schaackmobile: Was nicht ist, kann noch werden

The title of this week's (month's?) blogpost is a quote from a woman I met while in Berlin who was, in turn, quoting an old german saying-- it translates to 'what isn't yet can still become'. It struck me very acutely when she said it, and it has somehow become the unofficial mantra of my summer. (The other unofficial mantra I adopted for the summer, but earlier on, was "It is just going to be fine." Typically applied to disaster or near-disaster conditions.) I love this phrase, and its meaning, and having come back to it often thought it might be nice to share it with my devoted readers. Both of you.
We are halfway through the second workshop and it is going as well as the first, though with twice as big a group there has not been the chance to bond as a group as much as we did in Uganda. At the end of the Uganda workshop, we took a group photo as is customary at scientific meetings and working groups-- though of course in this case we had to take two. One East African style (no smiles, that is the custom for official pictures here; left), and one Western style (smiles all around; right).

Here in Nairobi, the participants are also a wonderful group and working hard. Although we are based in the city, the folks originate from all over the country and it has been fun asking them about where they hail from, how and when they arrived in Nairobi, and how often they get to visit their families. This map I found through the UT-Austin library was made in 1974, but it is cool because it not only shows the major cities in Kenya, but also the tribal majority in each region. At times, tribalism in Kenya has caused major problems because the artificial lines drawn during the colonial era pay no attention to the major differences in culture, language, and way of life that exist between tribes. These days in Kenya, however, things are peaceful. And though the Kikuyu represent the majority in this area, I am still getting to meet and know people from all over the country and continent in this amazing city.

Last time I was in Kenya, I moved around the country a lot (I think I have been in every region shown on this map, by ethnic group, except for perhaps two of the smallest ones). This time, however, I mainly am on campus at the University or working from my hotel, so it is cool that the diversity of the place comes to me in the form of the participants who've arrived here from all over for the educational opportunities. It is SO different being here as a scientist rather than as a student, and I am not used to the legitimacy of it all yet. In addition to spending less time hitchhiking (see a few old posts for some of those stories), I give many more talks and take many more showers (so, perhaps not all bad depending on your point of view). As I wrote, I am hoping to get up Mt. Kenya at the end of the trip to fulfill that now ancient goal, but in the mean time I am actually working hard and hoping to create opportunities here that will lead to a sustainable, long lasting exchange with my East African colleagues and friends. This is something I have hoped for for a long time, and it is exciting to think: that which isn't can still become. Napenda sana sehemu ya dunia hiyo, na ninataka kurudi tena na tena kama nikweza. (I love this part of the world and I want to come back again and again if I can). Halafu labda siku moja naweza kukaribishwa wote hapa kunitembelea Afrika ya mashiriki badala schaackmobilini. (Then, maybe one day I can welcome you all here to visit me in East Africa instead of the Schaackmobile). Ni kubwa kuliko kwangu. (It is bigger than my place.)