in the office solely to cross the t’s and dot the i’s, I really do feel that the time spent here in the office tends to be important. I very rarely feel like I have nothing to do, which is a real blessing for an entry-level job.

7. What is your office environment like? Please comment on the size and structure of the office(s) where you do most of your work. The Nanyuki office truly has a wonderful work environment. An open floor plan allows for casual vibes and consistent laughter. Because of the small size, people interact frequently, and my only complaint would be that it sometimes veers a little into the unprofessional realm (I am asked weekly about my love life). While the “BOMA family” was emphasized in my orientation, I’m not sure the environment was always like this. Before I arrived, there was some significant turnover: our M&E team was reshaped, our IT department flipped. I think that BOMA has found its groove with its employees, but this is new. Moreover, the other fellow and I have invested a lot in our coworkers, a trend that doesn’t seem to have been prominent with the previous fellows. Because there are only 10 of us, each person contributes a huge amount to the environment. I think my roommate and I, both abnormally extroverted, have forced a more familiar environment onto the office.

That said, if you are a less sociable person, you could still definitely get by in the Nanyuki office. I think my conclusion would be: you can embrace the personal or the professional environment within BOMA and it would be ok. I would argue you would get as much as you give out of this experience (as with most experiences).

Side note regarding language barriers: While the majority of BOMA employees are Kenyan, everybody speaks English so there is no language barrier to hinder communication, but if you attempt to speak Kiswahili, you will instantly enjoy your experience more.

8. To whom do you report? (Please specify name & title of all applicable persons.) Monitoring and Evaluation Manager.

9. Do you receive adequate direction/support to perform your job? How often do you check in with your supervisor?

Absolutely. My manager has an open door policy and is always available to help me when I am stuck on a small issue. When working with Stata, you could spend 45 minutes trying to figure out where one mis-typed letter is. If you can have someone just smooth that bump, it saves you loads of time. She understands that, as does the data analyst, both of whom are eager to teach me. So, in terms of support, I really couldn’t ask for more. Regarding direction, she is also clear – an avid list maker. I was warned that I would have to be a little pushy in getting tasks assigned to me, but I haven’t found that to be the case yet. Instead, I usually finish an assignment and she has another one lined up for me.

10. What opportunities for travel has your work included so far? Do you anticipate work-related opportunities to travel in the future? How does your organization handle the arrangements/costs/plans for your work-related travel? This has been a topic of contention in the office. While I do love the Nanyuki environment and am happy with my workload, I was promised I would go into the field once every two months. My roommate has gone in three times already; despite my frequent request and protestations, I have not gone at all. This is an issue related to the projects I have been put on – arguably, I don’t need to be in the field to understand how to calculate average business value of our participants. That said, it is supposed to be part of the experience and I am working on getting assigned projects that expand past do files. I am excited to be traveling to the field in two weeks, but have been vocally perturbed by the delay in sending me out. I advise the future Fellow to make more of a stink regarding their expectation of in-the-field experience in their first month. All costs, when travelling, are covered by BOMA and handled by BOMA.

11. I feel adequately prepared for my position’s professional responsibilities.

a) Strongly agree b) Agree c) Neutral d) Disagree e) Strongly disagree

Please briefly explain your response. As an economics major with a statistics focus, Stata wasn’t new to me. That said, almost everything I used in school is irrelevant here for my work. I would discourage someone unfamiliar with Stata from taking this position, and instead look more at the qualitative side of M&E, as I had to undergo a pretty steep learning curve in my first month even with this background. I am working to make a “how-to” tutorial for the next Fellow, but most of what I learned was with the help of our data analyst, who unfortunately recently moved back to Nairobi. A strong understanding of Stata, however brutal the prospect of learning it may seem, will open up a lot of future opportunities and I encourage any fellow to develop some basic understandings of it. Or at least, understand what the “tab” command does.

12. Have you met with your supervisor to discuss your work plan assignment? If not, please explain why. Yes, we went over my projects and expectations in my first few days here and continuously refer back to it. That said, as with any NGO, things pop up that you don’t expect, and you have to be pulled off the path a little bit. While some weeks I will be exactly on schedule, we may get a request from the US team for, say, numbers on the school enrollment of 8-year-old girls in Turcana. When these smaller projects come up, they are often directed to me.

