The Grass is Greener

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~Henry David Thoreau

There is a common saying that goes "the grass is greener on the other side." But what exactly does it mean? The grass is greener on the other side of the fence? OK, what if I live in a semi-arid or arid environment and we don't really have grass on the other side of the fence? Oh, yes, now I get it! The grass is greener on the other side of the country(?) or at least on the other side of the river, right?
If nothing else, the grass is most definitely greener on the other continent - i.e. America or Europe.
This is the perception from many many Kenyans I have spoken to. Often times the Kenyans whom I consider friends, as well as many people whom I've made acquaintances with, will make a joking statement about me taking them back to the U.S. or elsewhere outside of the country.
Perhaps they think the grass is greener in the U.S. or wherever it is that I may end up traveling.

The Greener Pastures
The greener pastures of the U.S. and Europe contain no poverty, plenty of electricity and clean water, and best of all job opportunities for everyone!

Such at least, is the perception of the greener pastures. The real pastures may not have as much grass these days. After the fire/drought of the global economic crunch the pastures have changed..

And yet the perception of the green pastures continues with pictures of Obama in the newspapers and the films and tv shows depicting the U.S. as a wonderful place to be.

The Greener Pastures
On the other side of the fence, we have the greener pastures in Kenya. Even as a peace corps volunteer, I find many enticing things on this greener pastures...
Laid back lifestyle - Time is not the same in Kenya as it is in the U.S. It's not that time is not important here, but people are more important than time itself. People are people and not just numbers and figures of time.
[Note: The concept of time as we know it may also be entirely wrong.]
Fresh food - A lot of the food I eat is fresh from the farm, the milk is fresh from the cow or camel, the meat is also fresh having been a living creature within hours before consumption (note: I don't cook meat myself and I've almost become a vegetarian). And how could I forget, every time is "Chai time". Chai is served at 10am and at 4pm (+/- some minutes) at the school.
Peacefulness - when is the last time you sat on your porch (with a mosquito coil burning to prevent getting mosquito bites) just enjoying the peacefulness and beauty of the stars, the moon, and the night life (bats flying around)?

Of course the greener grass in Kenya also has some weeds - let's face it from afar we may think we see grass and in reality we are seeing weeds that are growing that look like grass.

Yet every place will have its ups and downs.

So we should just go with the flow. Live with what we have and learn from every experience. If, at one point in our lives we get the opportunity to get out there and experience the 'greener' side then we might as well give it a shot see what it's like and learn from our experiences. You never know when experiences from the past might come in handy in the future.

Make the most of the grass you have on your side of the (metaphorical) fence. Instead of looking at what you don't have and the grass on the other side of the fence, appreciate what you do have and make the most of it.

Perception

What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are. ~C. S. Lewis.

What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.~ Lao-Tzu

Isn't it interesting how people vary in the way they perceive things? Two people can look at the exact same photograph, movie, person, object, scenery, and have two completely opposite perceptions of what is being seen.
The typical example is the optimist and the pessimist: Is the glass of water half empty or half full?
Well what if its both half empty and half full but neither person is willing to even try to understand the other person's point of view or perception?

Perhaps because of my recent experiences I've come to see the importance of, at the very least, trying to understand the culture with which I live with. Such, however, is not typically the case of other Kenyans who live in this community of Somalis. Instead, I've heard many comments from both sides that North Eastern Province is "not a part of Kenya" or that the Somalis "are not welcome."

Then there is also the stereotypical perception of all Somalis being Muslim, which is not true. Along the same lines, there is then a perception that Muslims and Christians can't live together in peace. So I began to wonder why that might be. Why is it that there are many people who believe Muslims and Christians cannot live together in the same geographical area and live in peace? I believe all people, regardless of any and all characteristics of their being, can live together in peace.
Perhaps my perception is wrong.

The perception of various people I've met is that Garissa is where Kenyans are sent when they are 'exiled.' Strange to think of coming to Garissa as being exiled while when I heard I was coming to Garissa I was more than excited for the wonderful opportunity to live with and learn about Somali culture.
Perception matters.

Being asked why I would want to learn af Soomaali (Somali language) a coworker of mine made a comment which I found a tad disturbing. She said, "First you start greeting with 'Salam Alaykum' and next thing you know you are praying 'Allahu Akbar five times a day." From my coworker's perception, this is the reality. At least for her.
From my perspective, I think that many people hide behind stereotypes and fears of the unknown and choose not to learn about the unknown and instead continue living in fear.
Is it a possibility that if I were to start greeting my Somali (or Muslim) colleagues 'Salam Alaykum' I will end up becoming a Muslim? It is a possibility, perhaps, if I were drawn to the religion through further studies. But is language and religion one and the same? Does one lead to the other? Does speaking English lead to Kenyans being Christians?

My willingness to learn has been perceived as a wonderful thing by Kenyans and Somalis. Interestingly enough, my willingness to learn has not yet inspired other Kenyans (of non Somali descent) to learn about the Somali culture/language as I have chosen to do.