SSoP Podcast Episode 54 — Kenya: Hurrying Has No Blessing

Located on the east coast of Africa, Kenya is a fantastic place to explore Swahili culture and get close to exotic wildlife — lions, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes, impalas, gazelles, warthogs, wildebeests, and so many birds.

The capital city of Nairobi sits on a plateau between the Indian Ocean (hello, picturesque beaches!) and the Great Rift Valley (lush green hills, blue lakes, hot pink flamingoes). Nairobi hums with energy and everything you’d expect in a major capital. The city also gets a little wild — literally — with Nairobi National Park inside the city limits.

As you might expect in Africa, Kenyan history is basically two big buckets: before colonialism and after. The rich influences that led to the Swahili culture — Arab, Persian, Indian, and African — are all on display in cities like Mombasa. Wander the narrow alleys and take in the romantic architecture, then cruise on a white-sailed dhow to the nearby island of Zanzibar.

Outside the cities, get ready for outdoor adventures with a jeep safari, a hike on Mt. Kenya, a cycling tour through Hell’s Gate (!), or a visit to a Maasai village to experience their traditional lifestyle.

In this episode, we daydream about safari animals, listen to African music, and explore why Kenyans are such fantastic runners. Then we recommend five great books that transported us to Kenya on the page, including an epic poem, a deeply moving graphic novel, a memoir of derring-do, a challenging family saga, and a sweet rom-com about bird-watching.

transcript

Read the full transcript of Kenya: Hurrying Has No Blessing.

recommended books

Dust

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West with the Night

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The Perfect Nine

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The Perfect Nine

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When Stars Are Scattered

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When Stars Are Scattered

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A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

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other books we mentioned

• Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
• A Guide to the Beasts of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson
• Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
• Devil on the Cross by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
• Wrestling with the Devil: A Prison Memoir by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
• The Upright Revolution, Or Why Humans Walk Upright by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

other cool stuff we talked about

Perhaps you’d like to listen to some music while you dig into these links.

And some photos to set the scene…

kenya 101

• The title of this episode ‘Hurrying Has No Blessing’ is a Kenyan proverb. Here’s a long list of more.

• CNN Traveler: 20 Best Things to Do in Kenya.

• A City Guide to Nairobi, the Blossoming Kenyan Capital.

• Start the day with a good Kenyan breakfast. Mel mentioned the rice pancakes called vibibi in her 101. Maybe you want to make some!

• A Day in Mombasa - Photographs & Words.

• Who wouldn’t want to take a cruise from Mombasa to Zanzibar on a dhow?!

• Riding the Madarak Express train from Nairobi to Mombasa would also be fun. Here’s a first-person account from Roads and Kindoms and a review from the Sydney Morning Herald. ‘Bright-liveried trains, sleek stations and prompt departures offer excellent value for money… The game viewing is a highlight: elephants, zebras and giraffes are just some of the wildlife I spy from my window.’

Here are a bunch of interesting links about the Maasai:

• What You Need to Know When Visiting the Maasai Tribe in Kenya.

• Why a Visit With the Maasai People Was the Highlight of My Kenya Trip.

• Masai Mara National Reserve.

• Cultural Fabric: The Maasai’s Shuka.

• Maasai Clothing & Jewelry: What Do The Colors Mean?

• Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

• Lonely Planet weighs in on the best things to eat and drink in Kenya; Will Fly for Food recommends the 15 traditional dishes to look for in kenya; and The Good Times shares 10 dishes to try on your trip.

two truths and a lie

• Statement 1: A Kenyan tribe used to think that country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers was a mythical half-man, half beast. NPR on bringing the recordings back to Africa. Help us bring the phrase ‘chemirocha’ into everyday conversation! Classic Country Music explores the half-man, half-beast mythology, and The New Yorker dives into the recordings. Finally, Atlas Obscura on Chemirocha: How An American Country Singer Became A Kenyan Star.

• Statement 2: There is a tribe of super-athletes in Kenya. For Kenya’s Julius Yego, the Javelin Beats Running — and here’s Julius Yego’s Wikipedia page. Here’s The Guardian on Kenyan runners, and the Wikipedia page for the Kalenjin tribe.

• Statement 3: There’s a hotel in Kenya where you can feed the giraffes from your breakfast table. Here’s the website for Giraffe Manor, in case you want to splurge. Read a review here and here.

book-related info

• Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is the author of Dust. Here’s her Twitter and Instagram — and two great videos.

• And here’s the go-away bird Mel mentioned in the show:

• Beryl Markham is the author of West with the Night. Here’s the aviatrix demonstrating her moxie:

• Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is the author of The Perfect Nine. Here’s the interview in which he says, ‘Resistance is the best way of keeping alive.’

• Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson are the authors of When Stars are Scattered.

• Nicholas Drayson is the author of A Guide to the Birds of East Africa. In this interview, he talks about the inspiration for his novel.

• Mel mentioned Lake Lamu in a quote she read from the book. It looks pretty spectacular.

Congratulations! You made it to the end. Here are your rewards:

finally…

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