13. Please look back at your online VITALS form to review the goals you set for yourself before orientation. Are you working towards these goals? Have you met any of them? Please explain. Goal 1: Develop working fluency in Swahili: Not even a little bit close. But, I would give myself a solid A in effort and a B in success. I have lessons twice a week and enough notecards to assure everyone around me I am the ultimate mzungu. This is an ongoing goal of mine, but it is particularly difficult in 1) Nanyuki, where everyone – everyone – speaks English, and in 2) Kenya, where everyone speaks English. I have to put in the effort and introduce myself by saying “ninataka kuongea kiswahili” (“I want to speak Kiswahili”), which is always greeted with smiles. As I learn a little more each day, my overall experience improves dramatically.

Goal 2: Climb Kilimanjaro: not yet, but it is on the calendar with some other PiAf extraordinaires! Not only is this goal going to be summited, it’s expanded. The perk of Nanyuki is that you live at the base of Mount Kenya, one of the more breathtaking geological formations in the world. As a girl who woke up in her college dorm looking out at California’s mountains, Mount Kenya provides a warm familiarity. I absolutely cannot wait to climb it in January. Not only is it less touristy and less expensive than Kili, but it holds some serious sentimental value.

Goal 3: Master data analytic skills: “Master” is a funny word. As mentioned prior, I came in with a familiarity to Stata and have definitely flexed my analytical muscles since starting with BOMA, but there is always more to learn. I think it is important to understand what numbers to look at, how to present them, and how to answer the questions before others ask them. It is definitely tricky, and I’m not positive I’d want to stick with monitoring and evaluation next year, which impacts how much I want to invest in learning more than I need to know for this particular job.

14. Please indicate 3-5 goals you have for the rest of your fellowship year (these can be personal or professional). Your professional goals should align with your work plan (see end of report).

Goal 1. Get more hands-on experience: On my first day of work, my supervisor told me: “You didn’t come all the way to Africa to sit around.” And yet, I have been doing a lot of sitting. Our fieldwork is done in northern Kenya, a region stricken with drought and threatened by Al Shabaab. The counties remain neglected by the Kenyan government and ethnic tensions continue to swell. The decision for BOMA to work in such a complex region, and abate their problems in its small way, is partially why I accepted this placement. And yet, I have not seen the environmental??? impact on the region nor BOMA’s impact on their lives. I aim, in the upcoming months, to put

3 up more of a fight to get out into the field and tackle projects hands on, rather from behind the screen of a computer.

Goal 2. Continue to study Kenyan politics. On my first day in Kenya, the cab driver taking me from Nairobi to Nanyuki told me “politics is Kenya’s national sport.” He was not wrong. Lunch will be sparring matches of who knows more about a certain political official, and who can find more incongruities in the corruption. I came to Kenya with a cumulative six months on the continent and one African Politics course under my belt – in other words, I had a lot of misguided confidence that I knew what was going on. I had read a bunch of books, seen all the movies, even been a part of PiAf discussion tables, but I have learned far more from the Daily Nation and Kenyan friends about the real inner workings of what’s going on here, and it’s made me that much more fascinated by the region. The more you know, the more you realize you don’t, so I have committed to the ongoing process of actively learning about modern day Kenya.

Goal 3. Journal more. On a personal level, I want to start journaling and/or recording what’s going on. I find I have been so busy, either working or travelling, that I rarely just sit and process my life here. Reflection is a job unto itself and should absolutely be treated as a priority…except I haven’t done it at all. Yet.

Your Arrival in Africa

15. How did you travel to your host country? Please be specific in terms of what airline(s) you flew, what cities you flew to/from, how much your plane tickets cost, and how you found/purchased your tickets. For example: “I purchased my ticket from the Cape to Cairo travel agency based in Washington, DC. I flew on British Airways from JFK to London, London to Johannesburg, and Johannesburg to Maputo. I have also booked a return flight for next June to return through the same cities. The round trip ticket cost $2,277.” I purchased my ticket on Expedia. I flew on British Airways from Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts to Heathrow in London, London to Nairobi. I have not booked a return ticket yet. The one way cost $781.

