I grew up in Nairobi, which is the capital of Kenya, so it's hustle and bustle, and there's always something going on.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I had moved back to Kenya after undergrad, and I went through this crisis of, 'What is my life going to be about?'
Kenya, being a third world country, from a young age your eyes are open to the real world. I'd like to think growing up there taught me to stand on my own two feet, make my own decisions about what I wanted to be.
When I am in Africa, I always have the feeling that it's where everything started. When I am in New York, I know it is where everything ended up.
My whole background as a social worker has allowed me to understand human behavior in difficult situations. Working in Kenya, I see the most desperate situations - things I could never believe possible - and then have to try to find solutions.
Five days in Nairobi slums changes you.
I was in Kenya when I read 'Catch-22,' and I associate this book that has nothing to do with Kenya - whenever I think of 'Catch-22,' I think of Nairobi.
In Kenya, crime and terrorism are deeply linked, not least by the failure of successive Kenyan governments to control either.
There is always something new out of Africa.
Living in South Africa and periodically coming back to Kenya, my relationship with officialdom in Kenya was just insane.
I grew up in Sudan and Kenya, and lived in both the rural and urban centers of both countries throughout my life.