You are so right! After over 20 years abroad, am here now 7 months and still having issues navigating the roads and the city! There is lots of development and even the villages we grew up in are nothing like how things were when we left. It’s however the best thing that happened to me and am glad I made it back
I'm so proud of my culture, I've not been able to assimilate in America even after 20 years. When people visit me they comment on the way i haven't changed, not in my accent, attire or even eating habits. This is the way I want to keep it.
That definitely is a problem! Assimilating does not mean you have to give up your culture. It means to be open minded and accepting of different way of doing things.
Wuon Odidi I am so proud of you and would love to get in touch. We are still in the diaspora but are building and planning for our return. An ja Kano tek to tar and I am so proud of my roots. Let me know how we can compare notes. I guess I belong to the category of those you can remove from the village but can never remove the village in us 😂
Thanks for the great content. It's really inspiring. I love your window reillings, can you pls share the contact of your fundi who did it. Great job on the beautiful house at home.
@@WuonOdidi I guess they call them bugler proof or grills. Not even sure the right name but I mean the security metal bars by the windows. I like the way they are light and not the " prison bars " everyone seems to prefer cos of insecurity.
Omera, jambo. Amoti matek So true what you're saying. It's not just those diasporians who have been out for too long, but even the younger ones. Back home if you leave even for just two weeks and return, you'll be shocked at the changes in almost everything. Diasporians also need to stop going home with stuff/gifts for everybody...this is why people expect so much and assume 'ulaya' is paved in gold and people pick money from trees. Let's get real and stick to 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'
Another great video, so informative and great advise. I can relate to a lot of what you talked about and also learned a few things. I have a friend who lives in the big apple who left Kenya in 1958, energetic and doing really well, so yea lots of people who left Kenya long time ago. Keep these videos coming.
@@SweettoothMarie77I think this is petty. Most diasporans have had to work hard to just to be understood in those environments they now call home. It is not easy to simply switch it off. The fact that this is common should tell you it’s not as simple as you believe it to be! Most diasporans will not be offended if you just remind then hey, we love you just the same. Everyone wants to judge them be it in Kenya or where they leave. Cut them some slack!
@@SweettoothMarie77 you seem rather offended by a reasonable explanation as to why this happens, and yet you’ve left out any rationalization for your position. Let me guess, it’s, none of my business!
9:49 a fascinating observation on mother tongues! >> I wonder whether this general observation is related to the actual value that many people relegate to African mother tongues.
Fantabulous content! Culture can subsequently beome a mixed bag if one's spouse is from a different culture and the kids are born in the diaspora. The kids raised by African parents from different cultures can have it difficult assimilating - a hard feat to say the least. These kids at times feel they do not belong in the diaspora even though they do by birth, neither do they belong in Africa.
Good content Wuod Odidi. Left 17 years ago but never really left. I come home as often as i can. Your Video is on point. I take the good in both cultures and adjust accordingly to make peace with my folks. I like also the fact that you are keeping the good behavior from yues like the trash bin and yellow bags. Are these trash bags easily available? Also Kachok damping site was moved. How do you dispose of waste? Barikiwa sana.
You're speaking the truth 😆 🤣. I have three siblings here in America, one goes back home and picks up where she left, no accent, blends in with village people and spends like the locals. The other two 😅😅😅, you'll think they're Caucasian by their mannerisms, even though they've all lived here around the same length of time.
I've always wondered why accent has been used as a criteria to see if someone has changed. That is just one aspect of their lives. I get visiting the US for a week and come back sounding like an "American " is suspect but if you have lived outside your home country, things about you will change but that is by no means a reflection of neglecting your roots or who you are. I've British friends who don't sound that British anymore after living in the US for years. Does this mean they are no longer British. What really is the logic or what qualifies the accent as the whole encompassing barameter that one is no longer who they are and are now fake? Is it an inferiority complex on our part as Africans, that when one sounds slightly different we subconsciously think that they are better than us and results to dislike? Even with the change in how one pronounces words, in the West, they are still considered to have an accent. Am genuinely curious and would love someone to break down simply.
Woun Odidi, I think this topic needs more time and a broader sample base from multiple returnees to provide a substantial packaged overview. Even so, the time concept issue, cultural norms and networking is, in my view, the biggest impediment. I know many returnees who don’t feel the pressure to flaunt, in fact, they have immersed themselves back without issue, except those that I have alluded too.
I love these stories 😊. Why was I keen to listen more of Beryl Itindi’s story. Anyway, great advice Wuon Odidi. Going back home scares me but I’m learning how I will navigate when that time comes. My takeaway: it is okay to say I don’t know.
Time and Kenyans cannot mix regardless to where they are Kenyan events supposed to start at 2 pm, they will be starting at 5😂😂 I guess our motto is no hurry hurry in Africa 😂😂