16. Please describe your visa arrangements. Please provide as much detail as possible to assist future Fellows in the visa application process. a. What kind of visa/work permit do you have? Internship visa b. How did you obtain it? At first I arrived at the airport and was on a tourist visa. Almost on arrival, BOMA’s HR began the process of an internship visa for me, meaning all I had to do was go to immigration in Nairobi once. c. Did you receive your visa/permit before heading to Africa or after arriving? I bought a tourist visa on arrival and was reimbursed by BOMA that same week. d. What costs were associated with obtaining it? $50 e. Did you pay these costs or were they covered by your organization? The organization covered it. f. Any suggestions to help future Fellows navigate this process? BOMA’s providing our visas lifted a huge weight off our shoulders that I know other fellows struggle with. I would definitely push to have your organization sort it out for you, as in the long run it can be more time and cost effective than having you leave the country every three months (which also happens to be illegal). I’ve heard from some fellows about the difficulties with immigration and it’s pretty awesome that my process was so easy. I did have to go to the immigration office in Nairobi one day to get my visa endorsed and the process was more miserable than spending 10 hours in a crowded DMV. If you can avoid it, try!

17. What vaccinations were you required to obtain prior to your departure? How much did your vaccinations cost?

I had been to the region before, so did not need any new vaccinations. I can’t remember how much they cost overall. One thing is, even if you’re based in Kenya, I definitely would recommend getting the Yellow Fever vaccine. You are not allowed to enter into a few different countries without it, so it’s just a plus if you want flexibility in travel. Another thing: PiAf really pushed the rabies vaccine, but my doctor did not agree with their suggestion.

18. Comment on your arrival and first week in Africa. Any improvements that could streamline the assimilation process for future Fellows? My first week was, quite frankly, a whirlwind of the greatest variety. For some miraculous reason, probably adrenaline, I managed to skip over the jetlag stage of travel (sleep is highly overrated). I was overwhelmed by Mount Kenya, which stands majestically over Nanyuki, emerging out of the clouds to bless us mere commoners only when it’s in the mood. I went from the airport to a Nairobi hotel where I stayed the night and watched my first (and only) episode of a Spanish soap opera in the room. The next day, I was driven 3 hours … dropped off at the BOMA office where I received a brief orientation and ugali and goat for lunch. My roommate, a spunky 5- foot recent Yale grad who may be the only person in Kenya more enthusiastic and talkative than me, had been living in Kenya for the whole month of August. So, that weekend (I arrived on a Friday, which I highly recommend, so you can have the weekend to settle in) she immediately introduced me to the Nanyuki expat scene and the British Army. I was nervous about my first week, and floundered around in my own undergraduate, under-qualified ignorance for the first few weeks, but still managed to find my own rhythm pretty quickly.

I would recommend for future Fellows to really think, before they arrive, about how they want to transition into a new environment. For me, I prefer to dive head first into everything and figure it out as I go. Others are more comfortable watching from the sidelines and assimilating at a slower speed. Either way works! And the special reality about Nanyuki is that, when you’re ready to get in – either diving head first or wading in on your tiptoes – there is a community waiting to welcome you with open arms.

19. PiAf’s Pre-departure Orientation was sufficient in preparing me to transition into my fellowship.

a) Strongly agree b) Agree c) Neutral d) Disagree e) Strongly disagree

Please briefly explain your response. To be honest, I think everyone’s experience is so unique to their fellowship and their past experience, that there is no orientation that could encompass everyone’s concerns. For me, “reverse culture shock” was not new, nor was the concept of not walking outside after dark. A lot of what was covered, I had already learned from growing up and travelling abroad (a huge privilege I am aware of). But I also recognized that, no matter what I did to prep, I would not be sufficiently prepared for my life in Nanyuki until I got there. Orientation made that clear. The main reason I am grateful for orientation doesn’t have as much to do with the training as with the cheesy ice breakers. Having such a prevalent PiAf network has been an absolute blessing. From travelling around East Africa to meet up with them, or just having likeminded people to text on a whim, the PiAf cohort is a really special community and the network invaluable.

