Sawa Sawa

Photo credit: Jackie Jeffery

People just blow my preconceived and long-maintained notions out of the water. I've often been intimated by any sort of professor I've had. They're just such brilliant people that (seem to) have it all together. I think no matter what a university faculty member teaches, they're bound to have an interesting story of research or time spent abroad or entire dissertations that they've struggled through. I think professors are either true to the professor facade - wearing sweater vests to the core and being unintentionally too brilliant for the rest of us to even comprehend ... OR they're essentially hippies who wear clothes they can get dirty, have wonky hair, and are passionate not just about the subject at hand, but also about teaching and creating future researchers and enthusiasts.

Such is true for the faculty I had in Tanzania and Kenya. We had John Mwamhanga, a man as serious about teaching us life lessons as the socioeconomic issues of East Africa. He even went as far as to give me marriage advice when he learned I was close to engagement. It got a little awkward when he started talking about "going at it again" in the bedroom. We had Bernard Kissui, who works with lions in Tarangire National Park and whose voice would hit high pitches and even squeak when he was talking about something he was really passionate about. We had Shem Mwasi, who named himself Chui Kubwa (Big Leopard) and told students to kindly shut up when they were talking too much. Then there was John Kioko, who made us hold elephant dung to understand the texture and taught us about trees whose nuts looked ... well, like nuts. He called them by their nickname, Testicle Trees. He also saved us from experiencing an elephant charge a mere 4 days after arriving in the country.

These people are still blowing me away, and I'm not even their student anymore. I've been seeking their advice for how on earth to get back to Africa. I have received only support and constructive ideas from them. Mwamhanga even told me that I need to continue to believe in myself, and identify myself as a safari guide! "You need to say 'I am a safari guide!'" Kioko offered to help us get a business transferred over to Tanzania. They all want updates as I progress.

When your faculty are this supportive and approachable, it is a blessing beyond many others. Hallelujah.

 

Posted with Blogsy