I would never have thought that on a special day in February 2014, I would forever be attached to people of a very different culture from my own. On February 20, 2014, my brother married Hellena Nel; a beautiful young woman from Kisumu, Kenya, Africa. When my parents and I found out that he was getting married we were so excited! When we found out that she was living in Kenya at the time, we were completely shocked. None of us would’ve expected that he would marry someone from another country! I was excited right off the bat, finding out that she was from another country with a totally different culture. I just couldn’t wait to learn about her and her African cultural background.
Being African Americans, my family and I have always been interested in learning about Africa and connecting with our roots. I’ve always enjoyed reading books about the continent and the very historical countries within it. Growing up my parents would always teach me, not just about African American history, but also what they knew about African history, current events, and cultures. The high school I attended didn’t teach me much about African American and African history, but once my sister-in-law, Hellen (also known as Shiko) joined the family, I was able to gain so much new knowledge about Kenya and other countries in Africa.
Just her stories about her life in Kenya gave me such an insight into what it is like to grow up there and how the residents are. I know that many people in the United States has this idea of Africa being the “Dark Continent” and that every country that makes up the continent is “non-progressive.” I still hear people describing all of Africa as being like the places shown in the UNICEF advertisements; not obviously not all of Africa is like that. Where Hellen is from, that is definitely not the case. She talks about the hottest clubs and the most beautiful beaches, such as the very relaxing Diani Beach, in Kenya. She is always eager to talk about her favorite restaurants and stores she absolutely loved going to while she was back home.
Thanks to Hellen, I have been able to experience Kenyan food, music, and her tribe’s (Kikuyu) traditional garb. I now have a somewhat tamable addiction to chapatti, which is unleavened flatbread with coconut flakes in it, and I can’t get the catchy song “Chokoza” by East African singers Marya and Avril out of my head. I have also been able to learn a tad bit of Swahili. Being around her and her friends have helped me learned how to say a few words in her native language. Hopefully, I can one become fluent in the language.
Hellen being a part of the family has presented me with so many learning experiences about Kenya and Africa. I am looking forward to one day being able to visit Kenya myself.