20. Is there anything in particular that PiAf could cover at orientation that would have better prepared you for your fellowship post? Please specify. I can’t really think of anything off the top of my head. Each position is so specific that an overall training can’t really illustrate what life would be like on a daily basis. Instead, communicating with past fellows proved to be more helpful for me regarding my future day-to-day life. A few PiAf Fellows and I were discussing, instead of having it all be training, the next group of fellows could do some kind of ropes course or bonding activity alongside the courses.

Your Housing & Local Transportation

21. Is housing provided by and/or paid for by your organization? Yes & Yes

22. Please describe your living arrangements. Include the following details: a. Are you living in a house, apartment, guest room, etc.? I think BOMA’s living situation (minus the pittance that is a stipend) has got to be one of the more pampering situations. We are provided with a palace house, a car, free wifi, hot water, and daily housekeeping. It’s not bad, let me tell ya that!

b. Are you living alone or with roommates? I live with one other roommate, but we are frequently asked to host BOMA guests.

c. How did you find your housing? Provided

23. How do you typically travel between your home and your work? How much does your daily transportation cost and how long is your commute? It can either be a 5-minute car ride in our BOMA car, or a 20-minute walk. Both are free day-to-day.

24. Is your local transportation adequate? Please briefly describe your options and their related costs. Local transport is either bodas (motorbikes) or taxis. The number of places you can go in Nanyuki is minimal, and a cab ride from one side of town to the other would cost about $3 max. That said, it’s not a walking town, and you do need a car or boda to get around. As a female, I’m advised to take cabs late at night over bodas, although they are relatively cheaper than a cab. To get out of Nanyuki, we only have matatus which won’t most likely exceed KES 500 (5 USD). I have taken a few night buses, which range between $20 and $30 and have no complaints.

Your Daily Life

25. Do you live and work in safe areas? While a few of my friends here have had break ins and robberies, there have never been any issues, that I know of, at the BOMA house -- most likely because of the 24/7 guards that would dissuade any potential criminals. That said, as with most places in the world, it is important to be alert and aware. I do feel substantially safer and more comfortable in Nanyuki than in Nairobi, but that reality is probably compounded with the overwhelming aspects of “the big city”.

26. What has been your experience with crime so far? None whatsoever.

27. Describe the crime and general security situation within your city/town. Could you recommend specific areas future Fellows might consider for safe housing? What about areas that should be avoided?

Really every aspect of Nanyuki is safe, as long as you’re not wandering off the main roads at night. I have not felt at all uncomfortable, and if I did, I feel confident I would be able to get out of the situation with the countless people that would be willing to help out a mzungu in distress.

28. Comment on the local languages, your proficiency in them (if any), and your subsequent ability to get by.

As a general rule, Kenyans are tri-lingual, speaking their mother tongue, Kiswahili, and English. It’s easy to get by just speaking English to everyone, but you automatically create a barrier between the local people and yourself, guaranteeing higher prices on fruits and vegetables, and surrendering any and all bargaining power. So, while you can “get by” without learning any Kiswahili, you run the risk of limited exposure to a new culture. The majority of expats in Nanyuki have next to no capacity in Kiswahili, so knowing anything beyond the standard greetings and thank you tends to curry some favor with locals. Plus, if you have any intention of staying in the region, it’s a résumé booster. (How I found the tutor: I have an amazing teacher who I would happily recommend to anyone living in the Nanyuki area. I met him through a friend and he comes to my house for lessons.)

The predominant mother tongue in Nanyuki is Kikuyu, which, to my knowledge, is impossible to learn.

29. Comment on appropriate clothing for work and outside of work. It does seem that anything goes in the work place. I usually wear a button down shirt, scarf, and a long skirt, but that’s more because I severely under-packed. Jeans are not uncommon; tee shirts are probably too casual. Dress code in Kenya is conservative, but not enforced. For men, slacks and a polo shirt should be fine; I would guess ties are unheard of. Outside of work, I usually err on the side of conservative – long skirts, no exposed shoulders – but it is also pretty chilly. Despite living under the equatorial sun, Mount Kenya welcomes in the crisp air…Nanyuki gets cold and you will want to be covered up! Bring sweaters!

30. How have you been spending your free time? What kinds of opportunities are available for socializing in your city/town?

