SIT Kenya: Definitely Worth It Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This program is not one to attend if you're looking for rigorous academics, that is not the beauty of an SIT program. You do not enroll in a university, and instead have lectures from people who visit the SIT office and talk about their respective expertise. Lectures were fine, although sometimes lengthy and repetitive. The real value of the learning comes from outside of the classroom though. The grading system is very straightforward and not as challenging as my home institution. Also, there's a one month independent project at the end of the program which was an amazing experience that really taught me how to conduct independent field work.

On-site administration of your program

I had two academic directors who ran the program, both native Kenyans. They were both incredibly kind and wonderful people, but there was definitely a bit of a cultural barrier to how the program was run. It took a long time for them to get things done, and they often seemed disorganized and struggled to communicate our schedule to us ahead of time. But, they were a really valuable resource when it came to knowing things about the host country and they were definitely supportive. The program was 26 kids and it was a good size for having social options, but a little too big for traveling around together. It was definitely hard to do site visits with 26 white kids in an African country, we were not at all conspicuous.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

SIT arranges your homestays for you and then during the independent project it's up to you to find your own housing. My main Nairobi family was fine, but it was just my mom and I so it was a little lonely. She also did not speak to me in Swahili ever. I also had a 2 week rural homestay with an incredible family who helped my Swahili a lot. This family treated me well while my Nairobi mom treated me hospitably but more like a business deal. My Nairobi house was in Kibera neighborhood but I never felt unsafe while in my house, and I had a 35 minute walk to school, but that was the longest walk of anyone on the program.

I don't have any dietary restrictions so that was fine. My host mom made me a variety of foods...the only thing to know is that healthy eating is not a concept to most Kenyans and I ate a lot of fried food and that got a little exhausting. The food is really good though, not ugali so much but eat as much chapatti at you can! You will be force-fed by your host family, they will want you to gain wait and will probably make you eat more than you are comfortable eating. There are lots of good places to dine near the SIT office...definitely go the Smart Village (Ethiopian) and check out the food courts at Junction and Prestige.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I went to a wedding with my homestay family that was a Kenyan Muslim wedding so that was a wonderfully unique experience. We visited a mental health clinic in Tanzania that was awesome. We also got to hike part of Mt. Kilimanjaro and hang out with the Massai for a couple of days. On our own we also hiked Mt. Longonot (highly recommend it) and I went white-water rafting in Uganda, which was great!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The program has contact with a pretty good doctor, which helps a lot because the medical system as a whole is not good. We had a girl go to the hospital and they put her on meds that made her worse and another girl tore a tendon in her thumb and had to wait to get surgery until we got home. But for basic illnesses, this doctor is great. You do need specific vaccines, but SIT outlines them for you and you need to take malaria meds. Nairobi is not a very safe city, but if you're smart about it and don't stay out by yourself or walk anywhere after dark you'll be fine. Someone might try to rob you on the street at some point, but it's easy to avoid any real danger.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

The downside to being in Nairobi is that most people speak English, so it takes a lot of commitment to practice Swahili. It's good to practice it when bargaining with street vendors because you will get a better price and to practice it on public transportation. If you can convince your host family to practice with you, that will also really help.

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• Host Family

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• Americans
• Host Family

• I thought it had very straightforward answers.

• My SIT program? It could have had more organization and the homestay coordinator role should be more active and function differently.