COURTNEY: An excerpt from Courtney’s journal: Day 12

Total and complete immersion. That’s what everyone says you have to do to really understand a new culture. I look around my room. It's bigger than my room in Boston which is not small. I have a King sized bed, beautifully made wooden floors, and my own marble bathtub. Somehow, I think I might be missing out on this whole immersion business. To compensate, Matt, Rachel and I began taking Swahili lessons. They are going ok except that Matt keeps tormenting our teacher by asking her things like, “now, is that the same as the second person present perfect?”….poor thing probably won’t last a week.

Anyway, we went through a phase where we were kind of beating ourselves up for being so American. I think Americans have a habit of doing this when they are in other countries. Like when I go to a restaurant, I always feel bad about asking them if they wash their vegetables with purified water…I always ask it while apologizing one hundred times and hanging my head like I’ve committed some sort of cultural faux pas. The other day we were sitting in Robert’s car, and the Kenyan equivalent of PBS reported that “Britney Spears was recently found on a stripper pole with fake tattoos on her boobies.” Hearing a Kenyan reporter trying very hard to say that last sentence in a serious tone is a very funny thing to listen to, but it does make you a little sad that this is the news that crosses the ocean and represents our country and identity. So, this went on for a while- Matt and I going through a continuous self-flagellation process for being “Soooo American”. Then, it all changed.

“Es como heaven!” I yell. “Es como el cielo”, Matt corrects me. Matt and I have this deal now where we speak Spanish to each other in normal conversation and practice Swahili during lunch. When I don’t know a word like “heaven”, I usually just say it in English as Mexican sounding as I can. Matt always corrects me. “Its like..its like…its like..TARGET!!” I continue with elation. We are standing in front of the Nakumatt.

This was the first store we had found that sold things like plastic hooks and hangers AND food all in one giant amazing space….we had actually found an American style supermarket. We were running through the store like little kids who had just been introduced to Toys R Us. We went to the food aisle and I gasped, “No way.” “What?”, Matt asked. “Macaroni and Cheese.” We both stared at the stack of boxes on display- I thought I might cry. It wasn’t Kraft, but it was a direct copycat and had the word “Scrumpdelicious!” written across the front of it. God bless scrumpdelicious mac and cheese. “Three!” Matt yelled. We grabbed three boxes and threw them in the cart. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, I saw it - - Jiffy peanut butter. I stroked the jar tenderly and delicately put it in the basket for fear that it would break and my joy would be shattered. I was also on the hunt for a plastic shower rod- you would not believe how hard it is to find a plastic shower rod here. Matt asked the local attendant if they had shower rods. He pointed up to the second floor to a sign that read, “Bathroom Mania.” I thought this could possibly be the best day of my life. I yelled Matt’s name on the down escalator and triumphantly waved the shower rod to and fro like I was holding the US flag at the Olympic games. $200 later we are leaving the Nakumatt. We stopped to get Gelato on our way out (yes, they have gelato!). “God bless gelato” I thought as I wiped the remainder from my face.
And then I had an epiphany. Yes, I like cheese slices that are individually wrapped. And yes, I like re-sealable zipper packaging. And yes, I like sanitized water that doesn’t make me run for the bathroom every five minutes. And yes, I like American style bathrooms with a bath and a shower. Why? Because it makes so much sense. Sandwiches are so much easier to make when cheese slices are individually wrapped. So, Yes, I am American, and there is not a darn thing wrong with that.

God bless the Nakumatt, and God bless America.