Like most humans, I relish good literature and better Netflix, but I like to spend my time in Nanyuki investing in other “Nanyukians”. There is a strong community of expats, about 12 – 15 of us, and there’s a nightlife (intentionally excluding any adjective). A few bars and a gym provide ample opportunity to meet new people, both locals and expats, but there’s not a huge amount of entertainment in the stereotypical sense. That said, because it is a smaller town, dinners with friends on weeknights are more frequent. While intimate and lovely, I’d caution anyone who has an aversion to melodrama of a small town from moving here.,

31. I feel adequately prepared for my personal/social life.______

a) Strongly agree b) Agree c) Neutral d)Disagree e) Strongly disagree

Please briefly explain your response. Before I even arrived in Nanyuki, I had people here reaching out to the newest “BOMA Fellow.” PiAf has been here for a while, and so people expect our arrival. The tightknit community of people without kids, for all its pros and cons, is a reliable comfort zone. However, factors that would usually segregate groups (ie: age, compatibility, profession) are ignored for the sake of filling tables with bodies. As an extreme extrovert who went to a small college, I thrive in small groups where people know about your life, so I really appreciated splicing myself into the Nanyuki social scene. That said, I go out of my way to ensure I am out of Nanyuki almost every weekend, so that the small

3 town charm doesn’t get too claustrophobic; I think that has happened to previous PiAf fellows, and I could certainly see the repeated routines getting old.

Your Reflections

32. Any frustration with living arrangements or with work? Any frustrations outside of work?

I have been thinking about this quite a bit, and I think the fact that no specific complaint regarding lifestyle or work comes to mind speaks volumes regarding how lucky I am in this post, but there are still general frustrations about a new job and what that means for personal autonomy, about the blurred line between personal and professional space, and the nature of NGOs.

Prior to my PiAf fellowship, my other internships “in the field” were quite literally “in the field.” I was in charge of my schedule, I was able to speak candidly and frequently with participants of our program participants. The process felt substantially more personal and the impact of my work was a little more visible. I don’t think I fully appreciated what a real-person job entailed, with meetings and full days in the office, where it’s actually hard to find yourself outside! As someone from California used to fresh air, I haven’t fully accepted this as my new normal. NOTE: This reality would be weird to accept in any job I took.

Another grumble (and it truly is just a grumble) is rooted in absolute spoiled-ness. BOMA has an employee who is our housekeeper, general caretaker, and cooks for our office. This means there is constantly a breach of privacy: if my roommate and I do so much as build a fort because we’re bored, the office knows about it. It doesn’t really matter, but sometimes it just feels like there isn’t any truly personal space in the house.

The last grievance is regarding the NGO world as a whole. Things move slowly, there are often questionable expenses, and it is easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. That I am only committed to spending one year with BOMA allows me the opportunity to examine the organization with a critical eye, and – having read some of those “bad aid” textbooks that most PiAf fellows treat as biblical – I can’t help but be annoyed at the wasted money and ineffective projects. Moreover, for me personally, the fundraising frustrates me endlessly, as it is not located in Nanyuki and doesn’t often understand context. That said, from what I understand, differing viewpoints between the M&E team and the development team is innate to all NGOs.

Take all of this with a grain of salt, as they are frustrations that have not festered to become true complaints.

33. Has there been anything that you have needed but have not been able to locate or acquire?

Truly not at all. Nanyuki has a grocery store with anything you would need, fruits and vegetables are cheap in the market, and I have not missed anything in particular (except for Thai food, I really would have moved to Asia exclusively for the food). One thing that is so not an issue, but after getting a major splinter in my heel, I found that tweezers are randomly super expensive here. So @futurefellows: bring tweezers, and extra iphone chargers.

34. How did you deal/are you dealing with “culture shock”?

Warning: what I am about to write will sound extremely arrogant, but culture shock has yet to hit. There were stages I was so expecting that haven’t hit yet: the notorious “three-month slump,” the “culture shock,” I even got lucky and faced negligible jet lag. Three theories as to why I haven’t fallen into that slump yet: 1. because I have continued to travel, things are still novel and exciting for my intrepid / nomadic self; 2. My roommate and I are consistently sharing our thoughts, happy and sad. I am a big believer that even the smallest of funks can be overcome with ice cream and conversation; 3. I cannot stop being grateful for my life here. I have wanted to do

3 what I am doing since I was 16, and now that I’m here, even my negative thoughts are overcome with optimism and gratitude.

