Munene, the journey...

I was born in Kenya; I even have a birth certificate issued by the government of Kenya. I was raised in Kenya, and my passport says that I am Kenyan. My parents are Kenyan, and my family is Kenyan. Naturally, everyone thought I would become Kenyan, and I must have passed off as one. Well, I think I have managed to fool everyone, because, well I do not think I am Kenyan. What have I become? photo courtesy of kyusho.com I have spent the majority of my last 5 years outside Kenya. I have traveled to various countries on the African continent, worked and lived there. I even passed off as one of the locals, with enough local language to get through daily situations. What I have enjoyed most though, is the diversity in the tastes and sounds: food, drink and music. From amala  in Nigeria to kenkey  in Ghana and sadza  in Zimbabwe, and Carlsberg Chill in Malawi, I have tasted life. But I partook in different cultures long before my traveling days. I listened to Rhumba mus...

"You speak very good English, where did you learn?" a person I just met asks. "In Kenya, in school…" I calmly reply. "Wow! You speak English in Kenya?" He continues. "Oh yes, we do …" The conversation goes into how we do (not) live with lions as pets and how I don’t run like "all" other Kenyans they've seen on TV. If you are wondering, this is an actual conversation I have had with persons I have met here in the US. This is not to say every conversation I have had goes this way. On the contrary, in the greater Washington metropolitan area where I live, this is the exception. Any time I have to field questions about Kenya, however, I feel as if the responsibility to represent Kenya and communicate its brand is upon my shoulders. This is despite not getting any training on this aspect of my travel experience. Some other well-meaning people have said, once hearing I am from Kenya, that they visited Uganda, Rwanda, Bots...