Before I came to Kenya, I had been warned about the difference in the idea of personal space here compared to the U.S., but I don't think you can truly be prepared for the difference. I think being on a swim team has made me more comfortable with an infringement of my personal space than your average American, but I have still been caught off guard here on multiple occasions. The most common display in this difference in personal space is in public transportation. The Matatu's (vans) that are used like privately owned city buses are packed as full as possible, to the point where you can't move in your seat until the Matatu stops and people get off. Station wagons are also sometimes used in a similar way to the Matatu's. This last weekend, a fellow teacher and I went to Visit Lake Victoria and took one of these Station wagons. The front seat had four occupants including the driver and the back seat also had four or five. Then, the last mode of transportation are the Motorcycle taxis. These always have at least two riders (the driver and the passenger), but often have three riders squeezed one after the other. This tight packing definitely has its advantages though. Since they pack vehicles so full, it reduces the price for transportation. For example, the trip to and from Lake Victoria only costed $5 even though it was a good hours drive each direction at a pretty fast speed.
Another common occurrence that I am not quite used to yet is holding hands. Not guys and girls holding hands, that is a definite no-no. There is actually a lot more space kept between guys and girls here than in the U.S., because if they come too close to one another, it is considered scandalous. But two guys that are good friends often hold hands. It is a sign of friendship. So, sometimes when dadi or a fellow teacher wants to take me somewhere, they just grab my hand and start leading me.
Then, you also have very close contact on occasion, which completely takes me off guard. This usually comes about because someone needs something, and it is simpler to "invade" your personal space than to ask you for it. Although, to Kenyans, they are not invading your personal space, because they don't have as much personal space as Americans. For example, one evening, as we were finishing eating, one of my host brothers, Brian, asked to borrow my phone to use the flashlight. Now, we eat with our hands here in Kenya, so since I was not quite done eating yet, my hands were still dirty. So, I told him, "sorry, it's buried in my pocket". Without batting an eye, Brian came over and reached into my front pocket and got my phone. I was able to keep quiet, but I'm sure if anyone was watching my eyes they probably doubled in size because I was so surprised. Afterwards, I just laughed to myself, "I'm definitely living in a different culture".
One other difference that I can only laugh about is the fact that children here will bath just about anywhere. So, in the evening, when they normally take baths, you need to be careful waking around the compound, because if you aren't, you may walk around a corner and have a naked child standing right there. I made this mistake a couple times when I first got here, and I think I was more embarrassed than the kids, because after I realized my mistake and started hurrying away, they would just start laughing. I asked my host sisters at what age kids start bathing in the actual shower, and they said around 13 years old. I am still a little confused by this, because Kenyans are usually very careful about being fully dressed. For example, it's not good to show too much leg. However, apparently it's different when it comes to children bathing. But it's not just Kenyan society, we saw a similar thing in Cambodia. There also, it is very important for adults to be fully dressed, but you would often see little children just standing naked on the street. So, I really don't know what the reason for this contradiction (as it seems to me) is. We'll see if I am ever able to figure it out as I continue to learn more about Kenyan culture.