In regards to “culture shock”: I can only explain my lack of serious culture shock with my moving a lot as I grew up. Honestly, I experienced worse culture shock driving across the US with my college roommate when I was 20 than I have yet in Nanyuki. That is partially due to, I assume, how Westernized parts of the area are, but also due to the welcoming nature of Nanyuki. Of course, I feel like an outsider when I am traveling, but within Nanyuki locals know I live here, and while I am certainly a muzungu, I have earned a little bit of credibility as a familiar face. Moreover, having lived in Tanzania and Rwanda prior to Nanyuki, I had a general idea of what to expect. I know this might sound haughty and I am probably going to be hit with a wave of culture shock next week, but I am much more concerned about reverse culture shock when I head back home, than I am about my life here in Nanyuki.

35. What about your experience thus far has been the most…

Surprising?: How disappointed I am about not being more challenged. I am comfortable being uncomfortable, and yet things in Nanyuki, and Kenya in general, are surprisingly easy. I do recognize that this is rooted in my privilege of being a mzungu and an expat (with all that that implies), but I don’t mind subsisting simply and I enjoy navigating uncharted environments. I do not mean to suggest I have not been able to do any of this, it is just not as available as I thought. In my inevitable job search, if I stay on the continent, I have this inexplicably odd desire for things to not be so easy.

Pleasant?: I know this isn’t fair because it’s so situational, but my roommate has truly been the most pleasant experience. There’s not much to say there, but if you are the people you surround yourself with, she has made my already optimistic self that much more positive.

Frustrating?: While Kenya gained independence from the British Empire in 1964, there is a strong presence of the “Kenyan Cowboy” lifestyle. People can, and do, go their entire lives here without even attempting to learn about the culture around them, but instead make a “mini England” or a “mini USA” inside of another country. I have lived in countries that were colonized by the British Empire and, in hindsight, do remember a lifestyle that was incongruous to the country I was living in, but as an older person wanting more of an immersive experience, it is something odd to note.

36. What are the Top 3 things you miss the most from the US? (Can be food, amenities, movies, etc. Cannot be people—although we know you miss us in the PiAf office terribly, and we thank you! We miss you, too.) 1. I don’t think I fully appreciated how long a year of different time zones would be. In college, I could call my friends and family at any time of the day, whenever I had a free minute. It is much more difficult to coordinate communication here, mainly because I’ve been so busy! 2. Thai food. I anticipated this big time...but jeez, it is just so good. On the bright side, Indian food here is better than anywhere I’ve ever been, and the Ethiopian restaurants rival those in DC. 3. I haven’t gotten used to sitting in an office for a whole day. That transition from college, where I was so in control of my time, to an office environment, where I sit from sunrise to sunset, is still new. I know that would be the same if I was working anywhere, but it is something I miss from life in general.

37. What are the Top 3 things about life in your host country that beat out the U.S.?

1. I am surrounded by a dazzling array of likeminded people who make my experience more spectacular by the day. Almost everyone has one thing in common: we walk excitedly, embracing the future of East Africa under our feet. Of course the PiAf people contribute largely to this, as do my coworkers and the motley crew of friends I’ve collected along the way. I so often feel that I am with “my people.” Meaning, there are constantly political debates about this, that, and the other thing. People with diverse viewpoints come together to teach and learn, and I grow from each interaction I have. THAT in itself trumps everything else. Moreover, a huge part of what has made my experience so absolutely great is that I have made a best friend here who I work with, live with, and essentially spend 24 hours a day with. I am positive that my experience would not be half as extraordinary if I lived with someone who didn’t march to the same drum. I think for the next batch of fellows, the matching of roommates in the BOMA post should really be taken into consideration, as I have heard that we get along unusually well in comparison to previous fellows. It is a really special life that we have been able to shape for ourselves, and it is almost completely because of the people around us.

if you don’t like to travel, I apologize, but my feet are as itchy as they come, and I can’t stay sedentary for too long. Back in the US, it is sometimes hard to find people committed to a 5 hour long drive to go hike a mountain or bike around a gorge. Here, while traveling is sometimes tricky to plan, there is no shortage of people willing to join in. Every weekend is something different, which is definitely feasible in the US, but FOMO and time can keep the best of them locked in their routine.

