Munene, the journey...

Graduate school is different from other levels of education, more so the intense American system that requires constant vigilance on the part of the student. As an international student pursuing a public policy program that requires a lot of study, I have learnt some skills to survive. Prioritization The best intentions are for the student to get all the readings done on time, and then read some more extra on the side. This, however, is not possible with the amount of writing, research, practical work one needs to do. Learning to prioritize on what needs to be done as the most urgent is the only way to keep up with all the activities of graduate school. Writing well Writing is a core aspect of graduate studies. Writing well, however, is required to survive and avoid rewrites and poor grades. Obviously, the more the practice, the better I get at it. Reading, fast and wide With tomes and tomes of required reading, I have learnt to read faster than I thought possible. I have vora...

The past 2 weeks have provided me a great learning experience. The difference between Kenya and America are striking. To my past me, I would have emphasized the following lessons: Buy your own hair clippers: Cutting hair in America is expensive, an average of USD 20 depending on where you are. I don't know why, but I think minimum wages (USD 8.75/hour) are to blame for such high prices. That is the equivalent of about 10 hair cuts in Kenya at my kinyozi (at the rate of KSh. 200 per hair cut; assuming 1USD = 100Ksh.). I have already bought one, and I am now in the processing of learning how to cut my own hair. Learning to cut your own hair will save you a tonne of money Be prepared to eat odd things: every time I eat a burger, I know I am eating frozen meat from as far as Australia, fish from China and so on. The fast food business is booming and is not about to die. I have learnt to enjoy Chinese food including General Tso's chicken; all this while missing ugali and m...