2. Cheap fruit. Seriously, nothing beats a 20 cent papaya.

38. Please comment on your relationship with the Princeton in Africa office. Include the following details: a. Are you receiving sufficient support, materials, and information from us? Yes b. What could we improve? Honestly, I’ve been really grateful for the PiAf community. Most poignantly was this November with the election. The founder of the program sent out an email to all of us that could have been composed by Dumbledore in its wisdom and calm. I haven’t had any real challenges yet (knock on wood) that have resulted in me needing to reach out to the office, but I have serious confidence in their ability to help however they can.

Your Stipend & Budget

39. If you are receiving stipend monies directly from your fellowship organization, how are you being paid? a. Biweekly, monthly, etc? monthly b. In US dollars or in another currency? USD c. In cash or deposited directly into a bank account? Local account or US account? US bank account

40. Have you undertaken additional work to meet expenses? (Please remember that during the term of your fellowship, you are to work only as a Fellow and at no other job unless any such job is previously disclosed to Princeton in Africa and approved in writing by PiAf). I have looked into tutoring to no avail. Babysitting is also not really an option here, as it’s culturally non-existent and expats have live-in help. There is opportunity to volunteer with children at a local daycare for children who previously lived in the streets of Nanyuki.

41. Please provide a sample monthly budget of your average expenses (in US dollars). Note 1: I began my fellowship arduously tracking each penny spent, but with time, laziness got the better of me. I highly recommend keeping receipts and actually budgeting, it’s a GREAT way to save. Note 2: I don’t think anyone expects how quickly money can disappear into thin

air. I recommend saving at least a couple thousand dollars, if possible, before arriving. This opportunity really is once in a lifetime and it never feels good turning down an adventure because of costs.

Rent $ Provided Utilities $ Provided Furnishings $ Provided Phone $ Provided ($30 of data a month) Internet $ Provided (Free wifi in the office and in the BOMA house) Transportation $ 20 (Transportation costs: to get to Nairobi via matatu is KES 500 ($500) each way. Other than that, I only pay for gas, which adds up to about $35 every other month). Fitness $0 (When I first got here I became a member of an awesome local gym for $30/month. Pro-tip: go to it and experience the best aerobics class ever. That said, I personally wasn’t getting the most out of it and have resorted to running…running=$0!) Entertainment $ 0 (I showed up with a dozen books – I highly suggest the next fellow invest in a kindle, and a Netflix account. Entertainment in Nanyuki is not necessarily of the stereotypical variety, but more barbeques at friends’ houses, going to the nearby pool, or just people watching while sipping a mediocre cup of coffee. This is a bit of a blessing, as I am able to reallocate my expenses to travel, which, for me, is an extraordinarily rewarding form of entertainment.) Food $100 (This absolutely depends on preference. Nanyuki is sprinkled with a mix of cheap Kenyan restaurants and pricier “mzungu” options. If you want a burger or a pizza, you can get it for about $10. If you want ugali and goat, you can get it for $2. I prefer the latter, because I don’t mind the relatively bland Kenyan food and because that $8 difference can be what gets you to and from Naivasha via matatu. That said, either is great! One tricky aspect of Nanyuki is most expats here have purses that can expand a little wider than our PiAf stipend allows. So, while $15 for a meal and a cocktail may seem cheap, I recommend only frequenting the pricier restaurants when the cost is outweighed by the social benefit.

Travel $300 (travel in and around Kenya is neither simple nor cheap. Nevertheless, it is absolutely worth it. I have yet to pay for lodging within Kenya – sans one trip to Zanzibar and another to Jinja, Uganda – because friends are always willing to host. That said, permits into national parks can get pricy (ranging from $20- $100 a day). It is important to budget these trips cautiously, but definitely do them! I vow to help the next Fellow plan! Medications $0 Laundry $Provided (we are extremely fortunate) House cleaning $Provided Home security $Provided Other (specify) $80 (I take one-on-one Kiswahili lessons twice a week at $10/class. It is certainly expensive, but it is in line with my personal goals here).

Other one-time or infrequent expenses not included in your monthly budget above (e.g. visa expenses)?